After their rapid initial success in over running the major Amerindian civilisations the Spanish were forced to assume the defence of their inherited frontiers against the uncivilised Amerindian tribes of the interiors of Nueva España, La Plata and Chile, all of whom quickly mastered the horse and lance and became excellent irregular light cavalry. Each Spanish colony responded in a similar way by founding strings of wooden or adobe forts garrisoned by company sized mounted units. The lines of forts acted as the de facto frontier and local administrative centres. The security they provided gradually attracted settlers but without economic incentive such consolidation was extremely slow. There was only limited advance of the northern frontier of Nueva España in the two centuries following the foundation of the earliest regular presidial companies in about 1570. The frontier of La Plata remained little altered for over two hundred years, receiving its first regular Blandengue unit in 1726 in order to protect the exposed city of Santa Fe. The frontier in southern Chile had actually been forced back after a major Spanish defeat at Curalba in 1598, as a result of which Chile received a regular frontier garrison from 1608. On jungle frontiers militia light infantry were common. The longstanding policy of relying on missionary activity supported by local militia to bring frontier Indians under Spanish influence cost the Crown little but was extremely slow and often of doubtful durability. Therefore, in the 1760s Carlos III initiated a policy of advancing colonial Indian frontiers by military force in order to pre-empt his European rivals. As a result the frontier forces began to expand and take on a more regular form. Protected by Militia Most colonial interior frontiers were protected solely by scattered militia units. Regular frontier units mostly evolved from these local militia units where Indian pressure was too constant or severe to be adequately dealt with by part-timers. They were thus largely raised from the mixed race frontier populations and usually had a low Criollo presence and almost no Peninsulares. Amongst the presidial companies of Nueva España' s Provincias Internas significant numbers of Indians were even raised, not only as scouts but even as regular troopers. This appears to have been the only case where Indians were enlisted by the regular colonial forces. In most of the colonies they couldn't even be militia and in some were forbidden to carry even bows or spears due to Criollo fears of a revolt. However, the use of Indian auxiliaries for scouting, as rowers or as supply carriers was common and friendly Indians formed the bulk of the forces which put down the revolt of Tupac Amaru in 1782. The nature of frontier warfare was extremely irregular, requiring small unit tactics based on company-sized units, and was little related to contemporary European experience. For example, although the lance had virtually disappeared from the western European armoury it remained a primary weapon of both the Blandengues of La Plata and the Tropas de Cuera of Nueva España. Thus the character of the Blandengues and Presidial companies was quite distinct from that of the dragoon regiments in the same Viceroyalties which were orientated towards opposing European invasion. Dragoon companies from the Regiments of España and México seconded to the northern frontier of Nueva España' s Provincias Internas in the late 1760s and 1770s had difficulty adapting to local conditions and such deployments were suspended in the 1780s. Similarly the Blandengues proved incapable of posing a serious threat to the British landings in La Plata in 1806-7 even though the latter were almost without cavalry of their own. Clearly conventional and frontier units were best left to their own specialisations. By the early 1800s the following regular mounted frontier companies had been formed: COLONY COYS. TITLE FIRST FOUNDED Provincias Internas 22 Companias Presidiales 1570 6 Companias Volantes 1767 California 6 Companias Presidiales 1769 Santo Domingo 2 Companias de Caballeria de la Frontera 1738-1770 Chile 8 Companias de Dragones de la Frontera 1607 La Plata 1 Compania de Blandengues de la Ciudad de Santa Fé 1726 3 Companias de Blandengues de Ia Frontera de Buenos Aires 1760 3 Companias de Blandengues de Ia Frontera de Buenos Aires 1780 8 Companias de Blandengues de Ia Frontera de Montevideo 1796 PROVINCIAS INTERNAS The situation on Nueva España's 1,500 mile long northern frontier had deteriorated in mid-century. Here 5,000 Apache warriors were the most persistent external opposition and the Seri tribe were the most rebellious internally. In 1767 José de Galvez launched a major 33- month pacification expedition against the Seris based round five hundred troops from the peninsular Regiment of América, the colonial España and México Dragoon Regiments, the two Voluntarios de Cataluña companies and the first two specially formed Companias Volantes. Once most of the regulars had been withdrawn his nephew, Bernardo de Galvez, led a series of brilliant but ultimately indecisive campaigns against the Apaches in 1770/71. He was succeeded by Hugo O'Connor who founded three more Companias Volantes. O'Connor also formed an alliance with the Commanches and with their active support conducted major, but again inconclusive, campaigns against the Apaches in 1775 and 1776. In 1776 the Provincias Internas were made an autonomous Captaincy General supported by a situado from the Viceroyalty of Nueva España. Its first Captain General, Teodoro de Croix, governed from 1776 to 1782. Croix was an excellent organiser who greatly improved defences by shortening the line of presidios while simultaneously increasing manning levels by nearly 50%. Seri revolts in 1777 and 1779 were contained but an attempt to secure a land route to California failed when the Yuma tribe wiped out the small garrison at the confluence of the Gila and Colorado rivers in 1781. In mid-1782 the Crown ordered an all-out campaign against the continuously troublesome Apaches which Croix's successors prosecuted with limited effect in 1784 and 1785. Finally, in 1786, Bernardo de Galvez, now Viceroy of Nueva España, instituted a new policy combining the carrot of preferential treatment for those making peace with the stick of continuous small offensive operations in alliance with other tribes to grind down those who held out. His policy of divide and rule saw out the colonial period and gradually wore down the Apaches. The presidial companies evolved as follows: YEAR PRESIDIAL COYS. TROOPS STRENGTH 1764 23 Companies 1,271 troops 1,271 1776 21 Presidios 1,080 troops, 160 Indian Auxiliaries. 