Introduction; Part I. Foundations and Expansion: 1. Military resources for hire, 1450–1560; 2. The expansion of military enterprise, 1560–1620; 3. Diversity and adaptation: military enterprise during the Thirty Years' War; Part II. Operations and Structures: 4. The military contractor at war; 5. The business of war; 6. Continuity, transformation and rhetoric in European warfare after 1650; Conclusion.
This book offers a substantial reconsideration of early modern warfare and its relationship to the power of the state.
David Parrott is a Fellow and Lecturer at New College, University of Oxford. His previous books include Richelieu's Army: War, Government and Society in France, 1624–1642 (Cambridge, 2001).
'David Parrott's sparkling and deeply-considered study is a seminal
contribution to the history of warfare and government in all
periods, and reveals that 'military outsourcing' was normal long
before the Iraq War brought it into the headlines. Highly original
in argument and notably lively in presentation, it will become a
modern classic.' Hamish Scott, University of Glasgow
'David Parrott deftly explores the various shades of grey in the
public private partnership between early modern state and military
entrepreneurs. He proves that more often than not private
enterprise simply did perform more efficiently than the state.'
Lothar Höbelt, University of Vienna
'This splendid survey prompts many further questions … but the
history of early modern warfare will never look the same again.'
History Today
'This is an extremely important book. It marks a major reevaluation
of almost everything we have believed about warfare in early modern
Europe. It is not a picture of technology-driven change (though
Parrott is aware of the significance of such innovations as the
flintlock musket and ring bayonet), but instead a clear-eyed and
unsentimental thesis showing how administrative and economic
developments pushed warfare along specific lines. … The range of
Parrott's scholarship - especially in the German literature - is
prodigious; the footnotes alone are worth the price of admission.
Military historians will doubtless debate the details for some time
to come, but that is the point: all subsequent work in early modern
military history will have to take into account the Parrott
thesis.' Renaissance Quarterly
'His scholarship draws on literature in English, French, Italian,
German and Spanish, with touches of scholarship in Swedish, Danish
and Dutch. Few scholars have his Braudellian sweep, or the
technical chops to bring together this mass of material into a
cogent argument praising the efficiency of private capital in the
military realm.' Gregory Hanlon, European History Quarterly
'Now it is evident that The Business of War will become our new
reference point. However, this book is something more than a
summary of recent research on the subject. This is the first major
study that is free from old prejudices and examines facts at their
face value.' Anton Tomsinov, Strife
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