Их (русских) было очень мало, и это не секрет.

For example, during the American War of Independence (1775–1783) German landlords sold about 29,000 young peasants to the British as soldiers.

Great Britain hired 34,000 German soldiers, of which more than half, 18,000, were from the Principality of Hesse-Kassel, which resulted in all German soldiers being generalized as “Hessians.” The remaining soldiers were from states such as Anhalt-Zerbst, Anspach-Beyreuth, Brunswick, Hannover, Hesse-Hanau, and Waldeck.

The term “Mercenary” is also misleading. In the modern sense, mercenary implies a soldier for hire who makes a large amount of money from their service. The German soldiers had no choice; they were still in the army of their prince, who had decided to rent their services to a foreign power without the individual soldier’s approval. While the German troops were well paid, they did not receive any bonuses for service with Great Britain.

Hiring a foreign army was not unusual in the eighteenth century. For Hesse-Cassel, soldiers were a major export. By renting its army to the British, Hesse-Cassel took in an amount equal to about thirteen years' worth of tax revenue. This allowed the state's prince, the Landgraf Friedrich II, to keep taxes low and public spending high. A man of the Enlightenment, Friedrich oversaw public works projects, administered a public welfare system, and encouraged education.

Even so, military needs dominated the country. When boys turned seven they were registered for military service, and each year men ages sixteen to thirty had to present themselves to an official for possible induction. Some men were exempted because their occupations were considered vital to the state. But others, such as school dropouts, bankrupts, servants without masters, idlers, and the unemployed, were deemed "expendable people" and could be forced into service at any time.