5 Companias Volantes 563 troops. 1,803 1783 22 Presidios 2,021 troops. 5 Companias Volantes 686 troops. 2,707 1803 22 Presidios 2,244 troops. 6 Companias Volantes 786 troops. 3,030 The presidial companies normally garrisoned fortified positions in a string extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of California. As can be seen above, their average strength over the period grew from 55 to 102. They regularly patrolled the intervening terrain in order to intercept hostile infiltrations. The Companias Volantes were usually stronger than the Companias Presidiales and were based at unfortified settlements behind them. They were intended to confront suuccessful hostile penetrations of the presidial line. They also formed the core of offensive expeditions beyond the presidial line and by the 1800s could include horse artillery. The presidial troops were initially all equipped as Tropas de Cuera. In the 1760s the "cuera" was a knee-length suit of buckskin armour but by the 1800s it appears to have been reduced to a leather cuirass. Leather horse armour, also normal in the 1760s, appears to have been discarded by the 1800s but a leather shield was retained. If properly made, this leather protection was effective against arrows from all but the closest range. In addition to a full length musket, two pistols and a sword they were also distinguished by the continued use of the lance. This variety of equipment made the Tropas de Cuera a distinct troop type of their own. Indeed, they were so over encumbered as to reduce their combat effectiveness on foot in broken terrain and from 1778 the presidial companies had 361 new Tropas Ligeras (literally "light troops") distributed amongst them. The Tropas Ligeras were equipped like dragoons with only a carbine, two pistols and a sword and were much more mobile. CALIFORNIA Spanish claims to the Pacific seaboard of North America were threatened by Russian settlements in Alaska from 1778, by the British advance across modern Canada to Nootka in 1790 and ultimately by the United States whose Lewis and Clark expedition of 1803-1806 reached the Pacific coast at the end of our period. Spanish military penetration of California was based on the port of San Blas on the Pacific coast of Nueva España which became a royal dockyard from 1773 and subsequently built several light vessels up to frigate size for operations in the north east Pacific basin. From there presidial companies, equipped as in the Provincias Internas, were founded at San Diego (1769), Monterey (1770), San Francisco (1776) and Santa Barbara (1782). However, despite their military superiority in the north west Pacific, the Spanish were forced by the British to abandon a new post at Nootka on Vancouver Island in the early 1790s due to their global inferiority. By 1805 the Californian presidios had 293 troops and fifteen artillerymen to man coastal batteries. They were the opponents of the fictional Zorro! LUISIANA The normal vessel used by the Spanish military on rivers across the Americas was the native pirogue, a dugout canoe made from the trunk of a large tree. They could have a mast and sail but usually travelled under oar power with a fixed oar acting as rudder. In exceptional cases they could accommodate up to fifty men but about half this number was more common for a large pirogue. Swivel guns were often mounted in the bow. Luisiana had a unique problem covering its long frontier with the expanding United States on the Mississippi. A string of fortified company posts were gradually extended north along the river from the late 1760s and manned by the Luisiana Regiment. However, in order to secure them rapid reinforcement and support at times of crisis a fresh water squadron of light galleys was founded on the Mississippi in 1792. It initially comprised six galleys and two galiots. The largest operated on the lower river and was capable of reaching Havana in Cuba. Two of medium size operating on the middle river mounted a single 24-pounder cannon in their bows, two 4-pounders and eight swivel guns. They had about thirty-two oars and a crew of about thirty-six. The three lightest had a single 18-pounder cannon and eight swivel guns and operated further up the river. The two galiots, with eight swivel guns and about sixteen oars each, were meant for the upper river. Other vessels were added later and the squadron s total crew requirement reached 315 in 1799 but it was always undermanned. The squadron survived the return of Luisiana to the French in 1800 but not the French resale of Louisiana to the USA in 1804. TEJAS In order to secure the yawning gap between Nueva España and Luisiana before the latter's new United States owners did so, the Spanish planned to garrison Texas more heavily. For this purpose they began to form four Tercios de Infanteria de Tejas and four Tercios de Caballeria de Tejas in Spain in 1804. However, they were not able to sail due to the British blockade and eventually served in the Peninsular War at Bailen. SANTO DOMINGO Santo Domingo's two cavalry companies patrolled the open frontier with French Sainte Domingue in order to prevent smuggling but were superceded by six disciplined militia companies on rotating mobilistaion from 1770. More Spanish Defense Part 6 Part 7 Back to Table of Contents -- El Dorado Vol V No. 1 Back to El Dorado List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by The South and Central American Military Historians Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com