The ''ordenanças'' ( en, ordinances), sometimes misspelled ''ordenanzas'' in English, were a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

-type organization that existed in Portugal and in some parts of the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...

(especially in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

), between the 16th and the 19th centuries. In the 17th century, the ordenanças became a kind of "

home guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...

" and reserve of the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...

. They were disbanded in 1831.

History

After some failed attempts made earlier, the Ordenanças were instituted by King

Sebastian of Portugal Sebastian ( pt, Sebastião I ; 20 January 1554 – 4 August 1578) was King of Portugal from 11 June 1557 to 4 August 1578 and the penultimate Portuguese monarch of the House of Aviz. He was the son of João Manuel, Prince of Portugal, and hi ...

on 10 December 1570. They were the first country-wide system of conscription in Portugal and thus are considered the ancestor of the future Portuguese national army. They were organized in territorial captaincies (''capitanias''), each covering the area of a city, town or municipality and including several companies. Each captaincy was under charge of a

captain-major A donatary captain was a Portuguese colonial official to whom the Crown granted jurisdiction, rights, and revenues over some colonial territory. The recipients of these grants were called (donataries), because they had been given the grant as a ( ...

(''capitão-mor''), appointed by the respective municipal council or, in towns where an

alcaide Alcaide is a Spanish name, meaning 'castle commander'. It is borrowed from the Arabic term , which literally means 'commander'. Etymology The Spanish form is alcayde whereas Portuguese form is alcaide. Notable people * Anselmo Pardo Alcaide ...

(castle governor) existed, he assumed that role. Therefore, the organization and command of the Ordenanças usually fell to the most notable local residents of each jurisdiction. Each captain-major was assisted by a sergeant-major (''sargento-mor''). The basis of the Ordenanças were the companies of 250 men. Each company was headed by a captain (''capitão''), assisted by an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

('' alferes''), a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

, a marshal (''meirinho'') and a

scrivener A scrivener (or scribe) was a person who could read and write or who wrote letters to court and legal documents. Scriveners were people who made their living by writing or copying written material. This usually indicated secretarial and admini ...

. It was divided in 10 squads (''esquadras''), each one headed by a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

(''cabo de esquadra''). For King Sebastian's Morocco Campaign of 1578, the Ordenanças mobilized 32 companies with a total of around 8000 men, constituting four ''

terço A ''tercio'' (; Spanish for " third") was a military unit of the Spanish Army during the reign of the Spanish Habsburgs in the early modern period. The tercios were renowned for the effectiveness of their battlefield formations, forming the ...

s'' of the Portuguese expeditionary army. After Portugal was taken over by the Habsburg dynasty in 1580, the Ordenanças declined.

17th century reorganization

The Ordenanças were revived for the

Portuguese Restoration War The Portuguese Restoration War ( pt, Guerra da Restauração) was the war between History of Portugal (1640–1777), Portugal and Habsburg Spain, Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon (1668), ...

(1640-1668). In addition,

units Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (alb ...

of paid troops and units of auxiliary troops (latter called "Militias") were also created. These became, respectively, the first and second line of the

, the Ordenanças being relegated to third line and increasingly employed as a kind of

and reserve for the

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

of soldiers for the paid and auxiliary troops. The Ordenanças of the city of Lisbon were organized in regiments, due to the fact that the inhabitants of this city were exempt from serving in the first and second lines, between the 17th century and early 19th century.

18th century

According to the military reforms undertaken in 1764 by the Count of Lippe, the Ordenanças captaincies were grouped in 45 recruitment districts, each corresponding to one of the 43 Army first line infantry regiments and 2 naval infantry regiments.

19th century

The Army organization of 1806 divided the country in 24 brigades of Ordenanças, each commanded by a colonel. Each brigade corresponded to a geographical area which constituted the recruitment district of an infantry regiment of the first line and of two militia regiments. Each brigade, by itself, was divided in eight captaincies and each of these in eight companies. Each captaincy corresponded to each of the eight

fusilier Fusilier is a name given to various kinds of soldiers; its meaning depends on the historical context. While fusilier is derived from the 17th-century French language, French word ''fusil'' – meaning a type of flintlock musket – the term has ...

s company in each regiment. Although mainly used as conscription reserve since the creation of the auxiliary troops in 1646, active units of Ordenanças were activated for the national defense in some war periods. Some of these units acted as guerrilla forces in their respective areas, attacking the rearguard and the logistic lines of the enemy invader armies. Active units of the Ordenanças were also employed in the reinforcement of cities and fortress garrisons. A good example of this was the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, where units of Ordenanças constituted a greater part of the garrison of the forts of the

Lines of Torres Vedras The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of forts and other military defences built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, Viscount Wellington, ...

, including being responsible for the manning most of its

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

. In 1809, in the scope of the Peninsular War, 16 national legions of Ordenanças were organized for the defense of the city of Lisbon. Each national legion included three battalions, with each including 10 companies of 105 men. For the mobilization of the legions, the city was divided in 16 legion districts, each subdivided in three battalion zones. In 1829, the national legions of Lisbon were disbanded and replaced by eight regiments of Ordenanças. The Ordenanças were finally extinct on the 24 March 1831, their role partially assumed by the newly created National Guard.

References

*FREITAS, Jorge Penim de, ''O Combatente durante a Guerra da Restauração. Vivência e comportamentos dos militares ao serviço da Coroa portuguesa'', Lisboa, Prefácio, 2007. *SOUSA, Luís Costa e, ''A Arte na Guerra - A Arquitectura dos Campos de Batalha no Portugal de Quinhentos'', Lisboa: Tribuna da História, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ordenancas 1570 establishments in Portugal 1831 disestablishments in Portugal Military history of Portugal Military units and formations established in 1570 Military units and formations disestablished in 1831 Portuguese Army