The business of war-meaning the commercial supply, financing, and organisation of soldiers and materiel for armies and navies-was one of the leading economic sectors in early modern Europe. During this turbulent period, civil unrest and wars were the norm rather than the exception. Changes in the practice of war brought along an increasing demand for manpower, expensive new technologies, and new forms of administrative competence. Many potentates turned to the private market for the necessary military resources. While some of these could be acquired locally, the bulk were obtained through transnational networks of merchants and military entrepreneurs, making this a pan-European and even global endeavour.
The Business of War in the Early Modern Baltic Sea Region, 1530-1765 explores the development of the fiscal-military networks and military markets over three centuries. Despite growing interest towards the early modern business of war, the research field remains scattered. Recent scholarship has highlighted the significance of this business and public-private cooperation in the Mediterranean and Central-Western Europe, yet the North has been largely overlooked. This volume offers a holistic overview of the business of war in Northern Europe and the Baltic Sea region.
The aims of this volume are threefold. Firstly, it explores the particular features and realities of the business of war in the Baltic Sea region, where fiscal-military operations were characterised by long distances, difficult terrain, lack of infrastructure, and a low degree of urbanisation. Secondly, the volume offers a broader view of resources provided by private military suppliers. Beyond manpower and materiel, it examines funding, financial services, and crucial intangible assets, such as knowledge, expertise, and social capital. Finally, the book analyses the agency of the private suppliers themselves. By focusing on individuals rather than institutions, this volume offers a fresh perspective highlighting the motivations and operational logic of the people and groups involved in a way that macro-level studies cannot do. Together, the chapters portray the complexity and diversity of the early modern business of war.
Björklund, Jaakko: - Jaakko Björklund, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki. His research focuses on early modern military history, ranging from the history of military thought to the broader economic and social dimensions of warfare. Björklund has published articles on transnational recruitment networks, war financing, military migration, and military identities. His dissertation 'Masters of War: Military Entrepreneurship and Foreign Soldiers in Early Seventeenth-Century Sweden' (2025) looked at the role of public-private interactions for Swedish military supply and state formation. ORCiD: https: //orcid.org/0000-0003-4068-4809
Murdoch, Steve: - Steve Murdoch is Professor of Military History at the Swedish Defence University. He has published widely on aspects of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) and Maritime Warfare (1513-1713). His main monographs include Network North: Scottish Kin, Cultural and Covert Associations in Northern Europe, 1603-1746 (2006); The Terror of the Seas? Scottish Maritime Warfare 1513-1713 (2010) and, with Alexia Grosjean, Alexander Leslie and the Scottish Generals of the Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648 (2014). He has also published a number of editions including Unimpeded Sailing: A Critical edition of Johan Grönings 'Navigatio libera' with Peter Maxwell Stuart and Leos Muller (2019). ORCiD: https: //orcid.org/0000-0003-3866-8658
Schiavone, Sebastian: - "Sebastian Schiavone has a PhD in history from the University of Eastern Finland. He specialises in early modern military history and state-building, especially in the context of military networks, military migration, and military entrepreneurship. He works as a researcher on the project CREWS - Enhancing Capacities in Disaster Risk Reduction by Facilitating Public-Civil Cooperation at the University of Eastern Finland. Schiavone's latest publication is his doctoral dissertation, 'Sworn Swords and Unreliable Thieves: The Early Vasa King's Attempts to Utilise and Control the Swedish-Scottish Military Network' (2025)."
