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Askari
An askari or ascari (from Somali, Swahili, and Arabic عسكري, ʿaskarī, meaning 'soldier' or 'military', also 'police' in Somali) was a local soldier serving in the armies of the European colonial powers in Africa, particularly in the African Great Lakes, Northeast Africa and Central Africa. The word is used in this sense in English, as well as in German, Italian, Urdu, and Portuguese. In French, the word is used only in reference to native troops outside the French colonial empire. The designation is still in occasional use today to informally describe police, gendarmerie and security guards.
During the period of the European colonial empires in Africa, locally recruited soldiers designated as askaris were employed by the Italian, British, Portuguese, German and Belgian colonial armies. They played a crucial role in the conquest of the various colonial possessions, and subsequently served as garrison and internal security forces. During both World Wars, askari units also served outside their colonies of origin, in various parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. In South Africa the term refers to former members of the liberation movements who defected to the Apartheid government security forces.
Askari is a loan word from Persian عسكري ('ʿaskarī') 'soldier'. The Persian word is a derivation from the Middle Persian word lashkar 'army'.
The word lashkar is the root of the word lascar for a South Asian soldier or a person of South Asian origin. Words for '(regular) soldier' derived from these words are found in Azeri, Arabic, Indonesian, Malay, Somali, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu.
In the Belgian Congo, the askaris were organised into a combined military and police force, which was commanded by Belgian officers and both native and white non commissioned officers.
The Imperial British East Africa Company raised units of askaris from among the Swahili people, the Sudanese and Somalis. There was no official uniform, nor standardised weaponry. Many of the askaris campaigned in their native dress. Officers usually wore civilian clothes.
From 1895 the British askaris were organised into a regular, disciplined and uniformed force called the East African Rifles, later forming part of the multi-battalion King's African Rifles. The designation of "askari" was retained for locally recruited troops in the King's African Rifles, smaller military units and police forces in the colonies until the end of colonial rule in Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda during the period 1961–63. After independence, the term Askari continued to be used to refer to soldiers in former British colonies.
The colonial army (Schutztruppe) of the German Empire employed native troops with European officers and NCOs in its colonies. The main concentration of such locally recruited troops was in German East Africa (now Tanzania), formed in 1891 after the transfer of the Wissmanntruppe (raised in 1889 to suppress the Abushiri Revolt) to German imperial control.
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Askari
An askari or ascari (from Somali, Swahili, and Arabic عسكري, ʿaskarī, meaning 'soldier' or 'military', also 'police' in Somali) was a local soldier serving in the armies of the European colonial powers in Africa, particularly in the African Great Lakes, Northeast Africa and Central Africa. The word is used in this sense in English, as well as in German, Italian, Urdu, and Portuguese. In French, the word is used only in reference to native troops outside the French colonial empire. The designation is still in occasional use today to informally describe police, gendarmerie and security guards.
During the period of the European colonial empires in Africa, locally recruited soldiers designated as askaris were employed by the Italian, British, Portuguese, German and Belgian colonial armies. They played a crucial role in the conquest of the various colonial possessions, and subsequently served as garrison and internal security forces. During both World Wars, askari units also served outside their colonies of origin, in various parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. In South Africa the term refers to former members of the liberation movements who defected to the Apartheid government security forces.
Askari is a loan word from Persian عسكري ('ʿaskarī') 'soldier'. The Persian word is a derivation from the Middle Persian word lashkar 'army'.
The word lashkar is the root of the word lascar for a South Asian soldier or a person of South Asian origin. Words for '(regular) soldier' derived from these words are found in Azeri, Arabic, Indonesian, Malay, Somali, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu.
In the Belgian Congo, the askaris were organised into a combined military and police force, which was commanded by Belgian officers and both native and white non commissioned officers.
The Imperial British East Africa Company raised units of askaris from among the Swahili people, the Sudanese and Somalis. There was no official uniform, nor standardised weaponry. Many of the askaris campaigned in their native dress. Officers usually wore civilian clothes.
From 1895 the British askaris were organised into a regular, disciplined and uniformed force called the East African Rifles, later forming part of the multi-battalion King's African Rifles. The designation of "askari" was retained for locally recruited troops in the King's African Rifles, smaller military units and police forces in the colonies until the end of colonial rule in Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda during the period 1961–63. After independence, the term Askari continued to be used to refer to soldiers in former British colonies.
The colonial army (Schutztruppe) of the German Empire employed native troops with European officers and NCOs in its colonies. The main concentration of such locally recruited troops was in German East Africa (now Tanzania), formed in 1891 after the transfer of the Wissmanntruppe (raised in 1889 to suppress the Abushiri Revolt) to German imperial control.