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The Supply of Muskets and Spain's War of Independence*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 June 2012
Abstract
Professor La Force traces the frustrated efforts of the Spanish revolutionary government to arm its forces against the invading army of Napoleon.
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- Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 1969
References
1 Lovett, Gabriel H., Napoleon and the Birth of Modern Spain (New York, 1965), I, 84Google Scholar; Estado Mayor Central del Ejercito, Guerra de la Independencia (1808–1814), Antecedentes y Preliminares (Madrid, 1966), I, 283–288Google Scholar; Prado, Justiniano Garcia, Historia del Alzamiento, Guerra y Revolución de Asturias (1808–1814), (Oviedo, 1953), 94–96.Google Scholar
2 Lovett, Napoleon and Birth of Modern Spain, 104–132; Bécker, Jerónimo, Historia de las Relaciones Exteriores de España Durante el Siglo XIX (Madrid, 1924), 187Google Scholar; Artola, Miguel, Los Origenes de la España Contemporanea (Madrid, 1959), 103–8Google Scholar; Christiansen, E., The Origins of Military Power in Spain 1800–1854 (Oxford, 1967), 10–11Google Scholar; Estado Mayor, Guerra de Independencia, 416–38; Brigadier GeneralEsposito, Vincent J. and ColonelElting, John Robert, A Military History and Atlas of the Napoleonic Wars (New York, 1964), Map 84.Google Scholar
3 Bécker, Historia de Las Relaciones Exteriores de España, 188; Connelly, Owen, Napoleon's Satellite Kingdoms (New York, 1965), 224–5Google Scholar; Artola, Los Origines de La España Contemporanea, 123, 126–7, 144–5; Lovett, Napoleon and Birth of Modern Spain, 150–68.
4 Bécker, Historia de Las Relaciones Exteriores de España, 193–4; Rose, J. Holland, “Canning and the Spanish Patriots in 1808,” American Historical Review, XII (October 1906), 39–52CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Artola, Los Origenes de La España Contemporanea, 167–79; Archivo Histórico Nacional (hereafter cited as Archivo Nacional), Sección de Estado (hereafter cited as Estado), Junta Central Suprema Gubernativa del Reino (hereafter cited as Junta Suprema), legajos 70d, no. 84; 70j, no. 170; Lovett, Napoleon and Birth of Modern Spain, 290–2.
5 Bécker, Historia de Las Relaciones Exteriores de España, 248–9; Artola, Los Origenes de La España Contemporanea, 205; Archivo y Biblioteca del Antiguo Senado, E2–5–49; An Account of the Central or Supreme Junta of Spain, Its Chief Members and Most Important Proceedings (London, 1809); Archivo del Reyno de Valencia, Real Acuerdo, Año 1808, folios 86, 317–21; Año 1810, folios 171–4; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 2; 1, nos. 1–140; Estado, Guerra de la Independencia, legajo 3072; Lovett, Napoleon and Birth of Modem Spain, 292–8.
6 Neal, W. Keith, Spanish Guns and Pistols (London, 1955), 33.Google Scholar
7 de Soraluze, Andoni, Riqueza y Economía del País Vasco (Buenos Aires, 1945), 133Google Scholar; Mendez de Parada, Pedreo, “El Armamento en la Guerra de la Independencia,” in La Guerra de la Independencia Española y los Sitios de Zaragoza (Zaragoza, 1958), 377Google Scholar; Vigon, Jorge, Historia de la Artillería Española (Madrid, 1947), I, 331Google Scholar; II, 503. The village of Placencia in Guipuzcoa should not be confused with the town of Plasencia in Extremadura. (Indice General Alfabético de las Entidades de Población de España [Madrid, 1966], 453–4.)
8 Vigon, Historia de La Artillería, II, 494, 504; Archivo General de Simancas (hereafter cited as Archivo de Simancas), Secretaría de Hacienda, Siglo XVIII, lagajo 799 — Conde del Campos de Alange to Diego de Gardoqui, June 26, 1791. The stock of muskets in Spain supposedly stood at 83,384 new and 40,957 used in 1794; and by 1808 there reputedly were 386,836 military firearms of all kinds in the armories of Spain. (Archivo de Simancas, Secretaría de Guerra, legajo 5777; Parada, “El Armamento en la Guerra de la Independencia,” 339–40.)
