ABSTRACT
Military life was relaxed and relatively attractive in the days before British involvement in continental wars. There were abuses in the pay system but these were minor compared with the corruption in the early eighteenth century; the soldier was never rich, in fact he was one of the worst-paid men in the land, but with the advantage of unofficial free quarters his economic status was equal to that of men from similar social backgrounds who remained in civilian life. Foot soldiers were always more poorly paid than cavalry and dragoons, but they were without the burden of having to maintain a horse from their army pay. It was no disgrace for the sons of yeoman farmers or artisans to enter the ranks of the Royal Horse Guards or the Tangier Horse, but neither was it an ideal career.
