Introduction

This volume examines the reception and employment of Huguenot soldiers in the armies of the Dutch Republic, Britain, Brandenburg-Prussia, Russia and Savoy between the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 and the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Huguenots had served abroad since the French Wars of Religion. Due to the forced exodus after 1685, however, large numbers would take service in the armies of foreign princes, who eagerly sought their expertise and experience in their efforts to develop professional standing armies. Two decades of almost continuous warfare in the 1690s and 1700s assured employment for the Huguenot soldiers. They mostly served in the Protestant armies of the coalition against Louis XIV. War, religion and service thus form the main theme of this volume of essays, which elaborates the high-point of the story of the Huguenot soldiers between 1685 and 1713.