9 Archivo de Simancas, Secretaría de Guerra, legajo 5782; Vigon, Historia de la Artillería, II, 504; Parada, “El Armamento en la Guerra de la Independencia,” 375.
10 Archivo de Simancas, Secretaría de Guerra, legajo 5782, Consejo de Estado to Conde de Colomera, May 20, 1795; Secretaría de Hacienda, Siglo XVIII, legajo 798, both in Archivo de Simancas; Vigon, Historia de la Artillería, II, 504; Prado, Historia del Alzamiento, 94.
11 Archivo de Simancas, Secretaría de Hacienda, Siglo XVIII, legajo 798.
12 Neal, Spanish Guns and Pistols, 34; Lavin, James D., A History of Spanish Firearms (London, 1965), 218–19.Google Scholar
13 Neal, Spanish Guns and Pistols; Lavin, History of Spanish Firearms; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 35, no. 151; 36, nos. 5, 9, 11.
14 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 72a, no. 123; 76a, no. 9 — Actas de las Sesiones de la Junta del Reyno de Galicia; Prado, Historia del Alzamiento 94–6.
15 Archivo Nacional, Estado, legajo 11995; Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 15, no. 2; Justiniano Garcia Prado, loc. cit.
16 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 1; 7b, no. 7; 15, no. 7; 16, no. 2; Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 5608.
The total land force of Spain before 1808 usually amounted to about 50,000 regulars. (Christiansen, Origins of Military Power in Spain, 2.)
17 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 35, nos. 18, 163, 185; 42b, no 297; Servicio Histórico Militar, Colección Documental del Fraile, Tomo 788, folio 216; Archivo Histórico de la Ciudad de Barcelona (hereafter cited as Archivo Histórico de Barcelona), Guerra de la Independencia, legajo 318.
18 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 44a, no. 20.
19 Ibid., legajos 7c, no. 34; 44a, no. 20. When French forces defeated the Spanish at Ocaña on November 20, 1809, Spanish soldiers reputedly left 40,000 muskets scattered across the battlefield. (Ibid., legajo 40, un-numbered document.) At the battle of Castella in 1808, the defeated army of General José O'Donnell left 6,000 muskets behind but suffered casualties of only 743 dead and wounded and 2,690 taken prisoner. (Tur, Gonzalo Vidal, “Alicante y sus Pueblos en la Guerra de la Independencia [1808–1813]” in Estudios de la Guerra de la Independencia [Zaragoza, 1964], I, 611.Google Scholar)
20 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 9, 15, 35, no. 223; 66b, no. 158; Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 8261.
21 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 4a, nos. 16–130; 9, 60m, no. 341; Servicio Histórico Militar, Colección Documental del Fraile, Tomo 789, folio 74.
22 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 9; Servicio Histórico Militar, Colección Documental del Fraile, Tomo 762, folio 99. Of course, peasants were loath to give up their muskets; the repeated exhortations indicate that few individuals complied. The severity of the penalty for intransigency increased through 1809. For example, by October, local officials in Hoz de Molina declared it a treasonable act to hide a musket and threatened incarceration in a presidio for those who continued to defy the ruling. (Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 16, no. 21l.)
23 Archivo del Reino de Valencia, Real Acuerdo, Año 1809, folios 114, 141; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 60, no. 16. The Junta Suprema on February 28, 1809, reserved for the Government the right of preference in purchasing such muskets. (Ibid., legajo 4a, no. 8.) Spaniards also attempted to induce non-French soldiers in the French army to surrender, offering 200 reals to each deserter — 300 reals if he brought along his musket. (Archivo Histórico de Barcelona, Impresos en Caja, ordenes circulares, 1806–1813.)
24 Archivo Histórico de Barcelona, Guerra de la Independencia, legajo 317. This practice drew strong criticism from the Junta Suprema, which early (January 24, 1809) prohibited local juntas from awarding similar draft deferments. (Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 83n, nos. 228, 229.)
25 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 44, 94; Servicio Histórico Militar, Colección Documental del Fraile, Tomo 789, folio 86; Florencio Idoate Iragui, “Catálogo de Documentos de la Sección de Guerra del Archivo General de Navarra (1807–1808)” in Estudios de la Guerra de la Independencia, I, 547.
