geoffrey parker - the "military revolution," 1560-1660--a myth?

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The "Military Revolution," 1560-1660--a Myth?Author(s): Geoffrey ParkerSource: The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 48, No. 2 (Jun., 1976), pp. 195-214Published by: University of Chicago PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1879826Accessed: 09-03-2016 18:44 UTC

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The"M taryRevouton 1560-166aMyth?*

GeoffreyParker

S t S u a t orsC o e g e U n v e rs t y of S t An dreu s

Thes xteenthcenturyconsttutesa mostunnterestngperod n

E u rop ean m t aryh s t ory "w rot e S rC h are sOman n 1937an dn o

onethendaredtodsagreewthh m Todayhoweverfewh storans

woudendorsehs verdctTheeary modernperodhascometobe

s e en a s a t me of maorc h an g e n w arf are an dm t ary org an zat on

a s an e raof "m t ary re v ou t on "Th s sh f t n h s t orc ap e rsp e ct v e

sman y t h e w ork of on e man M c h ae Robe rts u n t re c e nt y

ProfessorofH storyattheQueensUn verstyofBefast Hs

naugura ecture entted"TheM taryRevouton 1560-1660"and

deveredat Befastn January1955 wasanundsgusedman festo

p roc am n g t h e orgn at y t h e mport anc e an d t h e h s t orc a sn gu -

artyof certandeveopments ntheartof warn post-Renassance

Europe Nowmostnaugura ectures forbetteror worseseemto

f ade n t o t h e s e ame s sw e b of h s tory e avn g t t e t rac e y e t

P rof e ss o rRobe rts s n augu ra s s t q u ot e d t me aft e rt me n

textbooksmonographsandartc es Hs concusonsas faras

now haveneverbeenquestonedormeasuredaganstthenew

evdencewhchhascometo ghtn thetwentyyearsorso whch

h ave e ap s e d sn c e he w ro te S u ch an e x amn at on s t h e amof t h s

paper 1

Robertss m taryrevouton"tookpace between1560and1660

nfourd stnctareasF rstandforemostcamea"revouton n

tactcs"certantactca nnovatons athoughapparentym nor

were"theeffcentcauseofchangeswhchwererea yrevou-

8Th s art c e s b a s ed on a p ape rgv e n at Kn g sC o e g e n t h e U n v e rs t y of

LondonnNovember1974 asoneofa seresof ectureson"Warand Socety"

organzedbyMr BranBondandDr anRoy Bothmadehepfusuggestonsabout

thepreparatonofth sstudy asdd Dr PeterBurke MrsAngea ParkerandProfs

John H ae HG Koen g sb erg er an dJoh n Sh y amgrate f u t o a of t h em L ast b u t

c e rt an yn ot e a s t w ou d k e t o t han k P rof M c h ae Rob e rt s f orh sh e p ov e rmany

yearsandforencouragngme topub shths artce

MRob e rts Th e M t aryRe v o a t on 1560-1660B e f a st 1956 re prn t e dn a

s gh t y amen d ed f ormn E s s ays n Sw e d sh H s t oryL on don 1967 pp 195-225

w t h s ome add t on a mate ra on pp 56-81F ore x amp e s of h ow t he "m t ary

re vou t on "h a sb ee n ac ce p te d by o t he rs c ho ars s e e G N C ark Waran d S o c e ty n

theSeventeenthCentury Cambrdge1958 andagan nNewCambrdgeModern

H s t ory v o 5 Th e A sc e nd anc y of F ran c e 1648-1688e d F LC ars t en C am-

b rdg e 1964 c h ap 8 C omp are th e ap pro ac h of C W C Oman A H s t ory of t h e

ArtofWar ntheSxteenthCentry London 1937

Journa efModernHst1rx4X June1976 195-2141






196 GeoffreyPa1ker

t on ary "2Th e p rn c p a n n ov at on n t h e n f an tryw ash e c ame d

theecpse ofthepreva ngtechnqueofhur ngenormoussquares

ofpkemenateachother nfavorof nearformatonscomposedof

ma e run f ormun t sf rn g s av o s a t e a c h o th e r k e w s e th e

c avary n s te ad of t ro t t n gu p t o t he e n emyf rn g an d t ro t t n gb ac k

ag an t h e c ara c o e w as req u re d t o c harge s abe rsn h an d re ady

forthek Accordngto Roberts thesenewbatte procedureshad

far-reachng ogstca consequencesTheyrequredtroopswhowere

h gh y t ran e d andd s c p n e dme n w how oud ac t a s c og sn a

machneandthecogshad to earnhowtomarch nstepandhowto

erformthermovementsn perfectunsontheyevenhadtodress

t h e s ame 3n dv du ap rodg e s of v aoran d sk w e re n o on ge r

re qu re dOf c ou rse a t h s t ran n g c o st mon ey an db e c au s e t he

troopshadacqured therexpertseatthegovernments expense

Robe rts c a me d t hat t w asn oon g ere c onomc af orarme s t ob e

demob zedwhenthecampagnngendedthetranedmenhad tobe

retanedonapermanentfootngThenewtactcs hearguedthus

gaverse nexorabyto theemergenceofthestandngarmy andthe

frsttoponeerthesetactcareformsandthereforeoneof thefrst

tocreateastandngarmy nEuropewasMaurceofNassau

captan-genera ofthearmyoftheDutchRepubc 4

A"revouton nstrategy"formedthesecondmaorstrandof

Robe rts s t h e s s g *Wt h t h e n ew sod e rs t p rove d p o ss b e t o a t -

temptmoreambtousstrategesto campagnwthsevera armes

smutaneousyandto seekdecsvebattesw thoutfearthatthe

Rob ert s E s s ays p 217

3On t h e w hoe t roop sd dn o t d res s a k e n mos t arme sun t t h e a t ers e v en t ee n th

century twasthe1650sbeforetheEng shandSwedsharmes adoptedunform the

Frenchd dnotdo sount the1660sBeforethattroopsdressedastheyor ther

commandersw shedcarryngon yd stngushngmarkssuchas afeathera scarfor

asashof thesamecoorto markthemoutfromtheenemyNotsurprs ngy there

wereafar numberof casesofuntsfromthesamearmy attackngeachother nthe

confusonof batteFor thentroductonofunforms seeC Nordmann "LArmee

s u ed o s e auXV e s e c e "Re v u e d un ord 541972 133-47e s p p 137 LAn dre

M c he e Te e re t t o rg an s a t on d e arme e monarch qu e P ars 1906 pp 339-42

andG ParkerTheArmyof FandersandtheSpanshRoad 1567-1659 The

Logstcsof SpanshVctoryandDefeatn theLowCountres WarsCambrdge

1972 pp 164-65

4On thereorganzatonof theDutcharmybyPrnceMaurceand hs cousn

W am-Lous seeW Hahweg"AspekteundProbemederReformdesnederan-

dschenKregswesenunterPrnz MortzvonOranen" BXdragenenMedede ngen

betreffendedeGeschedensderNederanden86 1971 161-77andM D Fed

"Mdde-CassSocetyand theRseof M taryProfessona sm TheDutchArmy

1589-1609" ArmedForcesandSocety 1 August1975 419-42Bothauthorsstress

thata thoughcass ca precedentswerecoseystudedby theNassaucousns

e s pe c ay ou ts t an dn g su cc e ss e s k e t he b a t t e of C ann ae n 216B C t h e rre e -

vancetom tarycondtons ntheNetherandswasaso carefu yevauated






M t aryRe v ou t on"197

nexperencedtroopswoudrunaway nterrorGustavusAdophus

ofSwedenv ctoroftheBretenfedandconquerorof Germany

certany putthesenewstrategcconceptsntoeffectaccordngto

Roberts hewasthefrst

Athrd componentofthem taryrevoutontheorywasa"pro-

dgous ncrease nthescae ofwarfaren Europe"between1560

and1660The newstrategy Robertspo ntedoutrequredfar more

troopsfortS successfuexecutonan artcuatedforceoffve armes

operatngsmutaneousyaccordngtoa compexpan woudneedto

bevastymorenumerousthanas ngearmyundertheo dorder

F ourt h and f n a y t h sp rodg ou sn ume rc an c re a se d ramat c ay

accentuatedthe mpactofwaronsocety Thegreaterdestructve-

ness thegreatereconomccostsand thegreateradmn stratve

chaengeof theaugmentedarmesmadewar moreofa burdenand

more of ap rob e mf ort h e c v an p opu at on an d t h e rru e rs t han

everbefore

Thesefourassertonsformthekerne ofthem taryrevouton

theory Therewasof coursea greatdeamorethedeveopmentof

m t ary e du ca t on an dm t ary ac ad eme s 5t h e art c u a t on of p os -

tve" awsofwar"6 theemergenceofanenormous teratureon

warandwarstudes7 andsoonbut thefouressenta ngredents

ofthetheoryweretactcsstrategyarmys ze andovera mpact

Havetheseassertonsbeenmodf ed nanywayby recentresearch?

