Outlines for “A History of the Modern World” 9 th Edition
Palmer, Colton, and Kramer
Chapter 3: Economic Renewal and Wars of Religion
3.11: The Opening of the Atlantic
1.
2.
Introduction
a. The wars of religion
i. Period from 1560-1648 was not just a time of Wars of Religion
1. religion was ‘burning issue’ but also constitutional, economic and social
questions arose
2. Lines drawn are not distinct as other motives direct alliances
b. Modern global economic system begins to develop
i. Capitalism, new trade routes, new worlds
The Opening of the Atlantic
a. Cross-Atlantic trade was more favorable for Europeans; more devastating for the New World
i. depopulation, slave trade, destruction of cultures
ii. Transformation was experienced on both sides of the new global contacts
iii. Marks the beginning of modern global history
iv. Atlantic was a barrier to Europeans now it’s a bridge
Europe’s transformation
i. new commercial class
ii. naval power supercedes land power
iii. population grows
1. with the help of the potato
iv. Euro-centric view of culture
1. cultural relativism
The Portuguese in the East
a. Improvements in shipbuilding made ocean going possible
i. 1317 Venetians had established Flanders galleys, to trade with North Sea
ii. rigging of sails
iii. compass (sailors could sail out of sight of land)
iv. mechanical rudder
1. Portuguese colonized Azores in 1450 and discovered Westerlies to return to
Europe
v. shared knowledge
b. Trade goods in the east were of superior quality
i. silk, rugs, porcelain, steel
ii. drugs, sugar, spice
c. Two circles of trade existed
i. East of the Mediterranean (Arab)
ii. West of the Mediterranean (Italian cities)
iii. East and West met in Alexandria, Beirut or Constantinople to trade
d. da Gama (Port.) makes his way by sea to India and lands of the Malabar Coast
i. Established commerce is challenged
ii. da Gama returns with military force (21 vessels)
1. War with Arabs, Venetians, Turks ensues
2. Serious atrocities were committed against the “infidel” by the Portuguese
a. Cities torched, prisoners butchered, dismembered hands, noses and
ears were sent back as trophies
b. Brahmin mutilated was left alive to bear them to his people
e. Portuguese continue expanding presence east and establish a trade empire
i. Church representatives soon follow
1. St. Francis Xavier baptized thousands in India, Indonesia and Japan in 1550
ii. low cost of sea transport made goods less expensive and demand increased
The Discovery of America
a. Columbus sails west to reach the east
b. Difficulty measuring longitude at sea made estimates of distance to east overly optimistic
c. perspectives on the New World were mixed
i. Gold, Glory God
ii. conquistadors fell on existing cultures
b.
3.
4.
5.
iii. mining and disease depopulated natives and slaves replaced them as the labor force
1. 100, 000 brought by 1560 and continued for 200 more years
d. Magellan’s voyage completes the circumnavigation of the globe
i. Found Southwest passage in 1520
ii. Length of southern route prompts northern exploration
e. Spain and Portugal divide trade world between them
i. Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
1. divided the world in half down the middle of the Atlantic
a. east goes to Portugal, west to Spain
2. Cabral
a. Discovered Brazil for Port (within the line of demarcation)
The Spanish Empire in America
a. Colonial rule
i. encomienda: natives work for Spanish part time and work their land the rest
1. really a feudal system
ii. White population remained small
1. creoles (American born whites) were looked down upon by Castilians
2. mestizos (mixed White and Indian)
iii. Catholicism
iv. Spanish were less cruel than existing tribes (Aztecs and human sacrifice)
1. but “Black Legend” arose in Europe of their cruelty
v. universities are established in each viceroyalty
1. University of Limas (1551), Mexico (1553)
a. Harvard not established until 1636
vi. Discovery of Potosi silver mines
1. in what is now Bolivia
2. methods of extracting silver by use of mercury at same period as discovery
3. 500, 000 pounds of silver, 10, 000 of gold flowed yearly to Spain
4. helped finance counter reformation
b. Spanish and Portuguese have shared monopoly of ocean trade
c. Northern Europe will have to settle wars of religion before looking to the seas
3.12: The Commercial Revolution
1. Introduction
a. Economic readjustment occurring from overseas trade, population growth, and gradual rise in
prices (inflation)
i. Europe’s population total is 90 mil in 1600
1. population growth was largely in the rural areas
a. Eng =5 mil, France=20, Russia=10
i. London and Paris=200, 000
ii. Atwerp, Seville, Lisbon=100
ii. Price revolution
1. population growth caused higher prices for food production
a. new land brought under cultivation was less fertile and production
costs rose
2. More money in circulation led to inflation
a. increase in volume of money from debasing
b. increase in gold from new sources
iii. Population growth and economic growth checked inflation
iv. Population growth and inflation stimulated the economies of Europe
v. Commercial Rev.= economic changes in Europe marked by rise of capitalistic
economy and transition from town-centered to a nation-centered economic system,
occurred very slowly but lasted until Industrial Rev.
