Weapons’ production in the Republic of Venice in the Early Modern period: the manufacturing centre of Brescia between military needs and economic equilibrium

The 19th century in the Lombard Alps: The unfulfilled promise of industrialization

“…The Camonica Valley specialized in iron civil goods (such as agricultural tools, plates, or pots), the area around Lake of Garda in light metal goods and the manufacture of nails, and the Sabbia Valley in the production of steel, spades, hoes, and shovels. Finally, the craftsmen in the Trompia Valley were famous around Europe for the high quality of their barrels, which were assembled for use in harquebuses and muskets in the city of Brescia and then sold in the ancient Italian States (Milan, Genoa, Piedmont, Parma, Mantua, the Papal States, and Florence) and elsewhere in Europe (England, France, the German territories, Poland, and the Low Countries) (Mocarelli & Ongaro, 2017). The three valleys were a very important production centre, attracting investment from wealthy valley families as well as from the urban merchants of Brescia.…”

The business of war untangled: Cities as fiscal-military hubs in Europe (1530s–1860s)

“…Above all, the existence of multiple providers represented spare capacity available to meet sudden wartime needs, and some states deliberately continued to favour a few, trusted contractors in peacetime to keep them in business. 85 86 Johannes H. Kernkamp Such state patronage was rarely sufficient to maintain profitability, while some activities, like arms production which required expensive, specialist plant and expertise, could not switch easily to supplying civilian customers. However, the supply of war materials was not something to which governments were indifferent, since it affected their own security and relations with other states.…”