High Middle Ages 1000-1300

Feudalism consolidated. De jure centralization (universal jurisdiction of Pope and Emperor/Kings) but de
facto decentralization. System effective under circumstances, Europe from defensive to offensive (e.g.
Crusades)
• Lack of money meant feudal politics, in which lord (senior or liege, from ligius) exchanged territory (fief)
for military service from vassal (feudal obligation), and self sufficient economy (manorialism) • Practice of
vassalage: lord above larger vassals, who had lesser vassals beneath. Multilayered
• Fragmentation (Finer) led to: territorial differentiation (each territory had a different overlord) and functional
consolidation (all executive functions administered by overlord) • Multiple concurrent jurisdictions over the
same territory • Zenith of aristocratic knights (Oman), with monopoly over use of force High Middle Ages
(1000-1300) Evolution of the international system
Late Middle Ages 1300-1500
• Mongol empire’s geopolitical shock in XIII century • Initially crisis (famine, epidemics and revolts) then
recovery and renaissance • Money economy and gunpowder give kings mercenary alternatives to feudalism,
eroding aristocratic monopoly of battlefield, castles’ invulnerability (by cannons) and manorialism (by
merchants’ trade) • Mercenary armies with royal funding also allow for wider territorial control • Different
types of political units begin to emerge in the form of protostates in Italy and more centralized kingdoms in
France, England, Spain and Austria • Decline of cavalry, challenged by infantry in 100 Years’ War and in
Burgundian Wars • By end of XV century, warfare transformed, re-invention of tactical bodies
Burgundian Wars (1474-1477)
• Duke of Burgundy (spanning old Lotharingia from North Sea to Alps, some of the richest regions in Europe)
Charles the Bold clashed with Swiss Confederacy • Charles had strong army of 20.000, with feudal cavalry
organized in lances strengthened by Italian mercenaries • The Swiss, who had gained freedom from Habsburg
feudal overlords in the XIV century, fought in infantry squares armed with pikes. They trained together and
were cohesive as units were based on cantons • They defeated Charles in battle three times, overcoming his
cavalry • They then defeated imperial forces in the Swabian War obtaining de facto independence (1499,
which became de jure in 1648) and fought in first phase of Italian War (conquering Ticino in 1515) • Then
Confederation neutral but Swiss fought as mercenaries, others emulated: infantry revolution
Modern Europe (1494-1648)
• Emergence of new actors: sovereign states and anarchic state system • Clash between France vs. Spain and
Empire (unified under Charles V in 1519), Italian Wars (1494-1559) • Emergence of infantry and artillery,
and transformation of cavalry, into distinct tactical bodies (valid until XX century) • Mercenary armies, and
rise of composite (pike and shot) infantry tactics. Spain introduces tercio and gains superiority • Introduction
of trace italienne, from battle to sieges. Rise of time and money required for war. Victory to the one who has
the «last thaler» • Importance of administrative systems to pay and train soldiers, emergence of fiscal-military
state. Tactical innovations • New powers rise, Holland in 80 Years’ War, Sweden in 30 Years’ War
Trace Italienne
• Cannon had gave a temporary advantage in sieges, giving way to an era of battles • A series of architectural
innovations made fortifications resistant again to sieges. This new system of modern fortification was called
the trace italienne • Necessity to build fortress and besieging them led to long and exhausting wars which
increased logistical requirements, to the point of interference with civilian life • This characteristic was
compounded by the Reformation (1517), which gave a religious motivation to the use of force • Habsburgs
burdened by multiple enemies (overstretching) and archaic institutions. Protestant powers (Holland, Denmark,
Sweden) emerge despite fewer resources