2. Changes in Commerce and Production
a. Medieval towns and surrounding area formed an economic unit
b. Guild system
i. Master craftsmen produced articles for locals, peasants produced agricultural
products to town
ii. guildsman owned capital (his workbench, tools, house, materials)
iii. Master worked along side his journeymen, apprentices
iv. Still not capitalists
1. produced only upon order
2. little risk, little profit, little innovation
Guild masters lack the capital and networking to conduct long distance trade
i. Lacked capital to tie up in stocks of unsold wares, knowledge of distant customers
needs, quantities and prices
d. New, middlemen merchants filled the gap between manufactures and consumers
i. Fugger Bankers
1. Johann Fugger, small town weaver moved to Augsburg in 1368
a. Established business in new kind of cloth (called fustian) cotton
mixed
b. Began also to deal in spices, silks and invested profits in mining
c. Lent $ to popes, financed Charles V election as HRE in 1519
2. financed Hapsburgs
3. financed Portuguese trade
4. fabulous wealth declined with Hapsburgs
ii. Putting out system
1. English entrepreneurs avoided guild restrictions by putting out work to
country people
2. gave them looms, spinners
3. (domestic system)cottage industry
4. Owner of capital distributes the means of production
5. Locals produce small lots of goods
6. owner collects goods and moves them to markets
Capital and labor
i. Cottage industry signified a new divergence between capital and labor
ii. Separation of owner from laborer
iii. Larger scale production could be achieved
iv. Guildsmen shift to subcontractors
b. New industries
i. Printing
1. Demand for books increases as literacy increases
2. Printers borrowed from capitalists to meet demands of large overhead
ii. Shipbuilding
iii. Weapons manufacture
1. New Monarchs needed thousands of uniforms, muskets, barracks,
fortifications
2. New, larger armies are appearing
3. Uniforms, food, barracks
a. Stimulated “mass production” models of manufacture
iv. Large scale trade created an economic network between European countries
c. New Banking practices
i. Practice of loaning money for interest is called usury
1. forbidden in Medieval as avarice
2. Church officials began to distinguish between usury and “legitimate return”
ii. Feeling of “reasonable” return begins to be accepted
iii. Bank of Amsterdam stimulates economic growth through new business ventures
d. Commercial capitalism
i. Entrepreneur owns the capital, means of production, knows the market
ii. Replaced by industrial capitalism by 1800s
e. Mercantilism
i. Force gold and silver to flow into rulers kingdom (Doctrine of Bullionism)
1. set the poor to work
2. develop new crafts and manufactures
3. favorable balance of trade
a. raise the export of finished goods
b. reduce the export of raw materials
c. reduce import of non-raw material goods
4. establish a favorable balance of trade causing payments of bullion to accrue
in the kingdom
ii. achieved through nationwide system of regulations signifies the transition from city
to national scale economies
iii. England moves to control guilds
1. Statute of Artificers 1563
c.
