Miquelets

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Miquelets in a popular celebration in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain.

The Miquelets (in Spanish: Miqueletes or Migueletes) were irregular local troops in Catalonia, Spain who derived their name, it is said, from Miguel or Miquelot de Prats, a Catalan mercenary captain in the service of Cesare Borgia. They enjoyed a certain prominence in the minor wars of Spain during the 17th and 18th centuries, and in peace seem to have plundered travellers.

In the War of the Spanish Succession, the Miquelets continued the struggle against the French claimant until long after the peace.

During the Peninsular War they were exceedingly successful in harassing the French invaders in the mountains of Catalonia. Sometimes they even attempted operations in large bodies, as in the operations round Girona in 1808 and 1809.

They were maintained by the several parishes, not by the central or the provincial governments, and as they had to turn out for duty on sound of the village alarm-bell they are frequently called somatenes.

[edit] Miquelets in the Americas

Regiments of Miquelets were also integrated in the Spanish army and fought in other places of the Empire, outside Spain. For example, the First Free Company of Volunteers of Catalonia, which was composed of Catalan Miquelets, was destined in New Spain. From there, the Company played a crucial role in the Spanish colonization of the Pacific Northwest, building Fort San Miguel, the first formal European settlement in British Columbia, from 1790 to 1792. Its captain, Pere d'Alberní i Teixidor, reached the higher military decorations and even was appointed Interim Governor of California in 1800.