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THIRTY YEARS' WAR: A HISTORY
FROM BEGINNING TO END
(WARS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY),
by HOURLY HISTORY.
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Well compiled.
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"The Thirty Years’ War was fought between 1618 and 1648, and while it is not a well-known war, it was one of the most destructive conflicts in human history. The casualties from this European war included eight million fatalities, which resulted from violence, famine, and plague. In fact, in terms of the German losses, only the time frame of January to May 1945 during World War II surpasses the Thirty Years’ War. The war began as a conflict between certain Protestant and Catholic states in the Roman Empire, but it slowly came to involve more European powers until it eventually included almost all of Europe.
"While the war began as a religious war, it evolved into a power struggle between the Kingdom of France and the House of Habsburg of the Holy Roman Empire. The French and the Habsburgs had been rivals for many years, and the Thirty Years’ War would prove to be just one in a long line of wars caused by their rivalry. The war began after the election of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, who attempted to make Catholicism the only religion in the Empire. His religious intolerance angered the northern Protestant states where the people had previously been granted the right to religious liberty with the signing of the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. As a result, the Protestants banded together and formed what was known as the Protestant Union. Ferdinand II’s attempts to spread Catholicism caused widespread fear throughout Europe, and that prompted the Protestant Bohemians living within Austria to revolt.
"The Bohemian Revolt was soon crushed by the Habsburgs of the Holy Roman Empire, and the leaders of the revolt were executed along with leading Bohemian aristocrats. That caused each side to begin gathering allies, and before long, Spain came into the conflict on the side of the Catholics and France entered the coalition on the side of the Protestants. The result was a war that devastated entire regions and killed millions. Furthermore, some of the first witch hunts began in Europe during this time, as the war fostered a fear of the “other” throughout European communities. Some of those sentiments persist to this day."
Crazy!
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Funny, author opens with -
"Some of history’s most contentious conflicts have their roots in religious disagreements. While the Thirty Years’ War is no exception to that, it is notable as one of the most destructive conflicts not only in European history but indeed in the history of humanity. The origins of this war are difficult to pinpoint as there were many different nations and alliances involved, and there had been widespread political and religious tensions throughout Europe for centuries leading up to the war."
And that, after so neatly having summed up the whole topic at introduction that it'd seem one's only reading further for specific details!
Why contradict ones own writing quite so fast?
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"At the time of the outbreak of the war in the early seventeenth century, the Holy Roman Empire was made up of mostly independent states covering much of Central Europe. Although the Habsburg emperor had only limited power over the empire as a whole, the emperor was usually also the king or direct ruler of a large part of the Imperial territory, including the lands of Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary. Those territories by themselves included more than eight million people.
"The Holy Roman Empire furthermore contained numerous regional powers that included the Duchy of Bavaria, the Electorate of Saxony, the Landgraviate of Hesse, the Electorate of the Palatinate, and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. There were also a vast number of smaller, independent duchies, free cities, prince-bishoprics, abbies, and lordships that were under the empire’s control. In addition, another branch of the House of Habsburg ruled over Spain and its empire, which at that time extended to the Spanish Netherlands, southern Italy, the Philippines, and the Americas.
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"The roots of the Thirty Years’ War date to almost a century earlier. In 1555, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V signed the Peace of Augsburg, a treaty which was meant to end the conflicts between Protestant Lutherans and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire. The treaty established that the rulers of the German-speaking states could choose between Lutheranism or Catholicism within their realm. Their subjects could either comply with the decision or emigrate to a region where they could practice their own beliefs.
"Another provision of this treaty stipulated that the prince-bishoprics and other states that were ruled by Catholic clergy could remain Catholic, but prince-bishops who had converted to Lutheranism would have to give up their territories. And, finally, Lutherans could keep the territories they had taken from the Catholic Church since the Peace of Passau, a treaty signed in 1552 that guaranteed Lutherans their religious freedom."
That's complicated enough and quite unnecessarily so, but it gets sillier.
"While the Peace of Augsburg relieved some of the tension within the empire, it didn’t solve the underlying conflict which was exacerbated by the spread of Calvinism throughout the empire in the years that followed. Calvinism, which is another form of Protestantism, was the third major religion in the empire, but it was not part of the Augsburg agreement. Thus, Calvinists and members of other denominations were not allowed to practice their faith and lived in constant danger of being charged with heresy.
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"The nations neighboring the Holy Roman Empire also played a role in the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War. Spain was at the time ruled by a member of the House of Habsburg, Philip III. Philip was a Catholic, so it was only natural for Spain to enter the conflict on the side of the Catholics. In addition, Spain had control over the territories in the Holy Roman Empire known as the Spanish Netherlands. These territories, which roughly comprised modern-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of northern France, ensured that Spain had a continued interest in the region.
"France also had a vested interest in the activities of the Habsburgs since it was surrounded by two Habsburg states (Spain and the Holy Roman Empire). After witnessing the religious dissension weaken its Habsburg rival, France was eager to take advantage of the situation, which led to France siding with the Protestants in the Thirty Years’ War even though it was a Catholic nation.
"Finally, Sweden and Denmark-Norway (both Protestant countries) feared that the Catholic Habsburgs might threaten their interests in the Baltic Sea region, including northern Germany. This led to them entering the conflict on the Protestant side (Denmark-Norway in 1625, and Sweden in 1630).
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"It was in this context that, in the latter part of the sixteenth century, the Peace of Augsburg began to collapse. Some of the prince-bishops who had converted to Protestantism refused to give up their diocese. Catholic rulers, meanwhile, began to try to restore Catholicism in their realms. The religious tensions resulted in the Cologne War in the 1580s after the prince-bishop of Cologne converted to Calvinism. During that war, the prince-bishop was expelled and replaced with a Catholic ruler. That forced the Lutheran residents of the city to either convert or leave. Meanwhile, the lords of several other cities also converted to Calvinism.
"With the conversions and conflicts, by the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Rhine lands and the lands south of the Danube River were mostly Catholic. Lutherans dominated in the north, and the Calvinists had overtaken certain areas of Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
"Despite the mounting tensions between these religious groups, the emperors who followed Charles V—Ferdinand I, Maximillian II, Rudolf II, and Matthias—mostly stayed out of the states’ religious policies. In effect, they avoided (or postponed) all-out war by not taking a clear stance on the issue. That was a source of contention for those rulers (among them the kings of Spain) who wanted to establish religious uniformity in the realm."
Very silly, the last.
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"In 1606, the religious tensions finally escalated into violence in the German city of Donauwörth. When the Catholic minority attempted to hold their annual Markus procession through the streets, a mob of Lutherans attacked them and destroyed their banners and relics. A power struggle ensued, which only ended when Duke Maximilian of Bavaria came to aid the Catholics and restored order by force in late 1607. After the violence was stopped, the occupying Bavarians denied the Protestants in Donauwörth freedom of worship. These events greatly alarmed Protestants throughout Germany, and together they formed the Protestant Union in 1608. With the formation of this union, Duke Maximilian of Bavaria responded by creating the Catholic League with his Catholic neighbors in 1609."
How stupid! Why not simply join the procession and have fun?
"Tensions escalated once again in 1609 when John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, died, leaving no children to succeed him. Jülich-Cleves-Berg was an important territory because of its proximity to the Spanish Road, a trade and supply route that connected northern Italy to the Low Countries. Many people wished to control the area, but the two main claimants to the duchies were Duchess Anna of Prussia (who was married to John Sigismund, the Elector of Brandenburg) and Wolfgang Wilhelm, the Count Palatine of Neuburg. Both claimants were Protestant, but the Catholics got involved when Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II decided to occupy the territory until a decision could be made as to who was the rightful heir. The emperor’s involvement, coupled with the fact that the emperor also had a valid claim to the duchies, caused fear in many Protestants, who were convinced that Rudolf II intended to keep the territory for himself.
"As a result, Henry IV of France (who was raised as a Protestant) and members of the Protestant Union began to amass forces for an invasion. Meanwhile, Wolfgang William decided to convert to Catholicism in an attempt to gain an advantage in the dispute, and John Sigismund converted to Calvinism."
Getting comic!
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"After years of conflict, the dispute was finally settled with the signing of the Treaty of Xanten in November of 1614. This agreement split up the duchies; Jülich-Berg and Ravenstein were awarded to Wolfgang Wilhelm while Cleves, Mark, and Ravensberg went to Anna of Prussia, or rather her husband, John Sigismund.
"Another factor that influenced the start of the Thirty Years’ War was the Dutch Revolt, whereby the Low Countries had revolted against the rule of the Habsburg King Philip II of Spain. The revolt went on for almost 80 years (1566-1648), but there were periods of suppression and ceasefire over that time. The Twelve Years’ Truce was one such ceasefire established between 1609 and 1621. Since it was set to expire, many in Europe were anticipating that Spain would attempt to once again conquer the Low Countries. The only state that stood in the way of Spain reaching the Low Countries unopposed was the Electorate of the Palatinate. That fact made Palatinate of strategic importance in European affairs. For this reason, the Protestant King James I of England arranged for his daughter to marry Frederick V of the Palatinate in 1612. Thus, the stage was set for the war to come.
