1618-1648

The Holy Roman Empire was the battleground.

At the beginning it was the Catholics vs. the Protestants.(1600s)

At the end it was Habsburg power that was threatened.

Resolved by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.

Characteristics of the Thirty Years War

Characteristics of the Thirty Years War

Peace of Augsburg froze Lutheran/Catholic holdings

Frederick III: Calvinism official religion in his realm

1609: Protestant defensive Alliance formed: Prot. Union

Maximilian of Bavaria allied w/ Catholic League of Germ. States

Jesuits return Strasbourg, Osnabruk to Catholics in German territories

Social Stage:Catholics hated protestantsLutherans hated CalvinistsWorld War of the time

Treaties established major boundaries

Germany was divided: All principalities were self-governing

Some let people through to trade; others did not—no unity

Bohemian Phase

Ferdinand II inherited Bohemia. Wants Catholicism to be dominant.

The Bohemians hated him. Most nobles were Calvinist.

Ferdinand II refused to tolerate Protestants. Protestants threw Hapsburg governors out the window of the royal castle in Prague

The Bohemian Phase: 1618-1622

The Bohemian Phase: 1618-1622

Defenestration of Prague May, 1618—Protestants took control of Bohemia, deposed Ferdinand;

Elected Elector Frederick V, head of Protestant Union as king of Bohemia

1619: Ferdinand II becomes Holy Roman Emperor—does not accept his deposition

Ferdinand II borrowed an army from Maximilian of Bavaria and the Catholic League

Frederick V and Ferdinand II meet at Battle of White Mountain outside of Prague 11/8/1620 Frederick lost his lands in the fighting.

Spanish troops take advantage of Frederick’s predicament and attack Palatinate—overtaking it by 1622

By 1622, Bohemia & Palatinate—Catholic

Frederick fled to United Provinces

Ferdinand re-established as king of Bohemia; declares it a hereditary Hapsburg possession; confiscated Protestant land; Catholicism is sole religion

Danish Phase

King Christian IV of Denmark, Lutheran, intervened for Protestants; leads army into N. Germany

Christian made alliance w/UP and England; wanted Catholic territories in N. Germany

The Danish Phase: 1625-1629The Danish Phase: 1625-1629

Ferdinand II tried to end all resistance.

Tried to crush Protestant northern Holy Roman Empire.

Ferdinand II used Albrecht von Wallenstein for the army—Brilliant commander; Bohemian nobleman—country’s wealthiest landowner

Wallenstein defeated Protestants at Dessau in north.

Albrechtvon

Wallenstein

Forces of Christian IV received help from allies, but were defeated in 1626 by Catholic League army

1627—suffered major loss to Wallenstein

Wallenstein occupied Baltic ports of Hamburg, Lubeck, Bremen

End of Danish supremacy in Baltic

HRE Ferdinand at height of power--Edict of Restitution (1629):

Prohibited Calvinist worshipRestored to Catholics all lands lost since 1552.

Deprived all Protestants, except Lutherans, of their religious and political rights.

German princes feared Ferdinand (Hapsburg power) he fired Wallenstein in effort to calm them.

Swedish Phase

France & Sweden now get involved. Both want to stop Habsburg

power. Sweden led the charge—

reformed military/gunpowder/ wanted to help Lutheran brothers

France provided support.

The Swedish Phase: 1630-1635The Swedish Phase: 1630-1635

Gustavus Adolphus invaded the HR Empire.

Cardinal Richeleau paid Adolphus to keep armies occupied in GermanyGustavus’ Tactics:1st standing army of conscriptsFlexible tactics

Infantry Brigades:Equal numbers of musketeers and pikemen

Six-men deepUse of the SALVO: all rows fired at once (not by row)

Salvos cut up ranks of enemyPike charge followedInfantry became offensive Cavalry charged w/swords after pistol volley

Additional flexibility obtained w/lighter artillery pieces: more easily moved during battle

Changed demanded coordination, careful training, better discipline (no more using undisciplined mercenaries)

These changes were effective and imitated by 1560

GustavusAdolphus

Swedish Army swept the imperial forces in Northern Germany

Ferdinand II brought back Wallenstein.Swedish army was victorious, but their advance was stopped at Lutzen in 1632

King Gustavus Adolphus was killed in battle

Swedish army remains in Germany, although less effective

German princes still feared Ferdinand II.

1634-Wallenstein assassinated to appease German princes, on orders of HRE Ferdinand

1634—Battle of Nordlingen—Swedes driven out of South by Imperial army

Result: Southern Germany remained Catholic

HRE made peace w/German princes

Agreed to annul 1629 Edict of Restitution

No peace came to Germany: Swedes wanted to continue war;

French (Cardinal Richelieu) entered war Directly

Religious issues lost significance

Catholic French supported Protestant Swedes against Catholic Hapsburgs of Germany and Spain

1643 Battle of Rocroi: French beat Spanish and ended Spanish military greatness

The French Phase: 1635-1648The French Phase: 1635-1648

French proved victorious over HRE armies in Bavaria

This was most devastating phase of the war:

German towns decimated.Agriculture collapsed famine resulted.

8 million dead 1/3 of the population [from 21 million in 1618 to 13.5 million in 1648]

Loss of German Lives in 30 Years’ War

Trade was crippled throughout Europe.

Caused massive inflation.

All parties ready to sue for peace

After 5 years of negotiations, peace was declared in 1648.

Treaty of Westphalia (1648)

Political Provisions: Each Ger. prince became free

from any kind of control by the HR Emperor. (300 separate states)

The United Provinces [Dutch Neths.] became officially independent so. part remained a Sp. possession.

The Peace of Westphalia (1648)

The Peace of Westphalia (1648)

France received. most of the Ger-speaking province of Alsace, parts of W. Germany, and cities along Fr-Ger border

Austrian Hapsburgs did not lose territory, but diminished authority: Hapsburg emperor became figurehead in HRE

Sweden got lands in No. Ger. on the Baltic & Black Sea coasts.

Switzerland became totally independent of the HR Emperor Swiss Confederation.

Sweden won a voice in the Diet of the HR Empire

Brandenburg & Bavaria got important territories on North Sea & in central Germany.

Religious Provisions: Calvinists would have the

same privileges as the Lutherans had in the Peace of Augsburg.

The ruler of each state could determine its official religion, BUT [except in the hereditary lands of the Habsburgs], he must permit freedom of private worship.

The Peace of Westphalia (1648)

The Peace of Westphalia (1648)

Pope ignored all decisions at Westphalia

Economically and Socially: effects still debated

German population declinedAreas of Germany completely

devastatedOther areas actually prosperedMost destructive war yet in

Europe

1688-1700

Many Protestants felt betrayed.

The pope denounced it.

Only merit it ended the fighting in a war that became intolerable!

For the next few centuries, this war was blamed for everything that went wrong in Central Europe.

Nobody Was Happy!Nobody Was Happy!

What were the long-

range effects of the Thirty Years’ War?

What were the long-

range effects of the Thirty Years’ War?