Eighty years war 1568-1648

•Spain loses United Provinces despite huge superiority on paper because: •Too many fronts, frequent
distractions (Ottomans, France, England) inhibit strategic concentration for decisive victory •Long war too
expensive, victory to side who has «the last thaler» (Delbrück), bankruptcies in 1607, 1627, 1647. Dutch had
better finances •Logistical difficulties (Spanish road) and frequent mercenary mutinies •Religious persecution
reduce human and financial capital (which emigrated to Amsterdam) •Dutch successful imperial expansion
vs. Portugal •Dutch military reform, due to stable finances and permanent bureaucracy, which allowed switch
to a more professional army (more loyal, better drilled) with better tactics (volley fire maximizes firepower)
Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648)
Thirty years war
• Hapsburg defeat not a foregone conclusion (almost succeeded in first two phases). Cfr. Manzoni’s
counterfactual • It was precisely the fear of Hapsburg victory which motivated interventions by Denmark,
England, Sweden and France • Sweden had improved the Dutch model for war • Hapsburgs overstretched,
ideological as well as political enemies • Turning point was French intervention in 1635 on the protestant side
• Despite the fact that France had Cardinal Richelieu as Prime Minister, who had crushed protestants at La
Rochelle, it chose the protestant side • New «modern» motivation was Raizon d’État. Interests prevail over
passion (Hirschman) Thirty Years’ War
The rise of absolutism (1648-1714)
• After diffused violence of religious wars, need for control of force. Process of centralization continues.
Complete internal control (no civil wars) • State develops civilian and military bureaucracy. Also
infrastructure and science • Sharp separation between civilian and military spheres (in recruitment, logistics,
conduct of war) • Improvements in infantry firepower. Bayonets and muskets allow linear tactics • French
initial advantage under Louis XIV, then recuperated by others by War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714) •
Cautious maneuver warfare due to fortresses (Vauban)
Ancien Regime (1715-1789)
• After Ütrecht absolutism consolidates. Discipline and drill allow battle of forbearance. Deployment in
shallow order of three lines • Logistical difficulties confirm cautious and incremental maneuver strategy •
Some powers confirmed (France first, then England and Austria). New powers rise (Russia and Prussia) by
adopting absolutist institutions. Some decline because unwilling (Holland, Sweden, Denmark) or incapable of
adaptation (Spain, Poland) • Perfected by Prussia by Seven Years War (1756-1763). Quickly emulated by
others. Humiliates France which then seeks reform (effective after Revolution) • Absolutism’s weakness is no
emotional identification of subjects. Necessity to avoid excessive costs in blood and treasure. War debts
proximate cause of French revolution

European overseas empires

• In 1500 with age of discoveries, Europe not obviously stronger than non European civilizations (Mameluks,
Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals, Ming, Japan) • In Asia (where it was discovered) gunpowder empires.
Especially Ming China, which had a strong navy, and Ottomans, who had defeated Hungary and besieged
Vienna in 1529 • However, sturdier ship design allowed the use of cannons which gave Portugal command of
the seas in the Indian Ocean (1509 Battle of Diu) • Also, modern fortifications allowed to establish
impregnable coastal bases • Europeans were motivated by profit (spices) and religious zeal, but especially by
intra-European competition • In Americas, arrival of Europeans had devastating effects European overseas
empires
Naval warfare
• In XVI naval warfare in Mediterranean dominated by galleys (propelled by rowing). E.g. 1571 Battle of
Lepanto which stopped Ottoman advance • Yet in the Oceans sailing ships more effective. In 1588 Spanish
Armada defeated by English navy • In Dutch-Portuguese War (1601-1663), Dutch East India Company had
eroded Portuguese superiority in Asia but not in Brazil • Trade and naval warfare linked in Mercantilist era •
Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652-1674) perfected naval linear tactics • Given emphasis on firepower, naval warfare
mainly attritional. Importance of arsenals and merchant shippings to supply ships and sailors
Anglo-French struggle
• Louis XIV’s France strong enough to develop aggressive naval and commercial policy as well as continental
one. Invades Holland and puts it on defensive • Only power capable of competing is Britain. «Second 100
years war» between 1688 and 1815 • Ultimately Britain prevails because of stronger financial system
(important for building costly large fleets) and it can concentrate all resources on Royal Navy (while France
must spend on Army as well and must keep fleets divided) • In 7 years war Britain defeats French fleets
separately and then occupies India and North America (1765-1763). French take revenge in War of American
Independence (1776-1783) • British establish naval hegemony during Napoleonic Wars
Global shifts
• New tactics possible only if domestic institutions strong and rich enough to allow extensive training and
fortress building • Non-European polities can no longer cope • Beginning of decline for Ottomans • Britain
begins continental conquest of India • Russia and China conquer Central Asia • By second half of XVIII
century, beginning of industrial revolution gives Europeans technological superiority (e.g. quality of artillery)