"The final straw that led to war was related to the fact that Holy Roman Emperor Matthias, who was also the king of Bohemia, was going to die childless. That meant his lands would go to his heir apparent, the Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria. Ferdinand was a staunch Catholic who desired to establish religious uniformity throughout his lands. This made him very unpopular with the Bohemian Protestants, and the nobility of Bohemia rejected him as the crown prince in 1617. It was this rejection, followed by the Defenestration of Prague in 1618, which initiated the Thirty Years’ War."
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"Although the Protestant Bohemian nobility rejected Ferdinand as the crown prince of Bohemia, Ferdinand was not deterred in his desire to implement religious uniformity throughout the lands he controlled. Thus, in 1618, Catholic officials stopped the construction of certain Protestant chapels in Bohemia. When the Bohemian nobility protested this order, Ferdinand sent four Catholic lords to Prague Castle to take care of the issue. To say they were not well-received would be an understatement.
"On May 23, the Catholic lords arrived at Prague Castle, where they were met by a group of disgruntled Bohemian noblemen led by Count Thurn. The Protestant leaders demanded to know who was responsible for halting the construction of Protestant churches in the region. Two of the Catholic lords admitted responsibility—Count Vilem Slavata of Chlum and Count Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice. The other lords were removed from the meeting room, leaving only Slavata and Borzita as well as Philip Fabricius who was the secretary to the lords. Count Thurn declared they were enemies to the Protestants and to the religion itself, and they were subsequently defenestrated—in other words, they were thrown out of a window.
"The three men survived the 70-foot (21-meter) drop from a third-floor window. The Catholics declared they were saved by angels or the Virgin Mary herself, but the Protestants were quick to report that they were saved only because they had fallen straight into a dung heap. For his part, the secretary to the lords, Philip Fabricius, earned a noble title as a result of the fall and became known as Baron von Hohenfall, or “Baron of Highfall.”
"Throwing people out of windows was not all that uncommon in Prague. This was, in fact, the third time that a defenestration had taken place in the city, and thus, it became known as the Third Defenestration of Prague. This act sparked an all-out riot in Bohemia and prompted each side to start gathering allies for war."
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"“To those who fight justly goes the crown.”
"—Ferdinand II of the Holy Roman Empire"
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"As the conflict escalated, Emperor Matthias died in March of 1619, making Ferdinand the official Holy Roman Emperor. Matthias’s death invigorated the Protestants, and as a result, the war spread to western Germany. The Bohemians also requested membership in the Protestant Union, which was led by Frederick V of the Palatinate. The Bohemians suggested that should Frederick support them, he could become the next king of Bohemia. Unfortunately, they also suggested the same thing to other Protestant leaders, and all of these offers were intercepted and made public. That resulted in a general loss of support for the Bohemians. Still, the rebellion continued, and Frederick was indeed elected king of the Bohemians in the late summer of 1619.
"The Bohemians were soon joined in their rebellious efforts by most of Upper Austria, which was led by Lutheran and Calvinist nobility. Not long after, Lower Austria, with Count Thurn at the helm, followed suit and joined the revolt. Additionally, because Frederick V’s wife, Elizabeth Stuart, was the daughter of King James of England and Scotland, thousands of volunteers joined the Bohemian Revolt on her behalf. Thus it was that in the beginning phase of the Thirty Years’ War, an Anglo-Dutch regiment headed to the Palatinate while a Scots-Dutch regiment moved into Bohemia. Those would be joined by a mixed regiment of Scots and English under the leadership of Sir Andrew Gray.
"On the other side, King Philip IV of Spain came to aid his uncle Ferdinand to prevent any further spread of the hostilities. Ferdinand hurried to assemble his forces who had until recently been occupied by the Uskok War, which included the Spanish and Austrians on one side and the English, Dutch, and Venetians on the other. Thanks to the conclusion of that war, Ferdinand was able to rally enough forces to overpower the Bohemians at the Battle of Sablat in the summer of 1619. This advance allowed the Imperials to cut off Count Thurn’s communications with Prague, thereby stopping him from taking Vienna.
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"The defeat of the Protestant forces at the Battle of Sablat also cost the Protestants at least 1,500 soldiers as well as their alliance with the Duchy of Savoy. Savoy had supported Bohemia with both money and troops, but when the Imperial army defeated the Protestant forces at Sablat, that revealed Savoy’s involvement on the side of the Protestants. For their own good, Savoy pulled out of the war.
"Meanwhile, Spain’s involvement in the war on the side of Emperor Ferdinand helped sway some important battles. Besides contributing manpower, the Spanish ambassador to Vienna persuaded John George I of Saxony to turn against his Protestant brethren in Bohemia. In exchange for occupying the regions of Silesia and Lusatia, the Saxons would be granted possession of certain Bohemian lands. With the Saxon intervention, the army of the Catholic League was able to pacify Upper Austria while Ferdinand’s Imperial forces took control over Lower Austria.
"Once that was accomplished, the two armies joined forces and moved into Bohemia proper. There, Ferdinand was able to defeat Frederick V at the Battle of White Mountain on November 8, 1620. The Catholic victory at White Mountain was a severe blow to the Protestant cause and resulted in the dissolution of the Protestant Union. For his part in the Bohemian Revolt, Frederick was sent into exile, and his territories were given to Catholic noblemen. Bohemia was, therefore, forced to become Catholic, and it would remain under Habsburg control for three centuries to come. Now landless, Frederick went to Sweden, Denmark-Norway, and the Netherlands to try to gather support for the Protestant cause, but this would not materialize until years later.
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"While all this was playing out in Bohemia, Gabriel Bethlen, the Calvinist prince of Transylvania, took on the Habsburgs of Hungary in retaliation for their persecution of Protestants in the country. In these efforts, he was assisted by Osman II, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Bethlen had requested and received a protectorate from the sultan, and as a result, the Ottomans offered a force of 60,000 cavalry troops to the Protestant cause. Additionally, the two made plans to invade Poland (which was siding with the Habsburgs) with 400,000 troops in exchange for an annual tribute to the sultan.
"These negotiations led to the Polish-Ottoman War from 1620 to 1621. Though the Ottomans defeated the Poles at the Battle of Cecora in September through October of 1620, the Poles defeated the Ottomans in the Battle of Chocim the following year. That ended the war in a virtual tie as some 65,000 Poles and Cossacks were able to withstand three Ottoman offensives, resulting in the sultan suing for peace. The peace treaty retained all borders as they were, and the Polish Commonwealth agreed to stop interfering in Moldavia, which the Ottomans considered within their sphere of influence. This allowed both sides to claim victory since the Poles were able to successfully stop the Ottoman invasion while the Ottoman Empire removed an impending threat to the Moldavian lands.
"With both the Ottomans and the Bohemians now out of the war, Gabriel Bethlen decided to seek peace with the emperor. Ferdinand, happy to be able to focus his attentions elsewhere, agreed to the terms. On December 31, 1621, Bethlen and Ferdinand signed the Peace of Nikolsburg, thereby ending the first phase of the Thirty Years’ War—the Bohemian Revolt.
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"The next part of the Thirty Years’ War, from 1621 to 1624, is known as the Palatinate phase. While Bohemia had been pacified, the war in the Palatinate continued. These lands, which used to belong to Frederick V, were now in the hands of Catholic Duke Maximilian of Bavaria. Interestingly, one of the men who would prove the biggest thorn in the Imperials’ side was actually a Roman Catholic. During this phase of the war, Count Ernst von Mansfeld (a Catholic who had previously fought on the Imperial side in the War of the Jülich Succession) became one of the most foremost champions of the Protestants.
"Count Mansfeld, together with other mercenary leaders, resisted the Imperials in the Palatinate for several years. The battles fought during this phase of the war were much smaller, consisting mainly of sieges conducted by the Imperial and Spanish armies until, in 1622, most of the Palatinate was under Spanish control. When this happened, the remnants of the Protestant armies started to withdraw to the Dutch Republic. On their way there, a large portion of the Protestant army was intercepted by forces of the Catholic League led by the Count of Tilly. Outnumbered and disillusioned, the Protestants suffered a crushing defeat with some 10,000 casualties. With the defeat at the Battle of Stadtlohn, Frederick V and his Protestant allies were forced to abandon any further campaigns. The rebellion was over, at least for the time being."
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"“War is our homeland, our hauberk is our house.”
"—Soldiers’ saying from the Thirty Years War"
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"Peace between the Catholics and the Protestants didn’t last long after the Imperial victory at Stadtlohn. The recent successes of the Imperials caused widespread fear not only among the Protestants of Europe but also among the leading countries of the continent, which brought about the formation of an anti-Habsburg alliance in 1624. These allies—France, England, Sweden, Denmark-Norway, the Netherlands, Venice, Savoy, and Brandenburg—agreed to stand together against the growing power of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.
"Denmark-Norway took the lead in 1625 when Christian IV, the Lutheran king of Denmark-Norway, raised an army against the Imperial forces. Christian had a vested interest in the dealings of the Holy Roman Empire since he was the duke of Holstein and the ruler of Hamburg—both located with the empire’s realm. His army, which stood 15,000 strong, was partially funded by France and England as part of their alliance. Additionally, some 13,700 Scottish soldiers were sent to assist in the fighting, and another 6,000 English troops under the command of Charles Morgan helped bolster the defense of Denmark-Norway.
