The Rise of the German States and Russia The Thirty Years War, Austria and Prussia, and Russia

Thirty Years War  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 or states and began demanding rights.  Direct cause of the fighting was a conflict in Bohemia.

Four Phases of the War  Bohemian Phase ( )  Danish Phase ( )  Swedish Phase ( )  French Phase ( )

Bohemian Phase,  Calvinists in Bohemia concerned with the election of a Catholic King as Emperor Frederick II of the HRE.  Construction of Calvinist Churches is halted.  HRE is more divided by religion.

The Defenestration of Prague  On May 23, 1618, an assembly of Protestants tried two Imperial governors for halting the construction.  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.

Danish Phase,  King Christian IV of Denmark intervened on the side of the Protestants against Ferdinand II.  Albrecht von Wallenstein defeated the Danes in 1626 with a independent army of 50,000 men. Albrecht von Wallenstein

Swedish Phase,  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

French Phase,  A 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,  The war continued to ravage Germany, with no side gaining the upper hand until the French became more directly involved.  Ferdinand II died in 1637 and was succeeded by his son, Ferdinand III (r ).  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 German states became sovereign.  Religious rights guaranteed in Peace of Augsburg expanded to Calvinists.

Political Changes in Eastern Europe  Three aging empires: gave way to new empires of Austria Prussia and Russia  Holy Roman Empire: religious divisions and war in 16 th and 17 th century  Ottoman Empire: could not maintain possessions in E. Europe and Balkans  Poland: liberum veto – voting in Polish parliament had to be unanimous (= weak gov’t)

The Austrian Hapsburgs  Multinational empire: Austrian, Hungarian, & Bohemian kingdoms (later expansion into Slavic lands)

The Austrian Hapsburgs  Charles VI –Pragmatic Sanction (1713) issued by Charles VI: Habsburg territories indivisible; only Habsburgs could rule (daughter Maria Theresa) –War of Austrian Succession ( ) –Prussia, France, Bavaria & Spain vs. Austria and Russia –Prussia tool Silesia from Austria; Prussia now most powerful German state: “Great Power ”

The Austrian Hapsburgs  Maria Theresa (r ): Wars of 1740s led to internal consolidation  Reduced serfdom

Hohenzollerns in Prussia  Frederick William, The Great Elector (r ) –Rule consolidated after 30 Years’ War: military force & taxation –Junkers: nobility sided with king for stability; hereditary serfdom in 1653 –Created most efficient army in Europe

Hohenzollerns in Prussia  Frederick I (r ) –(Elector Frederick III) “The Ostentatious” ( ); 1 st “King of Prussia” –Allied with Habsburgs in War of League of Augsburg and War of Spanish Succession.

Hohenzollerns in Prussia  Frederick William I (r ) “The Soldiers’ King” –Established Prussian absolutism –“Sparta of the North”: Largely a military state – best army in Europe –Junkers became officers caste in army in return for king’s absolutism

Hohenzollerns in Prussia  “Frederick the Great” (Frederick II: ) of Prussia –At war for first half of his reign –Became a reformer during 2 nd half of his reign – ruler was the “first servant of the state”

Peter the Great in Russia  Romanov Dynasty ( ) –Michael Romanov ( ) –Created Russian empire across Asia to the Pacific (largest nation by 1689)

Peter the Great in Russia  Peter the Great ( ) –1698, put down revolt by strelski (Moscow Guards) –westernization (modernization): mostly for military purposes –state-regulated monopolies created; industrial serfdom –Table of Ranks: educational training for new civil service (mostly of nobles)

Peter the Great in Russia  St. Petersburg begun in 1703 on Baltic; largest city in Northern Europe by his death.  “Winter Palace” sought to emulate Versailles.  Great Northern War ( ) –Fought Charles XII, 18-yr-old Swedish king –Battle of Poltava, 1709: Peter defeated Sweden  Treaty of Nystad (1721): Peter gained Baltic states “window to the West”