3.
a. Regulates the artisans entering the guilds
iv. France
1. keeps guilds around to tax
v. Countries are use national wealth to support merchants
vi. English Poor Law 1601
1. Put indigents, poor, vagabonds, and others to work
2. Relieve destitution created by economic changes
vii. Competition promoted creative steps to develop new industries
1. espionage, importing knowledgeable workers, restrict distribution of “state”
industrial secrets
a. 2 Turkish youths who understood the dyeing arts of Middle East
were brought to England in 1582
viii. National support allows the development of new economies
1. subsidies for production of desirable goods
2. political protection of fledgling industries
3. tariff system breaks down established “internal” tariffs
4. Organization of national “companies” helped merchants deal with various
threats abroad and granted monopolies over trade goods to members
a. Pirates
b. Hostile foreign governments
i. English and Dutch East India Companies
5. Companies began to erode Portuguese and Spanish monopolies in the
Americas and Orient
3.13: Changing Social Structures
1. Introduction
a. Social structure refers to the composition, functions, and interrelationships of social classes
b. Major social groups emerging out of the commercial revolution
i. Landed aristocracy
ii. Peasantry
iii. Middle classes
iv. Urban poor
c. The beneficiaries of slow inflation were the peasants that held land and paid lords a set price
d. Those that fared the worst were those dependant on wages
e. Yeoman (freeholders) developed between the landed gentry and the rural poor
f. Large class of unpropertied rural workers remained in poverty
g. Upper landed class members were in mixed situations
i. Fixed rents versus payments in kind
1. could resell wheat at higher price and make profit (if payment in kind)
2. Social Classes
a. Aristocracy
i. Broad spectrum of financial situations
1. began to develop more refined tastes and education
ii. Some looked for appointments in government or the military to increase income
iii. Recent nobility competed with older noble families
1. Older noble ancestry become a badge of status for favored consideration
b. Bourgeoisie
i. Early meaning was group between landed aristocracy and laboring poor
1. originally meant a person living in a town or borough
ii. Later Marx uses bourgeoisie to mean owners of capital
iii. Social lines began to blur
1. Bourgeoisie buying lands in the country
2. Aristocracy buying stock in merchant countries
3. Consciousness of social differences remains
iv. Structure of the middle class
1. Urban elites than ruled the cities
2. Growing middle class of intellectual talent
a. Capable middle class sons might work side by side with younger
sons of nobility in government posts
3. Clergy was drawn from all classes but most came from the middle class
4. Guild masters were scattered from top to bottom in the middle class
5. Low middle class included shopkeepers, innkeepers, journeymen
c.
3.
4.
The working class (the mass of population)
1. Largely illiterate, unskilled wage laborers, unemployable, paupers
2. Given to irregular habits
3. 1600s saw rise of relief efforts for the poor
a. workhouses
b. hospices
4. Most of the poor worked at menial occupations
a. Fieldwork, livestock, mining, fishing, oddjobbers, domestic
service, excrement removers
5. Inflation outpaced wages and the working poor were the hardest hit as the
commercial revolution unfolded
Social Roles of Education and Government
a. Reformation increased demand for educated clergy
b. Growth of commerce made it necessary to literate workers
c. Growth of government administrations increased need for literate workers
d. Increasing demand for lawyers
e. Early demand for increased literacy was financed by endowments (1580-1640)
i. New school model was advanced “college”
ii. Schools for girls increased to prepare them for participation in more sophisticated
court life
iii. Bright minded students were gathered from all segments of the social classes
1. half of Oxford’s students were “plebian”
a. Esquires, gentlemen and clergy making up the rest
f. Governments could influence economic development
i. Granting monopolies
ii. Borrowing
iii. Issuing charters to trading companies
iv. Appointments to government jobs
v. Dispensing privileges
1. Royal court noble, country noble
Eastern versus Western Europe
a. West
i. Commercial revolution was advantageous to the middle class
b. East
i. Commercial revolution was advantageous to the upper class
1. benefited from rising prices and market for grain
ii. Lot in life of peasants declines
iii. Junkers (lords of northeast Germany) prosper and control increases as central
governments were less defined
1. serfdom called “hereditary subjection” in Germany
a. couldn’t marry, leave, etc. without the lord’s permission
iv. Robot increased
1. Bohemian word for peasant duty to work 3-4 for days a week for lord
a. Called corvee in France
2. peasantry in east sank deeper into serfdom
v. Landlords of the east become deeply entrenched in power with great autonomy
vi. Western peasants are freer
1. becoming small proprietors, fee under the law
2. this is decisive in later history of the two regions
3.14: Philip II and the Counterreformation
1.
