Reassesses the national war effort during the Elizabethan 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.

Neil Younger is Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Essex

Introduction: War and the Elizabethan state
1. Constructing a Protestant regime: the machinery of the Elizabethan war effort in the counties
2. Government and people during the Elizabethan wars
3. Defending the Protestant state: the militia and invasion threats
4. Fighting Elizabeth's wars: troop levies from the counties
5. The costs of war: lieutenancy finance
Conclusion
Appendix: Troop levies from the counties, 1585-1602
Bibliography of primary sources
Index