THE EUROPEAN WARS OF
RELIGION
c. 1560-1660
Philip II (r. 1556 – 1598)
Son of Charles V
 Ruled Spanish &
Portuguese
Empires,
Netherlands and
Southern Italy.
 Strongest military
power in the world.

El Escorial
 New royal palace/fortress (and monastery
and mausoleum) in shape of grill, reflected
Philip’s religious and military convictions.
Catholic Crusade
Philip II fanatically seeks to reimpose
Catholicism in Europe.
 Takes on Calvinists in his Netherlands
territories.
 Fights against Protestant England due to
Elizabeth I’s support of the Dutch
 Takes on Muslim Turks power in the
Mediterranean.

The Dutch Revolt
Calvinist Netherlands
resented foreign rule by
Spain (both on religious,
economic, and political
grounds).
 Philip II sends the Duke of
Alva to suppress revolt.
1567-1572 reign of terror
killing thousands of rebels.

Duke of Alva
The Dutch Revolt
1579, seven northern provinces form
Union of Utrecht to continue fight.
 William I (William of Orange) (15331584), led 7 provinces against Inquisition
and revolt against rule of Philip II. He was
assassinated in 1584.
 Struggle continued to 1609; 12-year truce
enacted; Defacto Dutch independence
formally recognised in P of W in 1648.

England v. Spain
Queen Mary Tudor (Philip’s wife)
reimposes Catholicism in England.
 Alliance with England ends with death of
Mary in 1558 and the accession of
Elizabeth.
 Queen Elizabeth I reverses Mary’s edicts
Elizabeth helps Protestant Netherlands
gain independence from Spain.
 Philip plots to reimpose Catholicism in
England

Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-1603)
championed Protestant causes in Europe.
 England was an unlikely foe to Spain (lost
possessions in Europe, had no overseas
possessions)
 Elizabeth carefully crafted her image to instill the
love of her people.
 Elizabeth supported the Dutch Revolt and
English privateers regularly attacked Spanish
colonial shipping.

The Armada, 1588
Philip II attempts to
invade England to end
Protestant resistance.
 Fleet attempts to pick up
Spanish troops in the
Netherlands for invasion.
 Armada is harassed by
smaller, better armed
and more manuverable
English fleet

The Armada, 1588
The combination of better
English seamanship and bad
weather (“the Protestant
Wind”) defeated the Spanish.
 Forced to return home via
northern route, half the fleet
lost.
 Marked the beginning of the
end of Spanish power; leads
to rise of Netherlands,
England and France.

The French Wars of Religion Catholic and Huguenots
Despite the spread of Reformation ideas,
France remained a largely Catholic nation.
 Of a total of 16 million (in the late 16th
century) 1.2 million embraced Calvinism.
 A large portion of French nobility were
Calvinists.
 Conflict between the groups led to three
decades of civil war on religious and
political issues.

Henry II (r. 1547-1559)
Henry was a large, powerful man; but a
weak-willed king.
 He persecuted Huguenots.
 Henry II severely punished them, burning
them alive or cutting out their tongues for
speaking their Protestant beliefs. Even
those suspected of being Huguenots could
be imprisoned for life.
 He was killed in a jousting tournament.

Catherine de’ Medici
After Henry II’s death in a
jousting match, Catherine
used her position as Regent to
influence her three sons who
would serve as king.
 Francis II (r. 1559-1560),
Charles IX (r. 1560-1574) and
Henry III (r. 1574-1589) ruled
under the influence of
Catherine, but could not stop
the spreading Huguenot
influence.

St. Bartholemew's Day Massacre
Open warfare began between the Catholics lead
by the Guise family and the Huguenots lead by
the Bourbon family in 1562.
 First eight years of fighting ended in 1570.
 Catherine still feared Huguenot power and
ordered their massacre on Aug. 24 1572.

War of the Three Henrys (1585-89)
Following the massacre, Henry of Navarre
(a Bourbon) emerged as Huguenots leader.
 His opponents were the Catholic Guise
family and Henry III, the 3rd son of Henry II
 Both Henry Guise and Henry III were
assassinated
 Henry of Navarre was the only one left with
a legitimate claim to the throne. He
became Henry IV in 1589.

Henry IV (r. 1589-1610)
First Bourbon king of
France.
 Was a Huguenot, but
converts to Catholicism.
 Brings peace to the
warring factions.
 Issues the Edict of
Nantes in 1589, granting
limited toleration to the
Huguenots.

