Editing Cantabria (section)

===19th century===
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2015}}
[[File:Estatua de Pedro Velarde - Santander.jpg|thumb|200px|A statue in Santander erected in honor of Cantabrian artillery captain [[Pedro Velarde y Santillán]], hero of the [[Peninsular War|Spanish war of independence]], who died 2 May 1808, during the uprising against the French occupation of Madrid.]]
During the [[Peninsular War|War of Independence]] (1808–1814), Bishop Rafael Tomás Menéndez de Luarca, a strong defender of absolutism, promoted himself as the "Regent of Cantabria" and established the ''Cantabrian Armaments'' in Santander, a section of the army whose purpose was to travel to all the mountain passes from the Central Plateau to detain any French troop.

Although defeated, he managed later to regroup in Liébana under the command of General Juan Díaz Porlier, calling his forces the ''Cantabrian Division'', in which there were various regiments and battalions, such as the ''[[Hussar]]s of Cantabria'' ([[cavalry]]) or the ''Shooters of Cantabria'' ([[infantry]]). During the [[First Carlist War|Carlist wars]] they formed a unit called the ''Cantabrian Brigade''.