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This is coolbert:

The occupation of mercenary is something that seems to have gone the way of the proverbial dodo [extinct].

With the exception of a South African organization called "Executive Outcomes", this "trade" is seemingly no longer practiced. Read about Executive Outcomes by clicking here.

In modern times, mercenaries were last employed in numbers during the 1960's.

Various conflicts in Africa saw mercenaries involved, mostly white Europeans [few if any Americans], fighting for newly formed African governments that came to power in former colonies that had just won their independence.

Such a place was the Congo.

Various governments in the Congo were just so incompetent and corrupt they were unable to form an effective army to hold their country together.

The solution was to import mercenaries, who formed effective fighting forces to quell rebellions and bring peace. Charismatic leaders such as Colonel Mike Hoare [British], and Colonel Bob Denard [French], led mercenary contingents that were the answer to the woes of different Congolese governments.

Several decades ago now, the entire concept of mercenary came into such disrepute that the International Red Cross, at the behest of African governments, decided to rule that mercenaries, if captured, would no longer be given protection as prisoners-of-war.

This was in response to a contingent of mercenaries involved in the fighting between the communist government of Angola, the rival rebel factions in the same country, and the foreign influences that dabbled and more than dabbled in the internal politics of Angolan affairs. [read here Cuba, Soviet Union, U.S., and South Africa].

A small group of mercenaries were captured by the Angolan government, tried, and executed. After this incident, mercenaries seem to have become as rare as hen's teeth world-wide.

Historically, mercenaries have not been so reviled or held in contempt. In some instances, mercenaries have been highly prized and sought out.

During the heyday [1500's and 1600's] of the Asian spice trade, Portuguese mercenaries were all the rage among the local rulers of the Indian Ocean region. These Portuguese military men, mostly artillerymen and cannoneers, were employed by the shahs, rajahs, and kings who needed the expertise of such men, an expertise of which could not be obtained locally [merely purchasing cannon and artillery from the European "powers" was not enough. You needed men to train the locals in the use of such weaponry and employ the "European" cannons with effectiveness].

In many cases these Portuguese mercenaries made new lives for themselves among the locals, marrying local women who would be willing to convert to Catholicism. A Portuguese mercenary could lead a style of live and be esteemed and respected in a manner he could not be in Portugal. This became a win-win situation for all involved.

To this day, four hundred years after the heyday of the spice trade, the descendants of those original Portuguese mercenaries are still doing well.

On the island of Sri Lanka [Ceylon], these descendants form a unique part of the population [1 % of the population], called "burghers" [townspeople]. Very influential in governmental circles, still practicing Catholicism, and as may be expected, very active in the military, holding high rank in many cases. These are persons with last names such as Da Souza and Da Silva. Another such person would be the most recent Indian Minister of Defense, a man named George Hernandez.

The old tradition lives on to this day!!

[I have also been told by an informant that the area in Malaysia around Malacca is also an area where a lot of people of Portuguese descent are found!! This does sound reasonable, as the fort of Malacca was a stronghold of Portuguese domination for several centuries].

coolbert.