The Wars of Religion
Background
 After the Reformation, Protestantism spread all over Europe
 Between 1555 and 1648 is called “The Age of the Religious Wars” because they
was almost constant warfare between Catholics and Protestants
 Leaders from both Religions struggled for Political power
French Civil War
 War broke out in France between Catholics and Huguenots (Protestants)
 War ended when a Huguenot King took the throne, converted to Catholicism and
declared the Edict of Nantes (The first time any state allowed religious freedom
and toleration)
England
 England became protestant during the rule of Henry 8th. HE converted because he
wanted to divorce his wife. When the church would not grant the divorce, he
created a new religion with himself as the leader
 England was religiously unified by Elizabeth 1st. But she did have problems with
Catholics and Puritans (many left to practice their religion elsewhere)
 Catholic Spain tried to conquer England and sent a huge fleet of ships (The
Spanish Armada). The Armada was destroyed by a combination of Bad Weather
and superior British tactics
Thirty-Years war
 Fought over Germany which was divided into over 300 small states
 Spain and Austria tried to unify Germany under Catholicism
 France, afraid of being caught between Spain and a strong Germany supported the
Protestant princes of Germany (even though France was Catholic)
 Protestants won (Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden joined in near the end)
 The war ended with the Treaty of Westphalia
 This treaty stated that each country or state should operate without interference
from other countries or the pope. Destroyed the Pope’s power in Europe
Witchcraft
 During this time, for unknown reasons, European became obsessed with
witchcraft
 Both Proestants and Catholics believed in Witches
 In England alone, over 1000 women were burned as Witches