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Hi, everybody.

From Wondery, welcome to another episode of Tides of History.

I'm Patrick Wyman.

Thanks so much for being here with me today. A little more than 30 years ago, the sociologist Charles Tilly wrote a phrase that, to me, still largely defines how we should understand the early modern period.

War made the state, Tilly said, and the state made war.

Year after year, rulers wrung their treasuries dry and then spent still more

money in pursuit of their dynastic claims, political advantage, and simple glory. Thousands

upon thousands of soldiers fought in their armies all across Europe and beyond, culminating

in the devastating conflagration of the Thirty Years' War. In relative terms, that conflict,

though not as well known today as the Napoleonic Wars or the Global Wars of the 20th century, was every bit as devastating.

But when we talk about states and finance and the grand patterns of history, it's easy to lose sight of the actual people who were involved in those events.

What about the soldiers themselves? Who were they? Where did they come from?

What were they fighting for? Our guests today is one of the best people we could hope to ask if we want

answers to those kinds of questions. Dr. Lucien Steyano-Daniels is a research and teaching fellow

at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and the author of an upcoming book, The War People,

a social history of common

soldiers during the era of the 30 Years' War. He has written and researched extensively on the

military and social history of the early modern period and also comments on modern

international affairs for publications such as foreign affairs. Dr. Sayano Daniels, thank you so much

for joining me today. Hello, it's great to see you.

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