30 Years War

Directions Take notes during the lecture on information that responds to the prompt: Evaluate the relative importance of the religious rivalries and dynastic ambitions that shaped the course of the Thirty Years’ War. We don’t lecture often but guided note taking is an important skill Do NOT copy every item word for word Think, Write, Respond – ask questions about the material What kind of information will help you respond to the prompt? What is the Historical Thinking Skill being assessed by this prompt?

Bohemian Period (1618-1625) Bohemia Background: King of Bohemia traditionally the person who was in line to be the next Holy Roman Emperor 16th & 17th centuries, Bohemia had become a Calvinist region which embraced religious toleration Ferdinand Habsburg: Fanatic Catholic H.R.E. Matthias persuaded Calvinist nobles to allow the fanatical Catholic Ferdinand to become King of Bohemia (1617), putting him in line to be the next HRE Ferdinand issued ruthless anti-Protestant campaign in Bohemia Outraged Bohemian nobles secured a meeting with the imperial government in order to air their grievances

Defenestration of Prague (1618): Start of the War Meeting between Protestant Bohemian nobles and 5 Catholic representatives Attempt to settle disputes between nobles and H.R.E. 2 of the emperor’s representatives were thrown out a third-story window (defenestrated) Began the Thirty Year’s War Bohemian phase largely fought over religious issues, but economic and political ambitions began to emerge

Bohemian Period (1618-1625) Protestant Union vs Bohemian Period (1618-1625) Protestant Union vs. Ferdinand II & the Catholic League Protestant Union Catholic League Fought to protect the rights of Protestants in Bohemia with Frederick of the Palatinate Frederick of the Palatinate elected King of Bohemia after Ferdinand Habsburg became the Holy Roman Emperor Catholic League: Fought to protect Ferdinand II and Catholic rights in the Holy Roman Empire Ferdinand II had no standing army and had to rely on the forces of the Catholic League

Results Catholic League defeated the Protestant Union at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620 Frederick forced into exile, Bohemia returned to Catholicism Ferdinand restored as King of Bohemia, as well as the Holy Roman Emperor King of Denmark, Christian IV, assumed leadership of Protestants after the Battle of White Mountain

Danish Period (1625-1629) After a 12 year truce, Spain again attempted to regain control of the Netherlands Politically: Wanted the region in the Spanish Empire Economically: Wanted to regain control of the powerful Dutch economy, known for its international trade, banking, and shipbuilding Religiously: Wanted the Netherlands to be re-Catholicized Dutch resisted with help of England and France who wanted to weaken Spain Spanish military defeated the Dutch after besieging the city of Breda in 1625

King Christian of Denmark The burden of war now falls to Christian Demanded less than Adolphus of Sweden England abandons him (caught in a change of power and a reluctant Parliament) France abandons him (dealing with a rebellion of Huguenots) Has to face Wallenstein and his army Repeatedly defeated in battle until he sues for peace How

Ferdinand Builds an Army Feared the ambitions of Maximillian of Bavaria—relieved him of duties as leader of Catholic forces Hired Albrecht von Wallenstein to create imperial army Commissioned to build an army to help Ferdinand achieve goals Economic: Gain control of Baltic trading ports in northern Germany Religious: Convert Protestants to Catholicism Wallenstein raised a strong army of 40,000 men Wallenstein, while a brilliant military strategist, was overly ambitious and made enemies on both sides of the conflict until he was too hot to handle and dropped from command. He was assassinated later in his attempts to negotiate with Protestant forces.

Results of Ferdinand’s Army Took control of Baltic trading ports in northern Germany Re-Catholicized many regions Edict of Restitution (1629): Ferdinand gained control of former Church lands that had been secularized during the Protestant Reformation Gave the church broad powers to reclaim territory and force expulsion of Protestants Seen by many Catholics as an abuse of power Defeated the Danish at the Battle of Lutter Pillaged and occupied Denmark Wallenstein took advantage of this opportunity to sell armaments and supplies to his army and the enemy for his own wealth Attempted to gain greater political centralization around the imperial crown at the expense of the individual states Demanded that Ferdinand fire Wallenstein, believing he was the source of his power

