"Portuguese Army in the 18thC. " Topic

Anyone know where I could obtain information regarding the Portuguese Army?? I'm looking for any info on uniforms, colors, organization, regiments etc. Pretty much any on the army during the 18thC. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards, John

John,
fascinating subject; the best place to look I know is guardamor.com.pt
You'll find hidden in these pages a number of Osprey style books – three or four of them on different parts of the 18th century including the Guerra Fantastica of 1762 (I found this book-seller from a previous thread on TMP). The staff seem to understand english e-mails and service is truly excellent.
A word of warning, the volume on the web-site about the Portuguese militia – although fascinating – is largely text and deals mostly with the end of the century.
Once you have had a look at the Guerra Fantastica you realise that there is an awful lot in archives here and there and then I'm afraid its down to the lengthy process of writing begging letters – at least that is my intention whenever I get the time.
There is a history of the Portuguese army published in 1940 that you sometimes find on iberlibro.com but it does not have too much to add, plus a book 300 anos de Uniformes Militares (won't swear about the spelling) that definitely looks interesting but that I have never succeeded in tracking down.
There are several series of colonial uniforms featured on pre-independance postage stamps Guinea, Mocambique etc that were done by the official military artist Ribeiro that can be tracked down via philatelie web sites – and that's about all I have found.
There are of course the excellent volumes done by Sapherson on the WAS and I believe he includes Portugal. Before Conde Lippe started on his reforms the uniforms were probably the same as the earlier period (where they had them! – the cavalry had a bad habit of being dismounyed as they were forced to eat their horses through lack of pay!

(For 1762 militia I intend to use a combination of Perry Carlist and AWI militia – with uniformed officers with head-swaps a gogo).

I should also be interested in any other sources people may have.

C .

John

If you can read Portuguese there's info here that can help you:
link
link
link
link

Books:
link
link

Or try my group:
link

Cheers,

KC

Thanks to all for the information provided above. This helps out immensely. My command of Portuguese is limited to what my mother has taught me in the past. I will definitely have to consult her when I get stuck on some certain terms. I was beginning to wonder whether Portugal really had a standing army in the 18thC. or not. I kept coming up blank when attempting to do some research.

Cheers, John

I have at last received a copy of the book I referred to above – the 300 anos de Uniformes Militares.
First of all I think the publishing industry – especially the quasi state sector where Museums and Foundations are involved, in the Iberic Peninsular can teach the rest of the world a few things about quality; -beautifully produced, high quality paper, exceptional number of illustrations. For any one interested in this subject and prepared to tackle the language this is a must-have book; even if you don't speak Portuguese there are so many plates that just for them it is worth it. I can imagine enthusiasts of the Peninsular salivating over this one. The book is divided into two parts – Metropolitain Portugal and the overseas territories – both just as rich in info and illustrations. The bibliography itself is well worth having. Pity it seems so hard to find.

Kingscarbine, if anybody in your group speaks Portuguese or better still lives in Lisbon it might be worth a visit to SHIP – I have tried e-mailing them in English and French but without any answer. If they really do have this book still at 25EUR I suggest we get together to buy their stock – it is worth much much more! (I paid a lot more for my copy and it was the first time I saw it on a book search. I would happily buy a couple more copies to have working copies, and I'm sure some of the better book sellers specialising in the international market would be interested.

Best regards

C.

I have seen this title and also another one listed which concerns the Portuguese Army concerning the 18thC. Unfortunately I have not been able to locate either title in Canada as of yet. I'm not sure if any dealer has these in the US. Would be nice to have in my collection even if the text is Portuguese. My mother is quite fluent in Portuguese, I however am not. I would definitely still purchase if I could locate.