The London School of Economics and Political Science The Limits of Social Mobility: social origins and career patterns of British generals, 1688-1815 Andrew B. Wood A thesis submitted to the Department of Economic History of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, November, 2011 1 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of the author. I warrant that this authorization does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 88,820 words. 2 Abstract Late eighteenth-century Britain was dominated by two features of economic life that were a major departure from previous eras, the economic growth of the Industrial Revolution and almost constant warfare conducted on a previously unprecedented scale. One consequence of this was the rapid expansion, diversification and development of the professions. Sociologists and economists have often argued that economic development and modernisation leads to increasing rates of social mobility. However, historians of the army and professions in the eighteenth-century claim the upper levels of the army were usually isolated from mobility as the highest ranks were dominated by sons of the aristocracy and landed elite. Some claim social status was more important for career success in the late eighteenth-century army compared to its earlier counterpart, which if true may have led to declining rates of social mobility for the upper levels of the army. This PhD thesis investigates the limits of social mobility during this period by examining the social origins and career patterns of the highest professional rank in the army, generals. This study finds that generals were not isolated from social mobility. Modernisation did lead to increasing rates of social mobility among generals. However, mobility was limited in some respects. The rates of social mobility for generals were much lower than ordinary officers. In addition, most moves up the social hierarchy were fairly shallow. Generals usually came from relatively high levels of society and hence they were generally only moving from a high social position to a slightly higher one. 3 Acknowledgements There are many people I would like to thank who assisted in the production of this thesis. In many respects a student can only be as good as his teachers. I was fortunate in having two excellent supervisors for this project, Dr Peter Howlett and Dr Patrick Wallis, who provided much encouragement, support and assistance. Thanks also to Professor Roger Knight who first gave me the idea that a project on generals or admirals would be interesting. My father, Brian Wood, provided assistance to me in a number of different ways, all of which are gratefully appreciated. A special note of thanks to Lord Crawford, The Right Hon.The Earl of Crawford & Balcarres, KT, GCVO, who allowed me access to the personal papers of Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres. A debt of gratitude is owed to the various archivists who assisted me in my work. Karen Sampson and her team of the archivists at Lloyds TSB provided substantial help in facilitating access to the Cox ledgers. Much time was spent researching different bank accounts at the Royal Bank of Scotland and C. Hoare and Co. This research could not have been undertaken without the assistance of Philip Winterbottom and Pamela Hunter. Kenneth Dunn, the Senior Curator at the National Library of Scotland, helped me immensely during my time in Edinburgh. The archivists at the Centre for Kent Studies, the National Archives and the British Library all provided invaluable assistance. Finally, the quality of this thesis would not be as high if it was not for the high quality of scholarship from previous historians of the eighteenth-century British army. This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council through a postgraduate studentship [PTA-031-2006-00266]. 4 Table of Contents Page Chapter one: Introduction 9 I. Social mobility 9 II. Modernisation and social mobility 13 III. The modernisation of the military 18 Chapter two: The army and social mobility 34 I. The army as a mechanism of social mobility 34 II. Conclusion 56 Chapter three: What is a general? 