Giant of the Grand Siecle: The French Army, 1610-1715 by John A. Lynn PDF

History 1

By John A. Lynn

ISBN-10: 0511572549

ISBN-13: 9780511572548

ISBN-10: 0521032482

ISBN-13: 9780521032483

ISBN-10: 0521572738

ISBN-13: 9780521572736

An "invisible giant," the seventeeth-century French military used to be the most important and hungriest establishment of the Bourbon monarchy; but it has got incomplete therapy and is poorly understood. Combining social and cultural emphases with extra conventional institutional and operational issues, this booklet examines the military extensive, learning recruitment, composition, self-discipline, motivation, collection of officials, management, management, logistics, weaponry, strategies, box war, and siegecraft. The portrait that emerges differs from what present scholarship may need estimated. rather than claiming "military revolution" reworked conflict, Lynn stresses evolutionary swap. wondering widely-held assumptions approximately country formation and coercion, he argues that this status military was once essentially dedicated to border safety, and in simple terms infrequently to inner repression.

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Extra resources for Giant of the Grand Siecle: The French Army, 1610-1715

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Such men could trust in repayment because they could trust themselves. In contrast, Louis demonstrated more inclination to borrow than to repay. Fundamentally, he could not hold the reins of government as firmly as he wished if he abdicated fiscal power to the moneyed segments of society, nor would the aristocracy have permitted him to do so. It was out of the question. In any case, the fact is that under Louis XIV, the absolutist state never effectively mobilized credit through a state bank, and the first attempt at a French national bank, under Law in 1716, failed.

We are now at the bottom of the p o t . . "19 His fear was justified. The French suffered a series of tax revolts, particularly before the personal reign of Louis XIV. The rising of the Nu-Pieds in 1639 was particularly notable, and the Fronde itself rated as a rebellion against royal financial exactions. Historians have proposed differing explanations for French fiscal failure. 20 But all intelligent explanations put it down more to politics and society than to sheer economics, for France was a rich country.

However, the most important factor allowing more regular financial practice was the return of peace. Reform was unthinkable during wartime, since it would threaten the flow of credit. For all Colbert's accomplishments, when the French forced a major war in 1672, much of his work went for nothing. Colbert tried to resist the war because of its inevitable effect on finances, and he protested that the expense would be impossible. Louis threatened his controleur general, "Think about it. "49 And Colbert capitulated.

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Giant of the Grand Siecle: The French Army, 1610-1715 by John A. Lynn


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