26 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 46a, no. 10. While some English observers looked upon this type of action as a futile response to panic, it might be mentioned that in 1803, when Napoleon menaced England from across the Channel, the British authorities, lacking a sufficient supply of muskets, issued 103,572 pikes to newly raised volunteers. (Glover, Richard, Peninsular Preparation [Cambridge, 1963], 57.Google Scholar)
27 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 4a, nos. 116–30; 9, 35, 36, nos. 336; 377, 378, 379, 380, 382, 383, 384, 385; Archivo de la Corona de Áragon, Guerra de la Independencia, Junta Superior, caja 187.
28 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 9k; 36, nos. 369, 370, 371; Archivo del Ministerio de Hacienda (hereafter cited as Archivo de Hacienda), legajo 5459; Argüelles, José Canga, Documentos Pertenecientes a los Observaciones Sobre la Historia de la Guerra de España que Escribe en Inglés el Teniente Coronel Napier (Madrid, 1836), 254–5.Google Scholar
29 In February 1809, the Junta Suprema promised to pay 100,000 reals to the first boat arriving in Spain with a minimum of 10,000 muskets; smaller prizes existed for smaller shipments. The Junta distributed copies of this offer throughout Spain, Portugal, England, and elsewhere. In addition, the Junta promised 70,000 reals to the first person to establish a factory for musket barrels, 70,000 reals to the first person to manufacture 1,000 barrels, and 140,000 reals to the first to produce 2,000 barrels. (Archivo de Hacienda, legajo 5459; Servicio Histórico Militar, Colección Documental del Fraile, Tomo 789, folio 74.)
Though this tempting bait failed, on at least one occasion it succeeded in attracting the attention of persons on the Continent. Sometime before November 1809, the secretary of the Austrian legation at London, acting on behalf of someone at the Hague, contacted Luis Apodaca at London offering to sell 40,000 muskets with the intention of collecting the prize. Intensely interested and with the Junta's approval, Apodaca warily began negotiations. However, hostilities between Austria and France soon ceased, the secretary of the Austrian legation left England, and Spain thereby lost her intermediary. On May 15, 1810, Apodaca conceded that the opportunity had vanished. (Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajos 5460, 5461; Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 8173.)
30 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 22b, no. 72; 44a, no. 23; 67a, no. 2.
31 Ibid., legajo 22b, nos. 74, 79.
32 Ibid., legajos 4a; 15, no. 21; 16, nos. 32–4; 36, no. 369.
33 Ibid., legajo 36, no. 369.
34 However, during the desperate days of early 1809, the Junta Suprema did ask the Governor of Havana to send the stock of rifles stored in the Castle of Perote on the first ships that might leave for Spain. (Ibid., legajo 59a, no. 47.)
There were, of course, other sporadic attempts to purchase muskets in other foreign markets. For example, the Junta Provincial of Valencia sent its agents to North Africa, Malta, Sicily, and Sardinia in search of muskets. While these men did not succeed in purchasing large quantities, the government in Sicily gave them 1000 muskets and the English Governor on Malta gave them 2000. (Ibid., Estado, Guerra de la Independencia, legajo 3064; Colección de Documentos Inéditos de la Guerra de la Independencia Existentes en el Archivo de la Excma. Diputación de Vizcaya [Bilbao, 19593, 59–63; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 12, 21e, 21f, no. 1; 36, no. 334.)
Apparently some rifles from France found their way into Spanish hands; as an example, in September 1810, a Capuchin monk offered to supply the Junta Superior of Catalonia with French muskets. Evidently he delivered at least 75 and received about 20 to 25 reals for each. (Archivo de la Corona de Áragon, Guerra de la Independencia, Junta Superior, caja 187.) Of course, the Spanish guerrillas captured many French muskets throughout the war. Also, the Junta Suprema and the Council of the Regency made plans, some of which were carried out, to venture into occupied territory — even to Madrid — to steal stocks of French muskets. (Archivo Nacional, legajos 16, no. 23, 41ê; Estado, Guerra de la Independencia, legajo 3082.)
35 On November 15, 1808, the Junta Suprema ordered Juan Ruiz de Apodaca to enter into contracts with private artisans in England for the construction of 600,000 muskets within a year and for their delivery at the rate of 50,000 a month. (Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 8172.)
