Gunpowder Revolution

Question 1

Name some criticisms of Parker

Answer 1

Overlooks the great immense of historical terrain
Unwilling to consider that renaissance military technology has anything problematic about its nature.
His military revolution is too brief and ill-argued, not followed through with significant evidence

Question 1

What is Parkers’ thesis a statement of?

Answer 1

Technological determination

Question 2

What does Parker believe was centre stage in this action of military change?

Answer 2

Firearms, not pikemen

Question 3

Describe Parkers’ opinion in the change of firearms

Answer 3

He states that the were too slow in firing and too inaccurate
Later, their effectiveness and reliability improved, they became “master of the battlefield”.

Question 4

Name an example of criticism with regards to Parkers’ evidence of firearms.

Answer 4

Parker claims that the Spanish Musket could penetrate metal armour from 100 meters away. However, Roger Williams, reflecting his experience on both sides in the Dutch Wars of Independence, claimed only distances of about 65-80 yards.

Question 5

What does Hall and De Vries argue about artillery at this time?

Answer 5

They argue that small artillery was not a major threat to cavalry. Pikemen were vital to the protection of musketeers.

Question 6

Detail the false example that Parker gives about the English ship named ‘Christopher’

Answer 6

The English ship Christopher, captured by the French at Portsmouth in 1338, carried three iron cannon and one handgun.
There is no evidence that the guns were used and if they were what caused success.

Question 7

Detail the example Parker gives regarding the Battle of Sluys

Answer 7

Parker mentioned the used of firearms, however, it can be seen that this was a naval battle fought mainly by the used of longbows and crossbows.

Question 8

What does Parker see as the majority of 16th century Naval warfare

Answer 8

A matter of sail-driven ‘deep sea’ battles, forgetting about the continuation of Mediterranean oar-powered vessels.

Question 9

What does Parker and Martin claim is the critical difference between Spanish and English naval practices?

Answer 9

the English had been using the four-truck gun carriage, while the Spanish preserved a landlubber’s carriage with two large wheels.
And there is evidence from both English and Spanish sources attesting to the uniqueness of the English shipboard gun carriage.

Question 10

Why was there a desire for new fortifications?

Answer 10

The rise in gunpowder weapons greatly reduced the defensive capabilities of traditional fortresses and town defences.

Question 11

What was wrong with traditional fortifications?

Answer 11

There walls were too tall in proportion to their thickness

Question 12

Describe the features of the Trace Italienne

Answer 12

Low-lying, massively thick walls
They were usually in the shape of a Pentagon
A ground plan so arranged as to leave no blind spots or dead ground
Ditch and wall sufficiently formidable to deter escalade
Made in Italy 1530s

Question 13

Give an example of the effectiveness of the Trace Italienne

Answer 13

(i) Spanish attempt to suppress the Dutch revolt after 1572, which saw The Dutch rebels, sustained their revolt through reliance upon their towns’ fortifications.
(ii) Spanish being forced to adhere to to foreign policy priorities which did not permit sustained concentration upon the piecemeal, siege-by-siege reconquest of the Netherland.

Question 14

Name an importance struggle of resources regarding fortifications in Italy?

Answer 14

many states were faced with difficult financial decisions regarding fortifications.
For example, the territories of Charles V and Philip II, had to maintain, train and raise their standing armies, meaning that building fortifications would overstretch their resources.
It was an even more critical decision for a minor state with budget a fraction of that enjoyed by Charles V.

Question 15

Why did states, especially small states, build fortifications?

Answer 15

To retain military integrity and independence as they could not compete with more powerful armies.
The attitude of the local population was an uncertain factor: Sovereign princes had good reason to fear the possibility of revolts and unrest;
Not in terms of utilitarian military needs but of dynastic pride.

Question 16

Why was there a problem regarding the morale of the defenders in the Trace Italiene?

Answer 16

This lack of morale was a result of hope that the Garrison would be relieved of their jobs by other troops.
For instance, the Spanish forces which opened siege works against Haarlem on 11 December 1572, it was a ten month siege, and ended as a result of starvation and the defeat of the relief army which caused the town to surrender.

Question 17

What was the two duchies which belonged to the Farnese Dukes?

Answer 17

Palma and Piacenza (1540-1590)

Question 18

Why did Pier Luigi Farnese build a Trace Italienne in Piacenza?

Answer 18

Because Charles V soon made it clear that he would like to see the new dynasty ousted.

Question 19

Why was it a bad idea to go against the military power of Charles V, and without calling upon a major ally outside of Italy in Piacenza?

Answer 19

The chances of holding the fortress in Piacenza was small.
There was a greater threat to Charles V, meaning that his forces may have targeted the fortress.

Question 20

What did Pier Luigi Farnese sacrifice by investing heavily in the fortifications?

Answer 20

The maintenance of troops, strength of army and ability of soldiers.

Question 21

What happened to the Fortress in Piacenza?

Answer 21

In 1547, the fortress, was now fully garrisoned with Spanish troops. Only in 1585 was the citadel finally restored, not to Ottavio but to his son Alessandro Farnese.

Question 22

What happened to the fort of Gonzaga in 1629?

Answer 22

The French relieved Casale and left five infantry regiments and six companies of cavalry as the garrison

Question 22

What does Parrott argue about the building of fortifications by small states?

Answer 22

They became a target against much larger forces.

Question 23

What was the reason for Parker arguing that new fortifications changed the nature of war?

Answer 23

Removing traditional methods of ‘battery and assault’ and progressing into a siege, which revolved around starving your enemies into surrender.

Question 24

What does Parker say about trace italienne and an increase in size of armies?

Answer 24

‘It is very easy to underestimate the number of soldiers tied down in garrisons’

Question 25

What did Sir Francis Vere (British participant in Dutch wars of Independence) say about the size of garrison?

Answer 25

when its outer works were abandoned, the town was made “guardable by few men.”

Question 26

What type of fortification was in the Dutch Wars of Independence?

Answer 26

The vast majority of the towns, villages, and strongholds described were not fortified in the traditional style of the trace italienne, instead, most were probably more medieval in design.

Question 27

Did the number of garrison fluctuate based on state, fortification and finance?

Answer 27

YES
This is why parkers view is limited as he ties army size so closely to the bastion.

Question 28

What does Mahinder S. Kingra. say about the role of Trace Itallienne?

Answer 28

Fortresses in the trace italienne style were components of ongoing strategic operations, and not independent variables as Parker suggested.
For instance, even in 1628, which saw the greatest increase in Dutch army size and a great increase in annual spending on both the field army and garrison troops, existing fortresses were made to accommodate new soldiers as strategy.

Question 29

How does Simon Adams modify Parkers’ thesis about the Trace Italienne?

Answer 29

Attributed the growth of the Spanish army, not to the spread of the trace italienne itself, but to the political and strategic significance which large garrisons were discovered to have.

Question 30

What does John Lynn say about Parkers’ theory of the Trace Italienne?

Answer 30

“The adoption and spread of the trace italienne does not in itself explain the growth of the French army during the grand siecle, nor was it the most fundamental variable in the equation.”
Notes that the most important factor was France’s economic and demographic development