Anglophone Narratives on the Portuguese Army
Reassessing Anglophone Narratives on the Portuguese Army during the Peninsular War
Jesse Pyles
British officials, officers, and authors-past and present-penned the Anglophone narrative of the Peninsular War. This narrative describes British officers as capable leaders, and portrays campaigns and battles won as British victories.[1] Conversely, it overlooks the roles of Portuguese statesmen, often portraying them as corrupt, incapable without British tutelage, and indifferent to the fate of their nation.[2] Similarly, the narrative depicts the Portuguese army "as a negligible force," built on cronyism, and fated to fail.[3] The Anglophone narrative appears to flow from an outlook of intellectual, cultural, moral, and, indeed, racial superiority over the Portuguese.[4] One British officer, for example, depicted Portuguese as "naturally indolent," "slovenly," and must be "forced to exert himself." Another portrayed them as, "naturally dirty," "careless," and lacking "fortitude."[5] Moreover, references to creating a "system of order" for the Portuguese, their need to be "managed with intelligence," and thinly veiled validations of contemporaneous chauvinism, such as, "to [Wellington's] mind, the average Portuguese was neither capable nor willing to serve in the military," appear throughout the literature.[6] Were these stories written to critically analyze events, or to bolster British self-worth? The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance was the cornerstone of the Portuguese nation and empire.[7] During the 17th century, Portugal offered the English government largely unrestricted access to its ports around the globe, in return for guaranteeing Portugal's sovereignty, primarily against Spanish aggression.[8] When France invaded Iberia, Britain needed to prevent France-and its erstwhile Spanish client state-from annexing Portugal, thereby closing Portugal's ports to British navy and commerce vessels. Thus, the British government chose to engage in a land war against French armies in Iberia.