Transcript Chapter 7 Europe in Crisis

Chapter 5
Europe in Crisis
The French Wars of Religion
Calvinism and
Catholicism were
militant religions by
1560.
 Their struggles
against each other
were the main
reasons for the
European religious
wars of the 16th
century.

The French civil wars
were known as the
French Wars of
Religion (1562-1598).
 The Huguenots were
French Protestants
influenced by Jon
Calvin.
 They made up 7% of
the population but
almost 50% of them
were nobility.

Many townspeople
were willing to help
nobles weaken the
monarchy, which was
a Catholic king.
 The war raged for 30
years until in 1589,
Henry of Navarre,
leader of the
Huguenots became
King Henry IV.

Henry soon converted
to Catholicism
because being a
Protestant would not
have given him the
support of the French
Catholics.
 The Edict of Nantes
recognized
Catholicism as
France’s official
religion, but it gave
the Huguenots the
right to worship.

King Philip II of Spain
was the greatest
supporter of militant
Catholicism.
 He ruled from 15561598, and his reign
was a period of
cultural and political
greatness for Spain.

Philip II became a champion of Catholicism.
Under Spain’s leadership he formed a Holy
League against the Turks.
 He defeated their fleet in the famous Battle of
Leopanto in 1571.

King Philip’s Empire
The Spanish
Netherlands were
very rich.
 The Nobles in the
Netherlands resented
Philip II for trying to
take control of their
lands.

Resistance and War
Philip tried to crush
the Calvinists in the
Netherlands and sent
ten thousand troops
to stop them.
 The Dutch prince,
William the Silent
(Orange), was
resistant to Philip II

In 1609, a 12 year
truce stopped the
wars in the
Netherlands.
 The north became the
United Provinces of
the Netherlands,
which was one of
Europe’s great powers
and the core of the
modern Dutch state


In 1588, Spain sent an armada, a fleet of
warships, to invade England. The fleet was
battered in numerous encounters and
finally sailed home around Scotland and
Ireland, where storms sank many ships.
Philip’s Legacy
Spain was the world’s
most populous empire
when Philip’s reign
ended in 1598.
 It was a great power,
but in reality, Philip
had bankrupted the
country by spending
too much on war.
 Real power shifted to
England

England and The Queen
Elizabeth Tudor
ascended to the
throne of England in
1558.
 England became a
leader of the
Protestant nations
and laid the
foundation for
becoming a world
empire.

Elizabeth repealed laws favoring Catholics.
 The Church of England practiced modern
Protestantism.

The Witchcraft Trials
A belief in witchcraft,
or magic, had been
part of traditional
village life for
centuries.
 The Inquisition began
to focus on witchcraft
and many Europeans
were seized by
hysteria about it.

More than 100,000
people were charged
with witchcraft.
 More than 75% were
women, mostly single,
widowed, or over 50.
 The number of people
executed for
witchcraft was
between 40,000 and
100,000 people

Accused witches were tortured and usually
confessed to such things as swearing
allegiance to the devil, casting spells, and
attending services at night called sabbats.
 By 1650, the hysteria had lessoned and
most people found it unreasonable to
believe in a world haunted by evil spirits.

The Thirty Years’ War
The war was fought
between the
Hapsburg Holy Roman
Emperors and the
Protestants of
Bohemia.
 Most of the fighting
took place in
Germany
 The only European
country not involved
was England.

The Peace of Westphalia ended the war.
 France emerged as the dominant nation after
the war.
 The war was the most destructive Europe had
ever seen due to firearms (guns).

Death and War in England
The Tudor Dynasty
ended when Elizabeth
I died because she
had no children.
 King James I
becomes king after
Elizabeth dies.
 James had a son
named Charles I.

Civil War broke out in
England
 Two groups were the
Roundheads and the
Cavaliers (supporters
of the king)
 Oliver Cromwell was
the leader of the
Roundheads who won
the civil war!
