The Battle of Nieuwpoort (1600): This fight, which took place on the dunes of the beach near the port of Nieuwpoort (in present-day Belgium), pitted an Anglo-Dutch army under Maurice of Nassau against a Spanish force led by Albert of Austria who then ruled the Habsburg Netherlands. It was here that the English and the Dutch under Maurice first employed the countermarch/volley fire tactics that Lee discusses in the text. These tactics partly helped the Dutch drive off veteran Spanish troops arrayed in the traditional tercio formation that mingled musketeers and pikemen. The engraving above shows two different phases in the battle with the English and Dutch on the left and the Spanish on the right.
Reading
Please read pages 228-247 in the textbook.
Course Themes
As always, you should think about the course themes (innovation, capacity, calculation, and culture) and how they relate to today’s reading. You should also consider the 5 C’s of historical thinking (change over time, causality, context, complexity, and contingency) and how you can apply them to what you just read.
What We are Doing Today
In our last meeting, we looked at the first half of Chapter 7, where Lee discussed his reasons for comparing Europe and the Ottoman Empire, explained the technical difficulties that needed to be surmounted before early gunpowder weapons could be used, and juxtaposed the siege artillery of Europe and the Ottomans. Today, we will complete the chapter. That involves looking not only at the way artillery fortresses developed in this period but also the transformation of infantry formations. When we get to the end of the chapter, Lee addresses the question of the military revolution, which I mentioned in the previous meeting’s post. We remember again why he is comparing Europe’s military experience to that of the Ottoman Empire (i.e. does the military revolution thesis explain why the Ottoman Empire fell behind Europe?).
How to Fire a Matchlock Musket: This reenactor uses a reproduction of a matchlock produced in 1643 during the English Civil War to explain how weapons of this period were loaded and fired. Imagine having to keep track of your musket, powder, lead balls, scouring stick, match, lock, and so on as big men on horseback are charging with every intention of murdering you if they can get within a sword stroke’s distance.
Almeida, Portugal: The fortress that guards Almeida, Portugal was begun in 1641, only a year after Portugal regained its independence from Spain (it sits near Portugal’s northwestern frontier with Spain). Work commenced slowly and various modifications were made in the course of construction. The fortress assumed its present configuration around 1760. This complex underwent two major sieges, once by Spanish troops during the Seven Years War (1762), and once by French troops during the Peninsula War (1810) (in the latter case, it was held by British troops). It is an excellent example of the trace italienne with its six polygon bastions and six triangular ravelins.
Potential Quiz Questions
1) After Charles VIII of France invaded Italy in 1494 with effective, mobile siege artillery, how did Italian cities respond? What does historian Geoffrey Parker think were the two most important consequences of the Italian response?
2) How did the Ottoman experience of fortress building in the 16th and 17th centuries compare to the European experience? (NOTE: Discuss only the most important of Lee’s conclusions here.)
3) What was the most important weakness associated with early firearms? Initially, what kind of formations did armies opt for to protect musketeers? Eventually, how did they employ musketeers to produce continuous fire?
4) In Europe, musketeers were eventually subjected to “collective synchronized discipline.” What was new about this kind of discipline? How was it applied to musketeers? Why was it applied to them?
5) Who initially bore firearms for the Ottomans? Who were they, and where did they come from? Eventually, in what important way did they come to differ from European musketeers?
6) In the section entitled, “The Seventeenth Century and the Crucible of War,” what does Lee conclude about the Ottoman Empire’s failure to keep up with Europe militarily? Did it occur because the Ottomans failed to keep abreast of technological and tactical developments? Or was it something else?
7) Does Lee believe that a military revolution of the sort articulated by scholar Geoffrey Parker actually occurred? Explain.
8) Does Lee believe the military revolution argument explains why Europe left behind the Ottoman Empire?
Canvas Discussion Question
Please respond to the following question.
After having read past chapters, we have made observations about the way in which they have studied innovation. For example, Chapter 2 was about the invention and dissemination of a particular weapon system (the chariot). Chapter 3 was about the genesis of a particular fighting style and what made it possible (men in lines with spears). Chapters 4 and 5 were comparative—in the former case, we saw how two different civilizations came up with similar answers to a question while, in the latter case, we saw how two different societies used the same weapon (the horse) in very different ways. The focus in Chapter 6 was on an innovation that proved remarkably stable for a long period of time (the galley). How would you describe Chapter 7? What’s going on there? What is Lee doing?
Refer to the reading, and please be as precise as possible in your answers.
Feel free to interact and collaborate with others as you respond. Ask each other questions on the board. Synthesize other people’s responses. Work together to come up with solid answers. And feel free to make more than one contribution.
Please remember that participation on Canvas is mandatory.
Fort Bourtange, Netherlands: Built originally in 1593 by the Dutch as a means of cutting off Spanish access to the road between Groningen and Germany, this complex is a classic example of the new artillery fortresses that emerged in the 16th century. In the 1960s, the Dutch decided to restore this fortress to its mid-18th century appearance. It has all the characteristics Lee associated with such fortresses: “a geometrically compelling systems of linked angled bastions, usually low to the ground, with a moat, and protected by a sloped glacis. The bastions provided wide platforms for cannon; they provided for crossing fire to eliminate ‘dead space’ at the foot of the walls; the glacis deflected shot; the moat slowed the assault of infantry; and at least some cannot could be preserved int eh recessed angles of the bastion for fire against the final infantry assault on the wall.”
Battle of Lützen from Cornelis Danckerts, Historis oft waerachtich verhael. . . . (1632): According to Parker’s view of the military revolution, “compact infantry formations composed largely of pikemen fighting in ‘squares’ (not unlike a Greek phalanx), with a few files of marksmen milling about the periphery . . . gave way to linear formations of musketeers protected by a few files of pikemen.” What exactly are they talking about? This illustration of the Battle of Lützen above gives us a fair idea of what’s going on. In this fight from the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), an army representing the Holy Roman Empire (foreground) took on a Swedish force (background). The Imperial army has arrayed much of its infantry in very large, traditional formations with pikemen in the middle and musketeers on the outside. Indeed, the big formations in the middle of the Imperial line appear to consist of large squares with a little square on each corner. These formations were often referred to as tercios. The Swedes, on the other hand, have deployed their soldiers in a more linear formation, pikemen alternating with musketeers. Historians like Parker have argued that the linear formation of the Swedes was more progressive and effective because it provided for the better delivery of firepower and much more maneuverability. Moreover, the changes in tactics that issued from these modified formations contributed to the transformation of the state. Not all historians, of course, agree with these assertions.
Alatriste (2006): This Spanish film, starring Viggo Mortensen as Diego Alatriste, is based on a series of historical novels that are set during the 17th century. This scene depicts the Battle of Rocroi (1643) during the Thirty Years War. Here, a French army under the Duc d’Enghien decisively defeated a Spanish force in northern France. The title character fights alongside other Spaniards in a tercio that combined professional musketeers and pikemen. This was the way in which musketeers were protected as they loaded their weapons. This excerpt from the film is useful in giving us an impressionistic view of what fighting in the tercio must have felt like (especially the section between roughly 2:00 and 5:00). .
Demonstration of a 1611 Matchlock Musket: What did early hand-held firearms look like, and how did they work? Look no further than this video.
History 103: War and Innovation (HR) 