n t h e f rs t p a c e t h a sb e come c e art hat t h e c ho c e of t h e y ear

1560asthestartngpo ntofthem taryrevoutonwasunfortunate

ManyofthedeveopmentsdescrbedbyRobertsaso characterzed

warfare nRenassancetay professona standngarmes reguary

musteredorganzed ntosma untsof standardsze wthunform

armamentandsometmesunformdress quarteredsometmesn

speca yconstructedbarracks weremantanedbymany taan

states nthef fteenthcenturyMachave soft-quoted beaboutthe

5Th e re w e re af e w c en t ers of n s t ruc t on k e t h e a cad emam t ars of John of

Nass au a t S e g en 1617-23 an d c ou rs es of obv ou sm t aryu t t y su ch a smat he mat -

csandfencng wereaddedtothecurrcuaof anumberofco egesandschoos but

henoneremembersthecentra paceofwar nseventeenth-centurysocety theack

ofmoreforma educaton nm tarymatters ssomewhatsurprsng

6Robertshascommentedonthepro feratonn theseventeenthcenturyofstudes

on t h e " aw of w ar" E s say sp p 216-17 t h e b as c p rn c p e s h owe v er are ady

affectedtheconductofwars ntheMdd eAges seeM H KeenTheLawsof War

ntheLcte Mdde AgesLondonandToronto1965

7 n En g an d aon e b et w ee n 1470an d 1642a t o t aof a t e a st 164E n g sh an d 460

f ore gn b ook sw asp u b sh e d S e e MJ D C oc k e AB b og raphy of M t aryB ooks

u p t o1642L on don 1900re p rn t e d 1957an dH J We bb E zab e t han M t ary

S c e n ce Th e B ooks an d t h e P rac t c e M ad s on Ws 1965






198Geoffrey Parker

campagnsofthecondotterthattheywere"commencedwthout

fearcontnuedwthoutdangerandconcudedw thoutoss"was

unfaranduntrueThearm esofRenassanceta ywereeffcentand

effectve andtheFrenchGermanSwss andSpansh nvadershad

toadoptthemethodsofthecondotter bothn attackanddefense

beforetheycoud makereaheadwayaganstthemTo aremarkabe

degree aswesha seethecharacterofearymodernEuropean

warfare evendowntots vocabuary camedrectfromRenassance

t a y 8

Theres nodoubthoweverthatMaurceof Nassauandhs cousn

W am-L ou smade s ome mportan t t ac t c a n n ov at ons n t h e

armyoftheDutchRepubc Theyreducedthesze ofther tactca

untsand ncreasedsgnf cantythenumberofoffcersandunder-

offcerstheyncreasedthenumberof musketeersandarque-

busers the"shot" neachunt andtheyntroducedthec assca

technqueof the"countermarch"wherebysuccessveranksof

musketeersadvancedf redand retredtoreoad nsequence The

astwascertany newbut unt thentroductonofa moreaccurate

musketwhch couda sobesw ftyre oadedthecountermarchwas

of mt e dp rac t c av au e 9M ore ov e rM au rc e s o th e rt ac t c a n n o-

vatons descnbedbyRobertsdervedat eastsomeofther "rev-

outonary"characterfroma ratherunfar portraya ofthe"pre-

revoutonary"warfareoftheear ersxteenthcenturyTheSpansh

army n p art c u arw h c h Rob ert s u se d a s af o t o t h e t ac t c a

re formsof M au rc e of Nas s auw as af orce of mpres s v e m t ary

effcencyBy the1560sSpansh nfantryonactve servcewas

normay madeupofsma unformcompanesofbetween120and

150men grouped ntotercosor regmentsofbetween1200and

1500 men10 TheSpansh nfantrynormay contanedaheavy

8On t h e n f u e n ce of t h e t a an w arsu p on E urope sm t aryh s t ory s e e P P e r

n as c m en to e a c r s m t ar e t a a n a 2 d e d T ur n 1 95 2 a nd M E M a e t t

MercenaresandTher Masters WarfarenRenassanceta y London 1974 esp

chaps7and9 Thepontsatwh chtheEuropean"m taryrevouton"tendedto

f oow t a an p re c ed e nt s are n d c a t ed s e ra t m n t h e n ot e s b e ow s e e n 20f ort h e

ngustc nhertance

9Thecountermarchwasdevsedby W am-LousofNassau andad agram

showngwhatwasnvoved wassenttoCountMaurceonDecember8 1594seea

f a csm e of t h s on p 6of JB Ks t s c omme n tary t oJd e Gh eyn Th e E x e rc s e of

Armesfacsm eed NewYork1974 Fedhas camed thatthecountermarch

turnedanarmy nto"aunt ofcontnuousproducton"andthesod ersnto somesort

ofassemby-ne workersandthatths consttuteda maortactca mprovementn

theory ths strue butas notedabove npractcetherewereseroustechnca

mt at on s s e e F e dn 4ab ov e Th s mport an t an dn t ere st n g art c e w ask n dy

broughttomy attentonby P D Lagomarsnoof DartmouthCo ege

t s ncorrecttosaythat"a Spansharmyof12 000menwoud havefourunts"

Rob ert sM t aryRe v ou t on p 7 A t h ough Rob ert s omt te d t h sp a s sag e f romt h e






"M t aryRe v ou t on 199

concentratonofshot twasthedukeof Avawhop oneeredthe

ntroductonofmusketeers ntoeverycompany nthe 550sand n

the1570stherewereateasttwocompaneswhch consstedsoey

ofshot neverytercoon actveservce1 ThroughouttheSpansh

army as e s e w he re t h e b a s c t a ct c a an d admn s t ra t v e un t w as

t h e compan yme n w ere ra s e d t ran e d an dp ad n c ompan e sn o t

nregmentsandnotas ndvduas AthoughtheSpansharmyhad

n o arg e rf ormat a c t c au n t s k e t he b rg ad es o rb a t ta on s of t he

Swedsharmy twasSpansh practcetogroupanumberofexper-

encedcompanestogetherforspeca assgnmentstoforma task

forceknownasan escuadronwh chmghtnumberanywherebe-

tween600and 3000 mendependngonthetaskto beperformed12

Thsf exbe nformaarrangementforthe nfantryprovedhghy

s a t s fa c to ryTh e Sp an sh c av ary t oow as mpre s s v e n ac t on t

comprsedmany companesof ghthorseeachnumberngbetween

60and100 troopers someofthem ancersandsomeof them

mountedgunmenarcabucerosa cabao nbatte asatGemboux

n 1578t h e r n t erv en t on w asd e c s v e a t o t h e rt me s t he yp o c e d

thecountrysdew thruthesseffcencyDressedn turbans kethe

Turksh ghthorsewhosetactcstheysuccessfuy emuatedthe

Spanshcavarywasas fearedandas formdabeas thetercos

Span smorepermanentarmes wereasod stngushedbya

s oph s t c a te d p anopy of m t ary n s t tu t on s and an c ary s erv c e s

ntheNetherandsandLombardy at eastafter1570therewasa

speca m tarytreasury aneaborateandautonomousherarchyof

u d c a c ourt s aw e -d ev e op ed sy s te mof me d c a c are w t h a

p e rmane n t m t ary t e a ch n gh o sp ta mob e f e d - su rge ryun t s an d

resdentdoctors neveryregmentanda networkofchapans

underachapan-generacoverngtheentrearmy13 Some fnota

re v s ed e d t on of h s p ape rh e s t ov ere st mat ed t h e s z e of t h e S pan sh un t s on

ac t v e s erv c e E s s ays p p 59-6062 t n ow appe ars t h at t he Sw e d sh army as od d

n o t h av e re gmen t s of un forms ze Nordman n p 137n 23an d t h at t he re w asn o

f x e d ra t o of pk e t o sh o t n t h e armyof Gu s tav usAd oph us t a d e pe n de d on t h e

avaab tyofweaponsatthetme ofrecrutment

"Take eg thepeacetmemusterofthefourSpansh tereosn theNetherands

hedon May12 1571therewerefftycompanes anaverageoftwevepertereo

and7509 menan averageof150 mennneof themoffcers-percompany Ofthe

7509 men596 9percentweremusketeersand1577 arquebusmen atota of30

p e rce n t sh o t Re a c on sumarad e o s s od ado s q u e s e p agaron e g ao 547f o

99b s E s tad oArc h v oG en e ra Sman ca s

12Theeseuadronwasasoa commontactcaunt ntheDutcharmy eonomne

s e e JW Wn H e t Krg swe zen n d e n t d v an p rn sM au rt sU t rec h t 1934 p 424

