University of St Andrews

Key information

SCOTCAT credits : 40

ECTS credits : 20

Level : SCQF level 11

Semester: Both

Planned timetable: To be arranged.

This module will explore the transformations in the size, scale and scope of European warfare between the late fifteenth and late eighteenth centuries. Such developments as the proliferation of gunpowder weaponry and the transformation of fortifications, considered by some historians as a Military Revolution, altered the nature of warfare but also had considerable effects, often detrimental, on the state, society and good order. Moreover, Europeans exported their arts of war to other continents in competition with each other, and their encounters with other peoples in the Mediterranean basin, the Americas and East Asia led to further military adaptation. The module will investigate the military developments of the period on land and to a lesser extent at sea, but also the effects they had on the state and on civilians.

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact: 2-hour seminar.

Assessment pattern

As used by St Andrews: Coursework = 100%


Re-assessment: New coursework: 6,000-word essay