"Although the British troops were promised, they were slow in arriving, and for that reason, Christian entered the war with fewer troops than anticipated, leading the way as the duke of Holstein rather than the king of Denmark-Norway. Ferdinand, on the other hand, had employed military assistance from Albrecht von Wallenstein, a Bohemian nobleman who had gotten his wealth from confiscating the estates of his Protestant countrymen. He pledged an army numbering between 30,000 and 100,000 soldiers in exchange for the right to plunder the territories he captured.
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"Christian had no idea what he was confronting when he invaded, and soon, he was forced to retreat. The promised support from his anti-Hapburg allies evaporated as they were in the midst of their own conflicts; France was fighting a civil war, and Sweden was fighting the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Additionally, the Protestants lost one of their foremost commanders in 1626 as Count von Mansfeld died some months after his defeat at the Battle of Dessau Bridge.
"Wallenstein, who had commanded the Imperial forces at the Battle of Dessau Bridge, promptly marched north to occupy the Danish homelands, but he proved unable to take the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Wallenstein decided to lay siege to Stralsund, hoping that would allow him to conquer the remainder of Denmark. He faced much more vigorous opposition than he had anticipated, however, as Scots and Swedes reinforced the Danish defenders. After an 11 week-long siege, Wallenstein was forced to withdraw, breaking his winning streak in the war.
"Christian meanwhile had suffered another defeat at the Battle of Wolgast, and he too was ready to negotiate for an end to the conflict. The negotiations were conducted in 1629, and the end result was the Treaty of Lübeck. The treaty stipulated that Christian IV would retain control over Denmark-Norway if he abandoned his support for the Protestant German states. Christian agreed, and thus, the Catholic powers gained even more land.
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"Next, the Catholic League managed to persuade Ferdinand II to take back Protestant holdings granted to the Catholic Church in the Peace of Augsburg. These included two archbishoprics, sixteen bishoprics, and hundreds of monasteries. While Ferdinand had every right to do so, it set Central Europe up for more conflict since these regions had not been Catholic for almost one hundred years.
"Another factor during this same general time frame was the Huguenot rebellions. The Protestant Huguenots of France, located in the southwestern provinces, had enjoyed peace for more than two decades under Henry IV who himself had been a Huguenot before converting to Catholicism. His successor, Louis XIII, however, was far less tolerant. Amidst increasing persecution, the Huguenots began to arm themselves. They finally began an open revolution which became an international conflict in 1627 with the involvement of England in the Anglo-French War. That war ended in 1629 a French victory, and much to the dismay of the Protestant forces, the English involvement in European affairs was redirected.
"On the periphery of this action was another conflict known as the War of the Mantuan Succession (1628-1631). By 1627, the last of the three dukes of Mantua had died without any legitimate heirs. And, the location of Mantua in northern Italy meant it had been a strategic battlefield for both France and the Habsburgs for centuries. The Habsburg control over the area had allowed them to threaten the southern provinces of France, and it allowed them to protect the supply route known as the Spanish Road. With no legitimate heir, a succession dispute was going to involve outside parties.
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"There were two rival claimants for control of Mantua. The first was Charles Emmanuel I, the Duke of Savoy. His daughter Margaret was the widow of one of the dukes of Mantua. The other claimant was Ferrante II, the Duke of Guastalla, who was supported in his claim by Emperor Ferdinand II. Ferdinand wanted to return the Duchy of Mantua to the Holy Roman Empire, and Ferrante would be helpful toward that end. Charles Emmanuel, meanwhile, received support from the Habsburgs who controlled Milan.
"Charles Emmanuel began his claim by partitioning the Mantuan-Montferrat patrimony to the east and west of Milan. However, friction ensued when Charles Emmanuel moved his troops into more territory than had been agreed upon; specifically, he laid siege to the capital of Montferrat, Casale. In response, Louis XIII of France sent forces to Casale in 1628, and in March of 1629, they managed to lift the siege and take back the strategic fortress of Pinerolo. In April of that year, France and Savoy agreed to the Treaty of Susa, and although the French returned to France, they left a garrison at Pinerolo. The fighting in and around Milan left a far more insidious enemy; in the following winter, Milan was devastated by bubonic plague, which had been introduced by the invading armies.
"Later in that same year, Ferdinand sent an army to take Mantua. The siege would last until 1630 when the city, already devastated by plague, was sacked for three days and nights. Despite the brutal attack, the emperor did not succeed. He was forced to return his attention to Germany, where the Swedes were warring. Without his support in this conflict, both sides negotiated a peace with the Treaty of Ratisbonne. The agreement was signed in October 1630, and the terms were favorable to the French interests in Italy. They were allowed to maintain their garrison in Grisons, and a Frenchman¸ Charles Gonzaga-Nevers, was named Duke of Mantua and Marquis of Montferrat. The Habsburgs even agreed to reduce their troops in the region, making the treaty was so unfavorable to Spain that the Spanish prime minister equated it with surrender.
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"The treaty did, however, contain a problematic clause for the French. It said that the French could not establish alliances in Germany against any reigning Holy Roman Emperor. Had they agreed, the French would have been left out of the larger ongoing conflict of the Thirty Years’ War, but Louis XIII refused to ratify the treaty because of that clause.
"It wouldn’t be until June 19, 1631 that the succession of Mantua would finally be settled. In the end, Charles Gonzaga-Nevers became the confirmed ruler of Mantua and Montferrat while the sons of the other two claimants, Charles Emmanuel and Ferrante, received some smaller territories in the region. This set the stage for the next phase of the Thirty Years’ War, the Swedish intervention."
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"“Sweden is in danger from the power of the Habsburg; that is all, but it is enough. That power must be met, swiftly and strongly.”
"―Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden"
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"In 1630, the Swedes entered the Thirty Years’ War. They were led by King Gustavus Adolphus (also known as Gustav II Adolf), and their purpose was to help the German Protestants ward off Catholic aggression so close to Sweden and to obtain significant economic influence in the area. Additionally, Gustavus was concerned about the growing power of the Habsburgs.
"With financial support from the French, Gustavus was able to drive back Catholic forces between 1630 and 1634. In fact, he managed to conquer half of the Imperial kingdoms, which made Sweden the default leader of Protestantism in Europe. They would remain so until 1721, almost 100 years after the end of the Thirty Years’ War.
"Swedish forces began their assault on the Holy Roman Empire in Pomerania, a region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea. In this region, Ferdinand was dependent on the forces of the Catholic League led by the Count of Tilly. Gustavus defeated Tilly’s forces at the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631, and a year later, when the two met again, Gustavus once again defeated Tilly’s forces, and this time, Tilly was killed in the fighting. The Protestants now had the upper hand, and they were able to field a formidable army—some 149,000 men—thanks to subsidies from France and the recruitment of prisoners into the Swedish army. King Gustavus Adolphus also enlisted the support of the Russian Tsar Michael I, who was happy to help since they had both fought the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth previously.
"With Tilly’s death, Ferdinand II recalled Wallenstein along with his sizeable army. Wallenstein attacked the Swedish supply chain, but Gustavus had anticipated this, and the two fought in the Battle of Lützen in 1632. There, Gustavus Adolphus was killed even though the Swedes won the battle.
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"After that, Wallenstein attempted to mediate between the Catholics and Protestants, which caused Ferdinand to suspect his motives. Ferdinand arranged for his arrest after having him removed from command. In the end, one of Wallenstein’s own soldiers killed him when he attempted to contact the Swedes in February of 1634. In that same year, the Swedish forces, without Gustavus’s leadership, were soundly defeated in the First Battle of Nördlingen by the Spanish Imperial forces.
"Following the Swedish defeat, the Protestant and Imperial sides met for negotiations. Those negotiations resulted in the Peace of Prague in 1635, which protected Protestant rulers of northeastern Germany. The rulers in the south of Germany, however, were not protected by this treaty, and German princes were forbidden from forming alliances either amongst themselves or with foreign powers. With tensions in those regions remaining high, the war was bound to continue.
"France entered the conflict at this time, and thus, began the final period of the Thirty Years’ War."
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"“Nothing is as dangerous for the state as those who would govern kingdoms with maxims found in books.”
"—Cardinal Richelieu of France"
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"Although France was mostly Catholic, it was a rival of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. Cardinal Richelieu of France, like many others in Europe, believed that the Habsburgs had too much power. Back in January of 1631, Richelieu had begun intervening indirectly by supporting the Swedes monetarily in return for the promise that Gustavus would maintain an army in Germany against the Habsburgs. That agreement also mandated that there would be no peace treaty with the Holy Roman Empire without France’s approval.
"After Gustavus was killed and the Protestant German princes sued for peace with the emperor, it appeared that Sweden would be unable to continue the war alone. That prompted France to enter into direct war against the Habsburgs. In May of 1635, France declared war on Spain, and in August of 1636, against the Holy Roman Empire. Richelieu opened offensives against the Habsburgs in Germany and the Low Countries, aligning his strategy with the Swedes. By now, the Swedes had reorganized their army and created a separate force under the command of Alexander Leslie. In the spring of 1636, the Swedish army confronted the Imperials at the Battle of Wittstock. The Swedes won the day, and that largely reversed earlier losses.
"The following year, Ferdinand II died and was succeeded by his son, Ferdinand III, who was leaning toward ending the war through diplomacy. Although he was so inclined, his army continued fighting and won a significant success at the Battle of Vlotho in 1638 against the combined forces of Sweden, England, and Palatine.
