Prisoners of War in 17th Century Spanish Monarchy: An Approach

Authors

  • Antonio José Rodríguez Hernández Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v9i18.618

Keywords:

Prisoners of War, Prisoner Exchange, Captivity, 17th Century, Hispanic Monarchy

Abstract

The study of prisoners of war in Spain continues to be far from the historiographical spotlight. However, 17th century soldiers were constantly captured in acts of war. Hundreds, even thousands of them were captured during battles, sieges and skirmishes, gaining a ubiquitous presence in the war-torn landscape of Europe. The ever-growing size of the armies, the continental scale of conflicts and the international nature of those armies and states led to an exponential growth in the number of prisoners of war. The armies of the Hispanic Monarchy were deployed throughout the many war fronts in which Spain was present, such as Catalonia, Portugal, or the Spanish Netherlands. Hence the need to implement a comprehensive approach considering the whole scope of the Hispanic Monarchy in what relates to prisoners of war, rather than focusing solely on a single territory or specific conflict, in order to provide a long-lasting overview. Firstly, the process of becoming a prisoner of war will be examined through the lens of the contemporary war culture. In other words, the evolution in the treatment of those prisoners and their ever-growing value when it came to ransoms, prisoner exchanges or even their potential recruitment by the same armies that held them as captives. Next, we will delve into the personal experiences of those prisoners, who amounted to more than 10% of Spain’s soldiers. To do so, both first-hand testimonies from soldiers held captive and administrative documents by the system of councils of the Spanish Monarchy will be referenced. These sources allow us to delve into two other essential milestones in the life of prisoners of war: their living conditions, their rights and the problematics they faced in captivity, as well as their lives once released. By doing so, the whole journey of the prisoners of war, from their capture to their liberation –focusing on some specific problems due to length constraints to develop them all– will be comprehensively mapped out. This would, in turn, allow us to assess the phenomenon in a general level while at the same time continuing to work on this line of research, which remains mostly unexplored.

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Author Biography

  • Antonio José Rodríguez Hernández, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED)

    Antonio José Rodríguez Hernández (Valladolid, 1979). Licenciado en Historia por la Universidad de Valladolid, y posteriormente Doctor en Historia Moderna por el Instituto Universitario de Historia Simancas de esa misma universidad, gracias a la tesis titulada Los Tambores de Marte. El Reclutamiento en Castilla durante la segunda mitad del siglo XVII (1648-1700). En su etapa post-doctoral ha trabajado en las universidades de Almería y la UNED. También ha sido Visiting Scholar en el University College Dublin (Irlanda). 

    Sus investigaciones se han centrado fundamentalmente en el estudio del ejército de la Monarquía Hispánica durante el siglo XVII. Ha sido galardonado con el Premio Ejército en Investigación en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales 2006, gracias a la monografía: España, Flandes y la Guerra de Devolución (1667-1668), Madrid, 2007. Ha publicado otras dos monografías y más de una veintena de trabajos en revistas y publicaciones científicas sobre el reclutamiento de soldados, la guerra, la composición de los ejércitos, las relaciones entre los soldados y la población civil, la concesión de nobleza o la venta de honores y cargos. También ha colaborado en varios proyectos de investigación y participado en numerosos congresos.

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Published

2020-06-08

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 18 (2020): La figura del prisionero de guerra en la Edad Moderna: fuentes, percepciones, vivencias y sociabilidad

Section

Dossier

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Copyright (c) 2020 Antonio José Rodríguez Hernández

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How to Cite

Prisoners of War in 17th Century Spanish Monarchy: An Approach. (2020). Revista Universitaria De Historia Militar, 9(18), 17-42. https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v9i18.618

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