Historians have long debated the effects of war on state formation in early modern Europe. Did military competition increase rulers' power over their subjects and forge more modern states, or did the strains of war break down political and administrative systems? This book seeks a rounded answer to these questions by comparing England and the Netherlands in the age of warrior princes such as Henry VIII and Charles V. It examines the development of new military and fiscal institutions, but goes beyond them to ask how mobilization for war changed political relationships throughout society. Towns ... More

Historians have long debated the effects of war on state formation in early modern Europe. Did military competition increase rulers' power over their subjects and forge more modern states, or did the strains of war break down political and administrative systems? This book seeks a rounded answer to these questions by comparing England and the Netherlands in the age of warrior princes such as Henry VIII and Charles V. It examines the development of new military and fiscal institutions, but goes beyond them to ask how mobilization for war changed political relationships throughout society. Towns in England, such as Norwich, York, Exeter, and Rye, are compared with towns in the Netherlands, such as Antwerp, Leiden, 's-Hertogenbosch, and Valenciennes, to see how the magistrates' relations with central government and the urban populace were modified by war. Great noblemen from the Howard and Percy families are set alongside their equivalents from the houses of Croÿ and Egmond to examine the role of recruitment, army command, and heroic reputation in maintaining the power of the nobility. The wider interactions of subjects and rulers in wartime are reviewed to measure how effectively war extended princes' claims on their subjects' loyalty and service; their ambitions to control news and public opinion and to promote national identity; and their ability to manage the economy and harness religious change to dynastic purposes. The book presents picture of societies and polities tested and shaped by the pressures of ever more demanding warfare.