War in the Age of the Enlightenment, 1700-1789 (Studies in Military History and International Affairs)

244 Pages·2003·1.1 MB·English

by  Armstrong Starkey

War in the Age of
Enlightenment, 1700–1789
ARMSTRONG STARKEY
PRAEGER
War in the Age of
Enlightenment, 1700–1789
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Starkey, Armstrong.
War in the age of the Enlightenment, 1700–1789 / Armstrong Starkey.
p. cm.—(Studies in military history and international affairs, ISSN 1537–4432)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–275–97240–2 (alk. paper)
1. Military art and science—Europe—History—18th century.
2. Enlightenment—Europe. 3. Europe—History, Military—18th century.
I. Title. II Series.
U43.E95S73 2003
355'.0094'09033—dc21 2003042935
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2003 by Armstrong Starkey
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003042935
ISBN: 0–275–97240–2
ISSN: 1537–4432
First published in 2003
Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.praeger.com
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface vii
1 The Culture of Force 1
2 The Military Enlightenment 33
3 ACulture of Honor 69
4 Field of Honor: Fontenoy, 1745 105
5 Popular War 133
6 The Conflict of Cultures 175
7 Conclusions 211
Index 217

Preface
In recent years, when colleagues have asked me about my research inter-
ests, I have replied that I have been considering the relationship between
the Enlightenment and warfare. The response has frequently been: “I
shouldn’t have thought there was one.” That says a lot about the percep-
tion of the Enlightenment shared by many academics who are nonspecial-
ists in the period. Most of us at some time learn that the Enlightenment
was a good thing. It was about peace, humanity, toleration, and freedom.
Surely, war was antithetical to all of these positive goals. But was it? War
is not a goal for most of us, but it is a means by which freedom or human-
ity may be protected. Eighteenth-century intellectuals understood this.
They deplored, as do we, the horrors of war, but they recognized that
there were times when it was necessary. Their attitudes toward war reflect
a central tension in the Enlightenment, one that cannot be ignored if we
are to fully understand the Enlightenment’s contribution to the develop-
ment of the modern world.
Political and military historians have frequently discussed the relation-
ship between the Enlightenment and war. They have focused on two
aspects: (1) the Enlightenment’s contribution to the development of strate-
gic thought (most recently discussed in the excellent work of Azar Gat)
and (2) its contribution to the cause of humanity in war (perhaps best rep-
resented in the work of Geoffrey Best). It was the issue of humanity in war
that inspired my interest in this study. Anumber of surveys of early mod-
ern warfare concluded that the conduct of war in the period 1700–1789
was more humane than during the preceding wars of religion or the suc-
ceeding revolutionary period. Often the Enlightenment was cited as a con-
viii Preface
tributing factor, although there seemed to be little evidence that this was
so. I believed that more needed to be done to explore a concrete connec-
tion between the ideas and values of the Enlightenment and the actual
conduct of war. This is what I have attempted to do in this book.
Enlightenment specialists now approach the Enlightenment as a com-
plex phenomenon, and I hope that my work will be viewed as consistent
with this approach. There were many ambiguities in Enlightenment atti-
tudes toward war. The articles in Denis Diderot’s Encyclopédie testify to
this complexity, for they range from denouncing war to providing a guide
to the latest military thought. Complexity creates problems with defi-
nition. If the Enlightenment had room for all of these interests, what
exactly was it? I do not propose to provide a definite answer. Indeed, I
hope to add to the complexity. I have chosen to explore what I term the
culture of force,that is, the ideas and values that guided the practice of war
in the period. This culture was not simply a product of the Enlightenment.
Religion continued to play an important role in European cultural life. The
average soldier was better versed in scripture than in the Encyclopédie.The
average officer might have read Rousseau—or at least have heard of him.
He might have read a military manual containing new tactical ideas that
might be found in the Encyclopédie,but he also was required to adhere to a
code of values that seem to have nothing to do with the Enlightenment.
Soldiers were, after all, defenders of the Old Regime.
Eighteenth-century Europe was relatively free from religious fanaticism
and revolutionary zeal, but it was still a violent place. There were many
wars, and these wars provoked revolutions. In many countries the civilian
population bore the brunt of these conflicts. As a result, there were many
instances of popular uprisings before the French Revolution, although
most did not succeed. The stereotype of eighteenth-century “cabinet war,”
fought by mercenary armies for limited objectives and at low cost,
requires correction. I hope that this book will contribute to a new inter-
pretation of the nature of eighteenth-century warfare. This was also the
first period of truly global warfare. Europeans came into contact with
powerful non-European peoples who were capable of defending them-
selves against foreign aggression. These peoples often possessed different
cultural attitudes toward war than those of their European opponents.
Inevitably, warfare produced a measure of cultural exchange, which I
have examined in the last chapter.
I am conscious of producing a small book on a big subject and do not
claim to have the last word on the topics that I write about. The virtue of a
book such as this is that it may contain food for thought. If it succeeds in
this regard, it will have achieved my hopes for it.
Apreface is also a place to acknowledge the assistance of others. First
and foremost, I wish to thank Jeremy Black for his advice and encourage-
ment. One day, while we were walking on the beach together, he even sug-
Preface ix
gested the title. I also wish to thank Jean Chagniot for his help in an early
correspondence. John Thornton gave me helpful advice about Africa. Two
new colleagues in my own department, Cristina Zaccarini and Dennis
Hidalgo, have provided me with helpful global perspectives. Eliz
Alahrerdian of the Adelphi University Art Department drafted the map of
the battle of Fontenoy. Adelphi University awarded me a sabbatical while
I was writing this book. I also owe thanks to the staffs of many libraries:
Adelphi University and its excellent interlibrary loan department; the
New York Public Library; the British Library; the William L. Clements
Library of the University of Michigan; the Huntington Library in San
Marino, California; the Scottish Record Office; and the British Public
Record Office at Kew. I especially wish to thank the staff of the library of
the Society of the Cincinnati in Washington, D.C. I profited from their
valuable collection of eighteenth-century military treatises and appreci-
ated the warmth of their reception and the hospitality of Mr. William H.
Greer, Jr. who has done so much to support the study of eighteenth-
century military history.