F ort he Sw e d sh e q u v ae nt s e e AAb e rg Th e Swe d sh Army f romLu t ze n t o

Narva" nSwedensAgeofGreatness 1632-1718 edM Roberts London1972

p 2 8 2

13Parkerpp 167-72andthesourcestherequoted tseemsthatSpanand






200Geoffrey Parker

ofths admnstratvesuperstructurewasasoto befoundattached

tothepermanentSpanshforcesn NapesandS c y Sxteenth-

c e nt u ry Sp an a s oh ad ac omp e x t ran n g s c he me f or t sme n n t h e

w ord s of an e n v ousE n g sh ob s e rv e rof 1590 "Th e rord er s

wheretheWarresarepresentto suppe therRegmentsbeng n

ActonwththeGarr sonsoutofhs domnonsandprovnce s

b e fore t he yd s odg e b e s < n os s u ppy t h e rp ac e raw me n asw e

tearmethemBythesemeanshetranesh sbesonosandfurnseth

h sA rme sw t h t ran e d S ou d e rs 14F romat e a s t t he 530s

S p an sh re cru t sw e re s e n t n t a yn o t t o t h e front n e b u t t o t he

garrsonsof tayor NorthAfrca wherethey earnedtherudments

of armsd r an d c omb at d s c p n e f oray e arort w ob e fore e avn g

foractveservce Therp aceswerethentakenbyanothergenera-

t on of re c ru t s 15t w as an e xt reme y e f f c e n t sys t em an d t h e p s

t o e x p an t h e remarkab e m t ary c a b e rre p ut a t on an d t rac k

re cord of t he t e rc o s t w as t he y af t e ra w h orou t ed t h e "n ew

mode"Swedsharmyat Nordngen n1634

Lestthsshoud seem kespeca peadngfroma starry-eyed

studentofSpanshh storyonecoud pontequa yeffectveytothe

AustranHabsburgswho ntroducedmuchthesamesystemforther

permanentarmeson theCroatanandHungaranborderwththe

Ottomanempredur ngthe1570s 16And feventhatwerenot

enough therearethem taryorganzatonsofFranceEngand and

theta anstatesdurngtheffteenthcenturya deveopedperma-

nentstandngarm eswhchwereh ghytra nedseasonedngarr -

sonsbeforetheywenttothefront capabeoff ghtng n near

f ormat ons a sw e a sn c oumnsors q u are s o rg an zed n t o sma

s e f - con tan e d t a ct c a u n t s an d c ont ro e d by a sp e c a m t ary

Swedenwerefaraheadofthef ed ntheprovs onofre gouscarefor thertroops

TherewereevenJesutprestsaboardtheDunkrkpr vateersafter1623 seeE

H ambye LAumon ere d e af S o tt e d e F an d re auXV e s e c e L ouv an 1967 an d

everysoder aboardtheSpanshArmadaof1588receveda eadenmeda onwth the

Vrgn on t severa ofthesehavebeenfoundbynautca archaeoogsts excavatng

theArmadawrecksoff reand TheSwedsharmy nGermanyhadan"eccesastca

consstory"underana moner-genera andeverysoder wasssuedw thaLutheran

prayerbook Nordmann p 136

14Rog erW amsTh e Works of S r Rog erW amse d J X Ev an sOx f ord

1972 p 15 S e e th e c onf rmat on of S rF ranc sB ac on n 1624t h at t h e g re a t S ec ret

o f t h e P owe rof Sp an e w b e f oun d rat h ert o c on s s t n a V e te ran e Army su ch

asvponseveraOccasonsandPretensonstheyhaueeuerhadon foot nonepartor

otherofChrstendom nowbythespaceof amost sxscoreyearesthan nthe

strengthoftheDomnons andProunces"CertaneMsc e anyWorksLondon

16 2 9 q u o te d n W a ms p c x

15P arke rpp 32-35

16G ERot h en burgTh e A t s t ran M t aryB orde rn C roa t a 1522-1747U rb ana

1960 chaps3-5 andE Heschmann DeAnfangedesstehendenHeeres n

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admn s t ra t on 17Th e smp e f act s t h a t w h ere ve ra s t u a t on of

permanentorsempermanentwarexsted whethertheHundred

Y e arsWarof t h e a t e rMdd e Ag e s ort he Th rt yY e arsWarof t h e

seventeenthcentury onefnds notsurprsngy standngarmes

greaterprofessonasm amongthetroops mprovementsn m tary

organzatonandcertantactca nnovatons GustavusAdophusn

the1620sand MaurceofNassau nthe1 590swereforcedto

overhauther armesdramatca ybecauseofthedsastrousdefeats

whchther predecessorshadsufferedn theprecedngyears For

nsp ra t on t s t ru e t h e y tu rne dn p art t o c a s s c a w rt e rs k e

F ron t n us V e ge t u s an dA e an bu t k e o t he rru e rs t h e y a s o

turnedtoothermoresuccessfu m tarypracttonersespeca yto

t h e g en e ra s of S p an Th ree of t h e b e st E n g sh m t arywrt e rs of

t h e re gn of E zab et h -W amGarrardH umphre yB arw c k an d

rRog e rW ams-h ad a s e rv e dn t h e S p an sh Armyof F an de rs

forseverayearsandhed up tspractcesasexampesto others18

Th e w ar n t h e L ow Count re sw as a s e mn aryn w h c h many of t h e

greatcommandersoftheGermanThrtyYears WarandtheEng sh

C v Warw ere f orme d 19t sn o a c c d e nt t h at a arg e p art of t he

m taryvocabuaryofnorthernEuropeshoudhavecomefrom

Spansh20

17RA Ne wh a MM st e randRe v e w AProb e mof En g sh M t aryAdmn s t ra-

on 1420-1440C ambrdg e M as s 1940 PC on t amn e Gu erre e t a t e t s oc e t e a a

f n dumoy e n age E t u d es s u re s arme e sd u rod e F ranc e 1337-1494P ars an dTh e

H agu e 1972 C T Aman d S o c e ty at WarTh e E x p ere n c e of Eng an d an d

F ran c e d urn g t h e un dre dY earsWarE dn bu rgh 1973 an dM ae t t n 8ab ov e

18Garrardservedn theBurgundanreg mentofthebarondeChevreux nthe

NetherandsforfourteenyearsW amsservedn theSpanshtercoofJu an

Romerofrom1574unt 1578Barwck mentonshs Spanshservcebutdoesnot

n d c a te h ow on g t a s te dA t h re e p u t t he re x p e re nc e t og ood u s e n t h e r

wrtngs seeWebbpp 44-50Therewas ofcoursea vgorousdebatethroughout

mostofthes xteenthcenturybetweenthe"Ancents"whobe evedthatGreeceand

Rome h adp rovd ed e x e mp ars t ob e c op e dn a sphe res s av e re g on an d "Mod -

erns"ther opponentsofwhomthethreewrtersaboveareexampes Seeaso

H ah w eg n 4ab ove

19S e e FRe d c h Th e G e rman M t arw En te rprs e ran dH sWorkf orc e 2 v o s

We sb ad e n 1964 1157-62f ore x amp es

20S rRog e rW ams s t re s se d t he p on t t ore ade rs of h sD s c ou rs e of Warre

1590 "Somew condemndemeeformystrangenamesoffortfcatons theyought

topardonmefor mypart knowenoothernamesthanareg venbythestrangers

b e cau se t h ere are f ew e orn one a t a n ou ran gu ag e "Works p 41 n t h e

Netherands SmonStevns manuaoffortf caton Stercktebouwng Leden1594

c arre d f ore gn m t ary t e rms n t h e margn w t h an e x p an at on n t h e t e xt w h e a

popuaraccountoftheDutchRevotEmanue vanMeterensH storyoftheLow

C oun t re sTh e H agu e 1612 c ont an ed a sp e c a g o s s ary of f ore gn m t aryw ord s

