Les Ministres de la Guerre, 1570–1792

This work is a contribution to the history of the French State. Beyond the ministers themselves, it constitutes a genuine history of the Ministry of War — the first to draw on an extensive examination of the archives of this department and other institutions, as well as on the exploitation of a vast bibliography, and also the first to be firmly situated within the "longue durée" so dear to Fernand Braudel. The present volume spans from the Middle Ages to the fall of the monarchy on 10 August 1792. A first section traces the genesis and evolution of the central administration of War from the thirteenth century — when the first signs of what is conventionally called the "modern State" began to emerge — through to the early years of the Revolution. The biographies of the thirty-nine ministers and Secretaries of State for War who succeeded one another between 1570 and 1792 are then presented in chronological order of appointment. The authors' ambition has been to provide historians with a solid working tool that both takes stock of the most recent research and serves as an invitation to launch new investigations, while also offering the general reader a reliable reference volume. A second instalment will be devoted to the Ministry and the ministers of War and Defence from 1792 to the present day.