Tangier Garrison

Notable in the initial muster list, as a captain, is Palmes Fairborne, who himself became governor in 1680, after above 18 years of service there.

Part of the defeated Spanish /Royalist army at the Battle of the Dunes, the remnant the regiment had also made its way to Mardyke under the command of Lisagh (or Lewis) Farrell.

[10] The actual number in the garrison (not including officers and general officers) was 2,723 foot soldiers (Governor's 1,000; Harley's 947; Fitzgerald's 395; Farrell's 381) with 98 in the English troop of horse and 80 in the Portuguese troop[11] This was the first time that wives had been permitted, officially, to accompany an English army on an overseas posting.

The religious and political differences sometimes caused them to clash and, although martial law was strictly enforced, the Garrison was prone to bouts of ill-discipline most notably drunkenness.

The Garrison quickly developed a reputation as a tough life, manning the forts of the town which were under constant threat from the Moorish inhabitants of the surrounding region.

This made it a source of protests in the English Parliament, where Whigs regarded it as a large "Catholic Army" which might be brought to England by Charles to enforce absolute rule on the country.

It was due to these political pressures, as well as its large cost, that the Garrison was eventually withdrawn and Tangier abandoned.

After returning to the British Isles, many of the veterans of the Garrison went on to play influential roles in the Glorious Revolution and the War of the Two Kings.

A group of officers known as the "Tangerines" were part of the conspiracy to invite William III to invade England to take the throne from his uncle James II in 1688.