Handout ~ Chapter 14
The Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648)
I.
II.
III.
IV.
First continent-wide war in modern history; mostly fought in Germany. It involved
the major European powers
It was the culmination of the religious wars of the 16th century between Catholics
and Protestants
Politically, The German princes were seeking their autonomy form the Holy Roman
Emperor. France was seeking to limit the power of the Hapsburgs. Spain
was seeking to extend Hapsburg power in Germany; Sweden and Denmark
were hoping to strengthen their holds on the Baltic region.
The WAR was fought in Four (4) Phases:
A. The Bohemian Phase (1618 – 1625) – The Czechs, (then called the Bohemians) who
along with the Slovaks formed the former nation of Czechoslovakia following World
War I were mainly Calvinist. They were afraid that their Catholic king, Matthias
would deny their religious preferences and thus they defenestrated {used an old
custom for registering dissent by throwing officials out of a window} – his
representatives and installed, as king, a Calvinist; Fredrick V from the Palatinate.
After the death of Matthias’s , Ferdinand II became the Holy Roman Emperor and
King of Bohemia. He was supported by the troops of the Spanish Hapsburgs and was
able to defeat the Bohemians at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620. He gave away
the lands of Protestant nobles and allowed the Spanish to consolidate along the Rhine
River.
B. The Danish Phase (1625 – 1630) -- Christian IV of Denmark, a Lutheran entered the
war to shore up the weakened Protestant positions in Germany and to annex German
lands for his son. Ferdinand II (HRE) countered by commissioning Albert of
Wallenstein to raise a mercenary army, which pillaged and plundered Germany and
defeated the Danes in 1626. In 1629 the emperor issued the Edict of Restitution,
which restored all the catholic states in Germany that had been secularized before the
Peace of Augsburg (1555). When Wallenstein disapproved of his actions, Ferdinand
dismissed him.
C. The Swedish Phase (1625 – 1630) – Cardinal Richelieu, the Roman Catholic Regent
of France, became concerned with the gains made by the Hapsburgs in Germany. He
offered subsidies to encourage the capable Swedish king, Gustavus Adolphus to enter
the war. Adolphus, a Lutheran was eager to help the Protestant cause. After decisive
victories over the Hapsburg forces, Adolphus was killed; Wallenstein was
assassinated for perceived disloyalty to the emperor and the Protestant states of
Germany made a separate peace with the emperor. The Peace of Prague revoked the
Edict of Restitution. The Swedes were defeated, but Richelieu was determined to
undermine Hapsburg power in Germany.
D. The French-Swedish Phase (1635 – 1648) – France, Holland and Savoy entered the
war in 1635 on the Swedish side. Spain continued to support the Austrian Hapsburgs.
After a series of victories and reversals on both sides, Henri Turenne, a French
general, defeated the Spanish at Rocroi and in 1644 peace talks began in Westphalia,
in Germany.
E. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 included five terms:
1. The Peace of Augsburg was reinstated, but Calvinism was added as
acceptable for Germany
2. The Edict of Restitution was revoked, guaranteeing the possession of former
Church states to their Protestant holders.
3. Switzerland and Holland were made independent states, freed from the
Hapsburg Dominion.
4. France, Sweden and Brandenburg (the future Prussia) received various
territories.
5. The German princes were made sovereign rulers, severely limiting the
power of the Holy Roman Emperor and the influence of the Austrian and
Spanish Hapsburgs. With over three hundred separate rulers in Germany,
national unification was to be delayed until well into the 19th century.
F. Effects of the Thirty Years’ War –
1. Germany was devastated, its population reduced in some parts by well over
one-third. Once a cultural and political leader in Europe, it stagnated,
postponing its entrance as a sovereign, united nation for more than two
centuries and complicating its relations with the rest of the world into the 20th
century.
2. The age of religious wars ended: the modern age of sovereign states begin in
Europe, and the “Balance of Power” politics prevailed in Europe, whereby
nation-states and dynasties went to war to prevent any one power from
dominating the continent.
3. The Hapsburgs were weakened. The Austrian monarchy lost most of its
influence over Germany, ended the possibility of a Europe united under the
family. The Hapsburg of Spain were left a second-rate power.
4. The effects of the Catholic and Counter Reformations were slowed; while
Protestantism was safely established in its European strongholds.