
Central Europe, 1618

Bishopric of Hildesheim, Duchy of Brunswick-
Wolfenbüttel


Why did peace remain elusvie in 1635 and afterwards?


France
 increase in revenue:



 32.5 M livres (1610) – 57.5 M livres (1635) – 79 m livres (1643) increases in military spending:
 16 M livres (1620s) – 33 M livres (1635) – 38 M livres
(after 1640) overspending, borrowing
“Revenue was not only spent before it was collected, but large parts of the fiscal system were transferred into private hands, largely beyond government control” (p. 558)



Saxony
 debt
 7 M fl. (1628) – 25.2 M fl. (1657)
Empire


1635: at most 8 M fl. to fund Imperial army problems



 no funds from northern territories held by Sweden competition between taxes for Imperial army and money raised to fund regional armies (Bavaria,
Saxony) decline in size of armies
“it was now difficult to launch major operations in more than one region at a time” (p. 619)

 war with the Dutch

Olivares’ objectives:



 achieve military superiority in Flanders force Dutch “to accept an honourable peace” (p.
555)
2 February 1635: Spanish Council of State made the war with the Dutch a priority
31 October 1634: Treaty of Ebersdorf: Imperial assistance for war against the Dutch

 conflict with France?

13 April 1634: Spanish
Council of State against war



12 May 1634: secret agreement with Gaston d’Orléans: troops and money for an invasion of
France
26 March 1635: arrest of
Philipp Christoph von
Sötern, Archbishop Elector or Trier
April 1635: capture of
Koblenz




 attitudes to conflict between Spain-Dutch
Republic, HRE-Sweden
“Both Protestant powers remained counterweights to perceived Spanish dominance” (p. 555).
8 February 1635: offensive alliance with the Dutch
Republic to invade
Spanish Netherlands declaration of war on
Spain: 26 May 1635






Franco-Dutch invasion of
Spanish
Netherlands…repulsed
France co-opted Bernhard of
Weimar southern front: Lorraine,
Alsace, Franche-Comté fall of Mainz to Imperial forces: January 1636
Spanish invasion of France

Corbie:


Spain: 15 August 1636
France: 14 November 1636


1.
2.
3.
Read Sourcebook, document 103. Be prepared to answer the questions below in class.
What are the most important articles of the
Peace of Prague? Identify them by number.
Why do you think they are important?
Do the provisions of the Peace of Prague suggest that the conflict it aimed to end was religious?
Does it make sense to describe the Peace of
Prague as a “Peace without peace”? Why or why not?


1.
2.
3.
 objectives unity of imperial estates military superiority expulsion of foreigners
Peace of Prague (30 May 1635)

“The Peace did not make Ferdinand an absolute monarch, and his intention was to restore what he regarded as the proper constitutional order” (p. 566).



“a monarchical solution” (p. 566)
“a degree of imperial authority unacceptable to
Sweden and France” (p. 566) defeat of militant Catholics






 dissolution of all alliances, including Catholic
League a new Imperial army
 separate corps for Bavaria, Saxony transfer of Lusatia to Saxony no recognition of Calvinism
1627: a “new normative year” after which
Protestant control of Catholic church property was invalid
 details left to biconfessional committee agreement between Emperor and Saxony
 invitation of other states




 exclusion of many members of the Heilbronn
League

Palatine, Hessen-Kassel, Württemberg, Hohenlohe counts
“amnesty question”

“ultimately wrecked the Peace” (p. 571)
“Ferdinand made it much harder to resolve the amnesty question by enlarging the numbers of those with a vested interest in opposing a pardon.
Yet, by excluding so many, he undermined the desired character of Prague as a general peace” (p.
572)
Imperial ban for Landgrave Wilhelm V of Hessen-
Kassel (October 1635)


Read Sourcebook, documents 104, 106, 107, 108.
Be prepared to answer the questions below in class.
1.
2.
3.
What were Sweden’s objectives in 1635?
Why did it pursue these objectives?
How would you characterize the outlook of Sweden’s decision makers?





Powder Barrel Convention, 21 August 1635
 disgruntled German officers and Oxenstierna
Stuhmsdorf Truce, 12 September 1635
 extension of Truce of Altmark (Poland and Sweden)
Saxony’s relative failure to appeal to German patriotism
Treaty of Wismar, 1636

French subsidies used for raising fresh troops


Sweden obliged not to make peace without France unratified




Sweden: Johan Banér
Imperial Army:
Melchior Hatzfeldt
“one of the most important battles of the war” (p. 583)


Ferdinand III (1637-1657)
 electoral congress in
Regensburg, 1636-1637





 money from Spain election of Ferdinand co-operation from
Brandenburg inadequate confessional cooperation to deal with
Sweden continued reluctance to support Spain against the
Dutch desire to solve amnesty question thwarted (p. 612)


Wilhelm V of Hessen-
Kassel (d. 1 October
1637)


 alliance with France (1636)
Imperial invasion (April
1637) truce with Emperor under
Amalie Elizabeth (1638)



Treaty of Hamburg (15
March 1638)
 renewal of Franco-Swedish alliance
 extension of French subsidies
 Sweden remained outside of war between France and
Spain.
Karl Ludwig of the
Palatinate

 failed attempt to take the
Rhenish Palatinate (1638) defeated by Imperial army (p.
594)


Partisans (p. 601)

Konrad Widerhold (1598?-
1667)

 humble origins significance


Rhineland

French surrender of Ehrenbreitstein (June 1637)


Rhineland

Battles of Rheinfelden




28 February 1638: Imperialist victory
3 March 1638: French victory under Bernhard von
Weimar
Battle of Wittenweier (8 August 1638)
 French victory under Bernhard von Weimar
Fall of Breisach (19 December 1638)
 French victory under Bernhard von Weimar

 control of Alsace
“The war had shifted deeper into the Empire” (p.
611)


The North

Swedish retreat, summer
1637 under Johan Banér



 loss of poorly defended fortresses secure in Baltic bridgehead:
Stettin, 1638
Treaty of Hamburg, 15
March 1638
Mecklenburg recaptured


The North

Banér’s foray into
Saxony, Bohemia
(1639)



Guelphs, Hessen-
Kassel send troops to Banér
Banér blockaded
Wolfenbüttel (1639) imperial garrison here as leverage for bishopric of
Hildesheim

Year Battle
1620 White Mountain
1631 Magdeburg
1631 Breitenfeld
1632 Lützen
1634 Nördlingen
1636 Wittstock


1.
Read Sourcebook, documents 109, 112. Be prepared to answer the questions below in class.
What do the retrospectives of Cardinal
Richelieu and Maximilian of Bavaria tell us of their interpretations of the Thirty
Years War? Pay attention to what they say, how they say it, and what they do not say.