Private army

A private army (or private military) is a military or paramilitary force consisting of armed combatants who owe their allegiance to a private person, group, or organization, rather than a nation or state.[1]

History

Private armies may form when landowners arm household retainers for the protection of self and property in times of strife, and where and when central government is weak.[2] Such private armies existed for example in the Roman Empire following the collapse of central authority. The dynamics at play in such circumstances can be observed in modern-day Colombia: on the one hand there are those forces affiliated with the drug cartels, existing to protect their criminality, and on the other those of the landlords created to resist kidnappings and extortion, i.e. Muerte a Secuestradores and the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia.

In many places these private household retainers evolved into feudal-like structures, formalising obligations and allegiances and becoming household troops, and in some cases gaining the strength to allow them to usurp power from their nominal suzerain or to create new sovereign states.

Private armies may also form when co-religionists band together to defend themselves from real and perceived persecution and to further their creed, for example the Hussites, the Mormon Nauvoo Legion and the Mahdi Army in Iraq; because of their nature, such militias are formed by or fall under the influence of charismatic leaders, and can become instruments of personal ambition.

Examples

East Asia

Sōhei: the warrior monks of Japan owed their loyalty not to the state or even the Emperor but to their monasteries.
The Presidency armies of the British East India Company, and the armed forces of the Dutch East India Company. Both possessed powerful armies and navies, administering areas many times the size of their homelands.
The militaries of the Indian princely states, during the British Raj, which were mainly for ceremonial duties, protection of their princes, and internal security within their states.
Chinese Junfas during the Warlord Era following the death of Yuan Shikai in 1916.
The Royal Johor Military Force of the state of Johor and the private royal guard of Sultan of Johor in Malaysia.

Europe

Victual Brothers, a pirate brotherhood that for a time became a power in the Baltic.
Atholl Highlanders, a purely ceremonial group which claims to be the only private army in Europe.[3]
German Freikorps after the First World War were usually only loyal to their commanders, and not to the Weimar Republic.

Russia and Caucasus

The Kadyrovtsy in Chechnya under President Ramzan Kadyrov.
The Russian Wagner Group has been accused of being the private army of Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Americas

The Mongoose Gang was a private army or militia which operated from 1967 to 1979 under the control of Sir Eric Gairy, the Premier and later Prime Minister of Grenada.

References

"Britain is the world centre for private military contractors – and it's almost impossible to find out what they're up to". openDemocracy.
"Mercenaries and War: Understanding Private Armies Today". National Defense University Press.
"The Duke of Atholl". The Daily Telegraph. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.

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[1] "Britain is the world centre for private military contractors – and it's almost impossible to find out what they're up to". openDemocracy.

[2] "Mercenaries and War: Understanding Private Armies Today". National Defense University Press.

[11thDuke-3] "The Duke of Atholl". The Daily Telegraph. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.