Vreemdekrghs-vocabuen" neverymodernarmymanyof thecurrentoffcers

t t e s " c ap t an " " s e rg e an t " e t c an d s ome of t h os e n ow obs o e t e e g "ref or-

mado"an offcerwhos temporar yw thoutaunt tocommandappeartohave






202Geoffrey Parker

TheDutchhowever dd makead stnctvecontrbutonofther

ownMaurceof Nassauandhs cousnwereconvncedoftheneed

forstandardzatonand unformty nther forces n1599they

securedfundsfromtheStates-Genera toequptheentre fed army

of t h e rep u b c w t h w e ap on s of t h e s ame s ze an d c ab e r A t ab ou t

t h e s ame t me C oun t John of Nass au b eg an w ork on an e w

me th od of m t ary t ran n g t h e u s tra te dmanu a H e an ay ze d e a ch

ofthedfferentmovementsrequredto manpuatetheprnc pa

nfantryweaponsgaveeachofthema number andprepareda

seresofcorrespondngdrawngs toshowwhatwasrequred There

wereffteendrawngsforthep ketwenty-fveforthearquebus and

thrty-twoforthemusketn 1606-7thewhoeschemewasre-

castnowtherewerethrty-twopostonsfor thepkeandforty-

twoforeachofthefrearms-andasequenceofnumberedpctures

wasengravedandpub shedunderCountJohnssupervson Jacob

deGheynsWapenhandenghevanroers musquettenendespes-

s e n Armsd r w t h arq ue b us mu sk e t andpk e Amst e rd am1607

Thebookwentrapdy throughnumerousedt onsn Dutch French

GermanEng sh evenDanshtherewerepratedandp agarzed

versonsthereweremanysubsequentattemptstoproducerva

manuasof whchthebestwereJohanJakobvonWa hausens

Kregskunstzu Fuszof1615 HenryHexhamsPrnc pesof theArt

M t are of 1637an dJe an d e L o s te n e au sM are sc h ad e b a t a e of

1647 Thesuddenpopuartyofthenewgenreofm tarytextbook

sexpa nedbythetactca changesofthes xteenthcentury The

evoutonfrommono thc massedpkeformatonstoartcu ated

combnatonsofpke andshotwh chmadeamore eaborateherar-

chyofranksnecessaryp acedan ncreasngburdenonthe unor

offcersandunderoffcersTheybecamethecruca nksbetween

thearmycommandersandthesma tactcaun tstheyhadto

c ont ro d s c p n e an dd r t h e rmen t w as t o an sw e rt he rn e e ds

thatdeGheynandtherestproducedtherdr booksThes tuaton

d e p c te dn ap c t u re of a c omp any of t h e Amst e rd amm t a n 1625

p an t ed byW van d en V ac k ert mu s t h ave b e e n f ary t yp c a t h e

captan sshownstandngwth deGheynsWapenhandengheactu-

c ome f romSpan or t ay t oF ranc e t h e Ne th e rand s an dEn g an d s e e JH e rb on

Eementsespagnosen waon etdanse frantasdes ancensPays-Bas Lege

1961 t s e e ms k e y h owe v er t h at man y of t he s e m t ary t e rmsc ame f rs t t o

S p an sh f rom t a an J Te rn g e n L o s t a an smos e n e sp an od e sd e af ormac on

d e d o m a ha st a p r nc p o s d e s g c X V A ms te rd am 1 9 4 3 T he re s n o f u

an ay s s of t h e S pan sh w ord s o an e d t oF e msh an dD ut c h at h ough t h ere s a

sketchyntroductonbyC F A vanDam "DeSpaansewoordenn hetNeder-

and s ch e " n B und e a ang e bod en a an P rof D rC G N d e V ooy sGron n g en

1940 pp 86-103







a y o p enn fr onto fhm try ng toworko utwhat t o d o nextThe

Dutchmaynothave nventedthe"revouton" ntactcs butthey

cert a ny v ent ed theb es twa y o fcop ngwth s omeo f t s e ffe c ts 2

Theres thusroomfordoubtconcernngthenovetyof thetactcs

andthestandngarmes ntroducedbyPrnce MaurceandK ng

Gustavus There s aso some queston about the orgna ty of

Gustavussstrategy Agan Robertsstartswth adamagngcrt que

ofthepractce ofsxteenth-centurygeneras "Thester tyofwar-

f a re nEur o pe nthe tmeo f PrnceM aur ce s the a c cur a te

measure of the strategc th nkng of the age" And n another

passage"Strategcth nkngw theredaway wareternazed t-

s e f 2 2Nowthe cruc a nfuence o nthe ev o uto no f s tr a teg c

thnkng nthes xteenthcenturywastheappearanceof anentre y

newty peo fd efens v efo r tfc a t o nthe tr ac e t a enne a c r cut

o f owthck wa s p unctua t ed b y qua dr a t er a b a s t o ns n the

courseofthef fteenthcentury tbecameobvousthatthe mprove-

ment s n g unfound ng a nd a r t e ry had r ender ed thehg h thnwa s

o ftheMd d eA g e s qut end efens b e A b r efc a nno nad efr omthe

"bombards"broughtthemcrashngdown Thereasonwhythe

kng d omo fG r a na d a fe t o theChr s t a ns s o e a s y nthe1 4 8 0s

when tha d r e s s ted s ucc e ss fuy fo r s ev encentur e s a y n thefa ct

thatFerd nand a nd s a b e awer e a b e t o b rng a tr a no famo s t1 80

segegunsaganstthe Moorshstronghods23The Engsh posses-

sons nFrancewere kewsereconquered nthe 1430sand1440s

a rg e y b y Ch ar e s V s a rt e ry a t C a st o n n 1 4 53 t he b g g u n s

e v enwona b a t t eThe nt a tv e nwa rfar enoway w ththe

aggressor and notsurprsngy by1500everymaorEuropeanstate

possesseda powerfu art eryparkforuseaganst tsneghborsor

21V an d en V ac k ert sp an t n g of C apt an B u rgh sm t ac omp an yh ang s k e

RembrandtsmorefamouspctureofthecompanyofCaptanHansBannngCocq

d o ne n1 6 4 2n theRks museumAms terd am Ther e s a r ep ro d uct o no fthep o rto n

whchcear yshowsdeGheynsbookonp 37ofK stscommentaryto deGheyn

Ks t e s t ab s hes b ey ond a d oub t thenfuence o fJoha n o fN a ss a uo nthe

compostonoftheWapenhande nghepp 14-1S andhedescrbesthemeasures

takenn1599 tostandardzearmament ntheDutcharmyFor a ttemore nforma-

t o no nthefr s tEng s hed t o no fd eGheyn s e eAnna E C Smon "A Pr es entfo r

a Prnce " nTenStud e s n Ang o -Dut chRe a t o ns ed J A v a nDor s tenLed en

an dL on d on 1974pp S 1-71

2 2Ro ber ts M ta ry Rev o uto np 7 a nd Ess a ys p 2 0 2

2 3M A La der o Que s ad a Ca s t a y a co nqus ta d e r eno d eG r ana da Va a d o d

1 9 67 p 1 2 7 Fo r a g ener a a s s e ss mento fthemp o r ta nce o f a r t e ry to Euro pe s e e

C M Cp o a G uns a nd Sa s ntheEa ry Pha se o fEur o pe a nExpa ns on 1 4 00 - 17 0 0

London 1965 However thedemseof theod-stye castesdd notoccurovernght

nmany a re a s wher e a r t e ry coud no t e a s y b eb r oug ht n med eva fo rtfc a t o ns

r e ta ned therv a ue Se eH MCo v n " Cas t e s a nd G ov ernmentn Tudo rEng a nd "

E n g sh H s t orc aRe v e w 831968 225-34






204GeofJex Pbrhe

ag an st t s d s s d e n t sub e c ts M t ary arc h t ec t sn t ay w h ere s e g e

warfarewasmostcommonwerethefrst toexpermentwthnew

technquesoffortf catonwhchm ghtwthstandshe ngand Pro-

fessorJohnHae hastracedtheevoutonofthebaston defensen

t ay f romab ou t 1450 w h en t mad e t s f rs t ap p earanc e u n t t h e

1520 sw h e n t w asf u y f e dg e d t w as ad e v e opme nt w h c h

"revo utonzedthedefensve-offensvepatternofwarfare be-

causetsoonbecamecear thatatownprotectedbythetrave

ta ensecoud notbecapturedby thetradtona methodsofbattery

andassaut thadto beencrcedand starved ntosurrender24

TheFrenchm tarywrterFourquevauxdecaredn 1548thattowns

whosefortfcatonsweremorethanthrtyyearsodz thats whch

werebut beforetheageof bastonshardy deservedtobeca ed

f o rt f c a t on s a t a We mu st c on fe s se " e c h oe d S rRog e rW-

ams "A e x and e rC ae sar S c p o an dH an b a t ob e t h e w ort h es t

nd famoustwarrersthateuerwerenotwthstandngassureyour

s e f e t h eyw ou dn e ue rh aue c onqu ere dC oun tre s s o

e a s e h ad t he yb e en f ort f e d a sG e rman e F ran ce an d t he L ow

Countros wthothers hauebeensncetherda es"25Therewas

thereforea scrambeamongthegreatpowerstobu dthenew

"m race"defenseswhereverthereexsteda rskof attack n

Lombardy nHungary ntheLowCountres aongthesouth

coastofEngand andesewhere

As thappened theseareaswerea argepa ns"contnenta

sands" tousethe anguageofFernandBraudewhereafewgreat

townsdomnatedthecountrysdeWhoevercontro edthetowns

contro edthecountrysde andthereforen a theseareaswar

becameastruggeforstronghodsa seresofprotractedseges

Batteswereoftenrreevantn theseareasuness theyhepedto

d e te rmn e t he ou t come of a s e g e E v e n t ot av c t ery on t h e f e d dd

notnecessary compethewe -defendedtownsto surrenderthey

c ou d c ont n u e t ores s t a s d d S t Qu en t n af te rt h e f amousb a t t e n

