The Thirty Years War
Setting for Cyrano
Overview
In 1618 the war started it the Roman Empire. There were two main reasons for this war. First, religions in the area violated peoples' rights to choose. People were allowed to be Catholic or Lutheran, but they could not be Calvinist. That did not stop the Calvinists, however, they practiced that religion even when it was illegal. This religious problem got to the point of just getting really mad and demanding. Second, Spain , the Netherlands, and France were fighting for Western Europe.
It was the longest and most destructive war that Europe's ever had in history. To peoples' surprise, it actually lasted 30 years. It was a point in Europe's history that was meaningful because it made the religions equal in power. The Westphalia Treaty ended the Thirty Years War and it took almost 3 weeks to arrange the signing ceremony. The signing happened at 2:00 in the afternoon of Saturday, October 24th, 1648.
Central Europe after The Thirty Years War To see the separation that occurred after it. | Central Europe argument about religions The Thirty Years War was the longest war and the most destructive war in Europe history. | Waiting for The Thirty Years War to end |
Connection To Present Day
The 30 Years' War greatly reduced the political power and influence the Catholic church had in Europe. The church never recovered that control over its people in Europe.
The Swedish military came up with new, more organized strategies for fighting war. They paid their mercenaries regularly and made sure local citizens were treated well. This formed the basis of much of our current approach to war.
Impact
Five Fun Facts
1.It was the longest and most destructive war in Europe history.
2.There were from 3,000,000 to 11,500,000 deaths during that war.
3.Many civilians accompanied mercenary troops.
4.It had many different reasons including religion, dynastic, territorial, and commercial rivalries.
5.The muzzle loading rifle was specially created for the war.