With the emergence of the national standing army in the 16th and 17th Century, the size of the

armies increased dramatically. The figures below illustrates this:

Date

Spain

1470s

20,000

Dutch
Rep.
-

1550s

150,000

1590s

France

England

Sweden

Russia

40,000

25,000

50,000

20,000

200,000

20,000

80,000

30,000

15,000

1630s

300,000

50,000

150,000

45,000

35,000

1650s

100,000

100,000

70,000

70,000

1670s

70,000

110,000

120,000

63,000

130,000

1700s

50,000

100,000

400,000

87,000

100,000

170,000

Source: G.Parker: 'The military revolution - a myth' in C.J.Rogers (ed.): The Military Revolution Debate