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Wellesley spent a year during 1786 in Angers in France at
the Royal Academy of Equitation where he mastered his horse
riding skills and became fluent in French. In March 1787 he
was finally gazetted ensign in the 73rd Highland Regiment
of Foot and was appointed lieutenant in the 76th on Christmas
Day 1787. His extraordinary path to greatness had begun.
Wellesley remained in Ireland and was elected to the
Irish Parliamentary constituency of Trim, but following
the French Revolution in 1789 and the outbreak of war,
he was promoted Lieutenant Colonel and despatched to
join the Duke of York's Anglo-Hanoverian force in Flanders
in 1794. The expedition proved a failure but Wellesley
emerged with his reputation enhanced. It had taught
him that the lessons of defeat are as important as those
of victory, in his own words discover
'what one ought not to do'
The war with France now moved to India, as the East India
Company and native princes vied for position. Wellesley
was ordered to set sail as part of a British force deployed
to head off the threat of French intervention. He was
fortunate because under the patronage of his brother
Richard, newly appointed governor general of India,
Arthur now had the opportunity to prove himself faster
and more fully than could his rivals.
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