The Military Organisation of a Renaissance State
Venice c.1400 to 1617
Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History Series

This book describes the role and organization of the land forces of a renaissance state over a long period. It thus provides a model against which the military development of other countries can be measured in terms of the composition, control and cost of armies. Above all, it redresses the imbalance whereby only the naval forces of Venice have been studied seriously. It is thus an essential contribution to an understanding of the extension and maintenance of an empire by land and sea, and of the strength in troops and fortifications that preserved Venice as the one truly independent state in sixteenth-century Italy. It also adds significantly to an understanding of the relationship between Venice and the republic's subject territories.

List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; References and abbreviations; Part I. c. 1400 to 1508: Introduction: the European context 1400–1525; 1. The beginnings of Venetian expansion; 2. The composition and role of the army in the fifteenth century; 3. Military development and fighting potential; 4. The organization and administration of the Venetian army; 5. Control and policy making; 6. Soldiers and the state; 7. Venice and war; Part II. 1509–1617: 8. The historical role of the land forces 1509–1617; 9. The wars; 10. Government: policy, control and administration; 11. The higher command; 12. Manpower; 13. Cavalry, infantry, artillery; 14. Fortifications in the Terraferma; 15. The defense of the maritime empire; 16. The costs of defense and war; Conclusion: the European context 1525–1617; Appendix: infantry wages in the sixteenth century; Select bibliography; Index.