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"Meanwhile, the French military effort was also having problems. The combined Imperial and Spanish forces laid waste to France’s eastern provinces, and they even threatened Paris in 1636. Finally, the French were able to repel Spanish forces at the Battle of Breisach, pushing the Habsburg forces back from the French borders. Fighting continued until 1640, with neither side gaining a definitive advantage.
"In 1640, however, the tide turned decidedly in favor of the French, beginning with the capture of the fort at Arras. Between June 16 and August 9, the French battled the Spanish for control of the fort, and when it fell to the French, the path to conquer all of Flanders opened up. The French pressed forward against the Spanish forces in Flanders, and their efforts were rewarded with a decisive victory at the Battle of Rocroi in May of 1643.
"At the same time, the Swedes were regaining the initiative in Germany. They defeated the forces of the Holy Roman Empire in the Second Battle of Breitenfeld in 1642. In that battle, the Imperial forces suffered 20,000 casualties, and Swedish forces additionally captured 5,000 prisoners and seized 46 guns. The Swedes themselves suffered only 4,000 casualties, and the battle also enabled Sweden to occupy Saxony.
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"After the Battle of Rocroi, however, the French were defeated by the Imperial and Catholic League forces at the Battle of Tuttlingen in 1643. Louis XIII had died earlier in the year, leaving his five-year-old son on the throne. Cardinal Mazarin was effectively running the government until the new king was old enough, and he began working to end the war.
"Meanwhile, in 1643, Denmark-Norway was again making preparations to intervene in the war, but this time against Sweden. The Swedish forces had gained a stronghold south of Denmark-Norway and hindered their participation as mediators in the peace talks. In 1644, the Swedes would inflict a decisive defeat on the Danish navy, thereby forcing them out of the conflict for good. After this win, the Swedish forces went from Denmark south to Bohemia. There, the Swedes would defeat the Imperial forces and go on to threaten both Prague and Vienna.
"The following year, the Swedes attacked Vienna, but they were unable to capture the city and had to retreat. Furthermore, the Swedes were met with fierce resistance from Habsburg forces in Bohemia, and after five months, they had to withdraw. This would bring everyone to the table for the peace talks, but there is still one more part to this story."
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"“Long live the land, death to bad government!”
"—Slogan used during the Reapers’ War"
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"As the French saw numerous victories in 1640, they encouraged rebellions against Habsburg Spain in both Catalonia and Portugal. Cardinal Richelieu of France purposefully sought to sow division at home in Spain and had, toward that end, been supplying aid to the Catalans and Portuguese.
"That same year, the Catalan revolt known as the Reapers’ War broke out. This represented a significant threat to the Habsburg government, which responded by sending a large army of 26,000 soldiers to crush the uprising. Along the way, the Spanish army captured several cities and executed hundreds of prisoners. On January 23 of 1641, the recently created Catalan Republic was defeated; still, the rebels were not discouraged. The French reinforced their efforts, and together they won an important victory against the Spanish army on January 26 at the Battle of Montjuïc. France also took control over Perpignan after a 10-month siege.
"After that, the Catalan ruling powers accepted Louis XIII of France as the sovereign count of Barcelona and fought under French vassalage for the next decade. The French, however, were slowly gaining more and more control over Catalonian affairs, particularly in northern Catalonia. As this happened, the Catalonians noticed that the new rulers were not much different from the old, and their support of the French began to dwindle.
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"Like their Catalan counterparts, the Portuguese also rose up against Spanish rule in December of 1640. The French supported their efforts, which brought Portugal into the Thirty Years’ War, albeit as a minor player. Over the next two decades, Spain and Portugal would be at war. During this period, Spain sought to isolate Portugal both militarily and diplomatically while Portugal sought to maintain its independence.
"With all of these problems festering in Spain’s domains, Richelieu’s war of diversion was finally successful in its objective. Philip IV of Spain had no choice but to divert his attention and forces from the war in Europe to deal with his problems at home. Even his advisers were recommending that he withdraw his forces, a decision which effectively severed the Spanish Road connecting Habsburg Spain with the Habsburg possessions in the Netherlands and Austria. Philip could no longer send reinforcements to the Low Countries, and the drumbeat of French victories continued as the French gained victories at Gravelines (1644), Hulst (1645), and Dunkirk (1646).
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"While the Thirty Years’ War would end in 1648 with the signing of the Peace at Westphalia, the conflict between France and Spain would continue until 1659, when the Treaty of the Pyrenees would finally end the war between the two countries and establish the modern Franco-Spanish border in the Pyrenees Mountains. With this treaty, Catalonia would be split between both empires.
"The conflict between Spain and Portugal would continue even longer and did not end until 1668. That year, the Treaty of Lisbon ended the dynastic union between Portugal and the Spanish Crown, which led to the War of the Portuguese Succession. Thus, the Thirty Years’ War left a long legacy of conflicts between many empires in Europe. In fact, it would change the face of power on the continent and beyond."
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"“All others of the said Confession of Augsburg, who shall demand it, shall have the free exercise of their religion.”
"—Peace of Westphalia"
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"The Battle of Prague in 1648 was the last action of the Thirty Years’ War. It took place while the peace talks were still ongoing, following on the heels of the signing of the Truce of Ulm in March of 1647 and the defeat of the Imperial army by the French in the Battle of Zusmarshausen. Between May and October of 1648, there were a series of peace treaties signed in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties, which together became known as the Peace of Westphalia, ended the European wars of religion, including the Thirty Years’ War.
"The negotiation process for the Peace of Westphalia was a long, complex affair that included a total of 109 delegations representing various states. The negotiations began in Cologne in 1641, but they were blocked by Cardinal Richelieu, who wanted his allies included in the talks. The talks then continued in Hamburg and Lübeck, and after that, the Holy Roman Empire, along with Sweden, declared that the preparations made at Cologne and Hamburg were preliminaries for the overall peace agreement. That led to the main peace negotiations in Westphalia in the demilitarized, neutral cities of Münster and Osnabrück. Negotiations between the Holy Roman Empire and France, and the Dutch Republic and Spain, took place in Münster, which was Catholic. Sweden, on the other hand, preferred to negotiate with the Holy Roman Empire in Osnabrück, which was controlled by Protestant forces.
"Though there were 109 delegations, they never met altogether; rather, various delegations arrived between 1643 and 1646 and left between 1647 and 1649. It was between January of 1646 and July of 1647 that the largest number of diplomats were present for negotiations. For this reason, there was no set beginning or end to the negotiations. All told, there were delegations sent by 16 European states, 66 Imperial states, and 27 interest groups. After the negotiations were finished, three treaties were signed that ended the overlapping wars. These included the Peace of Münster, the Treaty of Münster, and the Treaty of Osnabrück. These treaties ended not only the Thirty Years’ War but also the Eighty Years’ War between Spain and the Low Countries.
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"The main tenets of the Peace of Westphalia included the agreement that all parties would recognize the Peace of Augsburg, signed in 1555, which gave each prince the right to determine the religion of his own state. The religious options included Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism. Additionally, those Christians living in a principality where their religion was not the established church were guaranteed the right to practice their own faith in private and in public during specific hours.
"Finally, in terms of territorial changes, the Netherlands gained independence from Spain, and the power of the Holy Roman Emperor over Germany was diminished. Sweden meanwhile gained control of the Baltic Sea region, and France became the foremost power in continental Europe.
"The Peace of Westphalia also set a precedent of peace being established by diplomatic congress. That resulted in a new political order in Central Europe, one based upon peaceful coexistence between sovereign states. It established a balance of power that would hold inter-state aggression in check and that established a new norm against interference in another state’s domestic affairs. Furthermore, these principles established in Westphalia became a central part of international law and the prevailing world order. This was particularly true of the concept of sovereign states."
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"“Had Luther and Calvin been confined before they had begun to dogmatize, the states would have been spared many troubles.”
"—Cardinal Richelieu of France"
Such thinking lay at root of inquisition, while desire to impose one's own creed was the cause of most wars of any abrahmic creeds' involvement.
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"This war had one of the highest casualty counts of any war in human history. Not only were soldiers lost in battle, but terrible famines and plagues devastated European populations. In fact, the Thirty Years’ War ranks as the greatest medical catastrophe in modern European history. Since there were no census data, historians have had to extrapolate using information from well-studied regions. In the German states, the overall population loss was around 25 to 40 percent. Not surprisingly, some regions were more affected than others. Württemberg, for example, lost three-quarters of its population while Brandenburg lost about half, and the loss of adult males overall is estimated at approximately half for the German states. Fighting killed soldiers and many civilians, but it also caused famines, disrupted commerce, destroyed livelihoods, and forced large numbers of people to relocate.
"Disease, famine, and the expulsion of Protestants resulted in a population decline of one-third in the Czech lands. Additionally, many civilians’ lives were destroyed by the cruelty and greed of mercenary soldiers, who destroyed property as well. They plundered numerous villages, and those that survived would take almost a hundred years to fully recover. Just the Swedish armies alone destroyed some 18,000 villages, 1,500 hundred towns, and up to 2,000 castles.
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"Aside from the physical destruction, pestilence of numerous varieties raged among the combatants who spread it throughout the regions where they fought. With almost constant troop movements, the influx of soldiers from foreign lands, and the shifting location of battle fronts, it’s not surprising that disease spread like wildfire. The civilian populations were on the move as well when they were displaced from their homes, and they often found refuge in crowded cities where disease became their new tormentor.
