Factors Leading to the Wars of Religion  1. Protestant Reformation  2. Catholic Reformation  3. Prevailing medieval mental linking religion with political issues  The Wars of Religion will start in GERMANY

Round 1: Germany ( )  Holy Roman Emperor Charles V had troubles:  Little control over the HRE (Germany)  patchwork of over 300 principalities (resisting his authority)  Size of the HRE  border issues  Plagued with money problems  can’t fund his armies  This keeps Charles V from dealing with the Lutherans for over 20 years!

Round 1: Germany ( )  1546  Charles V attacked and defeated an alliance of Lutheran princes but never has true control over them  1555  Charles V agrees to the Peace of Augsburg  Compromise giving each German prince the right to choose the realm's religion as long as it was Catholic or Lutheran

Round 1: Germany ( )  Peace of Augsburg outlawed Calvinists, Anabaptists, other non-Lutheran Protestants  This causes problems:  1. Calvinism keeps spreading across Germany  2. Charles V gives up his throne after 30 years  3. Thousands of refugees flee  spreads Calvinist and Anabaptist beliefs

Round 1: Germany ( )  Charles V’s abdication leads to more problems:  1. Lands in Austria and the Imperial title goes to his brother Ferdinand  2. Charles V’s son Philip II (a staunch Catholic) inherits Spain, the Netherlands, most of Italy  This spreads the religious violence to other countries!

The Spanish Netherlands ( )  Philip II abused the Spanish Netherlands  Taxed them heavily to pay for his Spanish wars  Tried to impose his Catholic beliefs on them  Brought in the Inquisition to get rid of Calvinists and Anabaptists  Started a cycle of revolts/protests and Spanish repression until 1648  1648  Spain recognized Dutch independence

The French ( )The French ( )  Catholic majority against the Huguenot (French Calvinists) minority  Conflict lasts for over 30 years  This bred a cycle of chaos/destruction where anarchy would steadily weaken the French gov’t power  The French were willing to submit to a stronger rule in order to stop the warfare  this would set the stage for Louis XIV

Elizabethan England and the Spanish Armada  Extremely tolerant, excellent leader to her people  a “golden age” for England ( )  Philip II wants to re-establish Catholicism in England  Tries to put Mary Queen of Scots (Catholic) on the throne in the 1570’s  Elizabeth imprisons then executes her  Spain sends a naval fleet to fight England  Spain loses

Decline of SpainDecline of Spain  This did not destroy Spain as a power but did signal the end of Spanish dominance in Europe!  Spain wreaks itself in the Thirty Years War ( )  France will replace Spain as the main superpower  Dutch Republic and England become the dominant naval and economic powers in Europe

Change in European Mentality  People are tired of religious wars and disputes  People take a more secular (worldly) view  By the late 1600’s these views would develop into the scientific and cultural movement know as the Enlightenment

Characteristics of the Thirty Years War  Holy Roman Empire is the battleground  At the beginning  Catholics vs. Protestants  At the end  Austrian & Spanish Hapsburg power that was threatened  Resolved with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648

Causes of the Thirty Years WarCauses of the Thirty Years War  Causes : Religious Wars and fear of Hapsburg Spain and Austria (ruling family dynasty)  Europe is split into two camps:  Protestant: German P’s, Denmark, Dutch Republic, England, Sweden, Catholic Venice, and Catholic France  Catholic: German C’s, Spain, Austria, Spanish Netherlands, Naples, Milan, the Papacy, and Poland  Kings and princes building up armies in preparation

Thirty Years WarThirty Years War  Four Stages: Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France  All countries in Europe involved  Stage 4: This is the most destructive phase!  German towns decimated  Agriculture collapsed  famine resulted  8 million dead  1/3 of population ( )  Caused massive inflation  Trade crippled throughout Europe

Loss of German Lives in the Thirty Years War

Peace of Westphalia (1648)Peace of Westphalia (1648)  Political and Religious Provisions  But no one was happy!  Many Protestants felt betrayed  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

Change in European Mentality  People are tired of religious wars and disputes  People take a more secular (worldly) view  By the late 1600’s these views would develop into the scientific and cultural movement know as the Enlightenment