The Fiscal-military State in Eighteenth-century Europe

Book excerpt: In recent decades, historians of early modern Europe, and above all those who study the eighteenth century, elaborated the concept of what has been called the fiscal-military state. This volume of essays by leading authorities, all of whom have published widely on their chosen topic, explores the subject of the fiscal-military state by focusing on its leading exemplars in eighteenth-century Europe. In addition a further chapter considers the fiscal-military state in a broader, comparative international context, in the arena of international relations. The differing patterns, and the variety of models of fiscal-military state makes for ease of comparison across Europe. The volume will therefore be invaluable to both students and researchers alike.