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THE RELIGIOUS WARS:
The Thirty Years War
1618-1648
Origins of the Conflict
Peace of Augsburg of 1555 brought truce to
warring religious factions in the Holy Roman
Empire.
 The agreement only recognized Catholics and
Lutherans (leaving out Calvinists).
 Calvinists began to make gains in a number or
states and began demanding rights.
 Direct cause of the fighting was a conflict in
Bohemia.

Bohemian Phase, 1618-1625
In 1617, The Bohemian Diet elected Ferdinand of
Styria (a Hapsburg) king. Two years later he
elected HRE Ferdinand II.
 His election alarmed Calvinists in Bohemia since
Ferdinand was a strong supporter of the Catholic
cause.
 Roman Catholic officials ordered the end of
construction of some Protestant chapels on land
which the Catholic clergy claimed belonged to
them. Protestants, who claimed it was royal
 They interpreted this as a violation of the right of
freedom of religious expression as granted in the
Letter of Majesty issued by Emperor Rudolf II in
1609.

The Defenestration of Prague
On May 23, 1618, an
assembly of
Protestants tried two
Imperial governors for
violating the Letter of
Majesty.
 They were found
guilty, and thrown out
of the high windows
of the Bohemian
Chancellery.

The Defenestration of Prague
They fell some 50 ft, and they landed on
a large pile of manure. They all survived.
 Roman Catholic Imperial officials claimed
that they survived due to the mercy of
the benevolent angels assisting the
righteousness of the Catholic cause.
 Protestant pamphleteers asserted that
their survival had more to do with the
horse excrement in which they landed
than the benevolent acts of the angels.

Bohemian Phase, 1618-1625
Taking control of Prague, the Calvinists
deposed Ferdinand and elected a new
king, Frederick V.
 Emperor Ferdinand II won the support of
Maximilian I of Bavaria.
 Under the leadership of Baron Tilly, the
Catholic forces defeated the Protestants in
Bohemia at the Battle of White Mountain
in Nov. 1620., ending the Bohemian phase

Danish Phase, 1625-1629
King Christian IV intervened
on the side of the Protestants
against Ferdinand II.
 Albrecht von Wallenstein and
Tilly defeated the Danes in
1626 with a independent army
of 50,000 men.
 The Treaty of Lubeck in 1629
restored Holstein to Christian
IV while he pledged to stay
out of the war.

Albrecht von Wallenstein
Swedish Phase, 1630-1635
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Swedish King Gustavus
Adolphus became the new
defender of the Protestant
cause.
In 1630, the Swedes invaded
Germany.
Later that year, Catholic
France signed a alliance with
Protestant Sweden, entering
the war against the
Hapsburgs.
What had begun as a
religious war now took
political overtones.
Gustavus Adolphus
Swedish Phase, 1630-1635
During the early stages the Swedes won
several victories
 Tilly fell in battle in 1632 and Wallenstein
formed a new army.
 In Nov. 1632, Wallenstein was defeated at
the Battle of Lutzen, but Gustavus
Adolphus was killed.
 Wallenstein entered into secret
negotiations with the French and Swedes,
Ferdinand had him relieved in 1634, he
was assassinated a few days later.

Swedish Phase, 1630-1635
In the autumn of 1634, Ferdinand II’s
army defeated the Swedes at the Battle of
Nordlingen.
 Each side in the conflict was exhausted
from years of fighting.
 In 1635, the Treaty of Prague brought an
end to the Swedish phase of the war and
strengthened the position of the emperor
compared to that of the princes.

French Phase, 1635-1648
Settlement reached in
the Treaty of Prague was
wrecked by the French
decision to directly
intervene.
 Cardinal Richelieu, Chief
Minister of Louis XIII
wanted to weaken
Hapsburg power and
gain territory.

Cardinal Richelieu
French Phase, 1635-1648
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The French relied on the German princes and
Swedes to lead the fight in Germany, while France
moved against the Hapsburg Philip IV of Spain.
The war continued to ravage Germany, with no side
gaining the upper hand until the French defeated
the Spanish and became more directly involved.
Ferdinand II died in 1637 and was succeeded by his
son, Ferdinand III (r. 1637-1657).
Peace negotiations began in 1641, but made little
progress until the death of Richelieu in 1642 and the
French occupation of Bavaria in 1646.
Peace of Westphalia, 1648
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Treaty of Westphalia ended the 30 yrs. War.
France, Sweden, and Brandenburg gained
territory.
Settlement formally recognized the independence
of Switzerland and Dutch Rep.
Granted German states the right to make treaties
and alliances, further weakening the HRE. 300+
German states became sovereign.
Religious rights guaranteed in Peace of Augsburg
expanded to Calvinists.
Effects of the Conflict

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Germany physically
devastated (as much as
1/2 of pop. in certain
areas perished).
Religious wars come to
an end.
France becomes the
predominant power in
Europe.
New rules of international
affairs established
(modern nation-state
becomes supreme).