Compagnies Franches de la Marine

Compagnies Franches de la Marine
Compagnies Franches de la Marine
Active	1673-1761
Country	Kingdom of France
Type	Army
Role	The defense of overseas colonies, particularly New France, Louisbourg, and other North American territories.
Garrison/HQ	France and throughout French colonies.

Not to be confused with Troupes de marine

The Compagnies Franches de la Marine (previously known as Troupes de la marine) were independent companies of the navy and colonial regulars, were under the authority of the French Minister of Marine, who was also responsible for the French navy, overseas trade, and French colonies.

In New France, they were the only regular soldiers from 1685 to 1755, when several army battalions were dispatched to North America. The Naval Department of France began using the Compagnies to defend the fur trade and the local civilians from raiding Iroquois They were superseded by the arrival of large units of the army under Montcalm in 1756. The Compagnies ceased to exist in Canada after the fall of Montreal in 1760.

In 1992 the Canadian Forces Naval Reserve revived the Compagnies as a historical re-enactment unit which has toured the country.

In 1622, Cardinal Richelieu ordered the creation of Compagnies Ordinaires de la Mer. Their role was to protect French warships harbored in the different ports of the Kingdom of France. In 1626, the Compagnies Ordinaires de la Mer were unified to form the regiment of La Marine. In 1669, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, minister of la Marine, created two new regiments for the service of La Marine: The "Royal-Marine" and the "Amiral". Each consisted of twenty companies of 100 men. In 1683, three companies of Troupes de la Marine were sent to Québec to contain the Iroquois who were constantly raiding French settlements and blocking commercial routes to the interior of the Canadian colony. By 1690, it became clear that the forces onboard ships were not capable of defending the French colonies, and so another force was created with that specific mission in mind. This force was also called the Compagnies Franches de la Marine.

These troops originally were recruited from the French mainland from among males sixteen years and older who were at least 5'5" tall. Starting in 1685, Canadian nobility was sent to France to attain a military or naval education and become officers. However, throughout their history the Compagnies often did not have their full complement of soldiers, something the colonial leadership complained about to the leadership in mainland France. This was in large part due to the problems of recruitment of soldiers to Canada. The climate, and constant fighting with Iroquois, scared many French from signing up. Another factor was that the French custom of having to ask for the consent of soldier to be sent to a region, which led many to refuse to go to Canada, and the French even resorting to send petty criminals to serve the Compagnies Franche de la Marine Even under-strength, they served to defend the major towns of the colony, and had detachments scattered across the small fur trading posts that were so important to the economy.