The Thirty Years War
► The Thirty Years War began in 1618 and ended in 1648 ► It was a religious conflict between the Protestants and Catholics of Central Europe ► It involved most of the European powers but was fought mainly on German territory
► The War began because of religious, territorial, and dynastic conflicts ► It started with an uprising of the Protestant nobles of Bohemia against King Ferdinand of Bohemia ► It spread throughout Europe eventually involving all of the Holy Roman Empire It consisted of a series of conflicts that spanned thirty years With most of the conflicts being fought in Germany
Germany (1618)
► Significant Battles on German Territory Stadholn (1623) -Lutzen (1632) Hochst (1622) -Breintenfeld (1631) Heidelberg (1622) -Dessau (1626) Nordlingen (1634) -Lutter (1626) White Mountain (1620) -Usedom (1630)
A War-Torn town in Germany
Bohemian Revolt ► The war started when Protestant Nobles, fearing persecution from Catholic king Ferdinand, rebelled in the Bohemian city of Prague. ► By August 17, 1619 King Ferdinand of Bohemia had been replaced by the Palatine Elector Frederick V as king of Bohemia
The War Spreads ► The war quickly started spilling over into western Germany as the Bohemians joined with the Protestant Union ► At the same time the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand, asked for assistance from his nephew King Phillip VI of Spain for support
Denmark Joins the War ► The Protestant Danes, fearing their sovereignty due to the recent Catholic advances, entered the war in 1625 ► The Danes withdrew from the war in 1629 ► They signed the Treaty of Lubreck and abandoned their support of the Protestants
Swedish Intervention ► In 1630 the Protestant Swedes, under Gustavus Adolphus, invaded Germany in hopes of: Weakening the growing Empire Gaining economical superiority around the Baltic Sea And in fear of a Catholic expansion into their land
► Adolphus was killed in the Battle of Lutzen in 1632 ► Lacking in leadership due to the death of Adolphus, the Swedes lost the Battle of Nordlingen ► This led to the Peace of Prague in 1635
French Invasion ► With the Swedes retraction from the war, the French started war against Spain in 1635 and against the Hapsburgs in 1636 ► The Catholic French entered the war against their fellow Catholics for political reasons -if the Hapsburgs conquered Germany France would have been surrounded
Treaty ► In 1648 the Peace of Westphalia ended the war and granted each German state the right to chose their religion ► The Peace of Westphalia was born of the first modern diplomatic congress ► It introduced a new peace order in Central Europe that was built on nation-state sovereignty ► The regulations of the new system of constitution lasted within the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 ► The Peace of Westphalia referred to two peace treaties Treaty of Osnabruck signed on May 15, 1648 Treaty of Munster signed on October 24, 1648
► With the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia, Germany had lost over 30% of its population ► As a result of the war, German agriculture, commerce and industry were greatly weakened, as was the Holy Roman Empire
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