Phases of the Thirty Years’ War

1. Phases of the Thirty Years’ War

2. Bohemian Period of the Thirty Years’ War • Catholics name Ferdinand II as Holy Roman Emperor, who immediately revokes religious freedom to Bohemian Protestants • Bohemians defiantly name Palatine, Frederick V their king • Spain joins Maximilian who defeats Frederick’s troops at the Battle of White Mountain thereby taking over Bohemia and Palatine • Results: Catholic forces emerged victorious as Bavaria, leader of the Catholic League, took over much of the Electorate Palatine

3. Danish Period of the Thirty Years’ War • Maximilian humiliates Protestant forces in Germany under Lutheran king Christian V and forces them to return to Denmark • Emperor Ferdinand gains an ally in the mercenary Protestant Albrecht of Wallenstein breaks Protestant resistance and orders the Edict of Restitution reasserting the Peace of Augsburg • Results: Under the Edict of Restitution, all confiscated Church lands since 1517 had to be returned to the Catholic Church. The Habsburgs appeared to be trying to centralized power in central Europe

4. Swedish Period of the Thirty Years’ War • GustavusAdolphus II of Sweden with help from the French and Dutch turn the tide of the war with a smashing victory at Breitenfield • Cardinal Richelieu, advisor to Louis XIII, brought France into the war to help reduce the power of the Habsburgs • Adolphus is killed by Wallenstein’s forces at the Battle of Lutzen, but then Wallenstein is assassinated himself by Ferdinand who was afraid of his independence • despite religious convictions, the assassination of Wallenstein proved it was more a war of greed and politics • Peace of Prague – German Protestant states reach a compromise with Ferdinand, the war however continues elsewhere

5. Fourth and Final Period: The Swedish-French Period • Most violent phase of the war • French, Swedish, and Spanish troops for the next thirteen years attack and loot Germany simply for the sake of warring itself • Battle of Rocroi (Spanish-Netherlands), French defeat Spanishthe rise of France as a major military power • Philip IV of Spain used Spain’s dwindling resources to fight against the French, despite facing internal rebellions • Results: All sides were exhausted.

6. Spain and France • Spain and France continue to war until 1659, when France emerges victorious • France becomes Europe’s dominant power, while Hapsburg Spain never recovers

7. Treaty of Westphalia of 1648 • ends the war by which time had killed one-third of Germany’s population – the Treaty did the following: • rescinded the Edict of Restitution and put back the Peace of Augsburg • Calvinists officially recognized • Switzerland, the Netherlands and Bavaria become independent • Stronger powers emergeFrance, Sweden, Prussia (Germany) and the Netherlands • Last of wars primarily over religion

8. Summary Question • In what respect did Cardinal Richelieu’s involvement in the Thirty Years’ War serve as an omen of the future direction of European civilization?

9. While GustavusAdolphus originally entered the war to support the preservation of Lutheranism, the entrance of Richelieu in the French phase of the war changed the focus to dynasties in a secular world. Richelieu’s objective was to make France and the Bourbon dynasty the dominant power in Europe.