Beyond the Military Revolution: War in the Seventeenth Century World

245 Pages·2011·1.501 MB·English

by  Jeremy Black

‘He does what no other scholar I know of can do in presenting the full range
of global military history.’
Peter Lorge, Vanderbilt University, USA
The seventeenth century has long been seen as a period of ‘crisis’ or transi-
tion from the pre-modern to the modern world. This book offers a chance
to explore this crisis from the perspective of war and military institutions
in a way that should appeal to those studying global history.
By placing seventeenth-century warfare in a global context, Black chal-
lenges conventional chronologies and permits a reappraisal of the debate
over what has been seen as the Military Revolution of the early-modern
period. The book discusses war with regard to strategic cultures, assesses
military capability in terms of tasks and challenges faced and attaches styles
of warfare to their social and political contexts. Genuinely global in range,
this up-to-date and wide-ranging account provides fresh historiographical
insights into this crucial period in world history.
Jeremy Black is Professor of History at the University of Exeter, UK. He
is a leading authority on early-modern British and continental European
history, with special interest in international relations, military history,
the press, and historical atlases. His recent publications include The English
Seaborne Empire, Rethinking Military History, The Age of Total War, Using History
and Naval Power.
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Beyond the Military
Revolution
War in the
Seventeenth-Century
World
Jeremy Black
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© Jeremy Black 2011
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Jeremy Black has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this
work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2011 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
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ISBN 978–0–230–25155–7 hardback
ISBN 978–0–230–25156–4 paperback
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing
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A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
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Printed in China
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For Tony Kelly
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Contents
Preface viii
1 Introduction 1
2 Sixteenth-Century Background 12
3 Conflict, 1590–1615 28
4 Conflict, 1616–1650 47
5 Conflict, 1650–1683 80
6 The Expansion of Europe 106
7 Conflict, 1683–1707 134
8 Naval Capability and Warfare 151
9 Warfare, Social Contexts and State Development 170
10 Conclusions: Beyond the Military Revolution 188
Selected Further Reading 201
Notes 202
Index 220
vii
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Preface
‘This victorious action drew to a close with the day itself; it was as though
the sun decided not to set until it could see and cast its rays on the triumph
of Your Majesty’s armies.’ Prince Eugene’s dispatch to the Emperor Leopold
I from his overwhelming triumph over an Ottoman (Turkish) army at Zenta
in Hungary in 1697 was one of the more memorable lines I encountered as
a student. This book is fired by the same interest, an interest in the global
nature of conflict and the importance of warfare in human development.
The seventeenth century has long been seen as a period of ‘crisis’ or transition
from the pre-modern to the modern world. This book offers a chance to
explore this crisis from the perspective of war and military institutions in a
way that should appeal to those doing global history. In doing so, picking the
seventeenth century permits a reappraisal of the debate over what has been
seen as the Military Revolution of the early-modern period. The original
account of this supposed transformation highlighted 1560–1660 as the key
period of change, and looking at this subject again permits a re-examination of
both the thesis and its chronology. Moreover, discarding 1660 as an end date
for this study both permits a reconsideration of the conventional account
and also opens up an integration of post-1660 ancien régime armies, navies
and warfare with that of the preceding period. As such, this approach to
military history is of wider historiographical significance. In this book,
I also discuss war with regard to strategic cultures (and élite culture specifi-
cally), assess military capability in terms of tasks and challenges faced,
which, in turn, brings issues of variety and flexibility to the fore, and attach
styles of warfare to their social and political contexts.
In thinking about and writing this book, I have benefited greatly from
teaching the period since 1980 and also from reading the works of others.
There is always the danger that new work will be presented as a critique of
what has come before. That is not my intention, as I see historical study, like
the subject it describes, as a relationship between generations and among
colleagues. Indeed, I would like to record my gratitude for the friendship
and work of other scholars on the period, notably Brian Davies, Peter
Lorge, John Lynn, Geoffrey Parker, David Parrott and Peter Wilson: if there
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Preface ix
is not always agreement, there is always respect and affection, and that is an
important part of my world. Given my criticism of the Military Revolution
thesis which Geoffrey has so ably pursued on the European and world
scales, I would like to record my enormous respect for his wide-ranging
and perceptive scholarship and my gratitude for his friendship and support
over the years.
It is a great pleasure to thank Pradeep Barua, Guy Chet, John France,
Greg Hanlon, Harald Kleinschmidt, Peter Lorge, John Lynn, Tim May, Stephen
Morillo, Olaf van Nimwegen, Ciro Paoletti, Kenneth Swope, John Thornton,
David Trim and Erbin Xu for commenting on an earlier draft. None is
responsible for any errors that remain. I have also benefited from the
opportunity to give lectures at Columbus Ohio, High Point, North Carolina,
the National Maritime Museum, London, and Oxford, and from hearing a
characteri stically thoughtful lecture by David Parrott. Kate Haines has
proved a most helpful editor and Caroline Richards a very supportive
copy-editor. It is a great pleasure to dedicate this book to a good friend and
fellow scholar and to note a decade of friendship and many good walks and
pleasant lunches that have brought me much enjoyment.
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