30 Years War
23 May 1618 – 15 May 1648
Summary Part I : Bohemia and Germany
Summary Part II : Germany and the European Powers
The war, which in the 1620s had been fought principally by German states with foreign assistance, now became a struggle among the great powers (Sweden, France, Spain, and Austria), fought largely on German soil.
Summary Part III : The Defeat of the Habsburgs
Cause
Direct Cause: In 1618, the Austrian Habsburgs tried to impose Roman Catholicism on their Protestant subjects in Bohemia.
Ferdinand II
Albrecht von Wallenstein
King Gustavus Adolphus
House of Habsburg
Gustavus Meme
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Outcome
Eventually, France's victory over the Spaniards at Rocroi (1643) and Sweden's defeat of the Imperialists at Jankau (1645) forced the Habsburgs to make concessions that led to the Peace of Westphalia (1648), which settled most of the outstanding issues.
The Treaty of Westphalia ended the war. It gave the Swiss independence of Austria and the Netherlands independence of Spain. The German principalities secured their autonomy. Sweden gained territory and a payment in cash, Brandenburg and Bavaria made gains too, and France acquired most of Alsace-Lorraine.