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War and European Society #2
War and Society in Europe of the Old Regime, 1618-1789
Drawing on a wide range of materials from throughout Europe, Professor Anderson here discusses and analyses the rapidly changing impact of armed forces and their demands on society during the pre-revolutionary period.
239 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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About the author
M.S. Anderson
37 books6 followersMatthew Smith Anderson, known as M.S. Anderson, Professor of International History at the London School of Economics, 1972-85, was one of the most successful and influential historical textbook writers of his generation.
Thanks to his reading skill in Russian and several other languages, his treatment of Europe covered East as well as West, whereas previous books had often had (as he once mildly remarked) "a strong French emphasis".
Matthew Anderson was an authentic Scot. Born in Perth and educated at Perth Academy and Edinburgh University, after Second World War service in the RAF between 1942 and 1945 (as navigator, bomber crew) he returned to Edinburgh, completed his degree, began his doctoral thesis, on "British Diplomatic Relations with the Mediterranean, 1763-1778", and became an Assistant.
His departure in 1949 to an Assistant Lectureship at the London School of Economics thus marked a real uprooting, although he never ceased to feel a great debt to his Edinburgh teachers, above all Richard Pares. On Pares's advice, Anderson began learning Russian, and, after completing his thesis in 1952, embarked on his first book, Britain's Discovery of Russia, 1558-1815 (1958). Another of his Edinburgh teachers, Denys Hay, invited him to undertake the 18th-century volume in Longman's History of Europe, and thus led him to discover his métier.
Europe in the Eighteenth Century, 1713-1783 (1961) became a recognised classic, translated into French, Spanish and Italian, with new editions in 1976, 1987 and 2000, each embodying substantial alterations and additions. A briefer volume for Oxford University Press, Eighteenth-Century Europe, 1713-1789 (1966), also proved highly successful, especially in its North American and Spanish editions. By the time of his death, these two volumes together had sold not far short of 150,000 copies. Anderson had indeed "rescued the 18th century from long-undeserved neglect".
In 1972 appeared The Ascendancy of Europe: aspects of European history, 1815-1914. Two other less general books also secured wide readerships: The Eastern Question, 1774-1923 (1966) and Peter the Great (1978). Altogether he published 11 books with the needs of students in mind, and in every case his publishers (most often Longman, now Pearson Education) found themselves dealing with an academic who not only wrote superbly saleable copy, but even delivered it ahead of the date laid down in his contract.
He also published some 20 learned articles, and contributed two chapters to the New Cambridge Modern History and many more to multi-authored volumes, as well as writing in later years personal diaries and memoirs not for publication.
Important though writing always was to him, between 1972 and his retirement in 1985 his growing responsibilities at the London School of Economics took priority. Not only was he much concerned in building up the International History Department (of which he was Convenor in 1972-75), but from 1973 until 1981 he was heavily involved in the work of the school's Publications Committee, while in 1981-85 he chaired the Graduate School Committee, arguably the school's most important committee.
Thanks to his reading skill in Russian and several other languages, his treatment of Europe covered East as well as West, whereas previous books had often had (as he once mildly remarked) "a strong French emphasis".
Matthew Anderson was an authentic Scot. Born in Perth and educated at Perth Academy and Edinburgh University, after Second World War service in the RAF between 1942 and 1945 (as navigator, bomber crew) he returned to Edinburgh, completed his degree, began his doctoral thesis, on "British Diplomatic Relations with the Mediterranean, 1763-1778", and became an Assistant.
His departure in 1949 to an Assistant Lectureship at the London School of Economics thus marked a real uprooting, although he never ceased to feel a great debt to his Edinburgh teachers, above all Richard Pares. On Pares's advice, Anderson began learning Russian, and, after completing his thesis in 1952, embarked on his first book, Britain's Discovery of Russia, 1558-1815 (1958). Another of his Edinburgh teachers, Denys Hay, invited him to undertake the 18th-century volume in Longman's History of Europe, and thus led him to discover his métier.
Europe in the Eighteenth Century, 1713-1783 (1961) became a recognised classic, translated into French, Spanish and Italian, with new editions in 1976, 1987 and 2000, each embodying substantial alterations and additions. A briefer volume for Oxford University Press, Eighteenth-Century Europe, 1713-1789 (1966), also proved highly successful, especially in its North American and Spanish editions. By the time of his death, these two volumes together had sold not far short of 150,000 copies. Anderson had indeed "rescued the 18th century from long-undeserved neglect".
In 1972 appeared The Ascendancy of Europe: aspects of European history, 1815-1914. Two other less general books also secured wide readerships: The Eastern Question, 1774-1923 (1966) and Peter the Great (1978). Altogether he published 11 books with the needs of students in mind, and in every case his publishers (most often Longman, now Pearson Education) found themselves dealing with an academic who not only wrote superbly saleable copy, but even delivered it ahead of the date laid down in his contract.
He also published some 20 learned articles, and contributed two chapters to the New Cambridge Modern History and many more to multi-authored volumes, as well as writing in later years personal diaries and memoirs not for publication.
Important though writing always was to him, between 1972 and his retirement in 1985 his growing responsibilities at the London School of Economics took priority. Not only was he much concerned in building up the International History Department (of which he was Convenor in 1972-75), but from 1973 until 1981 he was heavily involved in the work of the school's Publications Committee, while in 1981-85 he chaired the Graduate School Committee, arguably the school's most important committee.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 23, 2015
A lively overview, but a rather outdated one and lacking original thoughts. The book would be much better if it focused on either 1618-1714 or on 1715-1789 period. The previous volume in this series (Hale's War and society of Renaissance Europe) is also better even after all these years, and for the 18th century Duffy's Military Experience in the Age of Reason is more recommendable. However, there are some interesting quotations here.
April 17, 2019
I found this book a bit repetitive. It seems what happened in the latter period covered by the book just kept happening again and again!
There were plenty of facts and figures about how much 'ships of the line' cost and how much was raised in taxes or spent for particular conflicts but there was no sense of how much this was, was it 10% of GDP, 20%, 50%? Likewise sizes of armies are relative to the population from which they are drawn, too often the author's presentation of these numbers is inconsistent.
I know the book is one in a series but it would have helped if at the start of the book a general outline of the European players was advanced. Maps and tables would have greatly enhanced the reader's understanding of the complexities and shifting allegiances of the European powers.
Despite all this there some fascinating vignettes about the period and the conventions of chivalry between warring factions.
There isn't much about society, very little about religion and nothing about William of Orange and the Battle of the Boyne which I thought was quite a defining moment in British history.
There were plenty of facts and figures about how much 'ships of the line' cost and how much was raised in taxes or spent for particular conflicts but there was no sense of how much this was, was it 10% of GDP, 20%, 50%? Likewise sizes of armies are relative to the population from which they are drawn, too often the author's presentation of these numbers is inconsistent.
I know the book is one in a series but it would have helped if at the start of the book a general outline of the European players was advanced. Maps and tables would have greatly enhanced the reader's understanding of the complexities and shifting allegiances of the European powers.
Despite all this there some fascinating vignettes about the period and the conventions of chivalry between warring factions.
There isn't much about society, very little about religion and nothing about William of Orange and the Battle of the Boyne which I thought was quite a defining moment in British history.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews