All roads lead to Salamanca: British combatants’ reflection of a Spanish city in 1808–1812

   Introduction. The conflict in the Iberian Peninsula of 1808-1814, which was a part of the Napoleonic Wars, contributed to the intensification of cross-cultural contacts between British combatants and the civilian population of Spain. Salamanca became one of the places for such interaction between the soldiers of the Wellington army and the Spaniards. The focus of the
article is the reconstruction of the image of Salamanca and its inhabitants in the texts of the British participants in the hostilities on the Iberian Peninsula in 1808–1812.

   Materials and Methods. The study is based on the analysis of letters, diaries and memoirs of British combatants using the imagological method, which makes it possible to refer to the features of the functioning and interpretation of British ideas about Spain, Salamanca, and the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula.

   Analysis. As a result of the study, it was possible to establish that sources of personal origin created by the British soldiers testify to the coexistence of several images of Salamanca. Firstly, we can stress the romanticized image of the university city that became the scene of the action of the novel Gil Blas. The notion of Salamanca as the city of Gil Blas is a persistent cliche found in the texts of British officers. Secondly, in British narratives about Salamanca attention is often focused on the positive qualities of the townspeople who are friendly towards the British and grateful soldiers of the Wellington army for liberating the city from the French. Results. Based on the study we can conclude that several British images of Spain in general and Salamanca in particular function. These images are situational and directly depend on the nature of the relationship established between the British and local residents as well as the behavior of the French army in the occupied territory.

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