The Thirty Years’ War
1618-1648
Antonio de Pereda, The Relief of Genoa by the Second Marquis of Santa Cruz, 1634-1635.
Bell-Ringer: Think, Pair, Share
Make a list of all the reasons you can think
of why people and countries go to war.
Now, with a partner, share your lists of
reasons why people go to war. From these
lists, make a list of reasons that you both
think are good and just reasons for
anybody to go to war.
Origins
-Before 1618, Lutherans, Calvinists, and Catholics were in the
middle of a war of words with one another through pamphlets.
-In 1618, this all changed. In Prague (current capital of the
Czech Republic), a Protestant mob grabbed the Catholic
governors of the state and threw them out the window of the
castle.
-The Catholic governors, insulted, demanded that the
Protestant mob be immediately punished.
-Catholic and Protestant rulers across Europe quickly began
to take sides in the dispute, form alliances, and build their
armies.
Protestant mob tossing out Catholic governors of Prague during what is now known as the defenestration
of Prague, 1618.
Wait. Why out the window?
-The Reformation & Counter Reformation of the 1500s had
divided Germany into hostile Protest and Catholic
factions.
-Protestants became angry when Ferdinand, the Catholic
Habsburg prince of Poland, Austria, and Hungary was
elected king of the Protestant territory of Bohemia.
-The staunchly Protestant Bohemian nobility had opposed
Ferdinand’s election, and when Ferdinand began to
suppress Protestantism in Bohemia, they rebelled.
Ferdinand II, Holy
Roman Emperor
and King of
Bohemia.
Who was involved?
Protestant States
Roman Catholic States
Bohemia
Great Britain
Dutch Republic
Denmark
Sweden (after 1630)
France (after 1635)
Bavaria
Spain
Holy Roman Empire
Austria
Hungary
From Humble Beginnings...
The Thirty Years’ War started as a war
fought in the 1620s mostly by German
states with foreign assistance. It would
become a great struggle among great
powers (Sweden, France, Spain,
Austria) fought largely on German soil.
Artist’s depiction of the Battle of Rocroi,
fought in France on May 19, 1643.
Jacques Callot, The Miseries and Misfortunes of War (1633). This illustration shows the rape, torture, and
pillaging inflicted by soldiers on non-combatants they found in their path.
War is hell...this one was no
different.
What started from humble beginnings
turned into a “dirty war” as the great
powers did anything to support themselves
and destroy anything of possible use to
their enemies. It is estimated that 20% of
Germany’s population perished during this
war--which would not be met until World
War II!
Fin
-After 30 years of warfare, the battle-weary
forces reluctantly sat down.
-After a long debate, they signed the Peace of
Westphalia (1648).
-The treaty basically divided up Europe into the
Protestant and Catholic states we know today.
-Most of northern Europe remained Protestant;
most of southern Europe remained Catholic.
Gerard ter Borch, Ratification of the Treaty of
Munster, c. 1648. This, along with the Treaty of
Osnabruck, are known as the Peace of Westphalia.
LET’S POP!
1. What country did most of the fighting take place
during the Thirty Year’s War?
2. What two religions were at odds?
3. Which of the following caused these problems?
a. The Renaissance b. The Reformation
4. How long did this war last?