INS Annual Lecture. Scottish Generals in the Aftermath of the Thirty Years War (1648-1721) by Professor Steve Murdoch

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It is now well known that at least 18 Scotsmen served as generals during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), 17 of them in Scandinavian service. The sheer scale of that conflict, and the fact that there were only two Scottish generals still in the field on the continent by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 has led to a conclusion, or at least an omission in the understanding of the role of the Scottish generals in the years following 1648. Rather than no longer being a military phenomenon (as so often supposed), there were in fact a number of new staff officers entering Swedish and Danish service from Westphalia onwards. 

Some of these were veterans of the war who were simply rising through the ranks while others were fresh migrations caused by political, economic and denominational concerns. While some of these men are noted in the works of prominent antiquarians such as Th. Fischer, we have now collated the evidence required to discuss their roles, careers and impact to create a new understanding of the Scottish Generals in the Aftermath of the Thirty Years’ War (1648-1721). This paper will glimpse at Muscovite service in additional to Scandinavian, and offer arguments as to why that service was more appropriate for some than others.

Bio

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).

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