Henry Jones VII said:
I don't really know the stories of Capitan Alatriste, so I have to ask if the character serves under the Catholic Kings, Fernando y Isabel ?
Regrettably, no, their Most Catholic Majesties are nearly a hundred & fifty years dead by the time we catch up with El Capitan. We're in 1632 and a young Phillip IV has ascended the throne amidst The Thirty Years. In other words, the beginning of the end for the Spanish Empire. I haven't finished the last two books available in English, but I think the series edges every so slightly into Charles II's reign before ending.
Iñigo Balboa said:
He was not the most honest or pious of men, but he was courageous. His name was Diego Alatriste y Tenorio, and he had fought in the ranks during the Flemish wars. When I met him he was barely making ends meet in Madrid, hiring himself out for four maravedís in employ of little glory, often as a swordsman for those who had neither the skill nor the daring to settle their own quarrels.
I would encourage you to stop in at your local bookshop. They're bound to have a copy of the first novel at least. Pick it up! Read it! See what you think!
While not a production picture, the above is an encouraging sign. Staging a sword fight on stage or screen is a notoriously difficult thing to believably do. It helps tremendously when an actor knows his mortuary sword from his rapiers, and Aitor Luna spent a couple of months learning how to fight. That's important.
We also got a new teaser focusing on Alatriste and the actress Maria de Castro!
<iframe frameborder="0" width="480" height="270" src="//www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x2bqck5" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2bqck5_alatriste-promo-02_fun" target="_blank">Alatriste Promo 02</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/foromacaesther" target="_blank">foromacaesther</a></i>
And one featuring Father Emile Bocanegra, Head of the Inquisition!
<iframe frameborder="0" width="480" height="270" src="//www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x2bqae5" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2bqae5_alatriste-promo-03_fun" target="_blank">Alatriste Promo 03</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/foromacaesther" target="_blank">foromacaesther</a></i>
Joe Brody said:
...the Battle of the Nile ends with the French fleet sunk by Nelson.
The Battle of the Nile (really Aboukir Bay) was a squadron level engagement consisting of a total of 33 ships. The French van didn't even engage the British owing to a lack of orders and prevailing wind conditions. While nobody is contesting the Royal Navy's success, you're placing far too much emphasis on the importance of the battle for the sole reason that Napoleon and Le Grande Armee d'Orient were unscathed. They were free to proceed at will, and lest you forget, the French had full military and administrative control of Egypt for ~3 years.
Q: When was the last time the French beat the British in a squadron level engagement?
A: Yorktown
I mention this again, because 2015 brings us the 200th Anniversary of Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo. Some 4,000 reenactors have been engaged for the date thus far including 100 cannon and 300 cavalry!
Official website
here.