36 Archivo de Hacienda, legajo 5459; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 56192.
37 Archivo de Hacienda, legajo 5459; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 56192.
38 Archivo de Hacienda, legajo 5459; Archivo Nacional, Estado Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 53742.
39 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajos 5374, 53742, 5459, 5460, 5461, 5462, 5463, 5466, 5609; Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 15, nos. 3–5; 36, nos. 363–7; 62g, no. 177.
40 Ibid., Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 1.
41 Ibid., legajos 7c, no. 18; 72a, nos. 83, 104, 110, 111, 112, 117. On the same day, the Junta ordered the Secretary of the Navy to employ all navy gunsmiths in constructing muskets. (Ibid., legajo 36, no. 353.) The response to the general request of November 17 was not overwhelming; while most local juntas agreed to make an effort, most indicated pessimism for success. (Ibid., legajo 7c, nos. 17–21.)
42 Ibid., legajos 9a, 22d2.
43 Ibid., legajos 9, 36, nos. 126, 304, 334.
44 The Junta Suprema and local juntas proposed a number of other factories for muskets, a few of which actually came to fruition. For a description of these, please see footnote 54.
45 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 35, nos. 18, 122, 172, 173, 177, 196; 35b, nos. 6, 7, 10, 11, 18; 36, nos. 8, 18, 19, 25, 40, 120, 124, 125, 128, 129, 130, 174, 178, 332, 334, 335, 343, 345; 78a, no. 122.
46 Ibid., legajos 26, 36, nos. 92, 94; 60, no. 340. This factory had begun to founder within several months. The Junta Suprema had made large initial grants of funds to the two contractors who in turn failed to obtain the promised results. As a consequence of several investigations in late August and early September 1809, a debate ensued as how best to reorganize the factory. The Junta had not reached a decision by December; most likely the enterprise stagnated until the French arrived early in 1810. (Ibid., legajo 36, nos. 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118.)
47 Ibid., legajo 36, nos. 36, 79, 80, 81.
48 Ibid., nos. 2, 18, 36, 40, 92, 120, 124, 128, 129, 174, 178, 332.
49 Ibid., nos. 79, 80, 81, 87, 94, 100, 127, 130, 134, 135, 174, 181, 208.
50 Ibid., nos. 179, 180, 186, 187, 190, 193.
51 Ibid., legajo 35, nos. 150, 151.
52 Ibid., legajo 36, nos. 25, 27, 33, 36, 37, 120, 124, 125, 128, 129, 130, 174, 343, 345.
53 Ibid., legajos 35, nos. 87, 100; 36, nos. 120, 124, 125, 343, 345. Although at least three steam engines existed in and around Seville and although several entrepreneurs offered to provide steam power for the musket factory, Rio Molino decided to stay with animal power. (Ibid., legajo 35, nos. 28, 31, 33, 93, 98, 102.)
54 While these seven factories constituted the major effort of the Spanish Patriots to manufacture muskets, there were several other manufactories that apparently produced some, though few, firearms. Early in 1810 the Council of the Regency decided to create a factory across the straits of Gibraltar at Ceuta and provided funds for that purpose. By December 1810, a first supply of muskets from Ceuta arrived at Cadiz. There is some evidence to suggest that this establishment continued to create a small but insignificant number of muskets throughout 1811 and 1812. (Ibid., Estado, Guerra de la Independencia, legajos 3072, 3110; Lavin, History of Spanish Firearms, 144.)
As mentioned above, the industry at Ripoll in Catalonia continued to produce some firearms until the third occupation by French soldiers in 1813. Early in 1809, however, the producers there reportedly were selling their products to the French rather than the Spanish. At this time the capacity of the producers at Ripoll was reputedly about 300 muskets a week; however, with the first French invasion later in 1809, many of the artisans fled to unoccupied areas, leaving their equipment to be damaged or destroyed by the enemy. Many returned later but their output never recovered to its former level and suffered annihilation during the third French visitation in 1813. In August 1811, the loyal government in Catalonia created another nucleus for manufacture of muskets at Berga when it contracted with a group of artisans there. For the remainder of the war, their output never varied much beyond 25 to 30 firearms a week; the industry at Ripoll and Berga suffered at all times during the war from penury and poorly-made arms, a large percentage of which (perhaps 1/3) burst when tested. (Archivo de la Corona de Áragon, Guerra de la Independencia, Junta Superior, cajas 88, 172; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 35, no. 151; 36, nos. 5, 9, 11; Neal, Spanish Guns and Pistols, 34; Lavin, History of Spanish Firearms, 218–19.)
