1618-1648
Characteristics of the Thirty Years War
 The Holy Roman Empire was the
battleground.
 At the beginning  it was the
Catholics vs. the Protestants.(1600s)
 At the end  it was Habsburg power
that was threatened.
 Resolved by the Treaty of Westphalia
in 1648.
Peace of Augsburg froze
Lutheran/Catholic holdings
Frederick III: Calvinism official religion in
his realm
1609: Protestant defensive Alliance
formed: Prot. Union
Maximilian of Bavaria allied w/ Catholic
League of Germ. States
Jesuits return Strasbourg, Osnabruk to
Catholics in German territories
Social Stage:
Catholics hated protestants
Lutherans hated Calvinists
World War of the time
Treaties established major boundaries
Germany was divided: All principalities
were self-governing
Some let people through to trade; others
did not—no unity
Bohemian Phase
The Bohemian Phase: 1618-1622
 Ferdinand II inherited Bohemia.
 Wants Catholicism to be dominant.

The Bohemians hated him. Most
nobles were Calvinist.

Ferdinand II refused to tolerate
Protestants. Protestants threw
Hapsburg governors out the window
of the royal castle in Prague
Defenestration of Prague May, 1618—
Protestants took control of Bohemia, deposed
Ferdinand;
Elected Elector Frederick V, head of Protestant
Union as king of Bohemia
1619: Ferdinand II becomes Holy Roman
Emperor—does not accept his deposition
Ferdinand II borrowed an army from
Maximilian of Bavaria and the Catholic
League
Frederick V and Ferdinand II meet at
Battle of White Mountain outside of
Prague 11/8/1620 Frederick lost his
lands in the fighting.
Spanish troops take advantage of
Frederick’s predicament and attack
Palatinate—overtaking it by 1622
By 1622, Bohemia & Palatinate—Catholic
Frederick fled to United Provinces
Ferdinand re-established as king of
Bohemia; declares it a hereditary Hapsburg
possession; confiscated Protestant land;
Catholicism is sole religion
Danish Phase
The Danish Phase: 1625-1629
 King Christian IV of Denmark,
Lutheran, intervened for
Protestants; leads army into N.
Germany
 Christian made alliance w/UP and
England; wanted Catholic territories
in N. Germany
Ferdinand II tried to end all resistance.
Tried to crush Protestant northern Holy
Roman Empire.
Ferdinand II used Albrecht von
Wallenstein for the army—Brilliant
commander; Bohemian nobleman—
country’s wealthiest landowner
Wallenstein defeated Protestants at
Dessau in north.
Albrecht
von
Wallenstein
Forces of Christian IV received help from
allies, but were defeated in 1626 by
Catholic League army
1627—suffered major loss to Wallenstein
Wallenstein occupied Baltic ports of
Hamburg, Lubeck, Bremen
End of Danish supremacy in Baltic
HRE Ferdinand at height of power-Edict of Restitution (1629):
Prohibited Calvinist worship
Restored to Catholics all lands lost since
1552.
Deprived all Protestants, except Lutherans, of
their religious and political rights.
German princes feared Ferdinand (Hapsburg
power) he fired Wallenstein in effort to
calm them.
Swedish Phase
The Swedish Phase: 1630-1635
 France & Sweden now get involved.
 Both want to stop Habsburg
power.
 Sweden led the charge—
reformed military/gunpowder/
wanted to help Lutheran
brothers
 France provided support.
Gustavus Adolphus invaded the HR
Empire.
Cardinal Richeleau paid Adolphus to keep
armies occupied in Germany
Gustavus’ Tactics:
1st standing army of conscripts
Flexible tactics
Infantry Brigades:
Equal numbers of musketeers and
pikemen
Six-men deep
Use of the SALVO: all rows fired at once
(not by row)
Salvos cut up ranks of enemy
Pike charge followed
Infantry became offensive
Cavalry charged w/swords after pistol
volley
Additional flexibility obtained w/lighter
artillery pieces: more easily moved
during battle
Changed demanded coordination, careful
training, better discipline (no more
using undisciplined mercenaries)
These changes were effective and
imitated by 1560
Gustavus
Adolphus
Swedish Army swept the imperial forces in
Northern Germany
Ferdinand II brought back Wallenstein.
Swedish army was victorious, but their
advance was stopped at Lutzen in 1632
King Gustavus Adolphus was killed in battle
Swedish army remains in Germany, although
less effective
German princes still feared Ferdinand II.
1634-Wallenstein assassinated to
appease German princes, on orders of
HRE Ferdinand
1634—Battle of Nordlingen—Swedes
driven out of South by Imperial army
Result: Southern Germany remained
Catholic
HRE made peace w/German princes
Agreed to annul 1629 Edict of Restitution
No peace came to Germany: Swedes
wanted to continue war;
French (Cardinal Richelieu) entered war
Directly
The French Phase: 1635-1648
 Religious issues lost significance
 Catholic French supported
Protestant Swedes against
Catholic Hapsburgs of Germany
and Spain
 1643 Battle of Rocroi: French
beat Spanish and ended Spanish
military greatness
French proved victorious over HRE armies
in Bavaria
This was most devastating phase of the
war:
German towns decimated.
Agriculture collapsed  famine
resulted.
8 million dead  1/3 of the population
[from 21 million in 1618 to 13.5 million
in 1648]
Loss of German Lives in 30 Years’ War
Trade was crippled throughout
Europe.
Caused massive inflation.
All parties ready to sue for peace
After 5 years of negotiations, peace
was declared in 1648.
Treaty of Westphalia (1648)
The Peace of Westphalia (1648)
 Political Provisions:
 Each Ger. prince became free
from any kind of control by the
HR Emperor. (300 separate
states)
 The United Provinces [Dutch
Neths.] became officially
independent  so. part remained
a Sp. possession.
France received. most of the Gerspeaking province of Alsace, parts of W.
Germany, and cities along Fr-Ger border
Austrian Hapsburgs did not lose territory,
but diminished authority: Hapsburg
emperor became figurehead in HRE
Sweden  got lands in No. Ger. on the
Baltic & Black Sea coasts.
Switzerland became totally independent
of the HR Emperor  Swiss
Confederation.
Sweden won a voice in the Diet of the
HR Empire
Brandenburg & Bavaria got important
territories on North Sea & in central
Germany.
The Peace of Westphalia (1648)
 Religious Provisions:
 Calvinists would have the same
privileges as the Lutherans
had in the Peace of Augsburg.
 The ruler of each state could
determine its official religion,
BUT [except in the hereditary
lands of the Habsburgs], he
must permit freedom of
private worship.
Pope ignored all decisions at Westphalia
Economically and Socially: effects still
debated
German population declined
Areas of Germany completely devastated
Other areas actually prospered
Most destructive war yet in Europe
1688-1700
Nobody Was Happy!
 Many Protestants felt betrayed.
 The pope denounced it.
 Only merit  it ended the fighting in
a war that became intolerable!
 For the next few centuries, this war
was blamed for everything that went
wrong in Central Europe.
What were the long-range
effects of the Thirty
Years’ War?