Thirty Years War SPRITE Causation   Social Political Religious Intellectual Technological Economic Causes Appeal of Protestantism to women, poor, and peasants Pope v. nobles v. peasants v. monarchs Catholicism v. Calvinism Why? Lutheranism didn’t spread beyond HRE and not as radical as Calvinism Increasingly educated laity (men and women) Printing Press spreads Luther’s ideas and access to Bible for all Peasant Revolts in Germany over serfdom (1525)    Effects All vocations deemed equal (“priesthood of all believers”) Certain Protestant women enjoyed greater social standing (ie work outside the home) Rise of strong, absolute monarchs Balance of power emerges in Europe No more wars fought over religion Why? Religious pluralism (not toleration because only Catholicism and certain types of Protestantism accepted in Europe (not Anabaptists, Jews, Muslims) Continued increase in education for laity Military technology : Infantry Firearms Mobile cannon Financed by heavier taxation Require larger bureaucracy to oversee standing army/navy Balance of power shifts from Spain to France

Reformation and Religious Wars Takeaways: Before the Thirty Years War: States exploited religious conflicts to promote political and economic interests Ex: German Peasants Revolt using religion to end serfdom Ex: United Province using Calvinism to break with Spain Ex: Huguenot nobles in France using Calvinism to break from monarchial control Ex: German princes wanting political power in HRE After the Thirty Years War Following the Peace of Westphalia religion declined in importance as a cause for war in European The concept of the balance of power played an important role in structuring diplomatic and military objectives. Continuity: Conflicts between monarchy and nobility would continue Change: emerging nation-states with centralized monarchs (NOT Italy or HRE/Germany)

Europe 1648-1661 Rise of Brandenburg-Prussia in HRE Decentralization in HRE  rest of Europe have nation-states with power in hands centralized monarchs