Spanish 'Little War', 1808-1814

The aim of this database is to provide an insight into the sociology of the guerrilla movement that fought Napoleon Bonaparte in Spain between 1808 and 1814. Although a phenomenon that is both well known and accorded considerable importance in the history of the period, the participants in this struggle have never been the subject of detailed study. Many assumptions have been made about them – that the clergy figured disproportionately among their leadership, that many of the rank and file were deserters, etc. – but it has been impossible to test out these ideas. By amassing details of c.3,000 of the individuals involved in the struggle, this data base remedies this deficiency, and at the same time allows important conclusions to be drawn about the nature and extent of popular resistance to the French in Napoleonic Spain.