The Royal African Corps was an infantry unit in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officially established on 25 April 1804. As Fraser’s Corps of Infantry, it had been earlier raised for the defense of the Island of Goree,

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

in August 1800. The regiment was one of several penal battalions employed for colonial garrison duty in the early 19th century.

History

Originally raised in 1800 as Fraser’s Corps of Infantry or the Goree Corps, this unit was subsequently renamed the African Corps. On 25 April 1804 the distinction of "Royal" was added to the title. It was composed primarily of deserters and condemned men from the hulks, with some additional indigenous African soldiers being attached to make up numbers. In 1806 a detachment of the Royal African Corps was sent to serve in the West Indies as the Royal West India Rangers. The remainder of the Corps continued to perform garrison duties in various African colonies until 1819, when the four companies serving in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

and

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

were disbanded. Prior to 1817 several companies of the Royal African Corps had been posted to the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

. Local residents there complained of the Corps' behaviour. By now recruited from foreigners as well as British Army deserters and convicts, the Corps was finally disbanded in 1821.National Archives Kew, WO 12 - Colonial Corps

References

{{reflist Infantry regiments of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1804 1804 establishments in Africa Military units and formations disestablished in 1821 1821 disestablishments in Africa