Besides these factories at Ceuta, Ripoll, and Berga, a number of others were proposed by various individuals or juntas but never consumated. Locations of these were, for example, La Coruña, Isla de Leon, Badajoz, TJ trilla de Áragon, and Gijon. ( Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 35, nos. 109, 139, 162; 36, nos. 14, 15, 17, 328.)
55 Archivo Nacional, Ibid., lagajo 36, nos. 40, 42, 47, 306.
56 Ibid., legajos 35, nos. 226; 36, nos. 36, 42, 56, 311, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327.
57 Ibid., legajo 6, no. 170.
58 Ibid., nos. 34, 305, 306, 308, 312, 315, 316, 318.
59 Ibid., nos. 69, 81, 82, 83, 85.
60 Ibid., nos. 178, 277. The first request for artisans from Oviedo occurred on December 20, 1808, when the Junta Suprema ordered the Junta of Asturias to send to Seville 6 barrelmakers and 6 locksmiths for repairing used muskets and producing new ones. (Ibid., no. 273.) Apparently, this order fell on deaf ears, for early in January 1809, Seville had no artisans skilled in gunsmithing. (Ibid., no. 175.) On January 14, the factory's director requested Basque artisans, and within two weeks the Junta Suprema had sent an agent to the Royal Factory at Oviedo with orders to bring back a group of gunsmiths from the Royal Factory there. (Ibid., no. 274.)
61 Ibid., legajos 35, no. 199; 36, nos. 233, 234, 236, 237, 239, 240, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 257, 259, 260, 261, 262, 265, 266, 268, 269, 270, 338, 339, 341; Estado, Guerra de la Independencia, legajos 3072, 3110; José Berruezo, “Guipúzcoa en la Guerra de la Independencia,” in Estudios de la Guerra de la Independencia, I, 707.
62 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Guerra de la Independencia, legajo 3110.
63 Ibid., Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 35, no. 199; 36, nos. 260, 261, 262, 265; Estado, Guerra de la Independencia, legajo 3110.
64 Ibid., Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 36, no. 181.
65 Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 8302.
66 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 36, nos. 176, 177, 306, 350; Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajos 5608, 5640; Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 83021.
67 Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 83021; Archivo de Hacienda, legajo 5459.
68 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 5640; Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 83021 — Francisco Datoli to Vicente Maturana, July 18, 1809.
69 Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajos 8218, 83021; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 5461. In July, 1811, Apodaca arranged for one final shipment of tools and equipment, this time for the factory at Valencia which was still struggling to produce muskets. Apodaca had arranged with Lord Liverpool to obtain a complete set of tools and equipment. It is doubtful, however, that the items reached Valencia before the French occupation of that city on January 8, 1812. (Archivo Nacional Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajos 56191, 56192.)
70 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 36, nos. 86, 306; Estado, Guerra de la Independencia, legajo 2995.
71 Ibid., Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 35, no. 56; 36, nos. 241, 242; Estado, Consejo de Estado, legajo 154; Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajos 5640, 5641; Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 83021. The Junta also sought to purchase iron in Portugal; however, its efforts yielded but insignificant quantities. (Archivo Nacional, Estado, legajos 11995; Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 15, no. 21.)
72 Archivo de Hacienda, legajo 5459.
73 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 5640 — Canning to Apodaca, June 29, 1809.
74 Ibid. — Apodaca to Canning, July 14, 1809.
75 Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 83021; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 5460.
