Identify an Aspect of War that has Remained Constant Since the 1600's. Use Specific Evidence to Explain Why

Violence and Brutality in the War
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Introduction
Over the last four centuries, the art and science of warfare has greatly evolved. Using advanced technologies, the art of war has evolve to largely lean on the precision and information technology. The military is largely concerned with ways in which they can hit a target with utmost precision, without inflicting mass casualties of war. The element of casualties of in and around the industrial age, involved massive casualties on both the military personnel and the civilians. In a good example, in the Second World War alone, more than 60 million people died. This was twice the number of people that died in the First World War. Violence and brutality has been an element of war since the 1600s and this has carried on even in the most recent wars. While there has been some focus on the aspects of reducing casualties, in the recent development in the military strategies, the elements of violence and brutality have been rife.[Antulio J. Echevarria II, "ECHEVARRIA: WAR AND POLITICS", Clausewitz.Com, last modified 2016, accessed February 29, 2016, /readings/Echevarria/ECHJFQ.htm.] [MacGregor Knox and Williamson Murray, The Dynamics Of Military Revolution, 1300-2050 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001).] [Geoffrey Parker, The Cambridge Illustrated History Of Warfare (Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1995).]
Thesis: Violence and brutality remained a key component in warfare after the 1600's that remains constant, even during the Age of Limited War.["Rape In War Is Common, Devastating, And Too Often Ignored", PLoS Med 6, no. 1 (2009): e1000021.]
Violence and brutality in the 1600s and 1700s
The second world has gone down in history as one of the most violent wars of all times. It is among the most grueling wars of all times, and one that stamped political, social and economic differences in the countries that participated. However the most important element of the war and one that speaks to the basic premise of the paper is the violence and brutality of this war. More than 60 million people died in the war making it the bloodiest wars in the recent times. It is important to note that there have been other wars that have come before, which were even bloodier, relative to the theme of violence and brutality. However, this is not an element that was only found in the Second World War, it is one that can be traced back to the 1600s. Most of the wars that took place in the 1600s coming forward, have been characterized with violence and brutality. This was also the case in the wars that took place in the 1700s. Violence was a subtle element in the strategies to intimidate the enemies for political, social and economic gains. One of the wars that was started out in the 1400s and carried over into the 1600s, was with reference to the colonization of Americas by Europeans. From the times of Christopher Columbus and the exploration of the New World, the resistance that was met by the European as they settled in various parts of the Americas came at the expenses of many lives. An estimated 130 million people died, from the European attempts to colonize the Americas. The most important aspect to note in this case is that, this is war that transcended several centuries and thus the massive casualties. Elsewhere in china, there was a deadly war that took place between the Qing dynasty and the Ming dynasty. This was a major war and one that shaped the history of china to date, relative to the violence and brutality that resulted in the death of more than 25 million people. In the years between 1918 and 1648, was the war that lasted thirty years. This was a war that took place in central Europe and is recorded as one of the most brutal wars in the European continent. This was a war that saw all the elements of associated with mass killings, casualties, famine and even disease. The war that was largely religious, saw the death of more than 10 million people. The wars that took place in the 1700s were relatively less bloody than those that were in the 1600s, however the element of brutality and violence was carried over. The war of the Spanish succession lead to an estimated one and half million people lost their lives. In the northern war which was also in Europe, there was an estimated three hundred persons.[Geoffrey Parker, The Cambridge Illustrated History Of Warfare (Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 1995).] [Kennedy Hickman, "Military History Timeline: 1601-1800", About.Com Education, last modified 2016, accessed February 29, 2016, http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/timeline/a/17th18thcen.htm.] [Kennedy Hickman, "Military History Timeline: 1601-1800", About.Com Education, last modified 2016, accessed February 29, 2016, http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/timeline/a/17th18thcen.htm.] [Antulio J. Echevarria II, "ECHEVARRIA: WAR AND POLITICS", Clausewitz.Com, last modified 2016, accessed February 29, 2016, /readings/Echevarria/ECHJFQ.htm.] [S. Malesevic, "Forms Of Brutality: Towards A Historical Sociology Of Violence", European Journal of Social Theory 16, no. 3 (2013): 273-291.]
Austrian and Spanish succession wars
The Austrian succession war was one of the wars that took place in the 1700s. This war was triggered by the accession of Maria Theresa to power in Habsburg. Ideally the main premise of the war was that Theresa was not eligible for the position after her father, the Holy roman Emperor Charles VI had passed away. All of Europe was involved with Spain, Bavaria, France, Saxony and Prussia were against Austria as well as Britain. The first blows were landed by Prussia and Bavaria as they claimed the Habsburg lands. The Spanish succession war had come before the Austrian succession war. However like the war before it, there was an element of violence and brutality that highlighted the war strategies and the outcomes of the same efforts. There is a close resemblance to the Austrian succession war as the names suggests, such that, when Prince Philip of Anjou inherited the power after Charles II death, an alliance between Prussia, England, Holland and Austria wanted to have Archduke Charles on the throne instead. The battle for the control of who was at helm of power became a premise for war. These were bloody wars that were it not for the treaties signed at the end of the wars, the scores of the dead would have kept piling. With the use of the armies and allies formed of shared interests between the different European powers, brutality and violence was used to intimidate the other sides.[Historyofwar.org, "War Of The Austrian Succession, 1740-18 October 1748", last modified 2016, accessed February 29, 2016, /articles/wars_austriansuccession.html.] [Historyofwar.org, "War Of The Spanish Succession, 1701-1714", last modified 2016, accessed February 29, 2016, /articles/wars_spanishsuccession.html...