1557 orasthetownsof Hoand andZeaandweretodo after1572

etherunt theywerestarvednto submssonor unt theenemy

gaveupthroughexhauston26Naturay sncethetrace taenne

24J R H ae "Th e E aryD e v e opmen t of t he B a s t on An t a an C h ron oogy c

1450- c 1534" n E u rop e n t h e L a t erMdd e Ag es e dH ae J R LH gh f e d an d

B Smae yL on d on 1965pp 466-94

25G D c k n s on e d Th e "n s tru ct on s s u r1e f a t d e ag u e rre "of Rawmondd e

Ba c care d e P av e S e u rd e F ourq ue v au x L on don ? 1954 p 85 an dW amsp 33

26Parker pp7-11 andnn theretoThe samewastrueformanyofthewarsof the

Mdde AgesTheHundredYearsWarwas accordngto arecentstudy charac-

t e rzedmore by s e g es t h an by any ot h erf ormof mart a e x erc s e "A mand p 7

s e e a s op p 6-9 104-22







wasntroducedn thoseareasmost keyto befoughtoverand

sncemostof thefghtngof thesxteenthcenturydd nfacttake

p ac e t he re t s t ru e t o s ayw t h Rob e rt s t h at mos t g en e ra s k e

MaurceofNassau "hadnoambt onwhatevertof ghtbattes"

Thsprovesony thattheyhadasQundgraspofstrategcrea tes

Butwheneverwarshappenedtooccurn areaswherethetrace

ta ennewasabsent-n taybefore1529 ncentraFrancedurng

t h e re g ou sw ars n t h e B rt sh s e s o r n G e rman y t he n b att e s

werebothfrequentandmportantPava n1525 Muhbergn 1547

v ryn 1590an d s o on t w as e v en p o s s b e n su c h are a s t o

operateaconscousVernchtungsstratege27 twasa sotruethat

wherebastonswereabsentandbattesmorefrequent cavarywas

morepromnentonEuropessteppefronterfor exampew ththe

cossacksandstradots ordurngthec v warsn Germanyand

Engand wththefurouschargesofPappenhem PrnceRupert

an dC romwe s ronsd e s B u t ev e n n t h e se t h e at e rs of c on f c t

battesweresedom decsve" nthesensethattheybroughtthe

wartoan mmedateendNethertheBretenfed norLutzennor

WttstocknorJankow-fourresoundngvctoresforthe "new-

mode"SwedsharmytermnatedtheThrtyYears WarThetwo

battesofthewarwhch camenearesttoachevng "tota"vctory

wereas thappened wonbySpansh"o d-stye"forcestheWhte

M oun t an n 1620an dNordn g en n 1634

Thegeneras oftheseventeenthcentury ketherpredecessors

werecompe edtorespectthedctatesofm tarygeographyWhen

n1632the mpera armyunderWaenstenretreatedntotheA te

Veste aspeca ypreparedstronghodnearNuremburgGustavus

Ad ophu sw as c omp e e d t o e x pe n d ag rea t d e aof t me me n an d

mone yn t ryn g t o s t arve t h emou t An d n t h e e ndh e f a e d n

France Vauband gentyerecteda chanofmoderndefensesa

aroundthesenstve andexposedfrontersofthecountryCoehoorn

dd thesamen theUntedProvncesThesefortfcatonsof theater

27Seethepo cyofS rHumphreyG bertcommanderofQueenEzabethsforces

n reand n1579and aveteranoftheLowCountresWars "Hefurthertookeths

ordernfrngeabe thatwhensoeverhemadeany ostyng or nrode ntotheenemes

C oun t re yh e k e dmann e w oman an d c h d an d spo e dw as t ed an dburn ed by

t h e g round e a t h at h e mgh t e avyn gn ot h n gof t he e n e mes n s af fe t e w h c h h e

ou dp o s s b e w ast e o rc on sume Th e k n gof t h emby t h e sw ord e w as t h e

waeto k themenneofwarrebyfamne whobyf ghtoftentymessavedthem

sevesfromthednteof thesworde" ThomasChurchyard Genera Rehearsa of

Warre sL on d on 1579S q u ot e dn J T John s on d e o ogy Re as on an d t h e Lmt a -

t o s a of WarRe g o s an d S ec u arC onc e pt s 1200-1740P rn c e ton NJ 19751pp

14142Johnsonpontsoutthatths san earyapp catonofthecounterrevouton-

arze do c trn e t h at f re vou t on are sv e amon g t he p e op e k e f sh n w ate rt h e w ay

tok t h e f sh s t od ryu p t h e w ate r"






206Geoffrey Potrker

seventeenthcentury vaststar-shapedcompexeswhch keptthe

b e s egn g art e ry out of ran ge of t sp rey c ont n u ed t ob e of

strategc mportanceunt the1860s Wherevertheyexstedthey

madebattesrre evantandthereforeunusua Throughoutmodern

tmeas ntheMdd eAges m tarygeographyshapedstrategy28

Theres thussomedoubtaboutthesgnfcanceofboththe

tactcaand thestrategcaspectsofRobertss m taryrevouton

Buttheres absouteynodoubtabout tsthrd consttuentthe

growthnarmys ze Between1530and1710therewasa ten-fod

ncreasebothn thetotanumbersofarmedforcespadby themaor

Europeanstatesandn thetotanumbersnvoved nthemaor

Europeanbattes Tabe demonstratesthe nfaton narmes-

TABLE

NCREASEDN MLTARYMANPOWER1470-1710

SpanshDutch

OateMonarchyRepubcFranceEngandSwedenRussa

1 47 0S 2 00 00 4 0 00 0 25 0 00

1 550S 1 50 000 5 0000 2 0 0

1 59 0 S 20 0 0 00 2 0 0 00 8 0 0 00 3 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0

1 6 30 S 3 00 0 0 0 5 0 0 00 1 5 0 0 00 4 5 0 00 3 5 0 0 0

1 65 0S 0 00 00 0 00 00 7 00 00 7 00 00

1 6 70 S 7 0 00 0 1 1 0 00 0 1 20 0 0 0 6 3 0 00 1 3 0 0 00

1 7 00 S 5 0 00 0 1 00 0 0 0 4 00 0 0 0 8 7 00 0 1 00 0 0 0 1 70 0 0 0

SOURC ES -F orf gu re s on Sp an L ad e roQu e sad ap 159 Rark e rTh e Armyof F t d e * sp 6 an dHKame n

Th e Warof S u rce s s o t t S p 1 17 -1715L n d on 1969pp 59-60 f ormet rpo t an Span t n y F ort he

D u tc h Re pu b c F J GTe n Raa an dF d e B a sH e t S t aa t sc h e e g er 156$ -17956v > s B red a1911-18 v o

1 passm ForFranceaContamne Gwerre etatetsocetepp 313-18F LotRecherchess r/evseffectfsdes

urn 1e S f ran co s e s d s g t rres zX t a s au x g e rresd e re g zon 1494-156 P ars 96 p p 135-XX An dre pp

271-328an dH \t et h v e rL c S e c e d e L ou ts XV P ars 1962 p 6XF orEn g an dC GC ru c k shan k

E z ab e t hsA rn qy Oxford 1966 p a ssm C F rt h romw e sAre 1y on don 1962 pp 34-35an dRE

S c ou e r Th f Arme s o t > u e en An n e Ox ford 1966 c h ap 3F orSw e t e n N1Robe rts T e E aryV as as A

H s t ory of Sw e de n 1523-1611C ambrdg e 1968 pp 399A04an dNord a an n pp 133A7F orRu s s aNe w

C zambrX e M od e rn H s t oryC ambrdge 1964 5577R B e an sWaran d t h e B rt h of t he Nat on -S t at e Journ a

of t c on omc H s t ory 33 173 203-1p rov t e s s ome f u rth e rf gu re sn t h e s z e of v arous n at t na arme s

fr om A D t O A L 5 99 p 2 1

28M t aryg e ograph y a s o af f ec t edm t ary t h e ory t s t ru e t hat L ond ono V ad e s

