international bibliography of military history 35 (2015) 135-164 brill.com/ibmh Bibliographical Records Modern History Early Modern History 17th Century Riley, Jonathon: The Last Ironsides – The English Expedition to Portugal, 1662– 1668 (Solihull, 2014), 222 pp., ill., bibl., ind., isbn 978-1-909982-20-8. While the title may sound reminiscent of the English Civil Wars – Ironsides being usually associated with the Parliamentarian cavalry during that conflict – the subject of General Jonathon Riley’s book goes far beyond the mounted troops or the political or religious affiliation of the men who constituted the military force sent by Charles ii in 1662 to assist in Portugal’s struggle for inde- pendence from Spain, under the Treaty of Marriage with the Portuguese infanta Catherine of Braganza. It is a study of the so-called English Brigade (of which the initial real strength fell somewhat behind the intended 2,000 foot and 1,000 cavalry soldiers), from their beginning as a mix of (mainly) surplus Cromwellian veterans and old Royalist officers, through the tribulations of five years of warfare in a foreign country. This included internal dissent amongst officers and other ranks, difficult relations with the Portuguese, both civilian and military, a high rate of attrition with hardly any replacements – notwithstanding this, the English contingent put on a remarkable perfor- mance in campaigns, sieges, and played a major role in the winning of two of the most important battles of the Portuguese Restoration War fought within the period of service (1662–1668): Ameixial and Montes Claros. Under the leadership of Count Friedrich-Hermann von Schomberg, commander-in- chief of all the foreign forces in the service of the Portuguese, the English won a reputation seldom reflected in most (but far from all) contemporary Portuguese sources and latter historiography. Not surprisingly, the same bias founded on national, cultural, and religious differences can be found in English sources, prone to exaggerate the role of the English troops in the cru- cial moments of the war. To search for the right balance is a subject that has interested us for long time, and we have thus been eager to offer a discussion of the present book. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2015 | doi 10.1163/22115757-03502004 <UN> 136 bibliographical records The first two chapters take on the political situation of Portugal, Spain, and Europe from 1580 to 1660, as well as the Portuguese Marriage Treaty between 1660 and 1662. When the Duke of Braganza was acclaimed King João iv of Portugal, after the coup of 1 December 1640, the dual monarchy with Spain, which had lasted for 60 years under Habsburg rule, came to an end. Inevitably, a state of war between the two peninsular realms followed, though for most of the time the Portuguese Restoration War (1641–1668) consisted primarily of border skirmishes and several inconsequent sieges. Military menace to Portugal became more serious after the Treaty of the Pyrenees between Spain and France in 1659. Indeed, the most important battles of the whole war took place in the last and decisive part of the conflict in the 1660s, when large Spanish field armies invaded and Portugal received military assistance from England and (though unofficially) France. This was the context in which the English forces arrived in 1662. From the third chapter of the book on we follow the raising of the English Brigade, the campaign of 1663 (the capture of Évora by the Spanish and the recapture of that city, with the battle of Ameixial in between), the campaigns of 1664 (capture of Valencia de Alcántara) and 1665 (siege of Vila Viçosa by the Spanish and the battle of Montes Claros), and the last years of the long War of the Portuguese Restoration (1666–1667). There are a few flaws: Portuguese and Spanish names of people and places are sometimes misspelled, which can be annoying, but not as much as the intriguing use of the Julian calendar by the author, following the English practice of the period. Some errors also occur: for instance, Dom António Luís de Meneses, 3rd Count of Cantanhede and 1st Marquis of Marialva was not the son of Dom Miguel Luís de Meneses, 2nd Duke of Caminha, executed in 1641 for treason – indeed, the Marquis of Marialva was 11 years senior to the Duke. There was no French brigade in 1663, the only French troops were the cavalry regiments brought by Schomberg, and a hand- ful of officers in the cavalry and infantry commanding Portuguese units; the foot regiments arrived too late to take part in that campaign. The description of the battles of Ameixial and Montes Claros are a bit disap- pointing. The author missed the part here – there are some primary contempo- rary sources, both Portuguese and Spanish, much more reliable than the narrative of Frémont D’Ablancourt, though still overlooked by modern military historians. These would have provided the author with a more correct insight of the events, including the deployment of the contending forces. For example, the place where Caracena placed his command post at Montes Claros – the Serra da Vigária, or Vigaira, as spelt in contemporary documents – is still a pre- eminent feature of the battlefield today and it figures in both civilian and mili- tary maps. international bibliography of military history 35 (2015) 135-164 <UN>.