The Canton System (german: Kantonsystem or ) or Canton Regulation () was a system of
recruitment
Recruitment is the overall process of identifying, sourcing, screening, shortlisting, and interviewing candidates for jobs (either permanent or temporary) within an organization. Recruitment also is the processes involved in choosing individual ...
used by the
Prussian army
The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.
The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...
between 1733 and 1813. The country was divided into recruiting districts called
cantons
A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...
(), and each canton was the responsibility of a
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
. The system was distinctly Prussian. Every male was from the youngest possible age enrolled in the army, and by 1740 the Prussian army, with a strength of 3.6% of the total population, was proportionately the largest in Europe. The new system replaced coercive recruiting, which in turn replaced the hiring of undependable and expensive mercenary forces. It allowed the army to double from 38,000 to 76,000, making it the fourth largest in Europe, and it linked the local population more closely to the royal government.
Upon his accession in 1713, King
Frederick William I abolished the provincial militias, obligated his soldiers to lifelong service and transferred all responsibility for recruitment from civilian authorities to regimental officers. This system, which remained in place until the introduction of the cantons, occasioned much abuse and even bloodshed. In February and March 1721 the king prohibited coercive recruiting, which only increased the competition between recruiters. On 14 September 1722 he published a "Sharpened Edict against the Flight of Subjects and their Children in Western and Eastern Pomerania" and on 11 November a "Patent, that the Property of those Subjects and Native Children who flee from Fear of Recruitment shall be Confiscated", but the solution to the conflict between the army—which required peasant recruits—and the royal finances—which required the peasants' agrarian labour—was only solved by the self-interest of the regimental commanders. In order to meet their recruitment obligations while following the king's strictures on domestic recruiting, they were forced to seek more recruits abroad. To cover the higher expenses of foreign recruitment, they gradually extended the
furlough
A furlough (; from nl, verlof, "leave of absence") is a temporary leave of employees due to special needs of a company or employer, which may be due to economic conditions of a specific employer or in society as a whole. These furloughs may be s ...
s of those recruits taken from their own estates (commanders were invariably either estate owners—
Junker
Junker ( da, Junker, german: Junker, nl, Jonkheer, en, Yunker, no, Junker, sv, Junker ka, იუნკერი (Iunkeri)) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German ''Juncherre'', meaning "young nobleman"Duden; Meaning of Junke ...
s—or close relatives of owners) so that the latter were only obligated to undertake basic training in peacetime. The practice of regular furloughs was gradually extended to all recruits. The commanders also introduced enrollment (): male children too young to serve were added to the enlistment rolls and given furlough passes to prevent them from being recruited by other regiments when they were old enough.
In 1733, Frederick William converted these widespread practices into a universal system. By a series of three Cabinet Orders (, AKOs) of 1 and 8 May and 15 September, the country was divided into cantons and the "enrollment of
llmale youth" mandated within the cantons. As a result, recruitment was technically replaced by enrollment and underage male peasants converted into cantonists (). The term "recruitment" thereafter applied to the hiring of foreign mercenaries only; cantonists were said to be inducted into service when they came of age, but the forcibly and illegally impressing peasants into service continued on a small scale throughout the 18th century, and was the source of numerous complaints. Soldiers were also sometimes sold by one regimental commander to another, but this practice was outlawed by
Frederick I Frederick I may refer to:
* Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht.
* Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978)
* Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105)
* Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...
and by
Frederick II in edicts of 1743 and 1748, although it was already in decline by 1740.
The average canton comprised about 5000 hearths, but the number of soldiers varied considerably. In the
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe.
Brandenburg developed out o ...
a regiment typically consisted of 5000 soldiers, while in the
Duchy of Further Pomerania it consisted of about 5900. The canton system did not cover all of Prussia. Certain regions inherited exemptions from before 1733, but by 1808 only the cities of
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...
,
Breslau and
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
were exempted.
On 12 February 1792, on the eve of the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
, King
Frederick William II issued a revised regulation for the canton system. It laid out the classes that were unconditionally exempt from service: (i) the nobility, (ii) commoners who owned estates valued at over 12,000 , (iii) those with personal wealth in excess of 10,000 and their sons provided that none were craftsmen or peasants, (iv) civil servants, (v) the sons of university professors, (vi) foreigners () resident in Prussia and any sons or servants they brought with them and (vii) the Prussian-born sons of foreigners provided their fathers had either built a house or cultivated a wasteland. One could also be exempted if he was studying at a school or if active on his own in commerce or agriculture, but this exemption ended the moment one left his occupation or was found to be leading an "unstable lifestyle". The student exemption was especially widely abused and after 24 May 1793 one claiming it had to provide proof of studies.
A series of reforms, such as the introduction of a progressive legal code, the , in 1794 and the
abolition of serfdom in 1807, as well as the
Treaty of Tilsit
The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when t ...
with France made the canton system increasingly obsolete. A Cabinet Order of 21 November 1808 reassigned the regiments of the new Prussian army—limited to 42,000 men by Tilsit—to their cantons. On 6 June 1809, the sons of foreigners lost their exemption and on 8 September the sons of soldiers born in the exempted cities. On 9 February 1813, following Prussia's participation in the disastrous
French invasion of Russia
The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...
and in preparation for her declaration of war against France, the canton system was suspended "for the duration of the war" and universal
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
introduced through a Cabinet Order. Men between the ages of 17 and 24 could enter the army voluntarily and choose their regiment; all who did not remained eligible to be drafted. Those between 25 and 40 could be drafted into the newly formed . On 27 May 1814 the Cabinet Order of 9 February 1813 was rescinded, but the old regiment-based system of enrollment and exemptions was not reintroduced. Instead, on 3 September 1814 the (law on the obligation of military service) was introduced, and all men over 20 years of age were compelled to serve three years in the army and a further two in reserve.
Notes
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{{Refend
Prussian Army
1730s establishments in Prussia
1810s disestablishments in Prussia
1733 establishments in Europe
1813 disestablishments in Europe
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