The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road 1567–1659: The Logistics of Spanish Victory and Defeat in the Low Countries' Wars

Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History

by Geoffrey Parker

The publication of The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road in 1972 marked the birth of the "new military history", which emphasized military organization--mobilization, pay, supply, morale and, above all, logistics--rather than military "events" such as sieges and battles. Constantly cited since its first publication in English (with translations into Spanish and Dutch), this revised updated second edition includes new sources and references but otherwise remains faithful to the original edition. First Edition Hb (1972): 0-521-08462-8 First Edition Pb (1975): 0-521-09907-2

Genres: History, Spain, Military History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, War, European History

309 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Geoffrey Parker is Andreas Dorpalen Professor of European History and an Associate of the Mershon Center at The Ohio State University. He has published widely on the social, political and military history of early modern Europe, and in 2012 the Royal Dutch Academy recognized these achievements by awarding him its biennial Heineken Foundation Prize for History, open to scholars in any field, and any period, from any country.

Parker has written or co-written thirty-nine books, including The Military Revolution: Military innovation and the rise of the West, 1500-1800 (Cambridge University Press, 1988), winner of the 'best book prize' from both the American Military Institute and the Society for the History of Technology; The Grand Strategy of Philip II (Yale University Press, 1998), which won the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize from the Society of Military History; and Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century (Yale University Press, 2013), which won the Society of Military History’s Distinguished Book Prize and also one of the three medals awarded in 2014 by the British Academy for ‘a landmark academic achievement… which has transformed understanding of a particular subject’.

Before moving to Ohio State in 1997, Parker taught at Cambridge and St Andrews universities in Britain, at the University of British Columbia in Canada, and at Illinois and Yale Universities in the United States, teaching courses on the Reformation, European history and military history at both undergraduate and graduate levels. He has directed or co-directed over thirty Doctoral Dissertations to completion, as well as several undergraduate theses. In 2006 he won an OSU Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award.

He lives in Columbus, Ohio, and has four children. In 1987 he was diagnosed as having Multiple Sclerosis. His latest book is Imprudent King: A New Life of Philip II (Yale University Press, 2014).

Reviews

[Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesante tratado histórico sobre la guerra de los 80 años. Aunque a ratos se hace un tanto difícil de leer, sobre todo por la gran cantidad de datos históricos que maneja, el libro da una visión general y muy contextualizada de lo que supuso para el imperio español de la época lidiar con una guerra de desgaste tan lejos de sus fronteras. Una guerra que fue el punto débil por el que todos sus enemigos atacaron para debilitarlo, y que le hizo consumir gran cantidad de recursos militares y financieros. Sobre todo la conclusión al final del libro es muy esclarecedora sobre los motivos que llevaron al imperio español al colapso, principalmente y entre otros, la mala gestión política de esta guerra que hizo la dinastía Habsburgo debido a su intolerancia al protestantismo y su afán por que hubiera gobernantes católicos en toda Europa.
Aunque el libro me ha parecido muy interesante, dudo que le pueda gustar a alguien a quien no le guste la historia, y en especial éste periodo histórico.

[Mark Merritt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truly a fantastic and unique work. This isn’t a story of battles and campaigns, but rather a story of how Spain lost an empire by not knowing when to stop pouring men and money into hopeless causes.

I’m sure the 80 Years War of the 16th and 17th centuries between Spain on one side and the rebelling Dutch plus French and English on the other side is little studied today, but back then it was a bout of superpowers and between the Protestant states and the Catholic states. So, you had all the fervor of religious conflict as well as economic warfare.

To fund the war Spain was looting the Americas at will, which provided opportunity to Dutch and English privateers to capture or sink Spanish treasure fleets. Some fleets made it to Spain, others did not.

But while this book talks about these issues it excels in explaining what the famous “Spanish Road” was, why it was so important, and the trials and travails of those who had to travel it. Mr. Parker goes into great detail about the financing of the Army of Flanders, how it received the money it needed to pay the troops, or, more often, what the ramifications of not receiving these funds caused. The famine, mutiny, desertions, politics and weather all played their role. Let alone the schemes of Elizabethan England, the French and the crafty Dutch themselves.