"Parish registers and tax records tell the story of numerous epidemics, though these tended toward exaggeration. Still, when civilian populations were displaced and armies were traveling from region to region, that presented ideal conditions for the spread of disease, and the overcrowding that resulted in many areas placed additional stress on resources, which led to famine.
"The types of diseases that plagued the region are not always entirely clear. Local chronicles referred to “head disease,” “Hungarian disease,” and “spotted disease,” the latter of which many experts believe was typhus. There are also chronicles that identify an epidemic of bubonic plague. The northern half of the Italian Peninsula, for example, experienced an epidemic of plague after the Mantuan War from 1629-1631. In 1634, Dresden, Munich, and other German communities also recorded large numbers of plague victims. And, by the time of the final decades of the war, typhus and dysentery had become endemic in Germany.
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"Aside from disease, the war resulted in higher taxes imposed on the people, and this at a time when agricultural production declined dramatically. Thus, the people were heavily taxed and suffered food shortages at the same time. This resulted in large numbers of people starving to death, and it got so bad that the Catholic Church even received reports of cannibalism. Sadly, the suffering was largely ignored by the government entities that caused much of it.
"Another social trauma that resulted from the war was an outbreak of witch hunts. During the Danish intervention, the first wave of inquisitions began in the territories of Franconia. Because the people were suffering such hardships as starvation and disease, it was easy for the hysteria generated by the idea of witchcraft to spread rapidly throughout various parts of Germany. It was an easy explanation for the crop failures, famines, and epidemics they were enduring. Allegations of witchcraft against neighbors and fellow citizens became commonplace, and the number of trials and executions that resulted from this time would come to mark the period as the peak of the European witch-hunting phenomenon.
"Beginning in 1626, Prince-Bishop Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg carried out numerous mass trials of witches who came from all levels of society, including nobility and clergy. By 1630, at least 219 men, women, and children had been burned at the stake in the city of Würzburg, but there were many more put to death in rural areas. Estimates range as high as 900 people executed for witchcraft.
"At the same time, another prince-bishop, Johann von Dornheim, was carrying out similar mass trials nearby in Bamberg. These trials would go on for five more years and claim close to one thousand lives, many of whom were tortured prior to their execution. There were other areas that carried out similar trials and executions. Inquisitors routinely arrived in the wake of Imperial military successes, but they soon spread beyond that as well.
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"The peak of the witch hunts came around the year 1629, and the enthusiasm for them waned after Sweden entered the war in 1630. Still, there were areas where the persecutions continued. So horrific were the excesses of this time period that Jesuit scholar, poet, and former witch confessor Friedrich Spee wrote a scathing legal and moral condemnation of the trials in Cautio Criminalis. This book was later credited with bringing an end to witch-burning in areas of Germany as well as the gradual abolition of the practice throughout Europe.
"The effects of war are not only felt between the soldiers who are waging it. It’s not only weapons that kill, and that is no better illustrated than by the casualties of this destructive war. In war, the disruption of normal life changes much more than the landscape. The displacement of people, the destruction of the land, and the ongoing stress of the unknown all work to bring about disease and famine. And, even worse, it results in mistrust, an enduring mistrust of the “other,” which leads to unthinkable accusations and persecutions. That is precisely what happened in the Thirty Years’ War, and that legacy persists to this day."
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"“My troops are poor Swedish and Finnish peasant fellows, it’s true, rude and ill-dressed; but they smite hard and they shall soon have better clothes.”
"—Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden"
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"The Thirty Years’ War not only resulted in millions of casualties, it completely rearranged the power structure throughout Europe. Spain had been fighting to recapture control over the Low Countries, but by the end of the Thirty Years’ War, Spain had to accept Dutch independence. Even worse, when the French entered the conflict, they managed to wrest a sizeable part of Catalonia from Spanish control. Still, Spain wasn’t the only empire to lose its supremacy. The war also resulted in increased autonomy for various states of the Holy Roman Empire. That limited the power of the emperor and decentralized authority in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe.
"Austria meanwhile had failed to reassert its authority but did suppress Protestantism in its own territory. It emerged from the war with much of its lands still intact and its army stronger than ever. Thanks to the diplomacy of Ferdinand III, Austria would play an important role in the region in the decades to come as the German states were increasingly threatened by the Ottoman Empire and France. The increased autonomy of the other states within the empire, however, would allow Brandenburg-Prussia to gain comparable status with Austria, and it would eventually seize Silesia from Austria, leading to the Seven Years’ War in the 1750s. Later, Prussia would facilitate the unification of the German peoples. For its part in the war, Sweden would emerge as a major force in Europe.
"Another important consequence of the war and the subsequent agreements in the Peace of Westphalia was that it laid the legal foundations for the modern sovereign nation-state. The agreement had established fixed boundaries for many countries that had been involved in the conflict and some newer ones that were created following the war.
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"Additionally, the Peace of Westphalia changed the relationship between subject and ruler. There had previously been overlapping allegiances for many people, but after the agreement at Westphalia, the inhabitants of a state were first a subject to the laws of the state rather than to the claims of any other type of entity whether religious or secular. This had the effect of making it easier for states to employ an army in a manner that didn’t require hiring mercenaries. This was a welcome change after the destruction caused by mercenaries in territories throughout Europe.
"Finally, the war also had some more subtle consequences. It was the last of the major religious wars in Europe, and it ended the bloodshed that accompanied the Protestant Reformation. There were other religious conflicts up until 1712, but they were minor. The Thirty Years’ War was the last of the great wars of that period.
"The effects of the Thirty Years’ War were not only significant for Europe but also for the rest of the world. The ideas elucidated in the Peace of Westphalia laid the groundwork for much of what we practice in the world today. The principles of religious freedom without interference were included in this agreement, as was the idea that sovereign nations have control over their lands, people, and their agents abroad. These are now the key principles for what is considered a modern, civilized life, and while they were later tested, the groundwork for these ideas was laid at the end of the Thirty Years’ War. They are still the basis for what is considered fair and just throughout the world today."
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"Many have never heard of the Thirty Years’ War, and yet, it was one of the most destructive conflicts in human history. Estimates indicate it resulted in the deaths of more than eight million people from fighting, famine, and disease. The war raged for three decades with various players entering and leaving the battlefield, but the basic religious conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism endured. The passions involved, therefore, went further beyond the desire for territory; it was a fight for the very souls of the subjects under the control of various religious leaders.
"The war was triggered when Ferdinand II was elected Holy Roman Emperor. His fight to impose religious uniformity throughout the territories he controlled was met with strong protest, and the Protestant union that resulted would prove impossible to destroy. As various countries entered the war on one side or the other, the battles raged across Europe, destroying entire regions and displacing and killing millions. Mercenaries and soldiers ravaged the areas where they fought. Added to this is the fact that famines and plagues accompanied the movement of armies and refugees. Poor harvests compounded the problem as many people starved to death. The fear and hardships endured by the people of Europe resulted in a supernatural suspicion of neighbors by neighbors, and the witch trials were born. They raged alongside the various battles, and more than 2,000 people were executed.
"Though the war began as a religious conflict, it evolved to include more European powers with various agendas. In the end, it was really a struggle for dominance between the powerful Spanish Habsburgs and the French.
"When the dust finally settled, Europe was forever changed. Multiple power shifts resulted in long-term changes in the political landscape. With the Peace of Westphalia, the concept of a nation-state was born. The relationship between subject and ruler would change forever, and religious powers—of whatever kind—saw a reduction in influence. The Thirty Years’ War may have happened a long time ago, but its legacy lives on around the world."
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Table of Contents
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Introduction
Religious Conflict
The Defenestration of Prague: The War Begins
The Bohemian Revolt
Enter the Danes
The Swedish Intervention
The French Connection
War in Iberia
Peace at Last
Impact and Casualties
Aftermath and Legacy
Conclusion
Bibliography
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REVIEW
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Introduction
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"The Thirty Years’ War was fought between 1618 and 1648, and while it is not a well-known war, it was one of the most destructive conflicts in human history. The casualties from this European war included eight million fatalities, which resulted from violence, famine, and plague. In fact, in terms of the German losses, only the time frame of January to May 1945 during World War II surpasses the Thirty Years’ War. The war began as a conflict between certain Protestant and Catholic states in the Roman Empire, but it slowly came to involve more European powers until it eventually included almost all of Europe.
"While the war began as a religious war, it evolved into a power struggle between the Kingdom of France and the House of Habsburg of the Holy Roman Empire. The French and the Habsburgs had been rivals for many years, and the Thirty Years’ War would prove to be just one in a long line of wars caused by their rivalry. The war began after the election of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II, who attempted to make Catholicism the only religion in the Empire. His religious intolerance angered the northern Protestant states where the people had previously been granted the right to religious liberty with the signing of the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. As a result, the Protestants banded together and formed what was known as the Protestant Union. Ferdinand II’s attempts to spread Catholicism caused widespread fear throughout Europe, and that prompted the Protestant Bohemians living within Austria to revolt.
"The Bohemian Revolt was soon crushed by the Habsburgs of the Holy Roman Empire, and the leaders of the revolt were executed along with leading Bohemian aristocrats. That caused each side to begin gathering allies, and before long, Spain came into the conflict on the side of the Catholics and France entered the coalition on the side of the Protestants. The result was a war that devastated entire regions and killed millions. Furthermore, some of the first witch hunts began in Europe during this time, as the war fostered a fear of the “other” throughout European communities. Some of those sentiments persist to this day."
