Transcript Spain and the Holy Roman Empire were weakened

Carol Rioux
Kingwood H.S.
Kingwood, TX
One effect of the Reformation was that a
wave of religious wars swept Europe.
Wars between Catholics and Protestants
were waged in France, the Spanish
Empire, and the Holy Roman Empire.
Although religion was the initial factor in
these wars, a strong underlying factor
was a quest for political power.
The wars of religion
began with the death
of Henry II of the
Valois dynasty.
His three sons were all
incompetent and the
real power was their
mother, Catherine
d’Medici.
Two factions hoped to use the weakened
state of the monarchy to gain control of
France.
One faction, the Huguenots,
French Protestants, was led
by the Bourbon family.
Duke of Guise
Henry of Navarre
The other faction, the
Ultra-Catholics, was led by
the Guise family.
Protestants and Catholics fought eight
religious wars between 1562 and 1598.
Both sides committed atrocities, the worst
being the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
on August 24, 1572. 3000 Huguenots were
killed. It symbolized the complete
breakdown of order in France.
Politiques suggested that achieving
political stability was more important than
achieving religious uniformity.
After 30 years of warfare, civil order was restored
when Henry of Navarre became King Henry IV,
first king of the Bourbon dynasty. As king, Henry
Converted to Catholicism to please the majority.
• Issued the Edict of Nantes -- recognized
Catholicism as the official religion of France,
but also gave the Huguenots the right of
worship and full political privileges
• Devoted his reign to rebuilding France and its
prosperity (helped by the Duke of Sully).
• Laid the foundation for royal absolutism
• 1610 stabbed to death by a fanatic
Charles I/V
Gave up throne and retreated to a monastery
Ferdinand I,
his brother,
got the Holy
Roman
Empire
Philip II, his son, got
Spain, the Spanish
Netherlands, and Spain’s
overseas possessions.
Philip II
“Most Catholic King”
• Incredibly wealthy
• His palace, Escorial, also functioned
as a monastery
• Acquired Portugal when the king, his
uncle died
• Commanded standing army of 50,000
and a massive navy
• Great defender of Catholicism
• Micro-manager
Greatest Victory
• Spain’s leadership of Holy League
resulted in stunning victory against the
Ottoman Turks at Battle of Lepanto
• Northern provinces of Netherlands were
home to many Protestants
• Wanted independence from Spain.
• Resented that the taxes they paid went
to Spain
• Protestants attacked Catholic churches
• Philip sent the Duke of
Alva to suppress
Protestant revolts
Alva instituted the
Council of Troubles
Dutch called it the
Council of Blood
• William of Orange, a
Protestant aristocrat, led
the fight for
independence
• Dutch flooded their
lands to drive the
Spanish out.
• Northern provinces
declared their
independence and
became the United
Provinces of the
Netherlands
Philip’s reign ended in 1598.
To most Europeans, Spain still seemed to be
the greatest power of the age
Reality check: Philip had squandered much of
Spain’s wealth trying to restore Catholicism to
all of Europe
Philip had declared bankruptcy several times
His armed forces were out of date
His government was inefficient
Power in Europe had shifted to France and
England
United Provinces of the
Netherlands
•
•
•
•
•
Republic
Religious toleration
Commercial Revolution
Great Economic Prosperity
Joint-Stock Companies – Dutch
East India Company
• Great Merchant Fleet
Despite the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, religious
disputes continued. Lutherans and Catholics feared
one another and both were concerned with the spread
of Calvinism.
In 1617, Ferdinand, the head of
the Hapsburg family and soon to
be Holy Roman Emperor was
elected king of Bohemia.
Ferdinand is Catholic and Austrian; the
Bohemians dislike him!
He orders the closing of Protestant churches.
Protestants of course revolt!
Ferdinand sends troops to Bohemia, and
the German princes see this as an opportunity
to challenge his authority
Soon a full-fledged war breaks out
over religion, territory, and power.
The war has two phases:
• Phase of Hapsburg Victory
Ferdinand pays his army by allowing
them to plunder and rob German
villages
Phase of Hapsburg Defeat
1630 King Gustavus
Adolphus of Sweden
helps drive the
Hapsburgs out of
Northern
Germany
Newsflash!!!!
1635: Catholic France entered the war on the
Protestant side. Hapsburgs are defeated!
The Thirty Years war was the most destructive
conflict Europe had experienced. Virtually all
major European powers were involved
except England.
The war officially ended with the Peace of
Westphalia of 1648.
Provisions of the Treaty:
• German princes were virtually independent of
the HRE
• The United Provinces of the Netherlands and
Switzerland were formally recognized
• Peace of Augsburg’s principle of cuius regio,
eius religo was expanded to include Calvinists
Effects of the war:
• Spain and the Holy Roman Empire
were weakened
• France was strengthened
• Introduced new method of negotiating peace; all
participants would meet to decide peace terms.
• Idea of a united Catholic Europe was abandoned
• Europe was now seen as a group of independent
states that could negotiate for themselves.
• Each state was viewed as the equal of the other
• Marked the beginning of the modern state system
• Germany was so severely damaged that it will not
unite until 1871
• France was established as the predominant power
on the European continent.