1. Ch 12: Wars of Religion
The Thirty Years’ War

2. Wars of Religion RECAP France
Catherine Medici and her boy kings dealing with feuding families, just trying to keep everyone happy
St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre – slaughters Protestants (Huguenots)
Henry of Navarre becomes Henry IV, starting the Bourbon line, turns France Catholic again
BUT Edict of Nantes- though restricting, gives Protestants basic freedoms

3. Wars of Religion RECAP England & Spain
Mary Tudor is super Catholic (marries Philip II or Spain, also super Catholic) & becomes Bloody Mary by executing hundreds of Protestants
Philip II of Spain has a HUGE empire to manage. Loses the Netherlands, its richest territory, in a revolt
Tensions with England & Spain grow because of England’s support of the Netherland’s revolt
Elizabeth I – attempts to play the middle ground (politique) through religious toleration
Spanish Armada – tensions explode and the Spanish are defeated by the English at sea, permanently reducing the power of the Spanish Empire

4. Focus Question
How did the Thirty Years War start out as a War of Religion but shift to a war of politics?

5. Habsburgs

6. The House of Habsburg, often Anglicised as Hapsburg and sometimes referred to as the House of Austria, was one of the most important royal houses of Europe & is best known for being an origin of all the formally elected HRE’s between 1438 & 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian & Spanish Emipres and several other countries.
Originally from Switzerland, the dynasty first reigned in Austria, which they ruled for over six centuries. A series of dynastic marriages brought Burgundy, Spain, Bohemia, Hungary, and other territories into the inheritance. In the 16th century, the family separated into the senior Habsburg Spain and the junior Habsburg Austrian branches, who settled their mutual claims in the Onate Treaty.
Source:
Summary of Charles V

7. Thirty Years’ War
Often called the last of the religious wars, but secular considerations ended up playing a much bigger role than religion
Primary Battleground: Germanic lands of the HRE
Eventually became a Europe-wide struggle

8. Background
Peace of Augsburg (1555) had brought an end to fighting between German Catholics and Lutherans, but both still competed for control of various principalities
Treaty didn’t recognize Calvinists but a number of German states had adopted Calvinism
About 360 autonomous entities within
Germany = POLITICAL DEFRAGMENTATION

9. Background
In the Palatinate, a Protestant alliance formed between Calvinists and England, France & the Netherlands called the Protestant Union
Lutherans came to fear them as much as they feared Catholics
To counteract, Duke Maximilian of Bavaria organized the Catholic League of German States (1609), and looked to Spain for support

10. The Thirty Years’ War Four Phases of the 30 Years’ War:
The Bohemian Phase
The Danish Phase
The Swedish Phase
The French Phase

11. Bohemian Phase ( )
Ferdinand II became the new King of Bohemia and revoked all religious freedoms that had previously been given to Protestants

12. The Defenestration of Prague
Protestants set up a meeting with Catholic officials in Prague on May 23, 1618.
Meeting went badly, the Protestants seized two Catholic officials and tossed them out the window
This event is known as The Defenestration of Prague. The word defenestrate comes from Latin word for “window” and means “out the window”
Survived the fall because they landed in a dung heap or ditch; Catholics claimed angels saved them
This was the spark that ignited the 30 Years’ War

13. Defenestration of Prague

14. Bohemian Phase ( )
Fighting between Catholics and Protestants began soon after the Defenestration in 1618
The Protestants used a force made up mostly of Czechs and deposed Ferdinand, King of Bohemia
They chose Frederick V, head of the Protestant Union, to take his place

15. Bohemian Phase ( )
In the meantime, Ferdinand II had been elected HRE. He used funds from the Catholic League and the Spanish Habsburgs to build an army
The Catholic forces crushed the Protestants at the Battle of White Mountain

16. Bohemian Phase: Summary
Ferdinand HRE + Spanish Habsburgs (Catholics) vs. Frederick + Czechs (Protestant)
Catholics crush Protestants

17. The Danish Phase ( )
As the fighting went on, mercenaries joined looking to make some money in the war
Albrecht von Wallenstein, born a Czech Protestant, offered his services to the Emperor
Reluctantly the Emperor commissioned Wallenstein and his 125,000 soldiers
Wallenstein and his men unleashed destruction on Germany
The Emperor had no control over Wallenstein or his men, though

18. The Danish Phase ( )
Habsburg enemies all over Europe were horrified at Wallenstein’s antics
King Christian IV of Denmark decided to enter the war to help the Protestants turn the tide in Germany
Wallenstein proved to be too much for Christian

19. The Danish Phase ( )
Feeling confident after Wallenstein’s successes, the Emperor issued the Edict of Restitution in 1629
The Edict outlawed all sects of Christianity other than Catholicism and Lutheranism (so Calvinism = illegal)
Lutheranism took a hit, though, because the Edict restored all lands taken by Protestants in the last 75 years back to the Catholic Church

20. The Danish Phase ( )
The Habsburgs reached the pinnacle of their power by 1630
German princes feared for their independence and forced the Emperor to dismiss Wallenstein

21. The Danish Phase: Summary
Wallenstein, fighting for HRE & Catholics, defeats Christian of Denmark, fighting for Protestants
Ferdinand issues Edict of Restitution

22. The Swedish Phase ( )
Protestantism on the continent seemed to be in trouble so King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (Lutheran) entered his 100,000-man army in the contest
Gustavus Adolphus hoped to help the Protestants in Germany but he also hoped to exert his influence in the region
The French, at the urging of Cardinal Richelieu, subsidized (bankrolled, paid for) the Swedish forces
France hoped to undermine the Habsburgs by aiding the Habsburg enemies
Gustavus Adolphus experienced success in the North so the Emperor reluctantly requested the services of Wallenstein once again

23. The Swedish Phase ( )
Gustavus Adolphus suffered a wound in battle in 1632 and died at the hands of Wallenstein’s forces
In 1634, Ferdinand had Wallenstein assassinated. He was resentful of Wallenstein’s independence and distrustful of him

24. The Swedish Phase: Summary
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden enters the war
Experiences success then dies to Wallenstein’s forces
Wallenstein assassinated by Ferdinand

25. The Swedish French Phase (1635-1648)
France couldn’t stand to watch the Habsburg power increase so the French officially entered the war on the side of the Protestants
Neither side possessed the power to knock out the other so the fighting dragged on for 13 years
France, Sweden, and Spain looted Germany but the Germans were too disunited to drive them out
Estimated 1/3rd of Germany’s population died

26. The Peace of Westphalia (1648)
The Thirty Years’ War officially ended in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia
The treaties recognized the sovereignty of the 300+ German princes
Independence of the Swiss Confederacy and the United Provinces of Holland
The treaties upheld the Peace of Augsburg, added Calvinism to the list of religions allowed in German states and nullified the Edict of Restitution

27. Legacy
After the Peace in 1648, the northern states in Germany remained primarily Protestant while the southern states in Germany remained primarily Catholic
German princes won the right to form alliances and sign treaties as long as they didn’t declare war on the Holy Roman Empire

28. Legacy
Because Spain lost territory and France gained territory, France stood alone as the most powerful nation on the continent
France also benefited from the fragmentation of the Holy Roman Empire and the weakening of the Habsburg family influence

29. The Aftermath in Germany
Though Germans seemed to win politically and religiously, the Germans lost in other ways
German homes, businesses and farms were destroyed en masse during the war
The German population took a major hit

30. Big Points
The 30 Years War began as a war of religion and developed into an international war of politics
While the war started as a religious war, the war healed no religious wounds
Because the vast majority of the fighting took place in Germany, the German states suffered more than any other participants