EscaanteandtheotherSpanshwrtersof theperodwhodeat wthwar sadvery

tteaboutbattes butthswas becauseafter1559Span foughtveryfewwars n

whchbatteswerenecessary At easttwoofthewars nwhchshe wasengaged

w e re t t e more t han e x te n de dgu er a a c t on sn n e w Gac a an d n C h e t s

thereforenosurprseto fndthatthefrst Europeanmanua ofguer awarfarewas

wrttenbya SpanardBernardodeVargasMachuca whohadfoughtongyears n

C h e H sM c ad e a sn d a s of 1599d e s crb e d un g e w arfare w t h op era t ona

un t s of t we n ty ort h rt yme n und e ra c aud o e ade rw h ok n ew n ot on yh ow t o

eadandhowtof ghtbutaso howtocuresoresandwoundsnf cteddeepnthe

f ore s t mos t of h s re med e s n v ov ed t h e u s e of t ob acc o a s ap an k e r w h c h

vegetabeseedstotakeon themarchtosowoverthewnterandharvest nthe

sprng andsoon Thend ansofCh eneverfoughtbattes VargasMachuca

observed becausetheyhad earnedfromb tterexperencethattheyaways ostthem

Foranaccountofthesm arguer awar onthenorthernfronterofSpansh






"M t u ryRe v ou t on 207

w h c h w asp ara e e d n n av e s an d t he rs e n c ombat an t s s ob v -

ouswhenonecomparesbattes kePava 1525and Neuwpoort

1600 w t h 10000c omb atan ts on e t h e rsd e an d ab a tt e k e

D e nan 1710w t h 100000men p e rsd e

f however wecanacceptRobertss assertonaboutm tary

manp owe rg rowt h w e c an no t ap ror a c ce p t h s e x p anat on of t t

cannotstem ashethoughtfromthetactca andstrategc nnova-

tonsofMaurce ofNassauandGustavusAdophus frst because

thesemodf catonswerenotsonew second andmoremportant

becausetherapdand sustanedgrowth narmys zepredatedthem

TheEmperorChares Vhad55 000menatthes egeofMetz n

1552 ongbeforeMaurcewasborn andtheSpanshArmyof

Fandersareadynumbered86o000men n1574 whentheprncewas

on y sx y e ars od Th ere w e re n f ac t c e rtan o t h e rt ac t c a c h ang e s

whchcearedthewayfor the"prodgous ncrease narmys ze

F ormos t of t h e Mdd e Ag es t h e p rnc p a armn an ym t ary

forcewastheheavycavary madeupoffu yarmedknghtson

horseback threehundredweghtofmountedmetaap ecemovng at

speedTheknghtswerecumsy expensve andscarcebutthey

w e re c ap ab e of w n n n ggre a t v c t ore sAn t o c h 1098 B ouvn e s

1214an dRoo sbe k e 1382f ore x amp e Th e re w e re a s oh ow-

verd sastrousdefeatsespeca y nthefourteenthandffteenth

centures whentwas dscoveredthata heavycavarychargecoud

reguarybe stoppede therbyvo eysofarrowsorby aforestof

pkes Latert wasfoundthatpkemencoudbeusedoffensveyto

chargeothergroupsofpkemen oncethemountedknghtshadbeen

mpaedandd sposedof Thevctoresof theSwss nfantryaganst

CharestheRashofBurgundyn the1470swrotetheesson arge

andn theta anwarsthe nfantrycomponent neveryarmy

b e came s te adymore n ume rou s an dmore d e c sv e C h are sV s

armyn 1494c omprs e d abou t 18000men h af of t h emc av ary

F ran c s s armyn 1525c omprs ed s ome 30000men on e-f f th of

themcavaryThe numberof horsemenhaddecreasedbothabso-

u t e y an d re a t v e y 29Th s sh f t n e mph as s f romh orse t of o o t w as

c ruc a f orarmy s ze Wh ere as t h e re w as a mt t o t h e n umbe rof

knghtswhocoud managetoequpthemsevesandtherhorses

readyforacharge therewasnoneto thenumberof ordnarymen

Amerc a s e e PW Powe S od e rs n d an s and S ? e rTh e Nort h wardAdv anc e of

Ner12Spans1550-1600 Berkeey 1969

29L o t c t e dn t ab e n pp 21 56E v e n w he re c av ary c ont n u e d t op ay a

d e c s v e ro e n b att e s a sn t h e F re n ch re g ou sw ars t s c h ara ct e rand c ompo s t on

aswe as tstactcs wereentreyd fferentfromthoseoftheffteenth-century

g e nd arme re S e e R Pu ddu E s e rc t e monarc h e n azon a n e s e c o XV -XV

F ore n ce 1975 pp 35-36






208Geoffrey Parker

w h oc ou db e e n s t e d an d s s u ed ap k e sw ord an dh e me t A

pk e man s b a s c e q u pme n t c os t t t e more t han h sw ag e s f ora

weekand nsomecaseseventhspa trysumcoud bededucted

f romt h e s od e rsp ay

Thankstothetrumphofthep kemen therefore tbecame

p o ss b e f org ov e rn men t s t o rec ru t arm an d t ran an un mt e d

numberof menTheroadto unrestranedm taryncreaseay wde

op en B u t t on y ay op en Th e re w asn ot h n gn a t h sw h c h

actveycompe edanarmyto augment tsnumbers ndeed over

fftyyearsweretopassbetweenthefna defeatofChares theRash

n 1477an d t he f rs t maor n c re a se n army s ze n t h e 1530s an

ncreasenecesstatedbythevastnumberofmenrequredto starve

outatowndefendedby thetraceta esne Afterths perodof

growthcamefourdecadesofstagnaton therewasnofurther

ncrease narmys zeunt the1580sNo governmentcouddreamof

brngng argerconcentratonsof troopsntoacton forthesmp e

reasonthatnonepossessedtheorganzatonnecessarytomob ze

payand suppysucha forceBythem ddeof thesxteenth

c e nt u ry t h ere w e re on y t e n c t e s n a of E u rop e w t h ap opu at on

nexcessof60000 Beforethepromse oftheSwss achevement

c ou db e f uy re a ze d b e f ore t h e t hre sh od of me d e v a army s ze

coudbecrossed therehadto bemportantchanges nthefnanca

andadmnstratveresourcesoftheEuropeanstates30

Thegrowthofm tarymanpowerdependednoton yon nterna

f a ct o rs k e t a ct c s b u t a s o on an umberof e x t rn s c f a ct o rs t o ta y

unreatedtotheartofwar tsef Perhapsfourcanbe dentfedas

c rt c a n t h e f rs t p a c e t h e re c e aryh ad t ob e g ov ern me n ts

c apab e of org an zn g an c ont ro n g arg e f orc e s t s n t ere st n g t o

notethatthemaorwavesofadm nstratvereformn western

Europen the1530sand1580sandat theendoftheseventeenth

centuryconcdedw thmaor phasesof ncrease narmys ze31On

theonehandthegrowthofa bureaucracywasnecessarytocreate

argerarmes ontheother twasnecessarytocontro themThe

rapdnumerca expansonof theearyseventeenthcenturyforced

somedecentrazaton governmentsusedentrepreneurstorasether

30B e an c t e d n t ab e 1n ad van ce d a sm arargume nt bu t f a e d t op rovd e

c onvn c n g e vd e nc e S e e t h e t e n gd s c u s s on of B ean s art c e byD Rn gros e an d

R Roeh n Jc rrn a c f E c onomc H s t ory 331973 222-31

31J V c e nsV v e s "E st ruc t ura admn s t ra t v a e s ta t a e n o s s g o sXV yXV " n

Xe congres nternatona desssenceshstorques Rapports vo 4 Stockhom

1960pp 1-241 AA Th omp son "Th e Armad a an dAdmn s t ra t ve Re f orm"

En g sh H s t orc aRe e n z821967 698-725G N C ark Th e S e v en t ee n th C e nt u ry