Swedish Period (1630-1635) Gustavus Adolphus: King of Sweden Religious motives for joining war Devout Lutheran wanting to protect Protestantism in northern Europe Champion of Protestantism after the defeat of Denmark Dynastic motives for joining war Drive back the advancing Habsburgs Gain a foothold on continental Europe along the Baltic Sea— allows control of the grain trade coming out of Poland

Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) First major Protestant victory in Thirty Years’ War Sweden defeated the Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, and Croatia Financed largely by the French—why? Swedish troops eventually advanced deep into central Europe, almost taking over the imperial capital of Vienna

Battle of Lutzen (1632) One of the most spectacular battles of the Thirty Years’ War Adolphus vs. Wallenstein Sweden financed by France, supported by some states within the Holy Roman Empire Adolphus killed in action during the battle After Lutzen, the army continued to advance into the H.R. E. Sweden suffered a major loss in 1634, forcing combatants to seek a truce— Peace of Prague

Military advancements of the war Armies got bigger Armies became more professional Armies were better trained prior to battle Cavalry units became very important Coordinated attacks with small units Use of mobile artillery Infantry were redistributed to protect from artillery

French Period (1635-1648) Before 1635, France supported states fighting the Holy Roman Emperor by sending money, weapons, and supplies Led by Louis XIII and his chief minister Cardinal Richelieu Wanted to weaken the power of the Habsburgs Unsatisfied by the 1635 Peace of Prague Entered the war in 1635

Battle of Rocroi (1643) France was led by the recently crowned 5-year-old Louis XIV and his chief minister Cardinal Mazarin Northeastern region of France, near the Spanish Netherlands French victory over Spain Marked the end of the dominance of the Spanish army Following Rocroi, sporadic fighting continued, but European powers looked for a peace settlement

The Peace of Westphalia (1648) “The Peace of Exhaustion” Negotiations began in 1644 while the war was being fought France and Sweden wanted all states of the Holy Roman Empire to participate as individual and independent entities—why? Participants: Major powers: France, Spain, The Netherlands, Sweden Holy Roman Empire: individual states Minor powers: Portugal, Papal States, Switzerland, Venice

Peace of Westphalia: Goals Religious settlement for the Holy Roman Empire Address territorial issues in Europe and reestablish a balance of power for Europe Constitutional settlement for the states of the Holy Roman Empire Comprised of two treaties: Münster and Osnabrück France and Spain didn’t settle on a bilateral peace agreement until 1659

The Peace of Westphalia (1648): Religious Settlement Reaffirmed the Peace of Augsburg (1555) with an additional choice Princes of the Holy Roman Empire could decide between Catholicism or Lutheranism for their individual state Added Calvinism as an additional choice for princes Consequences: Right of states in the Holy Roman Empire to decide faith of their subjects affirmed Minority religions granted right to practice discreetly Secured the Protestant Reformation in Europe Ended the Catholic Reformations goal of reunifying Europe under a Universal Catholic Church

The Peace of Westphalia: Territorial Settlement Netherlands Recognized as an independent state No longer a part of the Holy Roman Empire Switzerland France: gained territories from the Holy Roman Empire, including parts of Alsace and Lorraine Sweden: gained territories in northern Germany

The Peace of Westphalia: Constitutional Settlement States of the Holy Roman Empire became virtually sovereign as powers of the H.R.E. were weakened States could: Conduct their own diplomacy Make treaties with foreign powers Emperor could NOT: Issue taxes without the consent of the member states Recruit an army without the consent of the member states Declare war or sign peace treaties without the consent of the member states Holy Roman Empire was further decentralized and localized French foreign policy of preventing a unified, centralized Germany was maintained

Impact of the war on Germany Results varied – see map General trends Population decline Economic decline Bands of roaming unemployed mercenaries The cost of the war Rome and Spain paid very little – the HRE paid the majority of the costs Winners Not Winners Northeastern Nobles Western Nobles (No CHANGE) Peasants – with population loss comes more of a demand for services when it is time to rebuild Southern Nobles (Bavarian nobles did not generally trade and were forced to take out loans or sell land) Northern peasants – forced to simply work more to make up for the loss of labor