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. Keywords