The benefits and costs of billeting: soldiery, financial flexibility and local credit in Renaissance Spain. The case of Navarre

ABSTRACT During the pre-industrial period, most military personnel were billeted instead of lodged in barracks. Historiography has tended to attribute this to a lack of foresight. In reality, the crown had no real interest in investing in them. Barracks could not provide the practical advantages of private households. The royal prerogative that obliged the population to billet the king’s troops was, despite its unpopularity, a very valuable resource for both the soldiers and the crown and not simply a necessary inconvenience.