War, State and Society in Württemberg, 1677-1793This book provides a radical new interpretation of the aims of the lesser German princes during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries through the example of the duchy of Württemberg. Arguing that the princes' political ambitions were fundamental in shaping the internal development of their territories, the author sheds new light on the political importance of the notorious German 'soldier trade' and its role in international diplomacy. The wider social and political impact of these policies is also investigated in a comparative framework, while traditional interpretations of the dramatic struggle between duke and estates are challenged in a reassessment of the role of early modern representative institutions in German state development. The relationship of these internal political struggles to the different elements of the Holy Roman Empire is revealed, opening up new perspectives on the role of the German states within the imperial structure and revealing the empire as a flawed but functioning political system. |
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addition administration agreement aims alliance Amtsversammlungen army arrears attempts Austrian Bavaria bureaucracy Carl Alexander Carl Alexander's Carl Eugen Carl Rudolph cent century co-operation committee conflict continued corps cost court cultural competition debts defence disbanded duchy duchy's duke of Württemberg duke's dynastic early modern Eberhard Ludwig elector emperor estates example expenditure florins fols force foreign France French Friedrich Carl further German Geschichte des Fürstenhauses Grävenitz Grube Habsburg Haug-Moritz Hessen-Kassel Hessian hired HSAS imperial infantry influence Johann Johann Jakob Moser Jud Süss Kreistruppen Kriegskasse Kriegswesens Landtag Ludwigsburg Mecklenburg military militia mobilisation Mömpelgard Montmartin negotiations officers payments Pfaff political position privy council Prussia recruiting regiments Reich Reichsarmee Reichstag Remchingen Rentkammer revenue Reversalien ruler secure Seven Years War soldier trade Stadlinger structure Stuttgart subsidy treaty Süss Swabian Kreis territory Tricesimation troops Tübingen Vann Vienna Wilhelm worthies Wunder Württemberg dukes Württembergischer Ständekonflikt