Crazy!
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December 30, 2022 - December 30, 2022.
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Chapter 1. Religious Conflict
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Funny, author opens with -
"Some of history’s most contentious conflicts have their roots in religious disagreements. While the Thirty Years’ War is no exception to that, it is notable as one of the most destructive conflicts not only in European history but indeed in the history of humanity. The origins of this war are difficult to pinpoint as there were many different nations and alliances involved, and there had been widespread political and religious tensions throughout Europe for centuries leading up to the war."
And that, after so neatly having summed up the whole topic at introduction that it'd seem one's only reading further for specific details!
Why contradict ones own writing quite so fast?
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"At the time of the outbreak of the war in the early seventeenth century, the Holy Roman Empire was made up of mostly independent states covering much of Central Europe. Although the Habsburg emperor had only limited power over the empire as a whole, the emperor was usually also the king or direct ruler of a large part of the Imperial territory, including the lands of Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary. Those territories by themselves included more than eight million people.
"The Holy Roman Empire furthermore contained numerous regional powers that included the Duchy of Bavaria, the Electorate of Saxony, the Landgraviate of Hesse, the Electorate of the Palatinate, and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. There were also a vast number of smaller, independent duchies, free cities, prince-bishoprics, abbies, and lordships that were under the empire’s control. In addition, another branch of the House of Habsburg ruled over Spain and its empire, which at that time extended to the Spanish Netherlands, southern Italy, the Philippines, and the Americas.
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"The roots of the Thirty Years’ War date to almost a century earlier. In 1555, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V signed the Peace of Augsburg, a treaty which was meant to end the conflicts between Protestant Lutherans and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire. The treaty established that the rulers of the German-speaking states could choose between Lutheranism or Catholicism within their realm. Their subjects could either comply with the decision or emigrate to a region where they could practice their own beliefs.
"Another provision of this treaty stipulated that the prince-bishoprics and other states that were ruled by Catholic clergy could remain Catholic, but prince-bishops who had converted to Lutheranism would have to give up their territories. And, finally, Lutherans could keep the territories they had taken from the Catholic Church since the Peace of Passau, a treaty signed in 1552 that guaranteed Lutherans their religious freedom."
That's complicated enough and quite unnecessarily so, but it gets sillier.
"While the Peace of Augsburg relieved some of the tension within the empire, it didn’t solve the underlying conflict which was exacerbated by the spread of Calvinism throughout the empire in the years that followed. Calvinism, which is another form of Protestantism, was the third major religion in the empire, but it was not part of the Augsburg agreement. Thus, Calvinists and members of other denominations were not allowed to practice their faith and lived in constant danger of being charged with heresy.
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"The nations neighboring the Holy Roman Empire also played a role in the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War. Spain was at the time ruled by a member of the House of Habsburg, Philip III. Philip was a Catholic, so it was only natural for Spain to enter the conflict on the side of the Catholics. In addition, Spain had control over the territories in the Holy Roman Empire known as the Spanish Netherlands. These territories, which roughly comprised modern-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of northern France, ensured that Spain had a continued interest in the region.
"France also had a vested interest in the activities of the Habsburgs since it was surrounded by two Habsburg states (Spain and the Holy Roman Empire). After witnessing the religious dissension weaken its Habsburg rival, France was eager to take advantage of the situation, which led to France siding with the Protestants in the Thirty Years’ War even though it was a Catholic nation.
"Finally, Sweden and Denmark-Norway (both Protestant countries) feared that the Catholic Habsburgs might threaten their interests in the Baltic Sea region, including northern Germany. This led to them entering the conflict on the Protestant side (Denmark-Norway in 1625, and Sweden in 1630).
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"It was in this context that, in the latter part of the sixteenth century, the Peace of Augsburg began to collapse. Some of the prince-bishops who had converted to Protestantism refused to give up their diocese. Catholic rulers, meanwhile, began to try to restore Catholicism in their realms. The religious tensions resulted in the Cologne War in the 1580s after the prince-bishop of Cologne converted to Calvinism. During that war, the prince-bishop was expelled and replaced with a Catholic ruler. That forced the Lutheran residents of the city to either convert or leave. Meanwhile, the lords of several other cities also converted to Calvinism.
"With the conversions and conflicts, by the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Rhine lands and the lands south of the Danube River were mostly Catholic. Lutherans dominated in the north, and the Calvinists had overtaken certain areas of Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
"Despite the mounting tensions between these religious groups, the emperors who followed Charles V—Ferdinand I, Maximillian II, Rudolf II, and Matthias—mostly stayed out of the states’ religious policies. In effect, they avoided (or postponed) all-out war by not taking a clear stance on the issue. That was a source of contention for those rulers (among them the kings of Spain) who wanted to establish religious uniformity in the realm."
Very silly, the last.
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"In 1606, the religious tensions finally escalated into violence in the German city of Donauwörth. When the Catholic minority attempted to hold their annual Markus procession through the streets, a mob of Lutherans attacked them and destroyed their banners and relics. A power struggle ensued, which only ended when Duke Maximilian of Bavaria came to aid the Catholics and restored order by force in late 1607. After the violence was stopped, the occupying Bavarians denied the Protestants in Donauwörth freedom of worship. These events greatly alarmed Protestants throughout Germany, and together they formed the Protestant Union in 1608. With the formation of this union, Duke Maximilian of Bavaria responded by creating the Catholic League with his Catholic neighbors in 1609."
How stupid! Why not simply join the procession and have fun?
"Tensions escalated once again in 1609 when John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, died, leaving no children to succeed him. Jülich-Cleves-Berg was an important territory because of its proximity to the Spanish Road, a trade and supply route that connected northern Italy to the Low Countries. Many people wished to control the area, but the two main claimants to the duchies were Duchess Anna of Prussia (who was married to John Sigismund, the Elector of Brandenburg) and Wolfgang Wilhelm, the Count Palatine of Neuburg. Both claimants were Protestant, but the Catholics got involved when Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II decided to occupy the territory until a decision could be made as to who was the rightful heir. The emperor’s involvement, coupled with the fact that the emperor also had a valid claim to the duchies, caused fear in many Protestants, who were convinced that Rudolf II intended to keep the territory for himself.
"As a result, Henry IV of France (who was raised as a Protestant) and members of the Protestant Union began to amass forces for an invasion. Meanwhile, Wolfgang William decided to convert to Catholicism in an attempt to gain an advantage in the dispute, and John Sigismund converted to Calvinism."
Getting comic!
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"After years of conflict, the dispute was finally settled with the signing of the Treaty of Xanten in November of 1614. This agreement split up the duchies; Jülich-Berg and Ravenstein were awarded to Wolfgang Wilhelm while Cleves, Mark, and Ravensberg went to Anna of Prussia, or rather her husband, John Sigismund.
"Another factor that influenced the start of the Thirty Years’ War was the Dutch Revolt, whereby the Low Countries had revolted against the rule of the Habsburg King Philip II of Spain. The revolt went on for almost 80 years (1566-1648), but there were periods of suppression and ceasefire over that time. The Twelve Years’ Truce was one such ceasefire established between 1609 and 1621. Since it was set to expire, many in Europe were anticipating that Spain would attempt to once again conquer the Low Countries. The only state that stood in the way of Spain reaching the Low Countries unopposed was the Electorate of the Palatinate. That fact made Palatinate of strategic importance in European affairs. For this reason, the Protestant King James I of England arranged for his daughter to marry Frederick V of the Palatinate in 1612. Thus, the stage was set for the war to come.
"The final straw that led to war was related to the fact that Holy Roman Emperor Matthias, who was also the king of Bohemia, was going to die childless. That meant his lands would go to his heir apparent, the Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria. Ferdinand was a staunch Catholic who desired to establish religious uniformity throughout his lands. This made him very unpopular with the Bohemian Protestants, and the nobility of Bohemia rejected him as the crown prince in 1617. It was this rejection, followed by the Defenestration of Prague in 1618, which initiated the Thirty Years’ War."
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December 30, 2022 - December 31, 2022.
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Chapter 2. The Defenestration of Prague: The War Begins
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"Although the Protestant Bohemian nobility rejected Ferdinand as the crown prince of Bohemia, Ferdinand was not deterred in his desire to implement religious uniformity throughout the lands he controlled. Thus, in 1618, Catholic officials stopped the construction of certain Protestant chapels in Bohemia. When the Bohemian nobility protested this order, Ferdinand sent four Catholic lords to Prague Castle to take care of the issue. To say they were not well-received would be an understatement.
"On May 23, the Catholic lords arrived at Prague Castle, where they were met by a group of disgruntled Bohemian noblemen led by Count Thurn. The Protestant leaders demanded to know who was responsible for halting the construction of Protestant churches in the region. Two of the Catholic lords admitted responsibility—Count Vilem Slavata of Chlum and Count Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice. The other lords were removed from the meeting room, leaving only Slavata and Borzita as well as Philip Fabricius who was the secretary to the lords. Count Thurn declared they were enemies to the Protestants and to the religion itself, and they were subsequently defenestrated—in other words, they were thrown out of a window.
