History 231

Thirty Years War 1618-1648: The Thirty Years War was the last of the great religious was and according to the great military historian, Geoffrey Parker, it was the first of the world war. Between 1607 and 1648 practically every European nation with the exception of England was involved (Germany, France, Spain, Austria, Ottoman Turkey, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Hungary, the smaller Baltic States)

Causes: The Confessions of Augsburg of 1555 stated that the ruler chose the religion of the area and of his subjects. If the Prince was Protestant, then everyone in the area would be Protestant and if the Prince was Catholic everyone would be Catholic. In the Holy Roman Empire there was always was a balance between Catholic and Protestant principalities, thereby creating a balance of power. In 1607 the balance of power shifted toward the Protestant side. The Holy Roman Emperor was not happy since he was a staunch Catholic. In 1608 the Protestant Union was formed by the Protestant principalities and in 1609 the Catholic League was formed.

The Holy Roman Emperor Mathias (1612-1619) had no heir and promised his cousin, Ferdinand of Styria, the crown. Mathias had Ferdinand made king of Bohemia. The kingship of Bohemia was an elective position. Ferdinand was also a staunch Catholic and the Bohemians were Protestant. Ferdinand attacked the Protestant Churches in Bohemia. The Bohemians resisted and on May 23, 1618 the Bohemians threw Ferdinand’s ministers out the castle window and began the Thirty Years Was. This incident is known as the Defenestration of Prague. Ferdinand became the Holy Roman Emperor in 1619.

Phases:

Bohemian Phase (1618-25) War between the Catholic League led by Ferdinand and the Bohemians. The Bohemians fought for religious freedom from the Catholic Habsburgs (Ferdinand). In 1618 the Bohemians deposed Ferdinand as their king (after the Defenestration) and elected Frederick of the Palatine as king (he was the son-in-law of James I, King of England). The Catholics won a decisive battle at White Mountain and defeated the Bohemians. Ferdinand re-Catholicized Bohemia.

Danish Phase (1625-1629) King Christian IV of Denmark entered the war on the side of the Protestants.

He waged war against the Catholic forced of the Holy Roman Emperor led by Albert Wallenstein, a mercenary general who scored smashing victories in the 2nd phase of the war. He swept through Sileasia, Jutland, and Schleswig to the Baltic Sea and made himself indespensible to the Emperor. However he quarreled with the Catholic league and the Catholic forces were divided. In 1629 the Emperor aided by his Jesuit advisors, issued the Edict of Restitution, whereby all Catholic properties lost to Protestantism since 1552 were restored and only Catholic and Lutherans (Not Calvinist Hussies) could practice their faith. When Wallenstein ruthlessly enforced this Edict, Protestants throughout Europe feared the collapse of balance of power in north central Europe.

The Swedish Phase (1630-1635) began when Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden entered the war on the side of the Protestants. He was ablest administrator of his day. Sweden was being subsidized by Cardinal Richelieu, chief minister of King Louis XIII of France. In 1631 Adolphus won a stunning victory at Breintenfeld and again in 1632 he defeated the Catholic forces at Lutzen, though he was mortally wounded. The Swedish victories successfully ended the Habsburg ambition of uniting all the German states under imperial authority. The death of Justas Adolph’s followed by the defeat of Swedes at Nordlingen in 1635 prompted the French to enter the war on the side of the Protestants.

The International Phase (1635-1648) France enters the war on the side of the Protestants. In 1635 France

declares war on Spain and send financial and military aid to the Swedes and the German Protestants. The reason the war dragged on so long is because neither side had the resources for a quick victory.

 

The Peace of Westphalia 1648: the end of the war. This marks the turning point in European political, religious and social history.

  1. It recognized the sovereign independent authority of the German princes. Each ruler could govern his particular area and make war and peace.
  2. With the power in the hands of many sovereign princes, the Holy Roman Empire as a real state was effectively destroyed.
  3. The independence of the United Province of the Netherlands was acknowledged.
  4. The international stature of Sweden and France was increased. France got the Alsace, which increased its borders and prestige. Sweden got cash indemnity and jurisdiction of the German territory along the Baltic Sea.
  5. The papacy could not intervene in the affairs of the Catholic territories
  6. In religion, the treaty stipulated that Augsburg agreement of 1555 should stand permanent however Calvinism was added to the acceptable religions (Lutheranism and Catholicism).