Enlistment Act 1794
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An act to enable subjects of France to enlist as soldiers in regiments to serve on the continent of Europe, and in certain other places; and to enable his Majesty to grant commissions to subjects of France, to serve and receive pay as officers in such regiments, or as engineers under certain conditions |
|---|---|
| Citation | 34 Geo. 3 c. 43 |
| Introduced by | William Pitt the Younger |
| Territorial extent | Great Britain |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 9 May 1794 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Enlistment Act 1794 (also known as the Emigrant Corps Bill or Act) allowed the British government to create regiments of émigrés from France. This specific legislation was needed to enlist men who were not British subjects in the British Army and to allow George III to commissions foreigners as officers. The Act was a major break from the military conventions about enlisting soldiers from other states in the Eighteenth Century.[1]
Background and Need for the Act
As the French officers of these units were Catholic, they needed exemptions from British laws against Catholics. Also, throughout the Eighteenth Century, many British MPs has been hostile to employing foreign troops within the British Army.[2]
Notes
- ^ Linch, Kevin (2012). "The Politics of Foreign Recruitment in Britain during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars". In Arielli, Nir; Collins, Bruce (eds.). Transnational Soldiers: Foreign Military Enlistment in the Modern Era. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 59–60. doi:10.1057/9781137296634_4. ISBN 9780230319684.
- ^ Clode, Charles Mathew (1869). The military forces of the crown: their administration and government. Vol. 2. London: J. Murray. pp. 432–436.