The Military Revolution, 1560-1660: An Inaugural Lecture Delivered Before the Queen's University of Belfast

TitleThe Military Revolution, 1560-1660: An Inaugural Lecture Delivered Before the Queen's University of Belfast
Publication TypeBook
Year of Publication1956
AuthorsRoberts, Michael
Number of Pages32
PublisherM. Boyd
CityBelfast
Abstract

The "Military Revolution" is a concept that  the historian Michael Robert started to develop  with this published Inaugural Lecture. He described with the term  a series of  changes in military strategy and tactics in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries that had in major and lasting consequences for governments and societies. Originally he focused on Sweden between the 1560s and 1660s, searching for major changes in the European way of war caused by introduction of portable firarms. Roberts connected changes in the  military technology with larger historical developments, arguing that innovations in tactics, drill and doctrine by the Dutch and Swedes between the 1560s and 1660s, which maximized the utility of firearms, led to a need for more trained troops and thus for permanent forces, which resulted in the move away from "mercenary armies" toward "standing armies." Militaries grew much larger and became more expensive. These changes in turn had major political consequences in the level of needed administrative support and the supply of money, men and provisions, producing new financial demands and the creation of new governmental institutions. Thus,  Roberts argued, the modern art of war made possible—and necessary—the creation of the modern state. Today his concept his highly contested.

URLhttps://babel-hathitrust-org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015037395475
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