"The three men survived the 70-foot (21-meter) drop from a third-floor window. The Catholics declared they were saved by angels or the Virgin Mary herself, but the Protestants were quick to report that they were saved only because they had fallen straight into a dung heap. For his part, the secretary to the lords, Philip Fabricius, earned a noble title as a result of the fall and became known as Baron von Hohenfall, or “Baron of Highfall.”
"Throwing people out of windows was not all that uncommon in Prague. This was, in fact, the third time that a defenestration had taken place in the city, and thus, it became known as the Third Defenestration of Prague. This act sparked an all-out riot in Bohemia and prompted each side to start gathering allies for war."
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December 31, 2022 - December 31, 2022.
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Chapter 3. The Bohemian Revolt
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"“To those who fight justly goes the crown.”
"—Ferdinand II of the Holy Roman Empire"
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"As the conflict escalated, Emperor Matthias died in March of 1619, making Ferdinand the official Holy Roman Emperor. Matthias’s death invigorated the Protestants, and as a result, the war spread to western Germany. The Bohemians also requested membership in the Protestant Union, which was led by Frederick V of the Palatinate. The Bohemians suggested that should Frederick support them, he could become the next king of Bohemia. Unfortunately, they also suggested the same thing to other Protestant leaders, and all of these offers were intercepted and made public. That resulted in a general loss of support for the Bohemians. Still, the rebellion continued, and Frederick was indeed elected king of the Bohemians in the late summer of 1619.
"The Bohemians were soon joined in their rebellious efforts by most of Upper Austria, which was led by Lutheran and Calvinist nobility. Not long after, Lower Austria, with Count Thurn at the helm, followed suit and joined the revolt. Additionally, because Frederick V’s wife, Elizabeth Stuart, was the daughter of King James of England and Scotland, thousands of volunteers joined the Bohemian Revolt on her behalf. Thus it was that in the beginning phase of the Thirty Years’ War, an Anglo-Dutch regiment headed to the Palatinate while a Scots-Dutch regiment moved into Bohemia. Those would be joined by a mixed regiment of Scots and English under the leadership of Sir Andrew Gray.
"On the other side, King Philip IV of Spain came to aid his uncle Ferdinand to prevent any further spread of the hostilities. Ferdinand hurried to assemble his forces who had until recently been occupied by the Uskok War, which included the Spanish and Austrians on one side and the English, Dutch, and Venetians on the other. Thanks to the conclusion of that war, Ferdinand was able to rally enough forces to overpower the Bohemians at the Battle of Sablat in the summer of 1619. This advance allowed the Imperials to cut off Count Thurn’s communications with Prague, thereby stopping him from taking Vienna.
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"The defeat of the Protestant forces at the Battle of Sablat also cost the Protestants at least 1,500 soldiers as well as their alliance with the Duchy of Savoy. Savoy had supported Bohemia with both money and troops, but when the Imperial army defeated the Protestant forces at Sablat, that revealed Savoy’s involvement on the side of the Protestants. For their own good, Savoy pulled out of the war.
"Meanwhile, Spain’s involvement in the war on the side of Emperor Ferdinand helped sway some important battles. Besides contributing manpower, the Spanish ambassador to Vienna persuaded John George I of Saxony to turn against his Protestant brethren in Bohemia. In exchange for occupying the regions of Silesia and Lusatia, the Saxons would be granted possession of certain Bohemian lands. With the Saxon intervention, the army of the Catholic League was able to pacify Upper Austria while Ferdinand’s Imperial forces took control over Lower Austria.
"Once that was accomplished, the two armies joined forces and moved into Bohemia proper. There, Ferdinand was able to defeat Frederick V at the Battle of White Mountain on November 8, 1620. The Catholic victory at White Mountain was a severe blow to the Protestant cause and resulted in the dissolution of the Protestant Union. For his part in the Bohemian Revolt, Frederick was sent into exile, and his territories were given to Catholic noblemen. Bohemia was, therefore, forced to become Catholic, and it would remain under Habsburg control for three centuries to come. Now landless, Frederick went to Sweden, Denmark-Norway, and the Netherlands to try to gather support for the Protestant cause, but this would not materialize until years later.
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"While all this was playing out in Bohemia, Gabriel Bethlen, the Calvinist prince of Transylvania, took on the Habsburgs of Hungary in retaliation for their persecution of Protestants in the country. In these efforts, he was assisted by Osman II, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Bethlen had requested and received a protectorate from the sultan, and as a result, the Ottomans offered a force of 60,000 cavalry troops to the Protestant cause. Additionally, the two made plans to invade Poland (which was siding with the Habsburgs) with 400,000 troops in exchange for an annual tribute to the sultan.
"These negotiations led to the Polish-Ottoman War from 1620 to 1621. Though the Ottomans defeated the Poles at the Battle of Cecora in September through October of 1620, the Poles defeated the Ottomans in the Battle of Chocim the following year. That ended the war in a virtual tie as some 65,000 Poles and Cossacks were able to withstand three Ottoman offensives, resulting in the sultan suing for peace. The peace treaty retained all borders as they were, and the Polish Commonwealth agreed to stop interfering in Moldavia, which the Ottomans considered within their sphere of influence. This allowed both sides to claim victory since the Poles were able to successfully stop the Ottoman invasion while the Ottoman Empire removed an impending threat to the Moldavian lands.
"With both the Ottomans and the Bohemians now out of the war, Gabriel Bethlen decided to seek peace with the emperor. Ferdinand, happy to be able to focus his attentions elsewhere, agreed to the terms. On December 31, 1621, Bethlen and Ferdinand signed the Peace of Nikolsburg, thereby ending the first phase of the Thirty Years’ War—the Bohemian Revolt.
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"The next part of the Thirty Years’ War, from 1621 to 1624, is known as the Palatinate phase. While Bohemia had been pacified, the war in the Palatinate continued. These lands, which used to belong to Frederick V, were now in the hands of Catholic Duke Maximilian of Bavaria. Interestingly, one of the men who would prove the biggest thorn in the Imperials’ side was actually a Roman Catholic. During this phase of the war, Count Ernst von Mansfeld (a Catholic who had previously fought on the Imperial side in the War of the Jülich Succession) became one of the most foremost champions of the Protestants.
"Count Mansfeld, together with other mercenary leaders, resisted the Imperials in the Palatinate for several years. The battles fought during this phase of the war were much smaller, consisting mainly of sieges conducted by the Imperial and Spanish armies until, in 1622, most of the Palatinate was under Spanish control. When this happened, the remnants of the Protestant armies started to withdraw to the Dutch Republic. On their way there, a large portion of the Protestant army was intercepted by forces of the Catholic League led by the Count of Tilly. Outnumbered and disillusioned, the Protestants suffered a crushing defeat with some 10,000 casualties. With the defeat at the Battle of Stadtlohn, Frederick V and his Protestant allies were forced to abandon any further campaigns. The rebellion was over, at least for the time being."
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December 31, 2022 - December 31, 2022.
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Chapter 4. Enter the Danes
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"“War is our homeland, our hauberk is our house.”
"—Soldiers’ saying from the Thirty Years War"
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"Peace between the Catholics and the Protestants didn’t last long after the Imperial victory at Stadtlohn. The recent successes of the Imperials caused widespread fear not only among the Protestants of Europe but also among the leading countries of the continent, which brought about the formation of an anti-Habsburg alliance in 1624. These allies—France, England, Sweden, Denmark-Norway, the Netherlands, Venice, Savoy, and Brandenburg—agreed to stand together against the growing power of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.
"Denmark-Norway took the lead in 1625 when Christian IV, the Lutheran king of Denmark-Norway, raised an army against the Imperial forces. Christian had a vested interest in the dealings of the Holy Roman Empire since he was the duke of Holstein and the ruler of Hamburg—both located with the empire’s realm. His army, which stood 15,000 strong, was partially funded by France and England as part of their alliance. Additionally, some 13,700 Scottish soldiers were sent to assist in the fighting, and another 6,000 English troops under the command of Charles Morgan helped bolster the defense of Denmark-Norway.
"Although the British troops were promised, they were slow in arriving, and for that reason, Christian entered the war with fewer troops than anticipated, leading the way as the duke of Holstein rather than the king of Denmark-Norway. Ferdinand, on the other hand, had employed military assistance from Albrecht von Wallenstein, a Bohemian nobleman who had gotten his wealth from confiscating the estates of his Protestant countrymen. He pledged an army numbering between 30,000 and 100,000 soldiers in exchange for the right to plunder the territories he captured.
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"Christian had no idea what he was confronting when he invaded, and soon, he was forced to retreat. The promised support from his anti-Hapburg allies evaporated as they were in the midst of their own conflicts; France was fighting a civil war, and Sweden was fighting the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Additionally, the Protestants lost one of their foremost commanders in 1626 as Count von Mansfeld died some months after his defeat at the Battle of Dessau Bridge.
"Wallenstein, who had commanded the Imperial forces at the Battle of Dessau Bridge, promptly marched north to occupy the Danish homelands, but he proved unable to take the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Wallenstein decided to lay siege to Stralsund, hoping that would allow him to conquer the remainder of Denmark. He faced much more vigorous opposition than he had anticipated, however, as Scots and Swedes reinforced the Danish defenders. After an 11 week-long siege, Wallenstein was forced to withdraw, breaking his winning streak in the war.
