Western Civilization I / Unit 17 WC1 1618 short lesson, about 20 seconds
From Mercenaries to Standing Armies: The War's Lesson
Captions available
The idea
Soldiers' conduct had been so atrocious that states built professional standing armies under noble officers instead of hiring mercenaries who ran amok. Order and control, the anchor says, became the goal, and the next century's absolutism grew from it.
In practice
The marauding-soldier image of the anchor's chapter.
Where people slip
Absolutism is the next course's subject. Learn the seed here.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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