In 1858, when the Philippines was a Spanish colony, France and Spain invaded Vietnam. A number of French troops involved in this campaign became casualties as a result of contracting illnesses such as cholera, dysentery, tropical diseases, and rickets. In order to deal with the manpower shortage which resulted from this situation, the French consul in Manila, the colonial capital of the Philippines, was given permission by the Spanish government to recruit nine hundred Indians, as Filipinos were then known, for the French navy and a sufficient number of men to form an infantry company and a cavalry squadron. It is said that one-third of the entire French force in this campaign consisted of mercenaries from the Philippines, who distinguished themselves in action and were well adapted to the