Philip II (1556-1598)
a. 1556 Charles V abdicates, divides his holdings, and moves to a monastery
b. he tried for 35 years to preserve religious unity of Germany
i. Ferdinand (his brother) gave Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, and HRE
ii. Philip II got Spain, New World, and Spanish Netherlands, Bugundy, Milan, Naples,
Tunis
iii. Hapsburgs remained divided between Austrian and Spanish domains
iv. Philip II titles include king of Portugal, king of England (briefly)
c. Catholicism
i. Fanatically Catholic
2.
3.
ii. Grave, somber, dark, brooding man
iii. Before all else Philip was a Catholic committed to upholding the universal church
iv. Leads the Catholic counteroffensive and directs his financial resources toward the
effort
1. gave no thought to economic or material costs
2. led to Spain’s deterioration
d. Period of cultural achievement (siglo de oro) 1550-1650
i. Don Quixote; Cervantes
ii. El Greco paintings
1. 1600 33% of population was in service of church
e. The Escorial
i. 30 miles from Madrid in central Castile
1. bleak arid plateau of central Castile overlooking Sierra
2. Complex layout was in the form of a grill honoring St. Lawrence
1. roasted alive in 258 on a grill over coals
ii. Palace, monastery, and mausoleum
1. brought coffins of his father, dead wives, children
iii. Philip worked tirelessly from the Escorial in Spartan fashion
iv. The counterreformation was a messy task and religious perspectives did not
recognize state, neighborhood, or family boundries
f. The Catholic offensive
i. 1567 Philip sent Duke of Alva and 20, 000 Spanish soldiers to suppress dissidents in
Netherlands
ii. established a Council of Troubles to root them out
iii. Put down revolt of Moriscos in Spain
iv. Large military force secures the Netherlands
v. Turks are kept at bay in the Mediterranean
vi. English Catholics are given leave to revolt against Elizabeth I
vii. St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre of Huguenots in France
viii. None of the moves proved enduring
The Revolt of the Netherlands (low Countries)
a. Germanic in the north (called Dutch), French in the south
b. Made up of 17 provinces including Lux
c. Only common denominator is ruler from outside
d. North in north from deep sea fishing
e. Strong Protestant presence
f. National identity came into existence with ascension of Philip II
g. League of Nobles form against Spanish rule
i. Comprised of 200 nobles from various provinces
ii. Petitioned Philip II to keep the Inquisition out of the Netherlands
iii. Netherlanders were fearful of loosing their “federal” liberties
iv. When Philip refused the petition revolts began to break out
v. Philip sent in the inquisition and reinforcements
1. Council of Troubles (of Blood) sentenced thousands to death, levied new
taxes, confiscated estates
vi. The heavy handed tactics of the Spanish firmed the resolve of the Netherlanders
vii. William of Orange (the silent) “stadholder” mobilizes anti-Spanish forces at sea
1. encourages other nations (Danes, Scots, English, Dutch) to piracy at sea
against the Spanish
2. Spanish response is fierce and the Netherlands are being torn by anarchy,
revolution, and civil war
viii. By 1576 anti-Spanish feeling unites the 17 provinces to unite
The Involvement of England
a. Elizabeth quietly supported the anti-Spanish forces in the Netherlands
b. Fearing Catholic reprisal in England she keeps England’s involvement quiet
c. Mary “Queen of Scots” (great granddaughter of Henry VII) is in Elizabeth’s prison as many
interest desire Mary’s ascendancy to the throne of England
i. Had been queen of France until husbands death & queen of Scotland until driven by
irate Calvinist lords
d. Philip II half brother Don Juan plotted to conquer the Netherlands, invade England, put Mary
on the throne, marry Mary, and rule England as king
4.
