The Cambridge History of War: Volume 3, War and the Early Modern World

A four-hundred-year global perspective on the history of war from nomadic cavalry to steam-powered warships.

David Parrott (Edited by), Gábor Ágoston (Edited by)

9780521874281, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 14 August 2025

688 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 3.8 cm, 1.22 kg

'The book offers a healthy diversity of approaches … The range of subjects enables readers to understand the evolution of war at a time when new world empires were forming. The book concludes with essays describing the impact of the Industrial Age. It will be of particular use to educators, as it puts into historical context what some still call 'the rise of the West.' Suitable for a wide readership and all libraries. Recommended.' F. Krome, Choice

Volume III of The Cambridge History of War covers the early modern world, offering a four-hundred-year perspective from the last Eurasian nomadic empires to the advent of ironclad, steam-driven warships in the mid-nineteenth century. Together, the chapters cover the rise of professional armies and purpose-built warships in Europe; the evolution of military societies in the great Islamic empires; the vicissitudes of Ming and Qing military organization and that of their Asian neighbours; and the raising and maintaining of armies in Africa and the Americas. Numerous processes of imperial expansion, both on land of sea, are examined, as are the processes of global confrontation and interchange across different military systems. Technology, organization, finance, and military cultures are each explored from a broad perspective. Bringing together an impressive team of experts in their fields, the volume provides a comprehensive and accessible history of war from 1450–1850.

List of illustrations
List of maps
Notes on contributors
Acknowledgments
Introduction to Volume III David Parrott
1. The legacy of the nomadic empires Beatrice F. Manz
2. Ming conflicts with her neighbors, 1368–1644 Morris Rossabi
3. Ottoman wars and military transformation, 1453–1826 Gábor Ágoston
4. Spain's wars and the rise of the Hispanic world empires, 1516–1828 Felipe Fernández-Armesto
5. Wars of the European continent, 1500–1650 James D. Tracy
6. The evolution of naval warfare, 1450–1650 Niccolò Capponi
7. Military finance, organisation, and state development, 1450–1650 Peter H. Wilson
8. Fortification and siege warfare Simon Pepper
9. European expansion in the Indian Ocean and Pacific, 1450–1850 Louis Sicking
10. Conflict in North-Eastern Europe and the emergence of Russia to 1721 Kira B. Stevens
11.The military in Safavid Iran, 1501–1736 Rudolf Matthee
12. Wars of dynasties, wars of empires: The nature of European conflicts, 1648–1792 Hamish Scott
13. The standing army: France and Brandenburg-Prussia – A comparison, 1648–1789 Bernhard R. Kroener
14. Navies, technology, and organisation, 1648–1815 Robin Briggs
15. Warfare in early modern Africa, c. 1450–c. 1850 Richard Reid
16. Warfare in India, 1450–1850 Kaushik Roy
17. Japan and Korea, 1450–1850 Eugene Y. Park
18. Warfare in South-East Asia, 1448–1851 Michael Charney
19. War in the era of Qing imperial consolidation and expansion, 1587–1804 Pamela Crossley
20. The seventh continent: Russian territorial expansion, 1450–1850 David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye
21. The maintenance of Hispanic dominance in Latin America Gabriel Paquette
22. The United States from Independence to the war with Mexico, 1776–1848 Kevin D. McCranie
23. The wars of the French Republic and the Napoleonic Wars, 1789–1815 Alan Forrest
24. European sea power and the origins of European domination, 1800–1850 Andrew Lambert
Select Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: General & world history [HBG]