The business of war
Subtitle: military enterprise and military revolution in early modern Europe
By: David Parrott
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 429
ISBN-13: 9780521514835; 9780521735582
Subjects: Commerce; Military History; Mercenary troops; Economic aspects; War; HISTORY / Europe / General; History
Description: "This is a major new approach to the military revolution and the relationship between warfare and the power of the state in early modern Europe. Whereas previous accounts have emphasised the growth of state-run armies during this period, David Parrott argues instead that the delegation of military responsibility to sophisticated and extensive networks of private enterprise reached unprecedented levels. This included not only the hiring of troops but their equipping, the supply of food and munitions, and the financing of their operations. The book reveals the extraordinary prevalence and capability of private networks of commanders, suppliers, merchants and financiers who managed the conduct of war on land and at sea, challenging the traditional assumption that reliance on mercenaries and the private sector results in corrupt and inefficient military force. In so doing, the book provides essential historical context to contemporary debates about the role of the private sector in warfare"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: 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.