It was the time of Rembrandt, Elizabeth I, an old Louis XIII and the young Louis XIV, the Prince of Orange, Alva, Phillip II, III and IV, and Spinola.

Altogether, a great read, without being too detailed to lose focus. If you know little or nothing about the period you won’t have a problem with this book, it assumes nothing and the writing is clear, crisp and interesting.

[DoctorM · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, well-crafted account of how the Spanish raised, equipped, fed, and paid the armies with which they intended to keep the Spanish Netherlands under their rule. You know the old saying: amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics. Parker gives the reader some very, very clear examples of why the old saying is true. Clearly written, with straightforward explanations of technical issues, and good political-diplomatic sense as well. If you're interested in Early Modern Europe and in what underlay power politics, well...let me introduce you to Geoffrey Parker.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on how Spain managed the 80 Years War, going into great detail on the logistics and manpower of the lifetime of the conflict. How soldiers were raised, how money was raised, how money was paid, what happened when the troops were not paid (which was a very frequent occurrence) are the main things the book touches upon.

This book assumes some level of familiarity with what happned in the war and the geo-political backdrop in which it was fought. It touches on the military action only tangentially when it bears on the main topics of the work.

[Aitor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geoffrey Parker es uno de los mayores estudiosos del periodo de los tercios españoles.
Libro muy interesante para dejar de lado la épica y entender los problemas políticos, económicos y logísticos de un ejército en campaña… Y porque España acabo agotando sus recursos y perdiendo por lo tanto la guerra.

[Dermot Nolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fine fine book. For a book about military logistics you could be forgiven for thinking that it would be dull as dishwater. But alas this is massively interesting and dare I say entertaining.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always love reading the fleshed out editions of PhD theses by renowned historians like this since we get to see their raw talent directed towards comprehensive coverage of a focused topic without the distractions of responsibilities coming from success later in their careers.

In this case, Parker takes a great approach to covering the logistics of 80 Years' War and he supports it with an impressive array of original research. My only criticism is that the the second half, while still interesting, is perhaps a bit too drawn out. Highly recommended!

[Juan Cacho · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Poner una pica en Flandes” es una expresión española que indica que se realizó algo muy complicado y costoso y que además supone un hito. Parker utiliza archivos de la época y fuentes actuales para narrar la gesta española que, por motivos de religión y honra nacional, desgastó y finalmente marcó el ocaso de los tercios y del Imperio Español. Algo tedioso en algunos pasajes por el uso en ocasiones excesivo de cifras, logra poner en perspectiva lo difícil (y la muestra increíble de poderío) que fue mover soldados y dinero por el llamado Camino Español

[Daniel Polansky]

Heralded as marking the birth of new military history, Parker's study reviews the history of the 80 Year War entirely in economic/material terms, eschewing tactics and personalities almost entirely. I have a weird thing about the Wars of Religion, but even if you didn't I think there's something fascinating about reading something which forces one to consider the infinite complexities of human existence, that behind the siege of Breda or the Battle of Rocroi were hundreds of sutlers waiting to turn carrion scavenge into specie.

[Gus I · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parker is one of my favourite historians of that era. His books are always well written and easy to read and this book is no exception.

This should not be your first book on the eighty years war or dutch revolt as it goes into great detail of a very narrow aspect of the conflict. It makes more sense with some historical context.

[Andrew Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be of interest if you are going deeper in the Spanish strategy of the era, the war in the Low Countries

[Stefany Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is an amazing book up until the first half, then the author starts to delve too much on the economics of the army, and goes in great detail about the salary of each soldier, their expense, the total price that cost the Spanish crown the Army of the Flanders and that's plain boring. The mutiny chapter started very promising until he started to delve about moneyz again. The book should have been called " Economics of the Army of the Flanders "

But other than that, it is a very good book ( would have been excellent if the author wasn't obssesed with money ) it shows how much the author is enthusiastic about Dutch history and the subject in hand and the style is excellent. Especially the first half of the book, I could not stop reading it.

[Inge]

haven't finished it

[Eloy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good and complete book. Very interesting to understand how were the armies f the XVI century and which were the problems of the Spanish Haubsbourgs in Flandes.

[Larry Rollins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parker manages to make logistical history fascinating. The complexity of politics and military action in the early modern age is both clearly described and impressively researched.