i. Don was hero of Battle of Lepanto (naval battle against Turkey) and half bro of
Philip was governor of Neth
e. Death of Don Juan (1578) brings Parma to the leadership
i. Diplomacy and force bring the southern provinces under control
1. Parma promised liberties and moderates, zealous Catholics who were tired
of mob violence
f. Northern provinces (led by Holland and Zeeland) created “Union of Utrecht” and declared
their independence in 1579 and 1581 respectively (call themselves the United Provinces of the
Netherlands or Holland)
g. Parma’s move against Antwerp forces England to openly side with Holland
i. Sent 6, 000 troops
h. Elizabeth’s move against the foreign intrigue unites England behind her
i. Even Catholics
i. Response from the Escorial to Elizabeth’s support of raiders at sea, Huguenots in France,
Holland in rebellion, and Protestantism in England is an invasion
j. The Spanish Armada 1588
i. Great armada or armada catolica
1. ships carried banners of Virgin and crosses on sails
2. 130 ships carrying 30, 000 men, 2, 400 artillery
ii. Fleet of mixed nationalities is ordered to invade England
1. orders had to be issued in 6 languages (Catalans, Castilians, Irish, émigré
English Catholics) didn’t like one another
2. plan was to sail to Neth and take Parmas’ army to Eng
iii. English meet the Armada in the English Channel with 200 ships
1. Sir Francis Drake under Lord Howard of Erringham
iv. Stalwart and nimble English vessels out maneuvered the Spanish galleons
v. Refuge in Calais was lost to “fire ships”
vi. Unfavorable winds “Protestant Winds” from south to north pushed the Spanish into
unfamiliar waters
vii. Retreat around northern British Isles was catastrophic
viii. Complete victory for the English is realized and the ascendancy of England begins
The Results of the Struggle
a. Philip II dies (of cancer) in 1598 a broken man
b. England’s national spirit is emerging under Protestantism and set out to conqueror the seas
i. East India Company founded 1600
c. The Netherlands are divided north and south
i. North (7 provinces) becomes Protestant, tolerant, close the Scheldt, and emerge as a
rising commercial force at sea and in banking centered in Amsterdam
1. Dutch East India Company 1602
2. settle NY (New Amsterdam in 1612)
3. known as Dutch
ii. South (10 provinces) becomes Catholic, is in ruins (40 yrs of war), and little help is
forthcoming from Spain
1. called Spanish Netherlands (Belgium today)
d. Spain is imploding, financial dependence on New World wealth is becoming desperate, and
leadership was directed toward Catholic affairs rather than Spain’s needs
i. Only 400 looms operating in Seville in 1621 (16, 000 100 yrs before)
ii. Best and brightest were in Church not secular activities
iii. Frustration turns toward the Moriscos and thousands are driven out of Spain
1. 1609 150, 000 driven from Valencia, 1610 64, 000 driven from Aragon
iv. Loss of Moriscos “drains Spain mainly of the brain”
v. Final blow to Spain is the line of incompetent kings that follow Philip
3.15: The Disintegration and Reconstruction of France
1. Introduction
a. France and Germany collapsed as a result of religious turmoil
i. France reintegrates itself after 40 years of civil war (1562-1598)
ii. Germany does not (1618-1648)
2. Political and Religious Disunity
a. Religious wars in France were political and religion based
b. A new form of feudal rebellion against a higher central authority
i. Feudal meaning all sorts of groups having rights within the state
ii. France 3 times larger than England and 5 times more populous
Centralism vs. localism
i. The new monarchies centralized administration of the state
ii. Challenges to the centralization came from
1. over 300 different legal systems in 300 small regions
2. bonnes villes (good towns) stubbornly held onto their corporate rights
3. Each had its own identity, autonomy, laws, courts, tariffs, taxes, and
