ABSTRACT
Preparation for conflict, the conduct of war and its consequences provided an agenda of concern and activity that dominated the domestic history of European countries. The demands of military preparedness and war pressed differently upon the people of Europe, varying chronologically, nationally and socially, but they became more pressing from the late seventeenth century as the size and cost of armed forces rose and as effective conscription and militia systems replaced in part the use of paid volunteers. Armies retained by weaker powers did not compare with those of the major states, one of the significant military and political developments of the post-1660 period being their increasing discrepancy. The military rôle of monarchs was not therefore confined to war. It encompassed peacetime supervision of the army, a task that provided rulers with excitement, a sense of mission and an opportunity to display themselves in a favourable light as leaders.
