The Age of the Hapsburgs
Europe: 1500-1800
• Europe in the post
Renaissance/Reformation era.
• Many of the same battles reamin from the
days of the Renaissance/Reformation
• Battling Religious indecision and
controversy.
Center of the era: Spain
• Disunified and Muslim controlled during the age
of Medieval Europe.
• The Spanish will have a dramatic resurgence after
the expulsion of the Muslims by the 1400’s.
• Ferdinand and Isabella, known for more than
simply giving Christopher Columbus a few ships!
• They will unite Spain in 1479.
Construction of Spanish Power?
• Directly related to the dominance of the
overseas exploration.
• Spanish claimed amazing amounts of land
and gold during the period of exploration.
Their conquest of the Indian empires in
Central America gave them great fortune
which would be used to control key aspects
of Europe.
The Hapsburgs:
• Originally dukes of small German states the
expanded their control into Austria and
quickly gained enough might in the region
through warfare and intermarriage to assure
themselves control of the Holy Roman
Empire.
• Cleverly arranged marriages will give them
control over much of Europe by the 1500’s.
Charles V
• Gained control of Spain in
1516
• Elected emperor of Holy
Rome in 1519
• Went from Charles I to
Charles V with that title.
• Amongst Europe's most
powerful Monarchs
• Similar in size to
Charlemagne’s empire.
Charles V: Achievements
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Ruled for 37 years
Protection from Ottoman Turks in Europe
Built a large Naval force
Fought wars to advance the interests of Spain.
Forced to relinquish present day Hungary to the
advancing Ottoman Turks
• Retired in 1556: gave empire to his son Phillip II
Phillip II of Spain
• Made Spain into the pre eminent power in Europe
built on power of father.
• Made Spain one Europe’s first Nation States
• Devout Catholic whose greatest achievement was
to rid Europe of Protestantism.
• Reinstated the Inquisition.
• Map of Phillips Europe:
The Inquisition:
What is the Inquisition:
• A tribunal or court of religious faith based
on the intense questioning of ones religious
purity and faith. A rigorous examination
often ending in torture or death to purge the
“heretic”.
• Forced conversion or allegiance to
Catholicism.
The Revolt of the Netherlands
• Direct Challenge to the authority of Phillip II.
• Netherlands 17 provinces with a history of
independent governance.
• Violent period emerged over who controls.
• Dutch have always had a tradition of liberty and
freedom, uncomfortable being ruled. They will
win their independence in the North. Two
countries will emerge: Netherlands and its catholic
south known as Belgium.
• Violence captured by Dutch artists.
Artistic Representations of the
Political Change in the 1500 and
1600’s: Dutch Art
• Pieter Brueghel
• First of the Dutch Masters
• Represented some of the feelings about the
era and the warfare.
The Spanish Armada:
• The main military power of the day.
• Epitomized the conflict between Protestant
England and Catholic Spain.
• England fearing a Spanish takeover after
they finished with the Dutch, sided with the
Dutch and declared a “pirate” war at sea by
giving permission to raid Spanish ships.
Phillip II responds to Elizabeth
• Elizabeth very much like her dad Henry
VIII, powerful, and stubborn!
• Phillip decides to punish Elizabeth and
England for meddling by Invading the
island nation with a huge array of ships
called an Armada.
• It was made up of about 130 ships with
24,000 soldiers.
English response
• The English had much smaller, more swift,
maneuverable ships that moved in and
around the gigantic Spanish ships with ease.
• They set old boats on fire and launched
them at the Spanish who in response fled to
the North Sea only to be vanquished by a
huge storm called the “Protestant Winds”.
Impacts of Armada
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Established England as a European Power.
Victory for Protestantism
Brought about continued religious conflicts
Decline of Spain
Focus on Imperialism
Thirty Years War
• Controversy had been silenced by the Peace of
Augsburg in 1555 in which the Holy Roman
Emperor acknowledged the legitimacy of the
Lutheran Church…but troubles were beginning.
• Involved nearly every nation in Europe bound by
religious ties.
• Traced back to the decentralization of the German
Princes and their Lutheran fiath.
Denmark ignites conflict
• Bohemian protests against the Catholic
Holy Roman Empire, forced the Northern
European nation of Denmark to declare war
on Holy Rome. The conflict snowballed
with all Protestant nations siding with
Denmark and Catholics with Holy Rome.
Pick a Side?
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Protestants:
France (Catholic)
Bohemia
Germany
Denmark
Sweden
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Catholics:
Holy Rome
House of Hapsburg
Spain
Austria
Bloodiest battles:
• Took place in Wittstock.
• The Sweedish, the most powerful nation in Northern
Europe led by their mighty King Gustavus Adolphus
battered the Catholics in this region. Here are some
images of the fighting in this region.
Impacts of the War
• Amongst histories
bloodiest wars.
Millions of people
were killed and
ravaged by the famine
and disease of the era.
State building:
• All of Europe involved in
a conflict on Political,
Social, Religious and
Economic significance.
• A turning point of History.
Europe becoming
independent states
Peace of Westphalia
• As you can see from
the following map the
peace radically
changed the map of
Europe. The big
Winner: France. The
big loser: Hapsburgs
Turmoil in France: Louis XIII
• Louis XIII: incompetent, insane? Ruler.
• His right hand man Cardinal Richelieu will
rule in his stead.
• Problems in France: Huegenots or French
Protestants. Attacked by CR and lost all
rights previously granted by the edict of
Nantes
• Irony coming out of 30 years war.