The Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel concludes a treaty with Great Britain

15 January 1776 saw Margrave Frederick II of Hesse-Kassel sign a treaty with Great Britain, in which he agreed to lease 12,000 soldiers to the island kingdom. The men were to be deployed in North America to prevent the colonies from gaining independence. Decried as “human trafficking” in Enlightenment Germany, many suspected that not all the recruits were volunteers. Despite the criticism, it was not uncommon for 18th-century states to lend out soldiers, and other small German states did so to generate revenue.

By the end of the war, in which the USA gained independence, some 17,000 soldiers from Hesse and other German territories had been sent across the Atlantic, most of whom returned home afterwards. Some 6,500 died or deserted to begin a new life in the New World.