Richelieu's Army: War, Government and Society in France, 1624–1642 (Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History)

It is assumed widely that'war made the state'in seventeenth-century France. Yet this study of the French army during the ministry of Cardinal Richelieu (1624–42) shows how the expansion of the war effort was not matched by army reform but by a reliance on traditional mechanisms of control. The army imposed a huge burden upon the French population, but far from being an instrument of the emerging absolutist state its demands contributed to weakening Richelieu's hold upon France and heightened levels of political and social tension. This is the first detailed account of the size, organization, recruitment, financing and control of the troops during this formative period of French history. The book also includes a detailed study of foreign policy during Richelieu's ministry, and places the training, deployment and fighting methods of the French army into the context of arguments for military change in early modern Europe. The title was runner up in the History Today Awards 2002. It is assumed widely that ''war made the state'' in seventeenth-century France. Yet this study challenges the traditional interpretations of the role of the army as an instrument of the emerging absolutist state, and shows how the expansion of the French war effort contributed to weakening Richelieu's hold on France and heightened levels of political and social tension. This is the first detailed account of the French army during this formative period of European history. It also contributes more generally to the ''military revolution'' debate among early modern historians. It is assumed widely that 'war made the state' in seventeenth-century France. Yet this study challenges the traditional interpretations of the role of the army as an instrument of the emerging absolutist state, and shows how the expansion of the French war effort contributed to weakening Richelieu's hold upon France. Runner up in the History Today Awards 2002 Accounts of French military practice during the seventeenth century have traditionally taken 19 May 1643 as their point of departure, the date of the battle of Rocroi and the defeat of the tercios of the Spanish army of Flanders by French forces under the command of the young Louis II de Bourbon, duc d'Enghien and future Grand Conde. David Parrott. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 557-578) And Index.