INTERVIEW WITH A PIKEMAN

1. Why Tercios were created?                                                                                                  They were created by Charles V in order to establish security in Npales, Milan and Sicilia. Many foreign forces were trying to get some of this territories, as it was in the case of France.
2. Are there different divisions within the Tercios?                                                                      Yes there are. The first Tercios were three, and there were created in Italy as I said before. Later, new Tercios borned to protect the continually expanding territories of the Spanish kingdom.
3. Which division do you belong to?                                                                                           I belong to the Flanders Tercio, which was one of those Tercios that were creatde later than the Italian ones. My job was, basically, defend this foreign lands (dominated by Spain) from possible invaders and keep security high.
4. There are many ways to earn a living. Why did you choose this one?                                 Well, I´m not the most clever person in the world, not even the most talented one to carry out the typical job (agriculture, wool, craftmen), but one day, I felt that I could be useful to my King drawing the sword, and that´s what I did. Being part of the Tercios offers you a certain degree of honor and you can live in a relatively comfortable way with the money your earn with your service. The only fault I can find is that you can die almost in every instant.
5. Tell us about the tactics you usually use in the battles.                                                       First of all, the muskets started the war, over one hundred meters away from the enemy.
   Then, harquebuses fired when the opposite army was nearer. And finally it was our turn, the turn of the pike mans, who were organized in a square formation.
6. Which is your role in the battle?                                                                                       I was a pike man, as well as most of the people that worked in the Tercios. We put our pikes pointing the outside of the square, so the enemy army couldn’t get closer to us. Furthermore, next to us, there were situated what we called “mangas”, that were groups of soldiers with fire arms that helped us during the battle.
7. Which word would you use to explain how is it possible to win so many battles?       Loyalty or faith. Loyalty, because we are moved by a deep love and respect towards our king and drives us to the victory; and faith, because without our faith in God and also in every partner we have in the battle, winning so much would be imposible
8. Did you usually were a specific uniform in the battle?                                                    We didn’t use any uniform, each person wore what he wanted or could afford; however, all of us had to wear a red ribbon tied to our wrists
9. What other type of soldiers fought in the battles?                                                                                         The musketeers,  harquebuses, pikemans and mangas.
10. Do you think Tercios will be useful in a distant future?                                                                               Yes I do, I think Tercios will be useful while we continue to keep our faith in each other, in the King and in God.