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Home , Anabaptism, Bohemian Revolt, Early modern Europe, Lutheranism, Martin Luther, Northern Germany

The Thirty Year’s War

Western Civilization II Marshall High School Mr. Cline Unit Three HA * The History of Early Modern

• The Holy

• The 30 Years' War, which took place in the first half of the , is one of the most devastating wars in European history.

• Though the war took place mainly within modern-day , many of Europe's nations were involved.

• Like many wars of its time period, the 30 Years' War had its root in and .

• From the religious point of view, this war was the attempt to overcome .

• On the political side, it was the Hapsburg Dynasty's attempt to keep control while many other countries worked to rob them of it.

* The History of

• The

• As we study this continent-consuming conflict, it's important to note I'll use the terms Hapsburg Dynasty and Holy Roman Empire interchangeably.

• I'll do this simply because the Hapsburgs dominated the Holy Roman Empire at the onset of the war.

• For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Holy Roman Empire, it consisted of . Although parts of and were under its control, its center of power was the areas of Germany and .

• Since the 30 Years' War included so many countries warring against the Holy Roman Empire, it is usually divided into four phases.

• Since this war was an epic fight for power, we'll call these phases rounds.

• They'll be Round 1: The Bohemian Phase,

• Round 2: The Danish Phase,

• Round 3: The Swedish Phase, * The History of Early Modern Europe

• The Holy Roman Empire

• and Round 4: The French Phase.

• By the time we're finished, we'll understand why the 30 Years' War was one of the most devastating conflicts of European history.

• Round #1 - The Bohemian Phase

• The first round of the 30 Years' War pitted against the Holy Roman Empire and a few of its German states.

• Unfortunately for the Bohemians, they were outnumbered from the start.

• In 1617, Ferdinand of the staunchly Catholic Hapsburg Dynasty took the throne of Bohemia, now the modern-day Czech .

• Upon taking the throne, he moved to weaken the power of Protestantism within the land.

• This quickly angered the members of the Bohemian nobility, who were mostly of the Protestant . * The History of Early Modern Europe

• Round #1 - The Bohemian Phase

• In 1618, the Protestant began when Protestant rebels threw a few Catholic officials from the window of a building.

• Surprisingly, the royal officials were not seriously injured.

• However, this incident, which became known as the Defenestration of , marked the opening of the 30 Years' War.

• To quell the rebellion, Ferdinand, also known as the Ferdinand II, enlisted the help of his German states.

• However, only the states that were loyal to Catholicism joined the fight.

• The Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic states invaded Bohemia and squelched the rebellion.

• With this, the Bohemian phase of the 30 Years' War ended in a victory for Catholicism and the Hapsburgs of the Holy Roman Empire. * The History of Early Modern Europe

• Round #2 - The Danish Phase

• The Danish phase of the 30 Years' War saw the Holy Roman Empire mixing it up with .

• Christian IV, Denmark's Protestant king, felt Ferdinand II was a threat to Protestants everywhere.

• In 1625, Christian IV went to war against the Empire.

• This time, the German states loyal to Protestantism joined Denmark's cause.

• Adding to this, got in on the action by financially backing Denmark.

• France's willingness to financially back Protestant Denmark signaled a shift in the 30 Years' War.

• France was a Catholic nation who had no desire to see Protestantism grow. * The History of Early Modern Europe

• Round #2 - The Danish Phase

• However, since they disliked the Hapsburg Dynasty even more than they disliked Protestants, they supported the Protestants in order to curb Hapsburg power.

• In other words, their motivation was political, not religious.

• Backed by German Protestants and money from France, the Danish Protestants made some headway.

• However, the Empire struck back, sweeping through Germany and handing the Protestants a defeat.

• Although Christian IV was able to keep Denmark, the Danish Phase of the 30 Years' War ended in another victory for Catholicism and the Hapsburgs.

• Round #3 - The Swedish Phase

• The Hapsburg victories over Bohemia and Denmark scared Protestants all across Europe. * The History of Early Modern Europe

• Round #3 - The Swedish Phase

• The Hapsburg victories over Bohemia and Denmark scared Protestants all across Europe.

• Afraid of where the Hapsburgs might strike next, decided to go on the offensive.

• In 1630, Swedish troops moved into Germany.

• They were aided by the remaining German Protestants.

• Adding to this, France again threw its financial support behind Protestant Sweden.

• During the early stages of the conflict, the won several notable victories.

• However, when Sweden's king was killed in battle, the Protestant forces fell into confusion. * The History of Early Modern Europe

• Round #3 - The Swedish Phase

• This gave the Holy Roman Empire the chance to make up for lost ground.

• When the Empire dealt the Swedes a decisive defeat in , both sides met to negotiate .

• In 1635, the Swedish phase came to an end with the Peace of Prague.

• Within this peace treaty, three things were established.

• First, it offered protection to Protestants living in .

• Oddly, this didn't extend to the Protestants in the south.

• Second, it combined the armies of the Holy Roman Empire and the German states into one. * The History of Early Modern Europe

• Round #3 - The Swedish Phase

• Third, it forbade German to ally with each other or any foreign power.

• Round #4 - The French Phase

• Although the Peace of Prague ended the Swedish phase of the war, it sparked the French phase.

• France felt the Peace of Prague gave way too much power to the Hapsburgs.

• Since part of the Holy Roman Empire bordered France, they would not tolerate a growing Hapsburg power.

• In 1636, France invaded Germany.

• With France officially joining the fight, the Swedes decided to once again join them.

• With France and Sweden on one side and the Holy Roman Empire and its Catholic members on the other, the war waged on. * The History of Early Modern Europe

• Round #4 - The French Phase

• Like the Swedish phase of the war, both sides traded victories back and forth.

