La Batalla de los Arapiles - Facts

 

This book is about the Battle of the Arapiles near Salamanca. The Battle of Salamanca (in Spanish known as the Battle of the Arapiles) took place on 22 July 1812. An Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles, south of Salamanca, during the Peninsular War.

Arapiles refers to two hills. Los Arapiles Grande and Chico are two hills  located south of Salamanca. They are famous for being the key setting of the Battle of Salamanca (July 22, 1812) during the Peninsular War. Wellington defeated Marmont's French troops here, marking a decisive turning point in the conflict.

As Amaranta wants to find her daughter, she goes to see the king, Jose I (Pepe Botella). Joseph Bonaparte (7 January 1768 – 28 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1806, Napoleon made him King of Naples, and then King of Spain and the Indies in 1808. 

Amaranta mentions Queen Julia in her letters. Marie Julie Clary (26 December 1771 – 7 April 1845), also known as Julie Bonaparte, was Queen of Naples, then of Spain and the Indies, as the wife of Joseph Bonaparte, who was King of Naples from January 1806 to June 1808, and later King of Spain and the Spanish West Indies from 25 June 1808 to June 1813.

Amaranta mentions that Moratin was made royal librarian. Leandro Fernández de Moratín ORE (10 March 1760 – 21 June 1828) was a Spanish dramatist, translator and neoclassical poet. A supporter of Joseph Bonaparte, whose rule had allowed far more expression of liberal thinking than Spain's Bourbon monarch Carlos IV was willing to tolerate, Moratín was given the post of royal librarian.

In her letters to Gabriel Amaranta tells him that Maiquel is still at the Theatre of the Price. Isidoro Máiquez (Cartagena, March 17, 1768 – Granada, March 18, 1820) was a Spanish actor spanning the 18th and 19th centuries, considered one of the greatest of his time. At the outbreak of the Peninsular War, Máiquez—who had participated in the May 2nd uprising—was exiled to France as a state prisoner; however, Joseph Bonaparte revoked the order, allowed him to return to Spain, and granted him a pension of 24,000 reales.

When Gabriel first appears, he is in Fuenteguinaldo. Fuenteguinaldo is a village and large municipality in the province of Salamanca. It is located 111 kilometres from the provincial capital city of Salamanca and has a population of 860 people.

Gabriel returns to the army at the order of Carlos de España. Carlos de España, (15 August 1775 – 1839), also known as Charles d'Espagnac or, from 1817, Carlos d'Espagne, was a French-born Spanish general who saw distinguished service in the Peninsular War, and as governor of Barcelona, was an opponent of Spanish liberals. In his letters and dispatches, Wellington refers to him as Carlos de España.

His right-hand man was Julián Sánchez. Julián Sánchez García, nicknamed "el Charro" (Muñoz, Salamanca; baptized June 3, 1774 – Etreros, Segovia; October 18, 1832), was a Spanish guerrilla fighter and military officer, widely known for his participation in the Spanish War of Independence.

Marmont was the French general. Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont (20 July 1774 – 22 March 1852) was a French general and nobleman who rose to the rank of Marshal of the Empire and was awarded the title Duke of Ragusa. In the Peninsular War, Marmont succeeded the disgraced André Masséna as commander of the French army in northern Spain but lost decisively at the Battle of Salamanca as France ultimately lost the war in Spain.

Gabriel is in direct contact with Arthur Wellesley, Lord Wellington. Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was a British Army officer and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in Britain during the early 19th century. He routed the French at the Battle of Salamanca, taking advantage of a minor French mispositioning. The victory liberated the Spanish capital of Madrid. He was later made Marquess of Wellington, in the said county on 18 August 1812.

Another man was Geneal Leith. Lieutenant-General Sir James Leith GCB (8 August 1763 – 16 October 1816) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who commanded the 5th Division in the Duke of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army at several critical battles during the Peninsular War between 1810 and 1813.