The Rise of Absolutism: The Military Side

By: Will Heck and Max Wilber Click to edit Master subtitle style

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Thesis

The introduction of cannon, handheld firearms, and advanced designs for fortifications to European society brought about the decline of Feudalism and the rise of the Absolutist State.

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ADVANCES IN MILITARY TECHNOLOGY

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The Cannon

Since the nobles did not have access to the States treasury, nobles could not afford the expensive cannons that monarchs could, giving the monarchs military superiority over the nobles and the ability to subjugate the nobles to monarchial authority. The monarchs also could now fight wars without relying on the nobility for support, further eroding the nobles power. The ability of the monarch to keep the nobles in check led to the decline of Feudalism and the rise of the absolute monarch.

The introduction of the cannon also allowed for greater European expansion due to swifter sieges. Castle walls were easily demolished by cannon fire due to the cannonballs striking the walls perpendiculary, maximizing the force of impact a cannonball had on the wall. Swifter sieges allowed for monarchs to use less financial resources and time spent on month long sieges and could conquer territories more efficiently and swiftly, increasing their power and land holdings. 5/5/12

Gunpowder Firearms

Gunpowder led to the development of firearms with bullets able to penetrate the armor of the knights. As a result, knights, usually the strongest troops in a Feudalistic state, became obsolete. As the knights became obsolete, the nobles, the main group in society that made up the knight forces, became less important in the Feudalistic society. As the nobility became weaker, monarchs assumed more power and authority over military matters. The decline of the knights military power forced monarchs to recruit and maintain larger professional armies made up peasants and middle class citizens. Gunpowder weapons also led to a larger army size. Since any man could be quickly trained in the use of a musket, it became easier to form massive armies. Also, because these type of firearms were inaccurate and slow to reload monarchs were forced to field armies in larger numbers to make them effective as an infantry force. As the armies swelled to large numbers, monarchs wielded greater 5/5/12 and authority as they implemented state bureaucracies and power

Advanced Fortifications

Medieval castles relied on high walls to keep out attacking forces. Using the cannon, the attackers could simply blow a hole in the castle fortifications and simply invade the castles. As the nobles 200-400 year old ancestral castles fell and became no longer useful against nobility, the nobilitys role in warfare was eroded and the monarchs power was strengthened. To negate the large advantage that cannons had against castles, engineers designed a fortification design called the trace italienne. The trace italienne, or Italian style, had low, thick sloping walls that either absorbed or glanced off canon fire With the building of the new fortifications, the monarchs need for the nobilitys castles was decreased further eroding the nobilitys military influence over the monarch. As a result, the monarchs power was strengthened and centralized. 5/5/12

The Siege of Orleans (1429)

The siege and eventual taking of Orleans was a pivotal turning point in the Hundred Years war, giving the French the upper hand

The Siege of Orleans had been going on for over a year, when Joan of Arc, a teenage French girl, lead fresh French troops on a march to Orleans to relieve the beleaguered defenders

The English had set up several forts preventing the defenders from leaving the city as well as cutting off all trade and supplies, with commercialization coming to a standstill

Joan of Arcs forces arrived at Orleans and saw French forces trying to capture an English fort

She 5/5/12instantly rallied the troops, combined forces, and used her divine presence to inspire the French soldiers to take the fort by using stone

Battle of Pavia (Feb 24, 1525)

French King Francis I defeated by Charles V and captured Francis I wanted to increase his holdings in Italy and began the Italian War (1521-1526) In order to stop the French advance, a Spanish and Imperial army arrived at Pavia, which was in the path of the approaching French army Charles V, working with the Pavia garrison, attacked a French army that was lead directly by Francis I in the hunting preserve of Mirabello outside of Pavia Charles was outnumbered badly, but had a significantly larger number of cannon than Francis. These cannons ended up helping Charles carry the day. The dwindling Spanish-Imperial troops at Pavia were reinforced by a large force of 15,000 landsknechts (German mercenary pikemen). A force of 6,000 arquebusiers launched an attack on Mirabellos castle and swiftly took it. After a four hour battle the French were defeated and split. 5/5/12

The Battle of Pavia vs. The Siege of Orleans

The Siege of Orleans was an example of the medieval/feudalistic warfare of the time. Battles were relatively rare as armies could travel around territories with no direct conflict.

To control an area, armies had to take fortified towns, regardless if they defeated their enemies field armies.

Thus the most common battles were sieges, hugely time-consuming and massive affairswhichever army outlasted the other army usually won the battle

The changes in warfare, particularly, the more mobile and advanced cannons, improved firearms and fortifications and made sieges obsolete

By the 5/5/12 time of the Battle of Pavia, these advances in military technology allowed for battles to be won or lost in only 4 hours!

Summary

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FEUDALISM

Weakened Nobility Increased Taxation Greater Participation of the Masses Centralized government Rise of state bureaucracies Quicker battles = quicker expansion

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Rise of the Absolutist