History

The Medal of Suffering for the Homeland was originally instituted by King Ferdinand VII as the Medal for Military Prisoners on November 6, 1814. It was founded in recognition of the members of the Spanish Army who were imprisoned by the French Army during the Peninsular War between 1808 and 1814. In 1815, the Medal was extended to recognize the civilians who suffered the same abuse. It is known that around 50000 Spaniards were deported from France after the end of the War.

In 1842, the name of the Medal was changed to its current name, that also is the motto of the Medal, Suffering for the Homeland Medal.

The composition of the Medal denotes the rank of the recipient. The Gold Medal was conferred upon General and Officer, while the Silver Medal was awarded to the troops and NCOs. The successive concessions were denote by a clasp with the date and name of the issue.

This Medal was issued to the prisoners during the First Carlist War (1833-1839) in 1839, to the prisoners during the Second Carlist War (1848-1849) in 1848, and to the prisoners during the Third Carlist War (1872-1875) in 1875. In 1860, the Medal was issued to the prisoners of the African Campaign, and in 1900, to the prisoners during the Philippine War against to US Army.

In 1918, the Medal was extended to reward the military personnel seriously wounded in battle or prison. In 1927, it was extended to be awarded to the family of the soldiers deceased in battle or prison. In 1940, it was extended to other categories that were recognize by the feature of the ribbon.

The Medal was derogated by the Second Republic in 1931, but it was re-instituted in 1937. The Medal between 1931-1937 featured a completely different design; see the Spanish Second Republic Medals, Medal of Suffering for the Homeland for more information.

The regulations of the Medal were modified again in the years 1941 and 1975, and it was finally abolished by decree on July 19, 1989.

It is known several versions of this Medal that differ in composition, design, and size. The Medal can be manufactured in one, two, three, or more pieces. The most common design is a roundish medal. The Medal features a plain reverse.

Since 1940, the ribbon features included:

Red satire cross, yellow ribbon and clasp for wounded men by enemy fire
Yellow ribbon with clasp for wounded men in campaign
Black ribbon with clasp for the closed relatives of who have died in combat
Orange ribbon with clasp for the war prisoner
Blue ribbon for war prisoners in red zone
The ribbon with the color of the Spain flag for the foreigners

Since 1975, the ribbon color also included:

Green ribbon for wounded men in time of peace

This Medal is one of the oldest medals in Spain, and it has been awarded in almost all internal and external conflicts since 1814. In MB, versions of this Medal have been classified in all consecutive Spanish Medals folders until Franco's period.

The first version of this Medal (1814) was authorized with two classes; the Gold Medal with enamel was conferred upon Generals and Officers, while the Silver Medal without enamel was awarded to the troops. In both cases, the Medal was awarded with a yellow ribbon with green edges.