When Charles II returned home he began the search for a dynastic
marriage. He fixed upon the Infanta of Portugal, Catherine of Braganza,
whose dowry included the possession of Tangier, Bombay and valuable
trade concessions. The Portuguese had been fighting for their
independence from Spain for twenty years and needed alliances to tip the
scales in their favor. In return for the concessions Charles agreed to
send to Portugal a regiment of horse and two of foot, which provided an
excuse to ship away the remnants of the Cromwellian armies that had not
been disbanded at the Restoration. The prospect of service was at first
well received - "Major-General Morgan drew forth his regiment of foot
consisting of 1000 proper men besides officers, and made a short speech,
acquainting them that his Majesty had been graciously pleased to design
them for honorable service abroad. . . Whereupon they all with great
acclamations of joy, cried out ' All, all, all. . ." There were also
officers and men who had remained loyal to the crown to them Charles
owed a debt of employment, Former Royalists therefore made up the
balance of the regiment of horse - uncomfortable bedfellows for their
former enemies.
The English and French regiments fought with courage and discipline at
the series of major battles and sieges that followed, most of which have
never been properly described. This is, therefore, the rediscovery of a
lost episode in our military history. It was the English and French
soldiers, under Schomberg's leadership, who proved the decisive factor
in winning back Portugal's independence. But in return for their courage
in battle, the English soldiers were rewarded with insults and want of
pay. At the conclusion of peace in 1667, only 1,000 out of the 3,500 men
who made up the force were left standing. 400 of these received what was
effectively a death sentence: they were shipped to Tangier to join the
fight against the Moors. The remainder returned to seek service in
England or abroad - but places were hard to find. One veteran of the
horse summed up the feelings of many - ". . . there was never a more
gallant party went out of England upon any design whatever, than were
that regiment of horse. . . they came into the country full of money and
gallantry, and those which survived left it as full of poverty and
necessity."
The author's detailed but lively text is fully supported by a range of
illustrations and specially commissioned maps.