parliament or provincial estates
d. To this mix was added religious diversity
e. Protestantism (Calvinism) spread in France and developed without government support
i. Most radical form (smashed icons, preached at kings, etc)
ii. Huguenots were chiefly the nobility
1. Over 33% nobility became Calvinist
iii. Peasants of Huguenot noble also become Protestant
1. as ius reformandi allowed lords to regulate religion in their estates gave
them opportunity to appoint Calvinistic preachers
iv. Towns to Protestantism (bourgeois oligarchy)
v. Unskilled laboring population remained Catholic
f. French monarchs follow anti-Calvinist policies
g. Francis I, Henry II (killed in Tournament in 1559), Francis II(d. 1560), Charles IX(d. 1574),
and Henry III (d. 1589)
i. The latter three under the direction of mother Catherine de Medici
ii. France had no firm leadership and many contending for the crown
iii. Appeals from all sides went to outside forces and civil war ensues
The Civil and Religious Wars 1560-1600
a. Loose alliance, vigilantes, roving armies, professional warrior class on the rampage mark
these series (9) of civil wars
b. Huguenot leaders include de Coligny and Henry of Bourbon (King of Navarre) at foot of
Pyrenees
c. Catholic leaders include the Duke of Guise, Cardinal of Lorraine
d. Catherine de Medici is ruling by proxy and is caught in the middle
i. Fearing the worst she perpetrated the The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre against
the Huguenots in Paris for Navarre’s wedding
ii. Navarre escapes, Coligny does not
e. Both sides hired mercenaries from Germany
f. Protestant towns appealed to England, Elizabeth offered little direct assistance
g. Out of chaos rose third party called the Politiques
i. They said that too much was being made of religion
ii. No doctrine was important enough to justify everlasting war
iii. What was needed was civil order
iv. They had a secular rather than a religious view
v. People live primarily in the state
vi. Overlook religious ideas if citizens obey the king
vii. Henry Navarre was a pragmatist and would use the Politique idea to gain the throne
viii. Jean Bodin was the first to discuss the modern theory of sovereignty
1. every society must have one power strong enough to give law
2. in France this becomes absolutism
3. Sovereignty of the state emerges as the political model in the west to the
present
The End of the Wars: Reconstruction under Henry IV
a. 1589 Henry III of France and Henry of Guise are assassinated in 1589
i. next legal inheritor is Henry Bourbon (Henry IV)
ii. Henry of Navarre (Henry IV of France - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) brings the
Bourbon dynasty to the throne
1. Henry was a Huguenot and the Catholic leadership did not accept him as
King
2. Henry recognized that Catholicism was the faith of the majority
3. Years of war created animosity toward the Huguenots
4. The Huguenots were being led by obstinate nobles
5. Henry converts to Catholicism in 1593
a. “Paris is well worth a mass.”
b. Alarmed Huguenots were reassured by Henry
c.
3.
4.
6.
Issues the Edict of Nantes to quiet the Huguenots
a. Nobles with manors could practice Protestant faith in their homes
b. Towns that were a majority Protestant could practice their faith
c. Protestantism was barred from Catholic town and Paris
d. Protestants civil rights are protected
e. Protected Protestant political participation “mixed chambers”
f. Gave Protestants the rights to defend themselves and maintain
private armies (had 100 fortified towns)
g. Palements (supreme law courts of Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Aix
and Rennes) refused to recognize the Edict
i. Silenced them by granting favors to Jesuits
7. Edict of Nantes reduced conflict in France
8. Henry IV begins rebuilding France
a. “A chicken in the pot for every Frenchmen”
b. repaired roads, began rebuilding of business, ect.
