Thirty Years War 1618 - 1648

1. Thirty Years War1618 - 1648 An examination of problems with the Reformation and Absolutism

2. The Lead up • Peace of Augsburg 1555 – CuiusRegioEiusReligio – ended the war but did not solve the religious conflict • German problems affected neighbouring nations • France surrounded by Hapsburg lands • Spain wanting influence near Dutch border • Sweden and Denmark wanting north German influence • Protestants were trying to hold power and Catholics were trying to revert to old religion

3. Religious tensions led to the formation of the League of Protestant Union under Palatine Prince-Elector Frederick IV and the Catholic League under Duke Maximilian of Bavaria

4. Defenestration of Prague • HRE and King of Bohemia Mathias was dying in 1617 without an heir – his lands would go to Archduke Ferdinand II who was staunchly Catholic. • The Protestant nobles of Bohemia did not want Ferdinand and preferred Frederick V of Palatinate to become Crown Prince of Bohemia • Protestants assaulted two Catholic bureaucrats sent by Ferdinand to administer the govt. and tossed them out the window (May 23 1618)

5. Bohemian Revolt1618 - 1625 • Caused by the Defenestration of Prague • Conflict between Bohemian nobles and the new Emperor Ferdinand • Ferdinand asked for help from King Philip IV of Spain • The Bohemians promised Frederick V of the Palatinate to be King of Bohemia if they were allowed into the Protestant Union • But they had also sent similar offers to other German princes

6. The Bohemian Revolt intensifies with attacks on Imperial lands • Revolt intensified under the weak Ferdinand with northern Austrian nobles joining the Bohemians • The Prince of Transylvania invaded Hapsburg Hungary with the help of the Ottoman Empire; eventually bringing Poland into war with the Ottomans • Protestant armies siege Vienna • Catholic armies fought back with Emperor Ferdinand and Philip of Spain taking Prague and exiling Frederick V • Emperor Ferdinand returned Bohemia to Catholicism with seizure of property • Also resulted in the collapse of the Protestant League

7. King Christian IV of Denmark aided the Lutheran rulers of Lower Saxony in order to slow the Catholic Hapsburg successes In response the Emperor employed the noble general Albrecht von Wallenstein who pledged his army of up to 100,000 in return for the right to plunder captured territory. Danish Intervention1625 - 1629

8. Swedish Intervention 1630 - 1635 Sweden had been allied with Denmark but unable to assist until 1630 King Gustavus II Adolphus invaded the HRE Sweden had been given financial support from France and Netherlands helping gain some key victories over the Imperial forces Wallenstein and Gustavus met at the Battle of Lutzen (1632) where the Swedes won but Gustavus was killed.

9. Despite successes, Wallenstein was becoming a problem for Emperor Ferdinand and he was quietly assassinated under suspicion of switching sides • Without Gustavus, the Swedes began to lose resulting in the Peace of Prague (1635) • Allowed for some concessions for Northern Protestant rulers • Incorporated the German armies into one Imperial army • Forbade German princes from making alliances • But this peace did not satisfy France

10. French Intervention(1635 – 1648) • Although Catholic France was concerned with growing Hapsburg power • Cardinal Richelieu was indirectly supporting the war but France came directly involved in 1635 with declaration of war against Spain and the HRE to support the Swedish forces • French involvement went poorly with Spanish armies invading and ravaging areas of France • But it did allow Sweden to regroup and push back into Imperial held territory

11. With the death of Richelieu in 1642 and Louis XIII in 1643 France began to look for peace despite some successes against Hapsburg forces • By 1648 Sweden and France had pushed Imperial forces out of much of Germany and resulted in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648

12. Peace of Westphalia (1648) • A series of treaties ending the war • Seen as the first modern diplomatic congress called ‘Westphalian Sovereignty’ • Sovereign states have right of self determination • Legal equality between states • Non-intervention in the affairs of another state • Modern views of the Balance of Power system set up here is obsolete because it is competitive and must move over for globalization and a world community

13. What made this war so horrible? • The use of mercenaries caused great civilian suffering • Est. German pop reduced 15-30% • With no national ties and limited payment the soldiers looted the countryside for their ‘payment’ • Trying to cement religious dominance resulted in horrible atrocities on both sides • Est. Swedish army may have destroyed 1500 towns (1/3 of the total in Germany) • Soldiers and displaced populations spread disease

14. Political Aftermath • Gave sovereignty to German territories • Saw a power shift in Europe • Laid the groundwork for nationalism and removed the idea of overlapping political and religious loyalties in subjects • The last large scale religious war in Europe