The ''ordenanças'' () were a type of

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

unit which existed in the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

between the 16th and 19th centuries. By the 17th century, the ''ordenanças'' had become the ''de facto''

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 ...

and

military reserve force A military reserve force is a military organization whose members (reservists) have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional ma ...

of the

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...

. The last ''ordenanças'' units were disbanded in 1831.

History

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

Sebastian of Portugal Sebastian ( ; 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 his wife, Joanna of Aus ...

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 recipient of these grants was called a (donatary), because he had been given the grant as a (donat ...

(''capitão-mor''), appointed by the respective municipal council or, in towns where an 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 Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

('' alferes''), a

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

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

scrivener A scrivener (or scribe) was a person who, before the advent of compulsory education, could literacy, read and write or who wrote letters as well as court and legal documents. Scriveners were people who made their living by writing or copying w ...

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

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

(''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 '' terços'' 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 Restoration War (), historically known as the Acclamation War (''Guerra da Aclamação''), was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a forma ...

(1640-1668). In addition,

units Unit may refer to: General measurement * Unit of measurement, a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law **International System of Units (SI), modern form of the metric system **English units, histo ...

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

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army () is the land component of the Portuguese Armed Forces, 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 ...

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

and reserve for the

conscription Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

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 word – meaning a type of flintlock musket – the term has been used in cont ...

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 Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

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 (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

, 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, c ...

, including being responsible for manning most of its

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

. 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 Militias in Europe