Since the early 16th Century, the Irish, who were predominantly Catholics were suffering horrific injustices at the hands of their English overlords and authorities who were Protestant [REF].
Among these "Wild Geese" was Alejandro O'Reilly, an Inspector-General of Infantry for the Spanish Empire who as a military reformer who became known as "The Father of the Puerto Rican Colonial Militia" with the assistance of another Irishman, Colonel Tomas O'Daly.