Emperor Charles V, Impresario of War: Campaign Strategy, International Finance, and Domestic Politics

by James D. Tracy

Overview

This book examines the three dimensions of European warfare, based on the campaigns of Emperor Charles V (1500-1558). Charles's role as commander-in-chief is evaluated by measuring his strategic aims. The process by which bankers took control of the finances of the Habsburg lands becomes clear from an examination of the source of the money to pay for Charles's campaigns. Finally, a comparison of the realms that provided most of Charles's revenues shows how some parliamentary bodies successfully pursued long-term local interests by exploiting the dynasty's need for money.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521814317
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/14/2002
Pages:	362
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.29(h) x 0.98(d)

Table of Contents

List of illustrations; List of tables; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction; Part I. Strategy and Finance: 1. The grand strategy of Charles V; 2. The Habsburg-Valois struggle: Italy 1515–28; 3. The search for revenue, I: the hard roads of fiscal reform; 4. The search for revenue, II: parliamentary subsidies; 5. The search for credit: Charles and his bankers; Part II. Impresario of War: Charles's Campaigns, 1529–52; 6. Finding uses for an army: Charles in Italy, 1529–30; 7. Crusades in Austria and the Mediterranean, 1532–5; 8. Failures in Provence and at Prevesa and Algiers, 1536–41; 9. Charles's Grand Plan, 1543–4; 10. The first Schmalkaldic War, 1546–7; 11. The second Schmalkaldic War and the assault on Metz, 1552; Part III. War Taxation: Parliaments of the Core Provinces of the Low Countries, Naples, and Castile; 12. Fiscal devolution and war taxation in the Low Countries; 13. Baronial politics and war finances in the Kingdom of Naples; 14. Town autonomy, Noble magistrates, and war taxation in Castile; Conclusions; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"[A]n effective demonstration of the limits of imperial power and of the critical importance of finance in early modern politics and warfare...Tracy provides an extremely clear analysis of the relationship between money and military power in early modern Europe and a useful addition to the literature on Charles V." Michael J. Levin, University of Akron, Sixteenth Century Journal

"[Tracy's] study stands out as one of the few serious contributions made in any language during the past century to the study of Charles V within his European context. It is innovative, profoundly researched, wholly original, and generally reliable...It is difficult to exaggerate the value of this study." Renaissance Quarterly

"...it is an impressive discussion of sixteenth-century government in its most vulnerable state." History

"Rich in original information and shrewd in analysis, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in warfare during the Renaissance." The Journal of Military History

"...a judicious and balanced assessment of Charles's accomplishments. Recommended." Choice

From the Publisher