ABSTRACT
In Warwickshire during the English civil war, the burden of free quarter and plunder was reported to equal half the level of taxation. Such burdens caused towns to beg for a reduction of their garrisons and if possible, the loss of them altogether. Because Antwerp refused to admit Parma's troops, they were forced to set up camp on royal and church domains during the winter of 1582/3. Data from garrisons in the far north-east is added in order to present an overall view of the situation prevailing in the United Provinces. The particular advantages of the Dutch garrisons did not appear overnight, however. From the 1590s onwards fortifications and garrisons strengthened the Dutch urban communities. This is in itself noteworthy, since the presence of even friendly troops usually increased the risks for local populations in sixteenth-and seventeenth-century Europe and imposed an economic burden. The Holland arrangements for garrisons turned out to be quite favourable.
