Mapping premodern small war: The case of the Thirty Years War (1618-48)
Abstract: The example of the Thirty Years War (1618–48) demonstrates that small war was already integral to the conduct of premodern hostilities. Commanders employed these methods with a purpose and generally tried to limit the accompanying violence to preserve discipline and effectiveness, as well as their claims to be waging a just war. We explain why conventional histories have neglected the presence of small war in premodernity, and show how its importance, methods, and wider impact can be reconstructed through innovative digital mapping techniques, which have the potential to be applied to conflicts in other times and places.
Cite: Peter H. Wilson, Katerina Tkacova & Thomas Pert (2023) Mapping premodern small war: The case of the Thirty Years War (1618-48), Small Wars & Insurgencies, DOI: 10.1080/09592318.2023.2220503
Impact of the Thirty Years War: A short bibliography
The following list is not exhaustive, but instead contains a representative range of literature on the war’s material and demographic impact. The list includes several dated contributions which are there because they represent interventions in the debate on the level and nature of the impact, as well as older, but empirically rich works.
