The Other Side of Naval Professionalization: Retirement System in Spanish Naval Officer Corps (1717-1830)

Authors

  • Pablo Ortega-del-Cerro Universidad de Murcia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v9i18.629

Keywords:

retirement, professionalization, naval officers, 18th century

Abstract

This article focuses on the creation and development of the retirement system for Spanish naval officers from the beginning of the 18th century until the first third of the 19th century. The modern concept of retirement -as a synonym for pension or permanent cessation of professional activity with a stable economic remuneration due to advanced age or physical disability- is considered here as an essential part of the professionalization process that took place in European naval officer corps, even though it was in fact one of the latest and most tentative aspects introduced. Apart from training, education, restructuring and technification, the culmination of the professionalization process of this military group went hand in hand with the guarantee of certain economic security for officers in case of not being able to fulfil the obligations of their service because of health reasons. This work is divided into three main sections. The first one focuses on the debate about the concept of retirement, where some comparative notes between the Spanish Armada and its European counterparts will be offered. The second section revolves around the early forms of retirement within the Armada and culminates by analysing the Reglamento 1787, which constitutes a turning point since it includes for the first time the modern concept of retirement. The third section is centred on analyzing the implementation of this model and the fluctuations that occurred during the first third of the 19th century. Finally, the Reglamento 1828, in which the retirement system within the naval officiality is definitively consolidated through a fairly modern concept of pensions, will be analyzed. The overall analysis stems from the synthesis of numerous administrative sources: the Naval Museum Archive, the General Archive of Simancas (AGS) and the General Archive of the Navy (AGM) plus a wide range of regulations and legal texts.

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Author Biography

Pablo Ortega-del-Cerro, Universidad de Murcia

Pablo Ortega-del-Cerro. Investigador postdoctoral Juan de la Cierva en el Instituto de Historia del CSIC. Doctor en Historia (Mención Internacional, Premio Extraordinario), Master en Historia Social, Graduado en Sociología (UNED, Premio Extraordinario) y Licenciado en Historia (Universidad de Murcia, Premio Extraordinario). Su investigación se ha centrado en los procesos de cambio de la sociedad española a lo largo de los siglos XVIII y XIX a través del estudio del grupo de oficiales de la Armada. Es autor de El devenir de la élite naval (Sílex, 2018). Ha publicado una veintena de artículo en revistas nacionales e internacionales. Ha hecho estancias de investigación en la Universidad de Cambridge, Urbino y Lisboa. Ha sido Investigador Postdoctoral (Fundación Séneca) en la Instituto de Ciencias Sociales de Lisboa.

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Published

2020-06-08

How to Cite

Ortega-del-Cerro, P. (2020). The Other Side of Naval Professionalization: Retirement System in Spanish Naval Officer Corps (1717-1830). Revista Universitaria De Historia Militar, 9(18), 221–245. https://doi.org/10.53351/ruhm.v9i18.629

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 18 (2020): La figura del prisionero de guerra en la Edad Moderna: fuentes, percepciones, vivencias y sociabilidad

Section

Estudios

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Copyright (c) 2020 Pablo Ortega-del-Cerro

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