NICHOLAS KANE. "Arms an Employment": Motivations for Enlistment in the 18th Century British Army. (Under the direction of Drs. DAVID JOHNSON and JOHN SMAIL) In the eighteenth century, the British military boomed in size with the various wars that occurred throughout the century. Over two hundred thousand soldiers joined the British army over the course of the century. This thesis examines the many incentives that existed for enlistment and the motivations that soldiers expressed in their own accounts. This thesis also emphasizes the voice of the British enlisted soldier and less of a top down approach on the motivations. The few accounts written by soldiers of the period are used to display their voices in the most authentic way possible. Royal Chelsea Hospital Pension records also provide a sense of where the soldiers came from in terms of location and occupation. The thesis has three parts with the first chapter describing the world around the recruits, the second chapter explains the recruiting processes implemented by the military and recruiting parties, and the last chapter tells the motivations of enlistment through the voices of the recruits themselves.