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2020-01-01
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Centro de Estudios de la Guerra-RUHM
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En tiempos de guerra las potencias beligerantes acordaban el canje de los prisioneros y el trato recíproco que se les debía dar. La figura que se encargaba de ello era el comisario de prisioneros de guerra quien normalmente residía en el país enemigo como comisionado por su gobierno mientras durara la contienda. Un personaje que no ha sido estudiado y que nos parece capital para completar los trabajos históricos acerca de la situación de los hombres capturados en batalla. Un debate historiográfico que no ha sido de gran interés hasta hace relativamente poco tiempo y debido a esto, nos parece necesaria la aportación de la principal figura que se encargaba de velar por esos militares completando un vacío importante en la historia de los prisioneros y en el ámbito de la historia militar y diplomática. Nuestra idea parte de la dificultad a la hora de conocer un personaje totalmente inexplorado, que se nos presenta como un cargo oficial, pero con atribuciones secretas nada fáciles de rastrear en los archivos.
En primer lugar, en este trabajo incorporamos un contexto histórico centrado en conocer las no sencillas relaciones entre Inglaterra y España en la última década del siglo XVIII. No obstante, en una segunda parte este artículo pretende aproximarse a las obligaciones de su cargo analizando todas sus competencias y explicando a través de dos ejemplos como ejercían sus labores
oficiales. Los comisarios solían ser de las pocas personas que quedaban en el país enemigo, pues como todos sabemos la diplomacia oficial dejaba de estar presente cuando se declaraba la guerra entre dos países, convirtiéndose en aquellos individuos que mantenían en cierto modo la diplomacia viva, pero una diplomacia que podríamos calificar de no oficial. Para ejemplificar este hecho nos hemos centrado en estudiar al comisario británico, Thomas Gregory, y su homólogo español en Londres, Manuel de la Torre, desde la declaración de la guerra anglo-hispana en octubre de 1796 hasta los preliminares de paz de Londres de octubre de 1801.
Para ello, se ha trabajado con fuentes documentales procedentes del Archivo Histórico Nacional de España, el Archivo de Affaires Étrangères y los Archives Nationales de Francia y el Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo de Portugal y con una bibliografía centrada en el estudio de las relaciones internacionales del momento, basada en trabajos de historiadores franceses, españoles y portugueses, además de incluir los reducidos trabajos que existen sobre los prisioneros de guerra en el siglo XVIII español. Con todo esto hemos podido constatar como estos comisarios, gracias a su labor oficial pudieron convertirse en agentes no oficiales de la diplomacia, llegando a plantear ofertas de paz al secretario de Estado español, como en el caso de Thomas Gregory.
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 thusfilled withthe 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 Tomboof 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.
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 thusfilled withthe 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 Tomboof 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.
Descripción
La versión registrada de este artículo, publicado por primera vez en “Revista Universitaria de Historia Militar, vol. 9, nº 18, 2020, pp. 87-108", está disponible en línea en el sitio web del editor: Centro de Estudios de la Guerra-RUHM, https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v9i18.621
The registered version of this article, first published in “Revista Universitaria de Historia Militar, vol. 9, nº 18, 2020, pp. 87-108.", is available online at the publisher's website: Centro de Estudios de la Guerra-RUHM, https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v9i18.621
The registered version of this article, first published in “Revista Universitaria de Historia Militar, vol. 9, nº 18, 2020, pp. 87-108.", is available online at the publisher's website: Centro de Estudios de la Guerra-RUHM, https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v9i18.621
Categorías UNESCO
Palabras clave
Diplomacia, finales siglo XVIII, comisario de prisioneros, guerra anglo-hispana, Diplomacy, late eighteenth century, POW commissioner, Anglo-Spanish war
Citación
Chinchilla Galarzo, A., (2020) “Mantener la diplomacia en tiempos de guerra: análisis de la figura del comisario de prisioneros de guerra durante la guerra anglo-hispana (1796-1801)”, Revista Universitaria de Historia Militar, vol. 9, nº 18, 2020, pp. 87-108. DOI: https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v9i18.621
Centro
Facultad de Geografía e Historia
Departamento
Historia Moderna