9. Never summons the estates general
a. Laid the foundations for absolutiosm
10. 1610 Henry IV is killed by Catholic fanatic
11. Marie de Medici and her son Louis XIII lead France
12. Cardinal Richelieu begins to rise in power
a. Ran gov. of Marie and Louis XIII
b. Serves the state (politique)
c. Advances mercantilism
d. Encouraged nobility to develop interests in commerce without loss
of title or status
e. Encouraged merchants with grants of titles of nobility
f. Developed “commercial companies”
g. Prohibits private warfare and orders the destruction of fortified
castles not used by the king
h. Peace of Alais amends the Edict of Nantes after Protestant uprising
is put down
i. Huguenots can not share political power
ii. Huguenots can not keep private armies
iii. Huguenots can practice Protestantism
i. Path toward absolutism is being widened
j. Crown of France, under Richelieu’s influence take up campaign
against Spanish and Austrian Hapsburgs
k. Wars of Religion in Germany facilitate the interests of France and
Richelieu
i. Richelieu will work to sustain the religious struggles in
Germany
3.16: The Thirty Years’ War, 1618 – 1648: The Disintegration of Germany
1. Introduction
a. HRE is a mix of Czech, Bohemian, French and German (Majority)
b. No true religious majority or minority exists, evenly split between Protestant and Catholic
c. Isolationist perspectives of Lutheran states led to cultural decline
d. Lutherans were suspicious of the outside world and suffered from cultural isolation
e. Universities attracted fewer students as intellectual energies were spent defending dogmas
i. Witch burning
ii. Commercial activity is in decline
iii. Banking and financial interests were shifting west
2. Background of the Thirty Years’ War
a. 1555 Peace of Augsburg provided that each state could prescribe the religion of its subjects
leading to the development of two opposing forces
i. Lutheran states are making gains by converting leaders
1. Palatine (HRE Elector, and strategically located in mid of Rhine)
encourages Protestant states to join in league
a. Supported by England, Dutch, and French
ii. Catholics states join in league
1. Supported by Spain
b. Conflict between Spain and Dutch states is being rekindled
3.
i. 12 year truce set to end in 1621
1. Spain wanted Neth back or at least to end Dutch trade in Indies
c. Spain wished to consolidate Habsburg position in Germany and in Swiss cantons
i. This aroused the French
ii. Idea of a stronger power in Germany also aroused French
d. French are intent and preventing a strong Hapsburg state from emerging in the HRE that is
trying to centralize power
e. Complexity of the Thirty Years’ War
i. Fought over religion, constituional issues, centralization v idependence of German
states
ii. Between the French and Hapsburgs, Spain and Dutch
iii. Fought mostly on German soil
iv. Divided into 4 or 5 phases (Bohemian(1618-1625), Danish(1625-1629),
Swedish(1630-1635), and Swedish-French(1635-1648)
Five Phases of the War
a. Phase One: The Bohemian War
i. 1618 emissaries of the King and HRE are “thrown out the window” by Protestant
Bohemians and Czechs
1. called the “defenestration of Prague
ii. King/HRE sends troops
iii. Bohemians elect a new king by choosing Elector of Palatine (Frederick V)
iv. King and HRE Mathias is replaced by Ferdinand who is supported by the Pope,
Spanish troops, and Bavarian forces combine to rout the Protestant uprising at Battle
of White Mountain in 1620
v. Spaniards begin concentrating forces in the Rhineland
vi. Ferdinand is re-elected king and confiscates estates of Protestants
1. Forced re-Catholicization of Bohemia is implemented with the Jesuits
2. Protestantism in Austria is “stamped out”
b. Phase Two: Denmark
i. King of Denmark (also the Duke of Holstein, a state in HRE) raises army with
support from Richelieu
