European Military Rivalry 1500–1750

<p><em>European Military Rivalry, 1500–1750: Fierce Pageant</em> examines more than 200 years of international rivalry across Western, Central, and Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean rim.</p><p>The book charts the increasing scale, expenditure and duration of early modern wars; the impact of modern fortification on strategy and the movement of armies; the incidence of guerrilla war and localized conflict typical of the French wars of religion; the recourse by warlords to private financing of troops and supplies; and the creation of disciplined standing armies and navies in the age of Absolutism, made possible by larger bureaucracies. In addition to discussing key events and personalities of military rivalry during this period, the book describes the operational mechanics of early modern warfare and the crucial role of taxation and state borrowing. The relationship between the Christian West and the Ottoman Empire is also extensively analysed. </p><p>Drawing heavily upon international scholarship over the past half-century, <i>European Military Rivalry, 1500–1750: Fierce Pageant </i>will be of great use to undergraduate students studying military history and early modern Europe. </p> <p>Preface; 1: Renaissance innovations; 2: Clash of civilizations 1550–1610; 3: Modern fortification and its impact; 4: French wars of religion 1561–1629; 5: Europe’s first great war 1618–1659; 6: The age of military entrepreneurs; 7: The advent of standing armies and navies; 8: Ottoman wars in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries; 9: The wars against French ascendancy 1667–1714; 10: The classical campaign; 11: The classical siege in the age of Vauban; 12: The classical battle; 13: War finance in the classical age 1689–1720; 14: Conclusion: eighteenth-century continuity; <em>Glossary; References;</em> <i>Index</i></p>