The Business of War
Military Enterprise and Military Revolution in Early Modern Europe

This book offers a substantial reconsideration of early modern warfare and its relationship to the power of the state.

David Parrott (Author)

9780521514835, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 8 March 2012

448 pages, 27 b/w illus. 10 maps
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.82 kg

'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

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.

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.

Subject Areas: Military history [HBW], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], European history [HBJD]