30 Years War Swedish French & Post
By: Anna Voros & Ellen Brockmole
Summary
It was fought in 1618-1648 in central Europe between the Catholics and Protestants of the Holy Roman Empire. It was originally fought over religion, but evolved more and more into a fight over which group would ultimately rule Europe.This all started in 1618, when Bohemian nobles showed their anger at Ferdinand II by going to the Prague Castle and throwing his representatives out a window. This was called the Defenestration of Prague and was the beginning of revolts, starting the 30 Years’ War.
Cause
Direct Cause: Ferdinand II rose to head of state of the Holy Roman Empire in 1619 and he forced citizens of the Holy Roman Empire to follow Catholicism which started religious conflict.
Root Cause: People weren’t happy about this because religious freedom had been granted to them through the Peace of Augsburg and now it seemed like it was being taken away.
Timeline
King Ferdinand II forced Holy Roman empire to be Roman Catholics; peace of Augsburg made this possible, “whose realm, his religion”
Defenestration of Prague; Bohemian nobility rejected the actions of king Ferdinand
Catholic League Victories; French were catholics and supported the king, they offered troops to help the king
Gustavus Adolphus; this Swedish leader sided with the protestants
French officially enter; in 1635 French recovered, and fighting between the French-Protestant alliance and the forces of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire were at a stalemate for the next few years
Prague Castle Captured; Sweden captured this from the Holy Roman empire
Peace of Westphalia; 1648 the parties in the conflict signed a series of treaties called the Peace of Westphalia, this ended the war
Key Figures & Groups
France
France entered the war in 1635. They played a pretty minimal part in the war. France didn’t fight much, instead they mostly funded the Swedish, who were fighting. After the war, the Holy Roman Empire lost power and France was gaining it.
Pictured: Cardinal Richelieu a French clergyman, nobleman, statesman, and bishop
Gustavus Adolphus & Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus led Sweden in the war. They were mostly motivated by political reasons rather then religous. They entered the war in 1630 and France funds their army. On November 14, 1632, Sweden had a victory, but it was a pyrrhic one because Gustavus Adolphus was killed and they lost most of their trained soldiers. They stayed in the war until the end and played a significant role in creating the terms of the peace treaty.
Letter of Majesty
Outcome
Winner: No real winner people were unsure of what was really happening and decided it was getting old
Treaty: The peace treaty was called the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the 30 Years’ War. It granted the right to self-government to the Holy Roman Empire states in Europe.
Post War: Peace of Westphalia laid the foundation for the formation of modern nation-states, established fixed boundaries for the countries involved in the fighting and caused more religious freedom. All of this altered the balance of power in europe.
Significance
For centuries before the end of the 30 Years’ War, people fought over religion, but after the Treaty of Westphalia was negotiated, people started to realize it was pointless to fight about religion. This change marked the 30 Years’ War as the last major religious war in Europe. It started to become more accepted to be a different religion from someone else. The Holy Roman Empire was losing power which meant other religions were on the rise.
Primary Source Document
The Treaty of Westphalia was the peace treaty between the Holy Roman Emperor, the King of France, and their allies. This treaty was signed by all parties involved in the war in 1648. The terms in the peace treaty brought an end to the war.
Sources
https://www.history.com/topics/reformation/thirty-years-war
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory/chapter/swedish-intervention/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years%27_War
https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2016/01/17/
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/westphal.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor#Thirty_Years'_War