War and Peace in Europe, 1598-1650

One of the reasons for the rapid advance of military technology in Europe and for the growing impact of warfare on the structure of states and societies was the increasing frequency of conflict, which culminated in the war-torn seventeenth century.  As Geoffrey Parker illustrates with the table above, 'In the first half of the  century there was not one full calendar year of peace' in Europe; and in the 1640s every major country was engulfed in war, some  on two or even three fronts simultaneously.

Geoffrey Parker, Europe in Crisis 1598-1648 (London: Fontana, 1979), pp. 72-3 (permission pending).