Compagnien 1672 ~ Company strength

De website TEMPO is eigenlijk zonder de Knuttel catalogus van de KB, moeilijk efficient te doorzoeken. Meneer Knuttel heeft gelukkig al veel werk voor ons gedaan, en zo vond ik diverse compagnie betaallijsten. Opvallend blijft dat hoe groot de compagnie ook is (50, 80 of 100 man) het aantal officieren (de prima plana) gelijk blijft, net als hun salaris.



Several times I have mentioned the website TEMPO, where a lot of 16th and 17th century pamphlets can be found on-line. Mr Knuttel has made a catalogue, which can be found here, that greatly helps searching. I found several so called 'comany pay lists' starting in 1648, that gives the pay for officers and soldiers. The 1672 version has two lists for cavalry and four lists for infantry (50,60,80 and 100 men sized). Noteworthy is the fact that the number of officers always remains the same, (11 men) even if the company size varies. Also the pay of the officers remains the same, even if the size of the company varies. Obviously, this has led to serious troubles in 1672, as it is worth it keeping companies small. Another big problem in 1672 (in almost every European Army) was getting paid for soldiers who weren't even there. Only under William III a better system evolved keeping companies at strength.