The Thirty Years War Origins of the Conflict
Peace of Augsburg of 1555 brought truce to
warring religious factions in the Holy Roman
Empire.
 The agreement only recognized Catholics and
Lutherans (leaving out Calvinists).
 Calvinists began to make gains in a number of
states and began demanding rights.
 Direct cause of the fighting was a conflict in
Bohemia.

Bohemian Phase, 1618-1625
In 1619, Ferdinand II (Hapsburg) became Holy
Roman Emperor.
 His election alarmed Calvinists in Bohemia since
Ferdinand was a strong supporter of the Catholic
cause.
 Roman Catholic officials ordered the end of
construction of some Protestant chapels on land
which the Catholic clergy claimed belonged to
them.
 Protestants protested and said this was a violation
of the right of freedom of religious expression
(Letter of Majesty) that had been granted in 1609
by Emperor Rudolf II.

The Defenestration of Prague
On May 23, 1618, an
assembly of
Protestants tried two
Imperial governors for
violating the Letter of
Majesty.
 They were found
guilty, and thrown out
of the high windows
of the Bohemian
Chancellery.

The Defenestration of Prague
They fell some 50 ft, and they landed on
a large pile of manure. They all survived.
 Roman Catholic Imperial officials claimed
that they survived due to the mercy of
the benevolent angels assisting the
righteousness of the Catholic cause.
 Protestant pamphleteers asserted that
their survival had more to do with the
horse excrement in which they landed
than the benevolent acts of the angels.

Bohemian Phase, 1618-1625
Taking control of Prague, the Calvinists
deposed Ferdinand and elected a new
king.
 Emperor Ferdinand II attacked and
defeated the Protestants.
 If the fighting had ended here, perhaps
the Holy Roman Empire could have begun
centralizing as other European powers
were. But it was not to be. . . . .

Danish Phase, 1625-1629
King Christian IV of Denmark
intervened on the side of the
Protestants against Ferdinand
II.
 But again Ferdinand II and
the Catholics triumphed.
 But the fighting is not yet
done. . . .

Albrecht von Wallenstein
Swedish Phase, 1630-1635




Swedish King Gustavus
Adolphus became the new
defender of the Protestant
cause.
In 1630, the Swedes invaded
Germany.
Later that year, Catholic
France signed a alliance with
Protestant Sweden, entering
the war against the
Hapsburgs.
What had begun as a
religious war now took
political overtones.
Gustavus Adolphus
Swedish Phase, 1630-1635
During the early stages the Swedes won
several victories, but Gustavus Adolphus
was killed in 1632.
 Each side in the conflict was exhausted
from years of fighting.
 In 1635, the Treaty of Prague brought an
end to the Swedish phase of the war and
strengthened the position of the emperor
compared to that of the princes.

French Phase, 1635-1648
Settlement reached in
the Treaty of Prague was
wrecked by the French
decision to directly
intervene.
 Cardinal Richelieu, Chief
Minister of Louis XIII
wanted to weaken
Hapsburg power and
gain territory.

Cardinal Richelieu
French Phase, 1635-1648




The French relied on the German princes and
Swedes to lead the fight in Germany, while France
moved against the Hapsburg Philip IV of Spain.
The war continued to ravage Germany, with no side
gaining the upper hand until the French defeated
the Spanish and became more directly involved.
Ferdinand II died in 1637 and was succeeded by his
son, Ferdinand III (r. 1637-1657).
Peace negotiations began in 1641, but made little
progress until the death of Richelieu in 1642 and the
French occupation of Bavaria in 1646.
Peace of Westphalia, 1648





Treaty of Westphalia ended the 30 yrs. War.
France, Sweden, and Brandenburg (Prussia)
gained territory.
Settlement formally recognized the independence
of Switzerland and Dutch Republic.
Granted German states the right to make treaties
and alliances, further weakening the HRE. 300+
German states became sovereign.
Religious rights guaranteed in Peace of Augsburg
expanded to Calvinists.
Effects of the Conflict




Germany physically
devastated (as much as
1/2 of pop. in certain
areas perished).
Religious wars come to
an end.
France becomes the
predominant power in
Europe.
New rules of international
affairs established
(modern nation-state
becomes supreme).