La instrucción de la oficialidad de infantería y caballería. Las academias militares en los reinados de Fernando VI y Carlos III

Abstract

El presente artículo se centra en el estudio de la instrucción de la oficialidad a través de las academias militares creadas durante los reinados de Fernando VI y Carlos III. Dichas academias ya existían desde hacía varias décadas en la Monarquía Hispánica, pero en estos reinados se produce un intento de tecnificación de los cuerpos mayoritarios del ejército, infantería y caballería. Para ello se abrieron diversas academias que supusieron una novedad con respecto a las anteriores, que estaban centradas en la enseñanza a artilleros e ingenieros. Estas academias, a pesar de contar con el apoyo del monarca, profesores aptos y de una dotación monetaria suficiente, no consiguieron asentarse y tuvieron una corta duración. Para realizar el artículo, nos hemos basado en diversas fuentes localizadas en el Archivo General Militar de Madrid, Archivo General de Simancas y Archivo Histórico Nacional, además de la numerosa bibliografía sobre academias militares que se ha publicado en los últimos años.

This article focuses on the officers' instruction through the creation of military academies in the Spanish Monarchy during the reigns of Fernando VI and Carlos III. These reigns are connected with the Enlightenment. With these academies, the kings and their ministers expected to make the Bourbons' army more technical. Even though the first academy was founded by Carlos II and Felipe V, these academies were focused on the most technical corps, as artillery and engineers. This situation changes during the reigns of Fernando VI and Carlos III, and other corps less technical were addressed. Infantry and cavalry were older than engineers and artilleryman, and they had never been trained in an academy. For this reason, the college and academy study were very original, because they were an important effort by these kings to spread the education on infantry and cavalry. On this period, many people thought that only an educated officer could defeat other armies in the battlefield. The three centers studied, the Real Sociedad de Matemáticas de Madrid, the Escuela Militar de Ávila and the Colegio Militar de Ocaña, were the perfect example for this crucial problem. The fail of all of them shows us a disagreement among high officers. Although academies officially closed due to monetary problems, the real causes were deeper. The first of these causes was the absence of a course of study promoted by the own king. Instead of this we found isolated projects of academies. Normally, the existence of the academies was linked to their founders and their influence on the Court. The resistance to these academies started early, and shows us a fear to break the traditional system of career development and promotion within the army. This fear was the appearance of a new factor to be a good officer, the academic merit. This meant that the nobility and the service, the traditional factor in the army, could be changed by a new factor and which would break the tradition of de Ancient Regime. This is the reason why many militaries were against these academies. For this study, I've examined many documents of military academies located in the Archivo General Militar de Madrid, Archivo General de Simancas and Archivo Histórico Nacional. Furthermore, I have employed many bibliography about military academies written in the last years.