War, Diplomacy and the Rise of Savoy, 1690–1720
War, Diplomacy and the Rise of Savoy, 1690–1720
This book deals with the crucial relationship between war and state formation in early modern Europe by considering the role of the Duchy of Savoy and the rise of this hitherto weak state into one of the regular members of the anti-French coalitions of the eighteenth century. Through his participation in the Nine Years War (1688–97) and the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), Victor Amadeus II, duke of Savoy, acquired a reputation for unrivalled 'Machiavellian' diplomacy on the international stage. The book puts this diplomacy in context, and considers how the duke raised men and money (at home and abroad), the administrative changes forced by war, the resulting domestic pressures, and how these were dealt with.
- A full study in English of the 'rise' of this hitherto minor state through its participation in major wars
- Deals with the crucial relationship between war and state formation in early modern Europe, using current theories of absolutism
- Establishes how Savoy recreated itself under Victor Amadeus II as a precursor to Savoy's crucial role in the unification of Italy in the nineteenth century
Reviews & endorsements
'… of great interest not only to specialists but also to those interested in absolutism, modernization and the other meta-narratives currently on offer for seventeenth- and eighteenth- century Europe'. The English Historical Review
'… a significant contribution to the much-neglected field of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Italian history … a welcome addition to the debate on the relationship between early modern state development and war.' War in History
'… the book makes an invaluable contribution to a growing collection of new studies of early modern Italian states.' History
Product details
July 2007Paperback
9780521038294
364 pages
227 × 151 × 20 mm
0.552kg
7 b/w illus. 1 map 3 tables
Available
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Table of Contents
- List of illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- Map: the Savoyard state, 1690–1720
- Introduction
- 1. The Savoyard army, 1690–1720
- 2. Savoyard finance, 1690–1720
- 3. Savoyard diplomacy, 1690–1720
- 4. Government and politics in the Savoyard state, 1690–1720
- 5. The Savoyard nobility, 1690–1720
- 6. Regions and communities in the Savoyard state, 1690–1720
- Conclusion
- Select bibliography
- Index.
