The British soldier in the Peninsular War : encounters with Spain and Portugal, 1808-1814 /
Daly, Gavin.
"Combining military and cultural history this book offers a new perspective on the British soldier in the Peninsular War. For all the histories of the Peninsular War and its continuing romantic appeal in the British imagination, little attention has been paid to how young British officers and enlisted men wrote about and experienced the places and peoples of Spain and Portugal during the war against Napoleon. This book examines those travels and cross-cultural encounters between 1808 and 1814, revealing Spain and Portugal as seen through the eyes of British redcoats. It is the story of how British soldiers interacted with the local environment and culture, of their attitudes and behaviour towards the inhabitants, and of how they wrote about all this to their readers, both during and after the war, in letters and memoirs"--
"Combining military and cultural history this book offers a new perspective on the British soldier in the Peninsular War. For all the histories of the Peninsular War and its continuing romantic appeal in the British imagination, little attention has been paid to how young British officers and enlisted men wrote about and experienced the places and peoples of Spain and Portugal during the war against Napoleon. This book examines those travels and cross-cultural encounters between 1808 and 1814, revealing Spain and Portugal as seen through the eyes of British redcoats. It is the story of how British soldiers interacted with the local environment and culture, of their attitudes and behaviour towards the inhabitants, and of how they wrote about all this to their readers, both during and after the war, in letters and memoirs"--
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Machine generated contents note: -- Introduction -- 1. To the Peninsula -- 2. First Contact: Lisbon -- 3. Landscape and Climate -- 4. Billets and Hospitality -- 5. Searching for Civilization -- 6. The Religious World -- 7. 'Dark-Eyed Beauties' -- Conclusion: Crossing to Civilization.
Great Britain. Army
Great Britain. Army
Peninsular War, 1807-1814
Peninsular War, 1807-1814