58 I. Introduction 58 II. Rank in the army 59 III. Types of general 67 IV. Selection of generals for the study 73 V. Operational generals’ commands 79 VI. Conclusion 87 Chapter four: Family backgrounds 89 I. Introduction 89 II. Measuring social mobility 92 III. Generals’ intergenerational mobility 107 IV. Self-recruitment 116 V. Conclusion 124 Chapter five: Education and Marriage 127 I. Introduction 127 II. Education 130 III. Marriage 138 IV. Marital mobility of generals 149 V. Conclusion 158 5 Chapter six: Career patterns 160 I. Introduction 160 II. Entering the army 174 III. Career paths 185 IV. Merit 204 V. Regimental mobility 211 VI. Conclusion 216 Chapter seven: Rewards of army service 219 I. Introduction 219 II. Rewards and costs of army service 231 III. Short-term rewards 247 IV. Long-term gains: officers 260 V. Long-term gains: generals 270 VI. Conclusion 293 Chapter eight: Conclusion 297 I. Introduction 297 II. The limits of social mobility 298 III. Modernisation and social mobility 303 IV. Implications of this study 307 Appendices 310 1. Social backgrounds 310 2. Careers 329 3. Rewards 348 4.1 Data Sources: Social Backgrounds 371 4.2 Data Sources: Careers 392 4.3 Data Sources: Rewards 405 5. Market Prices of Commissions 407 Bibliography 408 6 List of Tables Page Table 1: Population of generals, 1747 and 1800 76 Table 2: Command appointments of operational generals 81 Table 3: Social status of generals’ fathers 107 Table 4: Social status of non-aristocratic generals’ fathers 111 Table 5: Aristocrats’ share of military ranks, 1714-1815 115 Table 6: Self-recruitment of generals 120 Table 7: Education of generals 133 Table 8: Age at first marriage for different social groups 145 Table 9: Marriage mobility of army officers by first marriage 152 Table 10: Marriage mobility of army officers by first marriage 155 Table 11: Officer places in the 27th foot 163 Table 12: Type of entry regiment 183 Table 13: Overall transition matrix for army ranks of 1747 generals 187 Table 14: Overall transition matrix for army ranks of 1800 generals 191 Table 15: Overall transition matrix for regimental ranks of 1747 generals 193 Table 16: Overall transition matrix for regimental ranks of 1800 generals 195 Table 17: Speed of promotion 198 Table 18: Promotions bought 199 Table 19: The role of merit in promotion 210 Table 20: Regimental mobility 212 Table 21: Regiment type 215 Table 22: Annual payments of subsistence and arrears to officers on the English establishment, 1795 232 Table 23: Annual rewards and costs of non-sample officers, 1765-1774 249 Table 24: Average annual rewards and costs of future generals, 1761-1793 253 Table 25: Annual income and expenditure of future generals as lieutenant colonels with Drummonds 258 Table 26: Estimated long-term returns of mid to late eighteenth-century infantry officers 267 Table 27: Average annual rewards and costs of generals, 1758-1810 272 Table 28: Annual rewards and costs of Alexander Lindsay as Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica 284 Table 29: Highest titles awarded to generals for military service 291 7 List of Graphs Page Figure 1: Annual nominal public expenditure on the army, 1692-1815 26 Figure 2: Date of entry 175 Figure 3: Age at entry 176 Figure 4: Army rank at entry 178 8 Chapter one: Introduction I. Social mobility Societies are usually arranged in a series of levels each indicating a different position in the social hierarchy determined by a combination of social status and income. 1 Social mobility is the movement from one of these levels to another either higher (upward mobility) or a lower (downward mobility). 2 The study of social mobility is one of the most important topics in economic and social history as levels of social mobility can affect a country’s leadership, its political and social philosophies, and rates of economic development. 3 In a recent OECD report on social mobility, aimed at suggesting policy initiatives to increase rates of upward mobility, it was suggested the link between rates of social mobility and economic efficiency was twofold: “First, less mobile societies are more likely to waste or misallocate human skills and talents. Second, lack of equal opportunity may affect the motivation, effort and, ultimately, the productivity of citizens, with adverse effects on the overall efficiency and growth potential of the economy." 4 The views of this OECD report on the relationship between social mobility and economic development echo a wide-ranging literature from economic historians and sociologists that explicitly link rates of social mobility in a society with levels of economic development and modernisation. As Goldthorpe noted, it is generally 1 D.V Glass (Ed.), Social Mobility in Britain , (London, 1967), p. 5; P.A Sorokin, Social and Cultural Mobility , (New York, 1927), p.11. 2 S.M Lipset and R. Bendix, Social Mobility in Industrial Society , (Los Angeles, 1959), p. 1-2. 3 Ibid., p. vii. 4 OECD,"A Family Affair: Intergenerational Social Mobility across OECD Countries", Part II, Chapter 5, Economic Policy Reforms: going for growth , (OECD, 2010), p.