War and politics in the Elizabethan counties

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 machi