The practice began in 1683 during the reign of Charles II of England, and continued to exist until it was abolished on 1 November 1871 as part of the Cardwell Reforms.
Formally, the purchase price of a commission was a cash bond for good behaviour, liable to be forfeited if the officer in question was found guilty of cowardice, desertion, or gross misconduct.
If an officer was killed in action or appointed to the Staff (usually through being promoted to Major General), this created a series of "non-purchase vacancies" within his regiment.
In 1806 there was a major scandal when it was discovered that Mary Anne Clarke, the mistress of then Commander in Chief Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, was engaged in selling commissions for her personal profit.
[5] The worst potential effects of the system were mitigated during intensive conflicts such as the Napoleonic Wars by heavy casualties among senior ranks, which resulted in many non-purchase vacancies, and also discouraged wealthy dilettantes who were not keen on active service, thereby ensuring that many commissions were exchanged for their nominal value only.
Officers bearing dispatches giving news of a victory (such as Waterloo), often received such promotion, and might be specially selected by a General in the field for this purpose.
[citation needed] The practice of purchase of commissions was finally abolished as part of the 1871 Cardwell reforms which made many changes to the structure and procedures of the Army.
In Spain, after having enlisted as a midshipman in the Spanish Navy in 1733, Pedro Caro Fontes, the future 2nd Marquis of La Romana, purchased his commission as a lieutenant colonel of a dragoon regiment the following year.