ii. HRE Ferdinand commissions Albert of Wallenstein to raise army
1. his army are professional pillagers
2. Wallenstein’s army is ruthless and aggressive and defeats the King of
Denmark
a. Google Image Result for
http://contracosta.edu/Art/Images/17thCCallotHangingTree.jpg
Hanging Tree by Jacques Callot (1633)
c. Phase Three: International realignment
i. HRE issues Edict of Restitution to reclaim all secularized territories since 1552 in
Germany for Catholic Church
1. terror sweeps over Protestants of Germany
ii. Richelieu plots to engage Sweden in the Protestant resistance
iii. Dutch also align with Sweden and support the Swedish military campaign
iv. Stage is set for final phase of the war
d. Phase four
i. Gustavus Adolphus= King of Sweden
1. Excellent leader
2. Solid power base
3. Dutch and other military experts created a modern army
a. Discipline
b. Courage
c. mobile cannon
4. Well suited to be the Protestant champion (troops sang Lutheran hymns into
battle)
5. Aided by Richelieu’s diplomatic efforts against the HRE received much
cooperation from German Protestants and Catholics that feared imperial
centralization
6. Gustavus Adolphus killed at Lutzen in 1632
a. his chancellor carries on and the army penetrates deep into Europe
7. Splintering in the Protestant effort
a. Saxony makes a separate peace with HRE
8.
Catholic infighting aides the Swedish effort
a. Wallenstein breaks ranks and negotiates with Swedes
independently
i. Wallenstein assassinated by his own staff
9. HRE annuls the Edict of Restitution and German leaders are pacified
10. The promise of peace seems near
e.
4.
Phase Five
f. Richelieu
i. To avoid unified HRE Richelieu redoubles efforts to support Swedes
1. Comes out openly in favor of the German Protestants
2. Moves France into the conflict
ii. Spanish are aggressive and move into France
1. Portugal and Catalonia seize opportunity to move against Spain
2. French troop move into Spain
iii. Germany begins to see the wars as an international conflict fought on
German soil and resentment to foreign influence builds
The Peace of Westphalia 1648
a. Peace talks begin in 1644 at the twons of Munster and Osnabruck (Westphalia)
b. Large representative body assembles to discuss the terms
i. Shift in tone is evident
1. last large assembly (Constance, 1415)) discussed church issues
2. this large assembly discussed affairs of the state
3. Evidence of how far secularization had progressed
a. The Pope was not heard and did not sign the treaties
c. Checkmate for the Counter Reformation
i. Renewed the terms of the Peace of Augsburg
1. Added Calvinism to list as acceptable faith
2. Catholic claims to church territories were abandoned
3. HRE is downsized
a. Dutch and Swiss are independent
b. French get territories in Lorraine and rights in Alsace
c. Sweden received territories in northern Germany
d. Mouth of the German rivers were controlled by non-Germans
i. Oder, Elbe and Weser by Sweden
ii. Rhine and Scheldt by Dutch
e. Constitution of the peace is victory for states rights
i. Leads to general feudal chaos resulting from the lack of a
large nation state
ii. Marks the advent in international law of the modern
European Staatensystem or system of sovereign states
1. the end of a possible “unified” or universal
monarchy in Europe
2. Numerous independent states were to exist
d. Aftermath of the Thirty Years War
i. Germany is a wreck
1. Starvation and depopulation
2. Magdeburg was besieged 10 times
3. Farmers ceased to farm
ii. Germany fades into the background of political affairs in Europe
iii. Western Europe takes the lead in moving toward the modern age
iv. Eastern Europe sinks into a sedentary culture and begins to look eastward
v. Religious conflicts in Europe end with the Thirty Years War
vi. Reasons of state prevailed over religious allegiances
1. There will be no shortage of reasons to fight