Emperor Charles V, Impresario of War: Campaign Strategy, International Finance, and Domestic Politics - Softcover

Review of the hardback: 'This is a meticulous piece of scholarship ... This is an important book. It draws together a mass of information gleaned from a wide range of European archives and, more significantly, offers a new perspective on Charles V and the modus operandi of the Habsburg dynastic empire.' Alastair Duke, Ashgate

Review of the hardback: 'Tracey must be congratulated on a book which not only deals with a key aspect of Charles's career - one which is not as fully treated in some other recent studies of Charles V - but which also makes available important work by European scholars, particularly on Naples, which is otherwise not easily accessible, and one which, finally, fruitfully adopts a comparative approach in order to draw some important conclusions about war, politics, and finance in sixteenth-century Europe.' Journal of Early Modern History

Review of the hardback: 'One must admire the comprehensive scholarship and depth of understanding that has shaped this work ...'. Australian History Yearbook

Emperor Charles V (1500–1558) asserted his princely authority by deciding at times to lead his own armies to war, despite the misgivings of advisers. Since Europe's wars were fought with money borrowed against future revenues, even an emperor had to share power with his bankers, and his parliaments. This 2002 book examines all three dimensions of European warfare. Charles's role as commander-in-chief is evaluated by measuring the strategic aims of his personal campaigns. The process by which bankers took control of the finances of the Habsburg lands becomes clear from an examination of where the money came from to pay for Charles's campaigns. Finally, a comparison of the realms that provided most of Charles's revenues - Castile, Naples, and three Low Countries provinces - shows how some parliamentary bodies, if not all, successfully pursued long-term local interests by exploiting the dynasty's need for money.