Adventuring through Spanish Colonies: Simón Bolívar, Foreign Mercenaries and the Birth of New Nations

Between 1810 and 1825, 7,000 English, Scottish and Irish mercenaries sailed to Gran Colombia to fight against Spanish colonial rule under the rebel forces of Simón Bolívar. Their motives were mixed. Some travelled for money, others travelled for honour. This volume explores the lives of these men - their encounters with other soldiers, indigenous people, local women and slaves - as recounted in documents that fall outside the usual remit of military, political and economic historians. The author considers the social and cultural aspects of the presence of these 'foreigners', and shows how they were an essential part of the revolution which eventually gave South America its freedom. Using archival research from England, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia, this volume shows the active role that these mercenaries, informal outriders of the British Empire, played in the creation of Latin America as we know it today.