In 1815, the Napoleonic Wars came to an end and the victorious powers attempted to bring a lasting peace to Europe in the Congress of Vienna. However, it soon became clear that after the upheaval of the French Revolution and Bonaparte's empire, a return to the "Ancien Regime" was impossible. In 1820, liberal revolutions broke out in Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and the Greeks rose against their Turkish overlords the following year. In Italy, Austrian bayonets saved the local autocrats, but in Greece the uprising continued until independence was achieved. In Iberia, the events of 1820 led to the War of the Two Brothers in Portugal and the First Carlist War in Spain, which ended in the victory of the liberals. British volunteers fought in the conflicts in Greece, Portugal, and Spain. This book tells their story and puts it in the general context of the European political situation and more specifically, British foreign policy. These wars were part of the gigantic duel between Britain and Austria. The British mercenaries often unwittingly acted as the covert arm of their government.

Between 1817 and 1825, 10,000 British mercenaries, many of them veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, left Europe to join the armies and navies of Bolivar, San Martin, and other leaders fighting to liberate their countries from the colonial domination of Spain and Portugal. Very few of these mercenaries came back. Many succumbed to tropical diseases or battles, and the remainder settled in the new states that they helped to create. This two-volume edition tells the little known story of these freedom mercenaries. Using historical evidence, this work offers a complete study of the struggle of both Britons and South Americans in these Wars of Independence and analyzes their actions in the larger context of the foreign policies of the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Imperial Russia, and the German States. Each volume features self-contained, but complementary chapters that follow one major unit or volunteer. Written in an approachable style, this book offers insight into an under-examined historical epic.

Between 1817 and 1825, 10,000 British mercenaries, many of them veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, left Europe to join the armies and navies of Bolivar, San Martin, and other leaders fighting to liberate their countries from the colonial domination of Spain and Portugal. Very few of these mercenaries came back. Many succumbed to tropical diseases or battles, and the remainder settled in the new states that they helped to create. This two-volume edition tells the little known story of these freedom mercenaries. Using historical evidence, this work offers a complete study of the struggle of both Britons and South Americans in these Wars of Independence and analyzes their actions in the larger context of the foreign policies of the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Imperial Russia, and the German States. Each volume features self-contained, but complementary chapters that follow one major unit or volunteer. Written in an approachable style, this book offers insight into an under-examined historical epic.