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Militia (Great Britain)

The British Militia was the principal military reserve force of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Militia units were repeatedly raised in Great Britain during the Georgian era for internal security duties and to defend against external invasions. The Militia Act 1757, passed by the Parliament of Great Britain after the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, led to the rapid expansion of the British Militia in order to defend from potential French invasions. In the Kingdom of Ireland, a client state of Great Britain, the equivalent force was the Irish Militia, which saw heavy service in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 alongside British militia units. The existence of militia units in Great Britain and Ireland played an important role in freeing regular troops from the British and Irish establishments for overseas service.

Background[edit]

Following the restoration of Charles II in 1660, Parliament passed several acts empowering the lord-lieutenant of each county to appoint officers and raise men for the English Militia. Although the king commanded the forces, they were not centrally funded. The burden of supplying men and equipment fell on property owners, in proportion to their income from land or their property value. The militia could be called out for local police actions, to keep the peace, and in the event of a national emergency. It played a role in coastal defence during the second and third Anglo-Dutch Wars between 1665 and 1674, and contributed to the defeat of the Duke of Monmouth in 1685.

Cookson, J. E. The British armed nation 1793–1815. Oxford, 1997.

Fortescue, J. W. The county lieutenancies and the army, 1803–1814. London, 1909.

Gee, Austin. The British volunteer movement 1794–1814. Oxford, 2003.

Knight, Roger. Britain against Napoleon: the organization of victory 1793–1815. London, 2014.

Western, J. R. The English militia in the eighteenth century: the story of a political issue 1660–1802. London, 1965.

McAnally, Sir Henry William Watson (1949). . Clonmore and Reynolds.

The Irish Militia, 1793-1816: A Social and Military Study

Bartlett, Thomas; Jeffery, Keith (9 October 1997). . Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-62989-8.

A Military History of Ireland

Nelson, Ivan F. (2007). . Dublin: Four Courts Press. ISBN 978-1-84682-037-3.

The Irish Militia, 1793-1802: Ireland's Forgotten Army

Reid, Stuart (20 September 2011). . Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-939-5.

Armies of the Irish Rebellion 1798

Garnham, Neal (2012). . Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-724-4.

The Militia in Eighteenth-century Ireland: In Defence of the Protestant Interest

Royal Alderney Militia

Royal Guernsey Militia

Royal Militia of the Island of Jersey

Royal Sark Militia

Fencibles

British Volunteer Corps

Militia (British Dominions and Crown Colonies)

Militia (United Kingdom)

Yeomanry Cavalry

Regiments of the British West Indies and Bermuda