Standing Army In Seventeenth Century Europe

The emergence of a standing army in seventeenth century Europe is one of the first stark contrasts between the Renaissance and “modern times.” Before standing armies, lords retained and raised troops on their own volition or at the request of their king or pope. Under absolute monarchs, armies were raised and then continually maintained under one banner as a stalwart projection of power and as protection for the state. The troops were needed at all times in the modern era, not just during times of conflict and declared war. Moreover, standing armies require large amounts of food, equipment, land for billeting, and pay for soldiers. The logical response by the absolutists was to create institutions focused on funneling money into the newly created modern war-machine. Thus, the resulting institutions comprised of civilians or bureaucracies were just as fundamental to the absolute monarch’s power as his standing army. Without organized and competent institutions which were able to extract money from various sources and fuel the newly created army, the absolute monarch would lose power. The new armies were …show more content…
Due to the rising cost of fielding a full-time standing army, Louis XIV sold noble titles to commoners with enough money. Although many of the landed nobility looked down upon the new nobles, the institution was mutually beneficial for the king and for the emerging middle class. Prior to this institution, vertical social mobility was rare and was typically confined to marriage or acts of extreme heroism. Given the diffusion of wealth due to the implementation of the capitalist economic system implemented to fund the army and the availability of nobility on the market, social mobility was more readily obtainable. Thus, modern concepts of “rage to riches” and the “American Dream,” both common modern institutions, have their origins in the sale of nobility by Louis