Reply #7: The Navy has always had a problem getting Native Born to enlist.

[happyslug]

Prior to the Civil War, the number of non-native born in the Navy exceeded 50% of the Navy (And like the Army of the both the Pre-Civil War and Post Civil War period tired to minimize the number, not in term of who were recruited and enlisted but in the totals, so a lot of non-natives were listed as Native born). After the Civil War the enlisted ranks of the Navy was overwhelming Black. In the 1880s and 1890s as segregation became the law in the South, the Navy also opt for Whites sailors to replace the blacks, by increase pay during the worse downturn in the Economy between the 1870s and the 1930s). By the time of the Spanish-American Wars most blacks were out of the Navy, except tin the ranks of Seward's, till after WWII.

As to the Philippines, native of the Philippines had been enlisted into the US Navy since the Spanish-American War when th US annexed the Philippines. This continued after the Philippines became independent in 1946, and remained so till the US bases in the Philippines were closed in the 1980s.

My point was that some mercenaries are NOT bad, Rome when in was a Republic used Mercenaries when needed, but Rome's main army was Roman till Rome could NO longer recruit natives then it fell.