2d e d Ox ford 1961 c h ap s 6 7 an dJA M arav a E s tad omode rnayme n t ad ad

K s oc a 2 v o s M ad r d 1 9 7 2 p a s s m e s p 2 5 1 3- 85







s od e rs S s a o rs an d n t h e c as e of t h e M ed t e rran ean s t at e s t h e r

ga eyfeets thasbeenestmatedthatbetween1631and1634 there

weresome300m taryenterprsersras ngtroopsn Germanya oneS

rangngfromAbrechtvonWa enstendukeof Fredandand mpe-

ra commander-n-chefwhora sedentrearmes undercontractto

mn org e nt ry f romSw t zeran d an d t he Ty ro w h ora s ed sn g e

companesorevensnge squadrons twasthesamestory nmost

areasofEuropeSeven ncountres keSpanSwheretroopras ng

hadbeena eaousyguardedroya monopoyn thesxteenthcen-

t u ry 32H ow ev e r t s mport an t t on o te t h atS n a E u rop eS on y

O verCromwe managedto emuatethegenerasofRomeor the

c on d ot t e rof t ay an dw res t p o t c a p owe rf romh s c v an

empoyersEsewhere fweexcepttheOttomanemprewth ts

anssares governmentsawaysmantaneda coseren onther

commandersandkepttherarmes underconstantsurveance War

departmentspro ferated neverycountry squeezngout m tary

entrepreneursandothermdd emenandestabshnga drect nkwth

everysoder nthearmy Detaedrecordsofthetroopsbegantobe

keptsothattheon ysurvv nghstorca traceforhundredsof

thousandsofmen neary moderntmes sther armypaysheets33

Thenumerca expansonof armeswasa sodependentoncertan

eementarytechnoogca mprovements nordertosuppy 50000

me n an d c ampf o ow ers on t h e march t h ad t ob e p o ss b e t o

concentrateenoughovenstoproduce50000 oavesofbreadaday

enoughwater wne andbeerhadtobe concentratedforthema to

drnk andtherehadtobeenoughcartsandhorsestocarryther

baggage whchmght amounttohafa tonpermantand enough

tents bedsor sheterstoaccommodateat easttheoffcers34Ony

nthe atersxteenthcenturydd tbecomepossbeto meetthese

baschumanneedson agrandscae Anothereementarytechnoog-

ca frontertobecrossedconcernedroads twasnotpossb eto

moveargeconcentratonsoftroopsatspeedbeforetheseventeenth

centurybecausetherewerenoroadsoutsde taywh chwere

32Th e c a s s c a c cou nt of t h e organ za t on of w arbym t arymdd e me n s Re d c h

n 19ab ove F orm t ary c on tra ct n g n sx t e en t h- c en t ury Sp an s e e A A

Th omp son Waran dAdmn s t ra t s v e D e eon t on Th e M t arxGv e rnme nt of Sp atn n

t he R e g r o f P h p " L o n do n n p r es s

33Forsomeusesto whchthesecopousm taryrecordscanbe putsee forthe

sxteenthcenturyParkern 3above fortheeghteenthcenturyA Corvsers

LArmee f ranf a s e d e a f n duXU e s e c e au mn s t e re de C h o s e u L e S od a t 2

v o s P ars 1964 an d f ort h e n n et e en t h ce n tu ryE L e RoyL ad u re an dP

Dumont "QuanttatveandCartographca Expotatonof FrenchM taryArchves

1819-1826 D aed a e s 100 S p rn g1971 397-441

34F ors ome e x amp e sf romt he Armyof F an de rs s e e P arke rc h ap s 2 3






210Ceofyrey Parker

c apab e of c arryng a arge army t s su ppy t ran an d t s art e ryn

thesxteenthcenturyevenona routeusedreguaryby troops ke

the"SpanshRoad"fromLombardytoLuxemburg twasneces-

sarytobu dnewcauseways nthemountansandacrossmarshes

andto constructspeca brdgesoverrversand streamsforevery

m taryexpedton-onceeverytwoyearsonanaverage-because

afterthetroopshadpassed everythngwasa owedtoreverttots

formerstate35Ony nthe aterseventeenthcenturyd dgovern-

mentsseetheneedand possessthemeans toconstructand

mantanpermanentm taryhghwaysCharesX ofSwedenand

LousX VofFrance edthewaydurngthe1680s ntheeghteenth

c e nt u ry ro ad s e ve n b e gan t ob e u s ed a s a v e h c e f ormp e ra sm as

theyhadoncebeenbytheRomanChneseandncaemp resw th

Genera Wadesnetworkofm taryroadsa doutma ny between

1726and1767 totametheScottshhghands

However fora thsoneneededmoneyandherewe cometo

t w oo th e ran dp e rh apsmore mportan t e x t rn s c mt s t om t ary

grow t h F rs t t h e re h ad t ob e a c e rt an e v e of w e at h n s o c e ty

beforeheavyandproongedm taryexpendturecoud besupported

s e con d t h ere h ad t ob e w ays of mob zn g t h at we at h t w ou d

seemthatbetween1450and1600thepopuaton ofEuropeamost

o u b e d an d n s ome area s t more t h an d ou b e d an d t h ere s t t e

doubtthatoverthesameperod therewasanotabe ncrease nthe

totaweath ofEuropeAfterabout1660bothpopuatonandweath

begantoncreaseagan Thsnewprospertywastappedeverywhere

bytaxaton ether ndrectythroughexcsedutesuponconsumer

g o ods ord re c t y by av are t y of e v e s on an d c ap t a an dv e ry

rarey ncomeGovernmentrevenuesncreasedeverywherenthe

sxteenthcenturyde vngeverdeepernto thepocketsandpursesof

thetaxpayersHoweverSnogovernmentcoudpayfora proonged

waroutofcurrenttaxatonthe ncomewhchsuffcedfora

peacetmeestab shmentcoud nnoway proveequatotheunpre-

dctabebut nevtabyheavyexpensesofa maorcampagn The

statethereforehadtospreadthecostsofeachwar overanumberof

p e ac e fu y e ars e t h erby s avn gu pn an t c p at on a s Qu ee n

E zab e t h ddb e fore she d e c d e d t omak e w aron Span n 1585or

35b d c h ap 3 H owe v er f orare mn d ert h at ro ad sw e re n o t t h e on ybrak e on

m t ar y m ob t y s e e J M o t U n P r ob e me o p er at o nn e d u X V e s e c e u st re

p arun c as re g on a Rv e b tu 1ord 53 1971269-90M ot argue s t h at u n t 1700

a t e a s t t a c t c s d c t at e d t hat arme s on ac t ve s e rv c e h ad t omarc h a s a sn g e

f ormat on w h c h mgh t b e 50000s t ron gNo e x s t n g ro adn e t work c ou d c op e w t h

ahorde kethatand mostotthetroopshadtop oughtherwaythroughtreesand

scrubust ketherpredecessors near ercentures






" M t u r x R e u t on 2 1 1

-

byspendng nadvancethencomeoffutureyearswththea dof

oansfrombankersandmerchantsWth asma armyths mghtnot

besucha greatprobemFranceappearstohavef nancedher

t a an w ars f rom1494un t 1529w t h f e w e f fe c ts 36b u t n t h e

sxteenthcenturytheprobemwasverydfferentbecause apart

fromthegrowthnnumbersandthegreaterduratonofwars whch

of c ours e n c rea s ed t h e ov era c o st t h ere w as a s o t h e "p rc e

re vou t on "w h c h me ant t h at t c o s t f armore t op u t a s od e r n t o

t h e f e d n 1600t h an t h adn 1500Th sf a c t n at u ra y dd n o t

escapethenotceofcontemporares " fcomparsonweremade

b e tw e en t h e p res e nt c o s t t oH sM ae s ty Ph p 1of t h e t roop sw ho

serven hsarm esandnaves andthecostofthoseoftheEmperor

C h are sV Lh S f ath e rA t w b e f oun d t h at f oran e qu an umberof

menthreetmes asmuchmoneys necessarytodayasusedtobe

sp en t t he n "37Wrt te n n 1596 t h sw as f an y th n g an un d e re s t -

matebut twas ndsputabethateachwarcostmorethanthe

precedngone andthatforSpan nvovedn somany ong-endurng

c onf c t s t h e p rog re s s on w asp art c u ary a armn g s e e f g 1

154748_

155259_

_

157275

_t

159s98

O 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0

FG 1 Av erage an n ua c o st of S p an sf ore gn w ars n m on sof f orn s Th e

s ourc e f ort h sf gu re s P ark e rTh e Aren s of F /1E 1C JTSTpp 134n 2 287

FortunateyforHabsburgmpera sm theSpanshcrownwasabe

t od raw on are a t v e y e f f c e nt f n an c a sy s t emw h c h e n ab e d t t o

borrowor"antc pate"therevenuesofup totenyears nadvance

andby brutatreatmentof ts enders tokeepthenterestratedown

t o7p e rce n t ore s sB u t e v en t h sd d n o t p roduc e a t h e mon e y

requredforwars andmanyofthetroopswereeftunpad some-

36P Contamne Sonsommatonetdemandem taresenFranceetenAngeterre

X e -XV e s e c e s "p ap erd e v e re d a t t h e S es t a S et t manad S t ud o s t t u to

