"Barbarity more suited to Savages’: British soldiers’..." Topic

… views of Spanish and Portuguese violence during the Peninsular War, 1808–1814.

"This article explores British soldiers' reactions to the violence that Iberian soldiers, guerrillas and civilians perpetrated against wounded French soldiers and prisoners of war during the Peninsular War. Whilst they saw this violence as retaliatory, and sympathized with the suffering of the occupied, British soldiers were shocked, disturbed and outraged, often leading them to self-identify with their very enemy — the French. On one level, this violence was seen as a fundamental violation of customary rules of war. Yet further, in British minds it revealed a deeper Iberian culture of violence and way of war, which set the Iberian peoples apart from ‘civilized' nations."
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Amicalement
Armand

Armand,

Have you actually read that one? Because it looks to me like it is behind a US$40+ paywall.

sounds like it could be made into a film, perhaps Mel Gibson would be interested though I suppose he would have to change things around a bit, perhaps make the Brits the ones dishing out the violence with the Spanish and Portuguese expressing their horror !

No… I have not… it's for a possible interest for anyone… (smile)

I like the film idea!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Not a problem, I just wondered if you had academic access or similar.

All the best

Sadly not….

Amicalement
Armand

I wonder if observing this behaviour contributed in some way to the British mis-treatment of Spanish civilians when they (the British) stormed French-held towns?