Adventuring Through Spanish Colonies: Simón Bolívar, Foreign Mercenaries and the Birth of New NationsBetween 1810 and 1825, 7,000 English, Scottish and Irish mercenaries sailed to Gran Colombia to fight against Spanish colonial rule under the rebel forces of Simon Bolivar. Their motives were mixed. Some travelled for money, others travelled for honour. Adventuring Through Spanish Colonies explores the lives of these men - their encounters with other soldiers, indigenous people, local women and slaves - as recounted in documents that fall outside the usual remit of military, political and economic historians. Matthew Brown considers the social and cultural aspects of the presence of these 'foreigners', and shows how they were an essential part of the revolution which eventually gave South America its freedom. Using archival research from England, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia, Adventuring Through Spanish Colonies clearly shows the active role that these mercenaries, informal outriders of the British Empire, played in the creation of Latin America as we know it today. " |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Context for Adventure | 13 |
Figures | 17 |
Copyright | |
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AGI Cuba AGNC HDS AGNC R GYM AGNV GDG Albion Battalion Alexander Alexander Angostura Archivo Bogotá Britain británicos British and Irish British Army British Legion Cali campaigning Capitán Carabobo Caracas Caribbean Cartagena Cauca colonial Coronel Correo del Orinoco Creole Daniel O'Connell desertion Devereux Dublin duel duelling Ecuador El Colombiano élites Empire expeditions foreign adventurers Gran Colombia Granada Gregor Gregor MacGregor Guayana Guayaquil Guerra haberes militares Hispanic Hispanic America Histórico History honour independencia Ireland Irish Legion James John José Juan Lambert Latin America Legajo liberty London Loyalist MacGregor Manby Manuel Maracaibo Margarita María Mary English McFarlane merchants military Morgan O'Connell nación Narrative nineteenth century O'Connell officers Páez patria patriotism Pérez Vila period political Popayán Puerto Cabello Quito region repr Republic República Riohacha Runnel Santander Simón Bolívar slavery slaves social society soldiers South America Spain Spanish America tion University Press Unknown Venezuela Wars of Independence