ABSTRACT
Officers were encouraged to think and learn about their profession. King James II sought to establish his own personal authority over the country by means of improved, centralised government, with tolerance and favour for Roman Catholics, together with, as an eventual aim, the return of the country to the Roman faith. From the start of his reign Catholic officers were favoured and a slow replacement of Protestant officers by Catholics was begun. The divisive policies of James II, highlighted by the annual camps on Hounslow Heath to overawe the capital and Parliament, led to informal groups such as the Treason Club and the Association of Protestant Officers, with some defections as early as 1687. The number of officers now required had also risen sharply, from 973 for all three armies of Charles II to its peak of 5,000 in William's reign.
