Militia (British Empire)

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The Militia of the British Dominions, Self-Governing Colonies, and Crown Colonies were the principal military forces of the

The English had raised militia forces in their colonies in the New World immediately upon establishing them in the first decade of the 17th century. Whereas militias in England remained little used, outside the period of the English Civil Wars, during the following century, those in the North American colonies were to play significant roles. In many actions fought with Native Americans and European rivals, the militia were the primary English force in the field, as professional full-time military forces were usually far away. Even when the English colonies around the world became the British Empire, and regular forces began to become available for garrison duty, militias were still a vital part of Great Britain's military power in the Americas, and British victory over Spain and France during the Seven Years' War, and its resulting hegemony in North America, could not have been realised without the colonial militias and their Native allies. It was the presence of their militia that allowed the thirteen American colonies to launch the secessionist American War of Independence.^{[citation needed]}

Australasia

The colonies of Australia did not have militia, nor officially did New Zealand.

In 1843 a local militia that had been formed in Wellington without official sanction^[1] was immediately disbanded.^{[2][citation needed]}

Bermuda

In the Somers Isles, or

Enslaved Bermudians continued to serve in the colonial militia, however, which was to lead a unique judgment on their rights as British subjects. By the 18th century, virtually all Bermudian men were engaged in the maritime trades, including building and crewing ships. The colony's dependence on its seamen was such that the Royal Navy excluded them from impressment, to which all other seamen in the British Empire were liable. Perennially short of manpower, the crews of Bermuda's merchant fleet (most of which turned to privateering whenever war broke out) were required, by local law, to contain a percentage of black sailors, most of whom were enslaved. British law at the time required that all crewmen of British vessels be British subjects, although the status of the enslaved Bermudan population remained unclear. Following the arrest of a Bermudian vessel by a Royal Navy warship due to its enslaved crewmembers, Bermudian ship owners protested to the courts that their service in the militia meant that Bermuda's slaves should be considered British subjects, and this view was upheld by the courts.^{[citation needed]}

Bermuda's seasonal occupants of the

Militia units in Canada dates back to New France when French units were formed after 1669. The Companies of Canadian Volunteers were raised for the Invasion of Quebec 1775. The Companies of Canadian would become a unit of three companies leading French Canadian troops in 1777 and remained active until 1783.

The British colonial militia units in Canada were most notable during the War of 1812 and remained in use into late 19th Century (last enrollment in 1873) and officially ending in 1950.

References

External links

• Regiments of the British West Indies and Bermuda http://www.cariwave.com/regiments_of_the_british_west_indies_and_bermuda.htm