30 Years War
Pre-War, Bohemian, and Danish Phase
Summary
The reason for the war began when Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II of Bohemia attempted to curtail the religious activities of his subjects, sparking rebellion among Protestants. The war came to involve the major powers of Europe, with Sweden, France, Spain and Austria all waging campaigns primarily on German soil. Known in part for the atrocities committed by mercenary soldiers, the war ended with a series of treaties that made up the Peace of Westphalia. The fallout reshaped the religious and political map of central Europe, setting the stage for the old centralized Roman Catholic empire to give way to a community of sovereign states.
Cause for beginning?
Course
1618
Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand provokes rebellion when he attempts to stamp out Protestantism in Bohemia; the Defenestration of Prague.
1619
Grand alliance forms of Emperor Ferdinand II, his cousin, King Philip III of Spain, and Duke Maximilian of Bavaria. Bohemians elect Frederick V, the Elector of the Palatinate, as their king but can find no other Protestant allies.
1620
Habsburg forces crush the Bohemians at the Battle of White Mountain.
1621
War resumes between the Spanish and Dutch.
1621-23
Bavaria completes conquest of the Palatinate; Maximilian assumes Frederick’s title as Elector. (Simplicissimus is born soon after the Protestant defeat at the Battle of Höchst, June 1622.)
1625-1628
King Christian IV of Denmark intervenes to defend German Protestants, but the much larger Catholic armies of Wallenstein (Imperial) and Tilly (Bavarian) fight their way to the Baltic coast and crush all Protestant resistance.
1629
Emperor Ferdinand II issues Edict of Restitution, ordering the return to Catholic control of all bishoprics and monasteries secularized since 1552.
1630-1632
King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden invades Germany and fights his way to Munich before dying in battle.
1633
Cardinal Richelieu provides Sweden with massive subsidies to keep it in the war, and French troops invade Lorraine (inspiring the series of woodcuts by Jacques Callot, The Miseries of War).
1634
The Imperial & Bavarian armies inflict a crushing defeat on the Swedes and Saxons at the Battle of Nördlingen, September 6, 1634. (Simplicissimus emerges from his hermit's lair to enter the world.)
1635
The Peace of Prague: Ferdinand II greatly weakens terms of Edict of Restitution to achieve reconciliation with the Protestant Electors of Saxony & Brandenburg. Thereafter the war basically pits Austria and Spain against France and Sweden, but it continues to be fought on German soil.
Important Figures
Cardinal Richelieu
Gustavus Adolphus
King Christian IV
King Philip III
Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II of Bohemia
Duke Maximilian of Bavaria
What was the outcome?
The Treaty of Westphalia is signed, ending the Thirty Years War and radically shifting the balance of power in Europe. As a result of the Treaty of Westphalia, the Netherlands gained independence from Spain, Sweden gained control of the Baltic and France was acknowledged as the preeminent Western power. The power of the Holy Roman Emperor was broken and the German states were again able to determine the religion of their lands.
Importance of the Thirty Years War
Germany was split up into many territories, all of which won their sovereignty
This limited the power of the Roman empire and decentralized the German Empire
Germany got ruined, and France became the major power of Europe.
20 percent of Germany’s population perished
Drawback for Protestants