The Century of Iron. English and Scots in the armies of the Spanish Monarchy in the 17th Century

In the first half of the 17thcentury, thanks also to the establishment
of good relations between the courts of Madrid and London,
the British and Scottish military presence in the royal armies
increased considerably. Despite the persistence of a series of
differences on the actual performance of these soldiers, due to
old rivalries and differences in religion, the performance of these
soldiers was quite well valued by the Hispanic high command. The
outbreak of the civil war and the crisis that affected the Spanish
Monarchy in the second half of the century saw a sharp decrease
in the military presence of these two nations in the crown forces.
Although in Flanders they remained as part of the army until the
end of the century thanks also to the action of units of the English
army that acted as allies alongside the Spanish in the final phase
of the war in Holland and during the War of the Nine years.
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