War and the State in the Era of the Military Revolution (1550 - 1730)

(7.5 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

The early modern period saw considerable changes in the shape of warfare and in the nature of armed forces and the state, a process some historians have described as a military revolution. Yet the increasing pressures of war brought about considerable social, economic and political breakdown, as rulers overburdened both their armed forces and their domestic subjects. This module will examine how western European states organised and conducted war between the late sixteenth and the early eighteenth century, and consider what effects this had on political stability. The focus will be not only on some of the great powers but also upon some minor states who punched above their weight on the international stage.