76 Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 83021 — Pablo Ventades to Apodaca, February 17, 1810; Pablo Ventades to Apodaca, April 2, 1810. Financing the construction and operation of the factories composed another serious problem. The Junta Suprema, in most cases, assigned each factory a weekly or monthly sum and directed the administrators of the Postal Tax (Renta de Correos) to remit the funds to these manufactories. For example, Cadiz was to receive 200,000 vellon reals each week and Granada 100,000 each month. Unfortunately, the tax officials frequently delayed the remittances for one reason or another, thereby placing the factories in constant financial jeopardy. Funds for the creation and operation of Murcia's factory came from an ecclesiastical tax (Voto de la Santa Apostólica y Metropolitana Yglesia del Glorioso Apostai Santiago) collected in 17 cities and villages throughout Murcia. (Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 35, nos. 42, 58, 62, 64, 67, 69, 74, 115, 126; 36, nos. 30, 31, 32, 43, 44, 48, 49, 51, 52, 54, 55, 63, 64, 67, 119, 121, 131, 139, 140, 144, 153, 157, 161, 164, 167, 170, 171; Estado, Guerra de la Independencia, legajo 3072; Archivo de Simancas, Tesoro, Inventario 16, legajo 16.)
77 Connelly, Napoleon's Satellite Kingdoms, 248–9; Bustamente, C. Perez, Compendio de Historia de España, sexta ed. (Madrid, 1957), 432Google Scholar, Most of the factory's workmen escaped to Cadiz, thanks to the assistance of Juan Manuel de Tellería, a functionary of the Government. (Archivo General Militar [Segovia], Hojas de Servicios, Inspección General de Comisarios, Don Manuel de Tellería.)
78 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Guerra de la Independencia, legajo 3110; Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 15, nos. 152, 153, 154, 161. As evidence that Spanish authorities abandoned their policy of attempting to create musket factories in southern Spain is the fact that the Regency in December 1812, decided to send gunsmiths and equipment, rather than muskets, to Lima, Peru, in response to a plea by the Viceroy there for military assistance. Archivo de Simancas, Dirección General del Tesoro, Inventario 26, legajo 1.)
79 Blackmore, Howard L., British Military Firearms, 1650–1850 (London, 1961), 139Google Scholar; Richard Glover, Peninsular Preparation, 61.
80 Jerónimo Bécker, Historia de las Relaciones Exteriores de España, 189; Bécker, Jerónimo, España e Inglaterra, sus Relaciones Políticas desde las Páces de Utrecht (Madrid, 1907), 56Google Scholar; Lovett, Napoleon and Birth of Modern Spain, II, 754.
81 Bécker, Historia de las Relaciones Exteriores, 190–1; Argüelles, José Canga, Observaciones sobre la Historia de la Guerra de España que Escribieron los Señores Clarke, Southey, Londonderry y Napier Publicadas en Londres el Año de 1829 (Madrid, 1833), I, 224Google Scholar; Lovett, Napoleon and Birth of Modern Spain, 756, 757; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Guerra de la Independencia, legajo 3024; Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 69c, no. 84; 71a, no. 1.
82 Archivo de Hacienda, legajos 739, 5459; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajos 56191 (see especially: Nota de Subsidios Suministrado por las Ingleses en dinero, armas, municiones, vestuarios, y otras efectos por donativos o contratos, segun se expresa en los documentos que se citan), 56192; Estados; legaciones, legajo 63021; Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 69b, nos. 70, 74; 69c, nos. 2, 69, 70, 72, 74; 69c, no. 84; 71b, no. 59; Archivo de la Corona de Áragon, Guerra de la Independencia, Junta Superior, Caja 69; Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 83021; Public Record Office, A.O., 3/765, p.189.
83 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 22b, no. 27; Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 5612; Archivo de Hacienda, legajo 3621; Cantillo, Alejandro del, Tratados, Convenios y Declaraciones de Paz y de Comercio que han Hecho con las Potencias Estranjeras los Monarcas Españoles de la Casa de Borbon desde el Año de 1700 Hasta el Dia (Madrid, 1843), 719–20.Google Scholar
84 Archivo de Hacienda, legajo 5459; Archivo Nacional, Estado, legajo 11995; Estado, Junta Suprema, legajos 12, 14a, nos. 11, 97, 102; 26b, no. 12; 36, nos. 91, 360, 361; 36e, 62, 62g; Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajos 5374, 5460, 56191, 56192, Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 83021. The Morning Herald of April 20, 1809, claimed that Great Britain had sent 200,177 muskets to Spain and Portugal since May 1808. (Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 56192.) Canga Argüelles intimates that perhaps 200,000 muskets arrived from England during 1809. (Canga Argüelles, Observaciones sobre la Historia de la Guerra de España, 254.)
