Empire, War and Faith in Early Modern Europe - Reviews - Book Review

Contemporary Review, Sept, 2002

Empire, War and Faith in Early Modern Europe. Geoffrey Parker. Allen Lane: The Penguin Press. [pounds sterling]25.00. 411 pages. ISBN 0-71-399515-7. In this book the author, an established authority on European military history, gives us ten 'case studies' of which eight have already been published in various academic journals.

Two, therefore, are original. This time the concern is not so much with military history per se but with 'the balance between success and failure during the early modern period in three related areas: imperialism, war and faith'. In the first of three parts, the author is concerned with Philip II of Spain and various aspects of his rise to power and his ultimate failure in the scattered Armada. In the second part, which is concerned with the seventeenth century, there are another four essays which argue that 'although military innovations have often produced short-term success, few conferred permanent advantage'. In this case this refers to the use of terror as a means of control inclu ding Cromwell's actions in Ireland in 1649. The third part, which is concerned with the role of religious faith, has two essays which were specially written for this collection. The first of these takes a general look at the inability of the Protestant Reformation to achieve the success it might, or in theory, should have achieved whilst the second takes a more detailed look at the Reformation in St Andrews between 1559 and 1600. This collection will attract anyone interested in the history of this period or anyone who enjoys seeing a master craftsman at work whilst he re-examines his subject anew.