War and Politics in the Elizabethan Counties reassesses the national war effort during the wars against Spain (1585-1603). Drawing on a mass of hitherto neglected sources, it finds a political system in much better health than has been thought, revising many existing assumptions about the weaknesses of the state in the face of military change. It examines politics and government from the court and privy council to the counties and parishes, assessing the central regime as well as the local machinery of lord lieutenancies which provided troops to fight Elizabeth's wars and ran the militia...

War and politics in the Elizabethan counties reassesses the English national war effort during the wars against Spain (1585-1603). Drawing on a mass of hitherto neglected source material from both central and local archives, it finds a political system in much better health than has been thought, revising many existing assumptions about the weaknesses of the state in the face of military change.

This book approaches the topic by examining England as a single polity, drawing case studies from across the country and from politics and government at all levels, from the court and...