So obviously, the British army allowed the purchase of commissions, but it was still possible to gain promotion on merit.
So this has me wondering a few things:
How likely was promotion on merit? What percentage of officers could expect to advance that way?
Were certain ranks more likely on merit than others? ie it was easy enough to move into a captaincy on merit, but you might stall out if you lacked the funds to gain a majority?
Did purchase still come into play at the highest echelons of command, or was that all merit based? ie what was the last advancement in rank that could be purchased? I assume that Wellington didn't need to pay for his Field Marshalship, nor did the guys running things at Horse Guards, but I know many a Colonel bought his position, so where did it end?
Not qualified to answer, but I'd like to add a small follow-up question: How was the system of purchased advancement perceived within the military in general? Even in a system with firm traditional favouring of the aristocracy etc, you'd think someone would feel that incompetents simply buying their way into influential or even vitally tactical/strategical positions was a really bad idea - after all, it's in everyone involved's interest that the military actually wins their battles.