Mercenary facts for kids
Mercenaries are soldiers who fight mainly for money. They do not fight for their country or for their political beliefs. They are different from regular soldiers who serve their nation.
Contents
Mercenaries Through History
Mercenaries have been around for a very long time. They are even mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. For example, King David had a special group of bodyguards who were mercenaries from Crete and Philistia.
The Carthaginians, an ancient people, often used mercenaries in their armies. In the Middle Ages, there were groups called "Free Companies." These were mercenary groups made up of knights and archers who fought for whoever paid them. In Japan, the ronin were samurai warriors who became mercenaries after losing their masters.
For many years, soldiers from Switzerland were famous mercenaries. They fought battles for different countries that hired them. Even the popes would hire Swiss soldiers to protect them. Today, the Swiss Guard is a small group of soldiers who protect the Pope. While they carry on a tradition, they are not true mercenaries. They are all Catholic and fight for their beliefs, not just for money.
Modern Soldiers vs. Mercenaries
Soldiers in professional volunteer armies, like the US Army, are not considered mercenaries. They fight for their country and are loyal to it. Also, foreign volunteers who join a country's regular army, such as the French Foreign Legion, are not mercenaries. They become loyal to the country they serve.
However, some people who work for private military contractors are sometimes called mercenaries. These groups offer military services for hire. They often have a bad reputation among regular soldiers.
In 2004, a man named Sir Mark Thatcher was involved in an event linked to mercenaries. These mercenaries tried to take over the country of Equatorial Guinea. Thatcher, whose mother was a former Prime Minister, was fined because he gave funds to the leaders of this group. He was not involved in planning the actual fighting.
Why Mercenaries Have a Bad Reputation
Mercenaries often have a poor reputation. This is because they are sometimes seen as unreliable. They fight only for pay, which can make them less loyal than soldiers fighting for a cause.
The Geneva Conventions are international rules about how people should be treated during war. These rules say that if mercenaries are caught, they can be treated differently from regular soldiers. They might not get the same protections as soldiers who are fighting for their country.
Images for kids
-
A private military contractor in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan, 2006.
-
A Turkish mercenary serving the Byzantine Empire around 1436.
-
Landsknechte, German mercenary soldiers, in an etching by Daniel Hopfer, around 1530.
-
A peasant asks a mercenary for mercy as his farm burns during the Thirty Years' War.
-
Scottish Highlander mercenaries, also called Redshanks, fighting for Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in 1631.
-
A Foreign Legionnaire during the French conquest of Algeria.
-
Frederick Russell Burnham in Africa.
-
White mercenaries fighting alongside Congolese troops in 1964.
See also
In Spanish: Mercenario para niños
