Maintaining diplomacy in times of war: analysis of the figure of the commissioner of prisoner of war during the Anglo-Hispanic War (1796-1801)

Abstract

In wartime, the exchange of prisoners and their treatment was agreed upon by the belligerent powers. The figure in charge of overseeing it was the POW commissioner, who used to reside in the enemy country as a representative of his government for the duration of the war. A figure that has not received much scholarly attention despite its crucial significance to complete the current ensemble of historical works detailing the conditions of men captured in battle. A historiographical debate that has not attracted great interest until relatively recently and, for this reason, a considerable gap both in the history of diplomacy and the military will be thus filled with the present contribution. The present work stems from the difficulty of approaching this totally unexplored figure, presented merely as an official representative, but with secret attributions hardly present in historical archives.

Firstly, a historical context will be provided in order to explore the uneasy relations between England and Spain in the last decade of the 18th century. Secondly, however, this article is aimed to delve into the POW commissioners’ duties, detailing all their competences and explaining, with two examples, how they carried out their official responsibilities. POW commissioners used to be some of the few people who stayed in enemy territory, since, as we all know, official diplomacy ceased once war between two countries was declared, thus becoming some of those who somehow kept diplomacy alive, though one that may be described as unofficial. To exemplify this, the present study will focus on the actions of British commissioner Thomas Gregory and his Spanish counterpart in London, Manuel de la Torre, since the declaration of the Anglo-Spanish War in October 1796 until not long before peace was signed in London in October 1801. 

To this end, documentary sources from the Archivo Histórico Nacional of Spain, the Archive des Affaires Étrangères and the Archives Nationales of France and the National Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo of Portugal, a bibliography on then-current international relations based on works by French, Spanish and Portuguese historians and the few existing works on prisoners of war in the Spanish eighteenth century have been thoroughly examined. As a result, it was observed how, taking advantage of their official task, POW commissioners became unofficial agents of diplomacy, even to the point of being in a position to make peace offers to the Spanish Secretary of State, as seen in Thomas Gregory’s case.