USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -mercenary, hired professional soldier who fights for any state or nation without regard to political interests or issues. From the earliest days of organized warfare until the development of political standing armies in the mid-17th century, governments frequently supplemented their military forces with mercenaries.

Detailed explanation-2: -A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military.

Detailed explanation-3: -A “mercenary” is a person who takes a direct part in hostilities motivated essentially by the desire for private gain. ⇒ A captured mercenary is not a prisoner of war. Article 47 of Additional Protocol I spells out six cumulative conditions for a person to be a mercenary.

Detailed explanation-4: -A free company (sometimes called a great company or grande compagnie) was an army of mercenaries between the 12th and 14th centuries recruited by private employers during wars. They acted independently of any government, and were thus “free".