Jerolim Sme？a – colonel in Venetian overseas infantry units (second half of the 18th century)

Sa？etak Fanti Oltramarini, or the overseas infantry units, have for centuries been described as the most appreciated military units of Venetian Republic. The inhabitants of the wider area of the eastern Adriatic coast formed the majority in these units, ranging from soldiers to the highest officer ranks. In this paper, based on the study of the material kept at the Archivio di Stato di Venezia and the State Archives in Zadar, the military career of Jerolim Sme？a from Boka stands in the very focus of research. The paper follows Sme？a’s way from cadet and ensign in the 1740s, over yearlong service as captain and major in infantry regiments of Benedikt Paskvali and Nikola Scutari, to the final years of the 18th century, when Sme？a obtained the rank of colonel. The paper pays special attention to the composition of companies in Sme？a’s command in individual stages of his career, and ends with transcripts of some of the lists of Sme？a’s military manpower in the period between 1765 and 1794