The Peninsular War: A New History [Paperback]

In his Preface, Esdaile rightly states that to understand the Peninsular War it is essential also to study the contemporary political, economic & social history of Spain & Portugal. The majority of the many books about the Peninsular War have been written by military historians, whose main concern is the battles, or are the memoirs of soldiers who took part in it & who either knew nothing of the background to the war or considered it to be of little interest.
Esdaile's new history, after twenty years' work with a team of seven researchers consulting some 700 books & documents in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese & Catalan, is very disappointing. If it is meant for the general reader with an interest in the Peninsular War, the historical background is confusing & should have been explained in greater detail, even if it resulted in a much longer book - with the vast amount of material at his disposal this would not have been a difficult task for the author. If it is meant for the academic then it adds very little to what would already be known by most historians specializing in this period.
Numerous, similar, eye-witness accounts of isolated incidents are no substitute for an overall description of the important battles.
The passages in italics which open each chapter (translations/fiction?) detract from the value of the book as a serious history.
I did not find the book as biased as some critics. Having read other works by Esdaile, I would not have been surprised if the importance of the guerrilleros had been played down more but I found Chapter 10 on the growth of the partidas & how they became less effective when they were taken into the regular army to be a very fair account & Wellington's defects are shown & not hidden.
Had I not read R.J. Bowen's comments about Esdaile's idiosyncratic use of "thus", perhaps this would not have been so noticeable, but, after my attention was drawn to it, the word leapt out of the text - sometimes two or three times on the same page.
My own petty criticism is of Esdaile's use of accents. Many Spaniards are guilty of omitting written accents but Esdaile puts them on words that should not have them - there is no written accent on virgen, somatenes, diputaciones, patriotas. Enrique O'Donnell was the Conde de La Bisbal not the Conde del Abisbal.
The Peninsular War closes with three pages of suggested Further Reading & a very impressive bibliography but anyone who wants a good understanding of the war, its causes & the historical background, & has not time to work through a stack of books, need look no further than D. Gates The Spanish Ulcer, R. Fraser's Napoleon's Cursed War &, if they read Spanish, M. Artola's La España de Fernando VII.
David Gates, The Spanish Ulcer. A History of the Peninsular War. Pimlico 2002 (first published 1986). This is absolutely essential reading for anyone studying the Peninsular War. It is factual, informative, unbiased & readable.
Ronald Fraser, Napoleon's Cursed War. Popular Resistance in the Spanish Peninsular War,Verso, 2008 (translated into Spanish by Silvia Furió as La Maldita Guerra de España. Historia social de la guerra de la Independencia 1808-1814. Crítica, Barcelona 2006 - the Spanish edition, which came out first, includes additional material that Fraser thought would be of particular interest to the Spanish reader). Fraser achieves what Esdaile was aiming at & his style is much more gripping. His knowledge of the period is immense & this book is as important as his works on the Spanish Civil War.
Miguel Artola Gallego, La España de Fernando VII. Editorial Espasa Calpe S.A. 1999, covers the history of Spain from 1808 to 1833 in great detail. It is rather heavy going at times but is an excellent work of reference. As far as I know, it has not been translated into English.
A Spanish friend of mine, a historian, recommends Liberty or Death! The Life & Times of Asensio Nebot "El Fraile" (not Agustín Nebot, as Esdaile calls him) by Charles M. Wilson, Trafford 2008. This deals mainly with the war on the Mediterranean coast from the point of view of the Spanish Liberals (& especially with the guerrillas) & the repression after the return of Fernando VII. It is worth mentioning as it describes well the political situation, the social conditions, etc. before, during & after the war.

In the last few years, excellent works have been published in Spain about the Peninsular War on both the regional and provincial levels as well as the local one. The last British or Anglo-Saxon contribution disseminated in Spain was by David Gates in 1987, very possibly inclined towards the military aspect. Gabriel Lovett's contribution was published in Spain in 1975. Tone, the most recent contributor, only deals with guerilla warfare.

In the case of the book by Charles Esdaile, it is not easy to write a study in which one tries to combine social, economic, political and military aspects in each chapter. It is even harder to summarize it. One cannot make everyone happy when summarizing. In a certain chapter, some description of a fact will be missing so it seems incomplete to us. In another chapter, we possibly will not like the interpretation of an event. It is not about that. On the contrary, the general framework of this book is impressive and the final balance can be described as Excellent. The reading of the book will make us realize that each chapter is a book in and of itself and prove that Charles Esdaile has written, in fact, 18 little books. This is the distinction, if it can be described as such, of Charles Esdaile's work. As it is a book of reference, its consultation will be obligatory. For that reason, if a book is recommended, its presence should not be missing from the collection of one interested in the Peninsular War. The reading of each chapter is an authentic exercise in actualization and the final bibliography makes the previous books obsolete.

It is possible that Peninsular War: A New History will displease a certain group of Spanish readers. The explanation is due to how the Peninsular War has been covered for many years, both in popular education and various history books. According to them, Spain won the war thanks to the guerrilla and the British army doesn't seem to play more than a secondary role. Esdaile's book changes these stereotypes and reduces the roles of the various myths, like the guerrilla, to the level at which they deserve. But this is not liked, and even less in demonstrating that this war made many negative aspects come to light for the Spanish. It is about assuming those things that are true and Esdaile demonstrates them, thanks to a very profound work, not only in the British archives, but also thanks to many years of work in the Spanish archives. Few historians can put together a comparative study of this level.

Jesús Maroto de las Heras

Charles Esdaile's new book on the Peninsular War offers readers a comprehensive and in-depth study of this savage conflict that raged across Spain and Portugal between 1808 and 1814. In over 510 pages of text the author takes us through the reasons why this war started, the battles and campaigns as it progressed over the years and the many interesting facets behind the characters involved. Not only does the author cover the military aspects in detail but also he does not neglect those other important factors such as the politics of the Spanish Junta, Guerilla warfare and the effects on the civilian population.

All the major battles and campaigns are covered and I found the author to be refreshingly non-biased in his writing, offering laurels to those armies, soldiers and commanders that deserved praise, regardless of origin. The maps supplied, 22 in number, were detailed enough to follow the narrative but they could have been of a higher quality. The illustrations, 28 in number, were excellent. The choice of pictures and their quality (all colour prints) was outstanding and made the book that little bit more special.

I must confess that at times the narrative appeared to bog down, mainly when covering the politics of the war. That's not the author's fault but mine, I tend to appreciate the military aspects of a story more. These areas covered by the author in this regard where quite important to the story but I was always itching to get back to the battlefield and to follow the movement of the French and British armies as they maneuvered for another pitched battle.

Overall this is a great book covering this most important Napoleonic campaign. The author utilises numerous first-hand accounts from participants, both military and civilian and they blend in perfectly with the narrative. Its one of the better one-volume accounts and I would rank it along side another one of my personal favorites, 'The Spanish Ulcer' by David Gates. I am sure that anyone who appreciates military history will enjoy this new title by Charles Esdaile.