The Age of Religious Wars (1550-1648)

Religious Struggles Conflicts were largely confined to central and northern Europe, as states began to determine power between Catholic and Protestant citizens Protestants had begun to gain rights and recognition in many states, and with that came political power Calvinism appealed to rulers who sought to decentralize and remove power of the Catholic Church in their realms (Germany, England, Netherlands) In certain nations, war was eventually avoided when rulers (politiques) tended to put the success and well-being of their state above religious ideology (Elizabeth I of England and Henry IV of France)

The French Wars of Religion Protestantism in France found adherents under the leadership of Besancon Hugues, leader of the Huguenots…the French crown however was able to keep them at bay (arrests, exiles, etc.) as France was at war with the Hapsburgs However, despite the end of the wars with the Hapsburgs, turmoil still came to France in a strange way…the king of France, Henry II was killed in a jousting accident! His young sick son Francis II became king under the regency of mom, Catherine de Medici…this weakness opened the door for a Civil War in France over the French crown between the Guises, (Catholic) and the Bourbons (Huguenots)

The French Wars of Religion Bloody and nasty fighting between the two sides Key Event—St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre A massacre of prominent Huguenots who had gathered in Paris in 1572 for a wedding. 3,000 followers in Paris were butchered along with over 20,000 in other areas of France

The Reign of Henry IV (of Navarre) Eventually out of the turmoil, Henry of Navarre would come to the throne of France The accession of Henry IV of the Bourbon family scared the Catholic establishment…he was Protestant! Henry, being a politique, renounced his Protestant faith and converted to Catholicism. This prevented further conflict. “Paris is worth a mass.” On April 13, 1598, Henry made the Huguenots happy by issuing the Edict of Nantes…it sanctioned Protestant right to worship within France within their own towns and territories

Revolt in the Netherlands Protestantism had grown strong in the Netherlands, a state which was under the domain of the Catholic Hapsburgs of Spain Philip II wanted to keep the Netherlands in check, so he tried to force the outcomes of the council of Trent on the Netherlands, but rebellion broke out The eventual peace eventually split the Netherlands into an independant Protestant north (The United Provinces of the Netherlands) and a Catholic south (later Belgium) still under Spanish control

The Thirty Years War The Thirty Years War was the last war of this era (1618-1648) and was mainly concentrated amongst the many states within the Holy Roman Empire (parts of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Bohemia, and Sweden) Fragmented Germany (over 300 small states) had become a battleground Continued religious conflict accentuated these divisions, as the German population was almost equally divided between Protestant and Catholic loyalties Ferdinand II—a Hapsburg and devout Catholic who was Holy Roman Emperor began to persecute Protestants The Protestant nobles responded by throwing Ferdinand’s ministers “out the window” in what became known as the “defenestration of Prague”…then they overthrew Ferdinand and chose a new leader—This began the War

The Thirty Years War – The Four Periods The war went back and forth, at several points it appeared Ferdinand and the Catholics would win, but a Protestant ruler always stepped in and prevented this from happening The French entered the war in 1635…by this point, however, the war had become an opportunity for several foreign nations to raid and loot weaker German states Germany could do nothing but sit and watch as 1/3 of their population was annihilated by conflict (the worst loss of life since the Black Death)

The Peace of Westphalia The Thirty Years' War marked the last major religious war in mainland Europe, ending large scale religious bloodshed. In 1648, the peace treaty to the Thirty Years War was negotiated and solved several issues: Allowed rulers to determine the religion of their lands The Calvinists received political recognition Switzerland and Holland were fully recognized as legally independent states The treaty continued to perpetuate German disunity, and this set the stage for the growth of 2 major German states: Austria and Prussia France was now the most powerful country in Europe.