• Fortunately for war-torn Europe, Emperor Ferdinand II died in 1637 and was succeeded by his son, Ferdinand III.

• Unlike his father, Ferdinand III wanted peace to be achieved. Although peace negotiations did begin, fighting waged on for years.

• Finally, in 1648, a Swedish general entered Prague and captured the .

• This was the last battle of the 30 Years' War. Ironically, the conflict would end in Prague, the place it had begun when a few rebellious Protestants threw some Catholic officials out a window.

• End of War

• With the falling of Prague to Swedish forces, the Peace of officially ended the 30 Years' War. * The History of Early Modern Europe

• End of War

• As a series of treaties, the ended a political and religious struggle that included much of Europe.

• Although no winner was openly crowned, Westphalia definitely favored the enemies of the Empire.

• Under this peace, the German states were given the right to make alliances with whomever they pleased.

• It also allowed for German Protestants, whether Lutheran or Calvinist, to exist within Germany.

• Perhaps even more significant, the 30 Years' War brought an end to the Hapsburg Dynasty's domination of Central Europe.

• With the Peace of Westphalia, the Hapsburgs had to say goodbye to their of a unified, Catholic empire.

• Although this seems like a happy ending for Protestantism within the Empire and Germany, it came at a very high price. * The History of Early Modern Europe

• End of War

• Since most of the war was actually fought on German soil, its land and population were devastated.

• Although the all-consuming power of the Hapsburg Dynasty was curtailed, it would take Germany generations to recover from the 30 Years' War.

• Comes to the

• It's important to note that in the mid-, the Netherlands were not an country. Instead, they were the possessions of the very Catholic Habsburg Dynasty of .

• Although Spain officially ruled the Netherlands, it gave the land and its many diverse provinces a good deal of autonomy.

• With this autonomy, the Netherlands thrived, making them one of the most prosperous in all of Europe. As wealth was produced in the Netherlands, Spain happily claimed its share. * The History of Early Modern Europe

• Reformation Comes to the Netherlands

• However, as the Reformation made its way to the Netherlands, the Habsburg dynasty got nervous.

• Knowing the desire for religious freedom often gave way to the desire for political freedom, Spain began to tighten its control of the Netherlands.

• As Spain tried to exert more power, the people of the Netherlands, known as the Dutch, rebelled. With this rebellion, the Reformation in the Netherlands became a time of bloodshed, , and war.

• and

• Although many credit Martin for sparking the Reformation, never had a strong presence among the Dutch.

• Instead, Anabaptism became very popular, especially in the areas of Holland and Friesland.

• These Anabaptists denied the legitimacy of infant . They also held the , not the , as the only rule for life. * The History of Early Modern Europe

• Anabaptism and Calvinism

• As a group, Anabaptists were very radical in their beliefs, forming new communities made entirely of those who believed as they did.

• This social restructuring soon upset the status quo within the Netherlands and made Anabaptists a target of persecution by Catholic Spain.

• Surviving despite this persecution, the and the of today are descendants of these Anabaptists.

• Creating even more chaos than the Anabaptist movement, Calvinism also came to the Netherlands. Unlike many new ideas, Calvinism reached both the aristocratic and common populations of the Netherlands.

• In a rather short time period, most of the province of had converted to Calvinism. Not surprisingly, this got the attention of Catholic Spain.

• Philip II, King of Spain, began persecuting Calvinists throughout the Netherlands.

• Thousands were executed and imprisoned during this time. * The History of Early Modern Europe

• Anabaptism and Calvinism

• However, the Dutch Calvinists would not be silenced.

• They answered back by ransacking churches, destroying Catholic images along their way.

• Reformation Leads to War

• When Philip sent even more Spanish troops to round up the unruly Calvinists, the seemed to have had enough of outside domination.

• William of Orange, also known as William the Silent and a convert to Calvinism, led the Northern provinces to rebel.

• This began the 80 Years' War to liberate the Dutch from Catholic Spain.

• By 1572, the provinces of Holland and Zeeland were firmly under Calvinist control. All churches in this area either voluntarily converted to Calvinism or they were forced to.

• Either way, Protestants were winning the war against Catholic Spain. * The History of Early Modern Europe

• Reformation Leads to War

• When , ruled by the Protestant Queen Elizabeth, joined the side of the Dutch, freedom was within sight.

• By this time, war had taken a huge on the treasury of Spain.

• Adding to their financial woes was the , King Philip's ill- fated attempt to invade Protestant England.

• Battle-worn and lacking funds, Spain's grip on the Netherlands weakened.

• In 1648, the 80 Years' War came to an end, and the independence of the Netherlands was recognized by the Treaty of Westphalia.

• Now free from Spanish domination, the Netherlands were mostly Protestant in the north (Holland) and Catholic in the south ().

• The Northern provinces, which had started the rebellion, took on the name the United Provinces. * The History of Early Modern Europe

• Reformation Leads to War

• Those in the south, which remained loyal to Catholicism, were known as the Obedient Provinces.

• Despite the differences in religious affiliation, these provinces would come to coexist peacefully.

• With this peace, the Netherlands became known across Europe as a land of .

• In the years following the Reformation, religious refugees from France, England, and Spain fled to the Netherlands for safety (including the Pilgrims)

• The Netherlands Under the Habsburg Dynasty

• The 80 Years' War was the revolt of the Netherlands against the Spanish king.

• The Spanish Armada was the attempted invasion of England by this very same Spanish king. Although one conflict happened on Dutch soil and the other on the seas, they are intricately related to one another.