This book examines the role of war and the development of the smaller German territories in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries through the example of the duchy of W rttemberg. It reappraises traditional interpretations of German history that emphasize the role of Prussia and play down the significance of the smaller states. This is also the first comprehensive investigation of the relationship between developments within such territories and the structure of the Holy Roman Empire of which they formed a part. It reveals the Empire as a flawed but functioning political system and sheds new light on the reasons for its collapse in 1806.