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presents
From the landsknechtes and Swiss pikemen to Musketeers and cavaliers, the Renaissance is as eccentric as it gets. The fading Middle Ages meld with the first inklings of Horse & Musket. Renaissance warfare combines mounted armored warriors with formations of fire-belching guns, all under the muzzle of gunpowder artillery. And if that isn't enough, there's the array of colorful uniforms and equally colorful armies.
Wargamers find tremendous variety in so short an era. The Renaissance was a time of change. Feudalism was ceding power to national governments. Religious changes sparked conflicts amid this era of governmental confusion. The weapons were also changing, and the fully-armored knight started losing precedence to armies of well-drilled commoners wielding pikes and muskets. Artillery was reaching a new plateau. once limited in effect, artillery became a major factor that could easily turn the course of a battle.
The English-speaking world knows Renaissance warfare best via the English Civil war, when Roundheads and Cavaliers faced off. In Northern Europe it was the 30-Years War, a conflict sparked by religious differences, political change and economic developments. In Eastern Europe, wars against the Ottoman Empire typified the era. For the French, the era included the adventures of The Three Musketeers. For those of a more nautical bent, there were Explorations in the New World as well as the beginnings of the Piratical Age. One could even include the adventures of Conquistadores versus the indigenous armies of the lands they sought to overcome. Renaissance personalities include the Borgias, Nicolo Machiavelli, Christopher Columbus (a latecomer to the New World: remember, Leif landed first!), Cardinal Richelieu, Oliver Cromwell and Ivan the Terrible..
The Perfect Captain presents Spanish Fury - http://perfectcaptain.50megs.com/SpanishMain.html A complete system of warfare for 16th Century Europe, ncluding Large & Small scale land warfare modules, one for Naval warfare, a Campaign, and Siege Game!