How come there were white, European mercenaries in Central Africa during the 1960s?

Question

I have heard of mercenaries such as Mad Mike, who operated in the Congo and related parts of Africa throughout the 50s-70s.

Who employed these mercenaries, why were they in Africa at all, who were they fighting and did their actions achieve anything? Why were not regular armies used instead of hired guns? From the perspective of western Europe were these mercenaries 'good' or 'bad' guys (in simple terms of public opinion), and did teir actions have any impact upon the old colonial powers of the UK/ Belgium etc?

I am just intrigued as to why small bands of (mainly white European) disillusioned WW2 veterans were floating around the Godforsaken jungle!

Thanks

Answer 1

Many of those mercenaries were professional warriors from countries such as Ireland or Germany who, lacking wars to fight, hired themselves out for money where they were needed. Some had preferences as to who or what they fought for, while others fought for anyone who would pay them.

Others were men of European ancestry who had grown up in Africa but been dispossessed by many independence movements who considered all whites as interlopers. Having lost everything in Africa and having nowhere else to go, they chose to fight in the hope of installing moderate governments who would recognize them as Africans and allow them to continue living there. They were mostly paid by private organizations who feared the outcome of a country being taken over by people with little or no education and/or extreme ideologies.

As far as whether these people were "good" or "bad" is purely a matter of opinion. As someone who spent several years in Africa as a young girl I heard of horrible atrocities committed against missionaries, nuns and white residents of countries such as the Congo for whom white mercenaries were their salvation.

Many countries including the USA and UK do not permit their citizens to be employed as mercenaries by others and those caught doing so may be severely punished.

However, throughout history there have been mercenaries and in many major wars they have played a major role. Both sides in the American revolution employed mercenaries, as did most of the European powers during the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of the smaller German princes kept armies which they hired out in their entirety in order to earn income for their realms.

Answer 2

The short answer is: 1. Greed; 2. Boredom; 3. Military Experience; and 4. (sometimes) Racial Hatred.

Some saw mercenary service as a way to make money with their abilities. Some were "adrenaline junkies" dissatisfied with their lives after demobilization. Some were sought out by colonial and anti-colonial interests and offered work. Some despised the idea of the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and Portugal losing their empires to black natives. Some just enjoyed killing and not being imprisoned for it.

Quite a lot of them were not the good guys, but some must have felt they were doing something for the good of their countries, the world, or the African states in which they fought.

Answer 3

They were paid by the guys with money. They were well-trained in tactics and they were able to command local forces who still had a post-colonial idea that 'whites' were somehow 'better'.
I doubt that they were World War II veterans. Possibly Korea, Aden, Cyprus, Algeria.

Answer 4

mercenaries are usually hired by the government or business interest groups on the sly to protect their interests. if its africa they probably wanted to steal mineral rights. regular army cannot do stuff that may be illegal as they are tied to governments that should be restricted by laws and treaties. cant tell you about the rest im afraid.

Answer 5

It was all about money!

http://unimaps.com/congo-crisis/index.html

Money and Power is the leading cause of all wars !

Answer 6

They were well paid for killing black people. They were employed by other black people.