An academic battalion () is a type of

military unit Military organization ( AE) or military organisation ( BE) is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hiera ...

formed by university students and lecturers, in the scope of the histories of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The first of such units was formed in 1808, within the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

, to fight the French invaders, during 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 ...

. This original academic battalion would inspire the creation of latter similar units, both in

and in

List of historical academic battalions

# Academic Battalion of the University of Coimbra (known as the "Academic Battalion of 1808") – formed in 1808 with teachers and professors of the University of Coimbra. It participated in several military operations of the Peninsular War; # Academic Volunteers Battalion – formed in 1826 in Coimbra, to support the Liberal forces that were fighting the absolutists; # Academic Battalion (known as the "Academic Battalion of 1828") – formed in Coimbra in 1828, in the scope of the

Liberal Wars The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War () and the War of the Two Brothers () was a civil war in Portugal that lasted from May 1828 to May 1834, fought between liberal progressive constitutionalists (led by former King P ...

(1828–1834). It fought on the side of the Liberal army against the Miguelites; # Academic Battalion (known as the "Academic Battalion of 1846") – formed in 1846, in the scope of the Portuguese civil conflicts known as the

Patuleia

The Patuleia, Guerra da Patuleia, or Little Civil War was a civil w ...

. It supported the Septembrists against the Cartists led by the Duke of Saldanha; # Academic Battalion (known as the "Academic Battalion of the Paraguayan War") – formed in Brazil in the scope of the

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It wa ...

, being integrated in the corps of Fatherland Volunteers (''Voluntários da Pátria''); # Academic Battalion (known as the "Academic Battalion of the Revolta da Armada") – formed in Brazil in the scope of the

Revolta da Armada The Brazilian Naval Revolts, or the Revoltas da Armada (in Portuguese), were armed mutiny, mutinies promoted mainly by admirals Custódio José de Melo and Saldanha da Gama and their fleet of rebel Brazilian navy ships against the claimed unco ...

(Naval revolt); # Academic battalions – three academic battalions formed, respectively, in Lisbon, Coimbra and Oporto, in 1919, in the scope of the Monarchic Revolution and civil conflict that led to the establishment of the

Monarchy of the North The Monarchy of the North (), officially the Kingdom of Portugal (), was a short-lived counter-revolution against the First Portuguese Republic and a monarchist government that was established in Northern Portugal in early 1919. It was based i ...

. The academic battalions of Lisbon and Coimbra aligned on the Republican side, while the battalion of Oporto aligned on the Monarchic side.

References

* FONSECA, Borges da. Batalhão Académico de 1808. ''Jornal do Exército'', Ano XLIX, n. 575, Jul 2008. p. 28. * SERRÃO, Joel. ''Dicionário de História de Portugal (4 vol.)''. Lisboa: Iniciativas Editoriais. Vol. I, p. 316. Military history of Portugal Military history of Brazil Portuguese Army Military units and formations established in 1808 {{Brazil-mil-stub