n t ern azon ae d S t oraE c on omc a P ra to M ay 31974 pp 26-27

37EstebandebarranSpanshsecretaryofwar memorandumdatedDecember15

1596Add t on aM an us c rp t 28*373 f o s 129-30B rt sh Mu s e um L ond on my

transaton






212Geoffrey Parker

tmesformonthsandsometmesevenforyears Asa resut Spans

s od e rs re gu arymu t n e d f ort h e rp ay an dmu t n yb ec ame amos t

n n s t tu t on of m t ary f e 38H owe v er t w as an n s t t u t on shared

wthotherarmes TheDutcharmywasperodca yparayzedby

mu t n e sn t h e 1580s a sw a s t he P arame n tary armydu rn g t h e

E n g sh C v Ware sp ec a y n 1644an d 1647 M anyun t s of t h e

Sw ed sh armyn Ge rman ymu t n e dn 1633 d s sp a t n g t he p re st g e

wonbythevctores oftheBretenfedandLutzenandaga n n

1635encouragngtheGermanProtestantsto makepeacewththe

HabsburgsThe factthatthesecondmutnywasca edan"a tera-

ton" thetermnvarab yusedbytheSpansh mutneerstodescrbe

theractvt es betrayedtheparentageofthepractce39The peren-

na probemfortheSwedsh theSpanshand ndeedeverygov-

ernmentn wartmewasmoney nthewordsofan Engsh advser

totheDutchRepubcdurng therwarw thSpan "Thematterof

g rea t es t d f f c u t y n w ar s n p roport on n g t he c h arg e of t h e

warresandthenombersofthesoud erstobemaynteynedw ththe

contrbuconsandmeanesofthecountreys"40t wasabovea ese

t h e f n an c are s ou rc e s of a s t a te w h c h h e dd ow n t he s ze of t s

armedforces ftoomanytroopswereengaged or ftheywere

engagedfortoo ongmut nyandbankruptcyresuted41

t wastheDutchwhofrstperfectedtechnquesof warfnance

capabeofsustanng anenormousarmyamost ndefntey Thecost

of t h e warw t h Sp an f rom1621un t 1648s te ady n c re a se d f rom

an av erag e of 13m on f orn s n t h e 1620s t o an av erag e of 19

m on n t h e 1640s b u t t he re w asn o t a sn g e mu t n y orf n anc a

c rs s On t h e c on t rary n an e me rg e nc y t h e D u tc h Re pu b c c ou d

3#G Parker "MutnyandDscontentntheSpansh ArmyofF anders 1572-

1607"Pastand Pre*ent58 1972 38-52

39F ort h e mut n e s of t h e P arame nt ary arme sd u rn g t he 1640s s e e F rt h c t e dn

t ab e n c ha ps 1 2 1 4 J S M o r r M ut n y a nd D s c on te nt n E ng s h P r ov n c a

Armes1645-1647"PastandPresent56 1972 49-74ForSwedsh mutnesdur ng

the1630sseeR tstatserenAxeOxensternasstrfteroc hBrev?ax ng fcrraavde-

n n g en S t oc k hom 1894v o 8 n o s 169170 244293-95e t t e rs of Ox e ns t e rnat o

f e d c omman de rsM arc h 6Apr 22an dM ay 15 1633an dpp 682-83me moran -

dumsentbyOxensternatotheSwedshrad May13 1633 aboutthe"con-

f o ed e ra t o of t h e army an d S en are a t d e n n g e n S t oc k hom 1893v o 6 n o s 145

146 and149 ettersofMarsha JohanBanerto Oxensterna October29and 30and

November5 1635aboutthe"a teraton"organzedanded by"dersamptchen

offcerenvondergantzenarmee"Therewereofcourse?numerousmutnes by

Swedshtroopsbeforethereformsof-GustavusAdophusseeRobertsTheEary

V a s as p 258an dNordmann p 135

40Th omasWk e s D e c ara t on "Juy 22 1587 n C orresp on d en t e an Rob e rt

D u d ey graaf v an L fg c e s te re d H B ru gman s3 v o s U t re c ht 19312 402

41Onthef nanca organzatonoftheEuropeanstatesdurng thsperod seethe

brefsurveyofG Parker TheEnergenceofModernF nancenE rope1500-1730

L on d on 1974pp 38-67






"M t aryRe v ou t on 2 13

ra s e a o an of 1m on f orn s a t on y 3 p e rc e nt n t w od ays 42Th e

keytoths effortessfnanca powerwas npart7theenormous

weathofAmsterdam whchby1650 wastheundsputedcommer-

c a an d f n anc a c ap t aof E u rop e b u t t w as e qu ay t h e good f at h

oftheDutchgovernmentwhcha wayspad nterestandrepad

c ap t aon t me Th s c ombn at on e n ab e d t h e D ut c h t ora s e an

armyandgoon fghtng whateverthecostunt theygottherown

waysomethngnoprevous governmenthadbeenabetodo 43 t

wasnot ongbeforeothersfo owedSoonaftertheaccessonof

W amof Orang e n 1689"D u t c h f n an c e"w as ad opt e dn En -

gand Thefoundatonof theBankofEngand Paramentsguaran-

teeofa governmentoans andtheorganzatonofa sophstcated

mone ymark e t n L on don mad e t p o s s b e f oraB rt sh armyof

unprecedentedsze- 90000men -tof ghtoverseasforyears whe

nFrancethecredtnetworkofSamueBernardandotherSwss

bankersfnancedLous X Vs aterwars

Thanksto a thesemprovementsby thefrstdecadeofthe

eghteenthcenturythemaor warsofEuropenvovedsome400 000-

me n on e ac h sd e an dmaorb at t e sn v ov e d u p t o10000044 t

thereforecomesassomethngofasurprse tofnd thatthemaor

confctsofthe1760s and1780snvoved nomore thattherewasno

furthergrowthn armysze unt theFrenchRevoutonarywars n

theeghteenthcentury as nthef fteenth tseemsthatthem tary

powerofthevarousEuropeanstateshadreachedathreshod

F u rt h ere c onomc p o t c a t e ch n oog ca an d f n anc a ad van ce s

woudbe requredbeforeths newthreshodcoud becrossedn the

1790s

However therevouton nm tarymanpowerbetween1530and

1710w as e x t re me ymportan t t c e rt an yh ad a t h e sgn f c ant

consequenceswhchRobertsattrbutedtot tmadewar mpnge

moreuponsocety t ncreasedtheauthortyofthestateparty at

42"Raadvanstaat"bundes1499 1500"Stadtvanooroghe" Agemeen

R k s arc h e f Th e H agu e t h e o an of 1664w asn ot e d byV B arb ou rC ap t a sm n

Amsterdamn theSeventeenthCentury Batmore 1950 p 81

43Contemporareswereawareofths "n thewarsofEuropetheseastfourscore

yearsandupwards wefndthattheEstatesoftheUntedProvnceshavepad

therarmes betterthananyotherprnceor stateths makesthemercenarysoder

runtother servceandcapactesthemto makegreateves na veryshorttme"

S rJame sTu rn e rP a a sA rmat aL on d on 1687 p 198

44n F ran c e t w ou d s e e mt hat on e man n sx w as c a e d t o t h e c o orsd u rn g t h e

w arof t he S p an sh suc c es s on C orv s e r1 65Th e c a c u a t on of "m t aryp art c p a -

tonratos" before1700 sextremeyhazardous sncenethertheexactsze ofthe

armedforcesnorthe totapopuaton sknownwthany certantyandthere sa so

theprobemof"foregn"troopsservng n"natona" armes Forthesereasons the

f g u re sp res e nt e d byB ean t ab e 1n p 2 11 are u nc onvn c n g






214 GeoffreyParker

t h e e xp e ns e of t h e c t ze n t a c c en t ua t ed s o c a mob t y an d t

undoubtedyretardedtheeconomcdeveopmentofmostpartc-

p ant s a t h ou gh t s t mu at e d t hat of manyn e u tra s 45 n ad d t on t

certan yhepedto precptatethenumerousconfrontatonsbetween

governmentsandthegovernedwhcharecommonyreferredtoas

the"generacrs s"oftheseventeenthcentury0 T4e"prodgous

n c re a se n t h e s c a e of w arf are " aon e mert s t h e t t e of "m t ary

evouton" whchRobertsbestowedupont twentyyearsago

thasbeensuggestedthatthehaf- feofmaor hstorca theores

s roughytenyearsand thefatesofTrevor-Ropers"genera

crss "E tons"Tudorrevouton" andPorshnevs"popuar uprs-

n g s" s e e mt ob eart h s ou t B y t h s s t an dardRob e rt s s "m t ary

revouton"has astedwe Hthertouncha enged eventhsex-

tendedexamnatonhas faed todentthebascthess thescaeof

warfare neary modernEuropewasrevoutonzed andths had

mportantandwde-rangngconsequencesOnecanony concude

bywsh ngthetheoryandts authormanymoreyearsof und-

mn she dh s t orc a f e

45SeeG Parker "TheCostsoftheDutchRevot" nWarand Economc

D e s e opme nt e dJ MW n t er C ambrdg e 1975 pp 49-71

geoffrey parker - the "military revolution," 1560-1660--a myth?

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