The Evolution of the Military Revolution

Roberts concluded that Gustavus Adolphus stood, like a great divide separating medieval society from the modern world. Roberts associated turning points in history with the introduction of particular military technologies such as the sword and stirrup. His selection of the mid-sixteenth to the mid-seventeenth century for his military revolution drew criticism because bayonets, railways and machine technologies were introduced later. He argued that military revolutions had been accompanied by a predominance of mercenaries which might be re-phrased today as a preponderance of private interests in warfare.