85 Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajos 8173, 8218, 8261; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajos 5461, 5462, 56191, 56192; Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 15, nos. 3, 5; Archivo Histórico de Barcelona, Guerra de la Independencia, legajos 315, 318; Public Record Office, A.O., 3/765, p. 189.
86 Wellesley notified Apodaca on September 10 that “in consequence of the unfavorable state of affairs on the Peninsula, it is in the contemplation of his Majesty's Government to send all the arms and military stores which can be spared to the Tagus to be placed under the dispose of Lord Viscount Wellington for the general service of Spain.” (Achivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 8218; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 56191.) Four days later, Wellesley, while speaking of armaments his government planned to remit to the Peninsula, wrote to Apodaca: “It is the decided opinion of his Majesty's Government, that Lord Viscount Wellington will be best able to judge in what proportions, and in what points of the Peninsula, these stores may be most usefully applied, according to the wants and circumstances of the several Provinces.” (Archivo de Simancas, Esiodo, legajo 8218; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 5462.)
87 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajos 5461, 5462, 56191, 56192; Estado, Junta Suprema, legajo 15, nos. 3–5; Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajos 8218, 8219, 8261; Archivo Histórico de Barcelona, Guerra de la Independencia, legajo 315; Public Record Offlee, War Office, 6/205, p. 488, 511.
88 Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 8218; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 53782; Public Record Office, A.O., 3/765, p. 189.
89 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 5464; Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 8285.
90 Public Record Office, War Office, 6/152, pp. 125, 242, 300, 1/262, pp. 461–7, 469; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajos 56191, 56192; Archivo de la Corona de Aragón, Guerra de la Independencia, Junta Superior, caja 23. Some muskets and other military supplies were delivered by English naval ships directly to northern Spain and Catalonia. (Archivo de la Corona de Áragon, ibid., legajos 22, 23.)
91 Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajos 56191, 56192; Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajos 8174, 8175.
92 Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajos 8175, 8219; Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajos 5465, 56191.
93 Archivo de Simancas, Estado, legajo 8219 — Castlereigh to Conde de Fernan-Nuñez, August 30, 1813.
94 The author estimated these numbers from many different sources, many of which he cited above. No single secondary source has attempted to set the number of muskets supplied by England. A. Matula Tascón in his “La Ayuda Económica Inglesa en la Guerra de la Independencia” in Estudios de la Guerra de Independencia, II, 141–60, deals almost exclusively with financial aid from England; and Gomez de Arteche, José in De la Cooperación de los Ingleses en la Guerra de la Independencia, Discurso Leido en el Ateneo de Madrid, la Noche del 19 de Abril de 1887 (Barcelona, 1887)Google Scholar engages in polemics rather than empirical verification.
After the author had completed this essay, Harvard University Press published Sherwig's, John M.Guineas and Gunpowder, British Foreign Aid in the Wars with France, 1793–1815. (Cambridge, 1969).CrossRefGoogle Scholar In the chapters on Spain and Portugal, Sherwig concentrates more on Great Britain's financial assistance than on grants of war material. While he does not attempt a summary of the number of arms Spain received from England during the War, Sherwig does scatter through these chapters mention of shipments to Spain of around 450,000 muskets.
95 For example, on November 23, 1809, John Hookham Frere, English Ambassador at Seville, responded to the request of more aid from Francisco Saavedra, First Secretary of State, partly as follows; “But the Spanish Government at the time when they make such unlimited demands upon the generosity of His Majesty should on their part consider how far it is in their power to facilitate to His Majesty the means of satisfying them.” (Archivo Nacional, Estado, Embajadas, legaciones y consulados, legajo 5608.) And on August 6, 1811, Apodaca reported to Eusebio de Bardaxi y Azara, First Secretaiy of State, that whenever he pressed the Foreign Secretary, Viscount Wellesley, for more assistance, the latter usually responded that England did not have the means to supply it if Spain would not concede England freedom to trade in Spanish America. (Ibid., legajo 5463.)
96 On January 1, 1811, there were 147,690 men in the Spanish army; this included the infantry, cavalry, and artillery. (Ibid., legajo 3527.) Christiansen (Origins of Military Power in Spain, 18) claims that the regular army grew to about 160,000 men by war's end — a far cry from the 350,000 to 400,000 men originally planned in late 1808 and early 1809.