"Christian meanwhile had suffered another defeat at the Battle of Wolgast, and he too was ready to negotiate for an end to the conflict. The negotiations were conducted in 1629, and the end result was the Treaty of Lübeck. The treaty stipulated that Christian IV would retain control over Denmark-Norway if he abandoned his support for the Protestant German states. Christian agreed, and thus, the Catholic powers gained even more land.
................................................................................................
"Next, the Catholic League managed to persuade Ferdinand II to take back Protestant holdings granted to the Catholic Church in the Peace of Augsburg. These included two archbishoprics, sixteen bishoprics, and hundreds of monasteries. While Ferdinand had every right to do so, it set Central Europe up for more conflict since these regions had not been Catholic for almost one hundred years.
"Another factor during this same general time frame was the Huguenot rebellions. The Protestant Huguenots of France, located in the southwestern provinces, had enjoyed peace for more than two decades under Henry IV who himself had been a Huguenot before converting to Catholicism. His successor, Louis XIII, however, was far less tolerant. Amidst increasing persecution, the Huguenots began to arm themselves. They finally began an open revolution which became an international conflict in 1627 with the involvement of England in the Anglo-French War. That war ended in 1629 a French victory, and much to the dismay of the Protestant forces, the English involvement in European affairs was redirected.
"On the periphery of this action was another conflict known as the War of the Mantuan Succession (1628-1631). By 1627, the last of the three dukes of Mantua had died without any legitimate heirs. And, the location of Mantua in northern Italy meant it had been a strategic battlefield for both France and the Habsburgs for centuries. The Habsburg control over the area had allowed them to threaten the southern provinces of France, and it allowed them to protect the supply route known as the Spanish Road. With no legitimate heir, a succession dispute was going to involve outside parties.
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"There were two rival claimants for control of Mantua. The first was Charles Emmanuel I, the Duke of Savoy. His daughter Margaret was the widow of one of the dukes of Mantua. The other claimant was Ferrante II, the Duke of Guastalla, who was supported in his claim by Emperor Ferdinand II. Ferdinand wanted to return the Duchy of Mantua to the Holy Roman Empire, and Ferrante would be helpful toward that end. Charles Emmanuel, meanwhile, received support from the Habsburgs who controlled Milan.
"Charles Emmanuel began his claim by partitioning the Mantuan-Montferrat patrimony to the east and west of Milan. However, friction ensued when Charles Emmanuel moved his troops into more territory than had been agreed upon; specifically, he laid siege to the capital of Montferrat, Casale. In response, Louis XIII of France sent forces to Casale in 1628, and in March of 1629, they managed to lift the siege and take back the strategic fortress of Pinerolo. In April of that year, France and Savoy agreed to the Treaty of Susa, and although the French returned to France, they left a garrison at Pinerolo. The fighting in and around Milan left a far more insidious enemy; in the following winter, Milan was devastated by bubonic plague, which had been introduced by the invading armies.
"Later in that same year, Ferdinand sent an army to take Mantua. The siege would last until 1630 when the city, already devastated by plague, was sacked for three days and nights. Despite the brutal attack, the emperor did not succeed. He was forced to return his attention to Germany, where the Swedes were warring. Without his support in this conflict, both sides negotiated a peace with the Treaty of Ratisbonne. The agreement was signed in October 1630, and the terms were favorable to the French interests in Italy. They were allowed to maintain their garrison in Grisons, and a Frenchman¸ Charles Gonzaga-Nevers, was named Duke of Mantua and Marquis of Montferrat. The Habsburgs even agreed to reduce their troops in the region, making the treaty was so unfavorable to Spain that the Spanish prime minister equated it with surrender.
................................................................................................
"The treaty did, however, contain a problematic clause for the French. It said that the French could not establish alliances in Germany against any reigning Holy Roman Emperor. Had they agreed, the French would have been left out of the larger ongoing conflict of the Thirty Years’ War, but Louis XIII refused to ratify the treaty because of that clause.
"It wouldn’t be until June 19, 1631 that the succession of Mantua would finally be settled. In the end, Charles Gonzaga-Nevers became the confirmed ruler of Mantua and Montferrat while the sons of the other two claimants, Charles Emmanuel and Ferrante, received some smaller territories in the region. This set the stage for the next phase of the Thirty Years’ War, the Swedish intervention."
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December 31, 2022 - December 31, 2022.
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Chapter 5. The Swedish Intervention
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"“Sweden is in danger from the power of the Habsburg; that is all, but it is enough. That power must be met, swiftly and strongly.”
"―Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden"
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"In 1630, the Swedes entered the Thirty Years’ War. They were led by King Gustavus Adolphus (also known as Gustav II Adolf), and their purpose was to help the German Protestants ward off Catholic aggression so close to Sweden and to obtain significant economic influence in the area. Additionally, Gustavus was concerned about the growing power of the Habsburgs.
"With financial support from the French, Gustavus was able to drive back Catholic forces between 1630 and 1634. In fact, he managed to conquer half of the Imperial kingdoms, which made Sweden the default leader of Protestantism in Europe. They would remain so until 1721, almost 100 years after the end of the Thirty Years’ War.
"Swedish forces began their assault on the Holy Roman Empire in Pomerania, a region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea. In this region, Ferdinand was dependent on the forces of the Catholic League led by the Count of Tilly. Gustavus defeated Tilly’s forces at the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631, and a year later, when the two met again, Gustavus once again defeated Tilly’s forces, and this time, Tilly was killed in the fighting. The Protestants now had the upper hand, and they were able to field a formidable army—some 149,000 men—thanks to subsidies from France and the recruitment of prisoners into the Swedish army. King Gustavus Adolphus also enlisted the support of the Russian Tsar Michael I, who was happy to help since they had both fought the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth previously.
"With Tilly’s death, Ferdinand II recalled Wallenstein along with his sizeable army. Wallenstein attacked the Swedish supply chain, but Gustavus had anticipated this, and the two fought in the Battle of Lützen in 1632. There, Gustavus Adolphus was killed even though the Swedes won the battle.
................................................................................................
"After that, Wallenstein attempted to mediate between the Catholics and Protestants, which caused Ferdinand to suspect his motives. Ferdinand arranged for his arrest after having him removed from command. In the end, one of Wallenstein’s own soldiers killed him when he attempted to contact the Swedes in February of 1634. In that same year, the Swedish forces, without Gustavus’s leadership, were soundly defeated in the First Battle of Nördlingen by the Spanish Imperial forces.
"Following the Swedish defeat, the Protestant and Imperial sides met for negotiations. Those negotiations resulted in the Peace of Prague in 1635, which protected Protestant rulers of northeastern Germany. The rulers in the south of Germany, however, were not protected by this treaty, and German princes were forbidden from forming alliances either amongst themselves or with foreign powers. With tensions in those regions remaining high, the war was bound to continue.
"France entered the conflict at this time, and thus, began the final period of the Thirty Years’ War."
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December 31, 2022 - December 31, 2022.
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Chapter 6. The French Connection
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"“Nothing is as dangerous for the state as those who would govern kingdoms with maxims found in books.”
"—Cardinal Richelieu of France"
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"Although France was mostly Catholic, it was a rival of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. Cardinal Richelieu of France, like many others in Europe, believed that the Habsburgs had too much power. Back in January of 1631, Richelieu had begun intervening indirectly by supporting the Swedes monetarily in return for the promise that Gustavus would maintain an army in Germany against the Habsburgs. That agreement also mandated that there would be no peace treaty with the Holy Roman Empire without France’s approval.
"After Gustavus was killed and the Protestant German princes sued for peace with the emperor, it appeared that Sweden would be unable to continue the war alone. That prompted France to enter into direct war against the Habsburgs. In May of 1635, France declared war on Spain, and in August of 1636, against the Holy Roman Empire. Richelieu opened offensives against the Habsburgs in Germany and the Low Countries, aligning his strategy with the Swedes. By now, the Swedes had reorganized their army and created a separate force under the command of Alexander Leslie. In the spring of 1636, the Swedish army confronted the Imperials at the Battle of Wittstock. The Swedes won the day, and that largely reversed earlier losses.
"The following year, Ferdinand II died and was succeeded by his son, Ferdinand III, who was leaning toward ending the war through diplomacy. Although he was so inclined, his army continued fighting and won a significant success at the Battle of Vlotho in 1638 against the combined forces of Sweden, England, and Palatine.
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"Meanwhile, the French military effort was also having problems. The combined Imperial and Spanish forces laid waste to France’s eastern provinces, and they even threatened Paris in 1636. Finally, the French were able to repel Spanish forces at the Battle of Breisach, pushing the Habsburg forces back from the French borders. Fighting continued until 1640, with neither side gaining a definitive advantage.
"In 1640, however, the tide turned decidedly in favor of the French, beginning with the capture of the fort at Arras. Between June 16 and August 9, the French battled the Spanish for control of the fort, and when it fell to the French, the path to conquer all of Flanders opened up. The French pressed forward against the Spanish forces in Flanders, and their efforts were rewarded with a decisive victory at the Battle of Rocroi in May of 1643.
"At the same time, the Swedes were regaining the initiative in Germany. They defeated the forces of the Holy Roman Empire in the Second Battle of Breitenfeld in 1642. In that battle, the Imperial forces suffered 20,000 casualties, and Swedish forces additionally captured 5,000 prisoners and seized 46 guns. The Swedes themselves suffered only 4,000 casualties, and the battle also enabled Sweden to occupy Saxony.
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"After the Battle of Rocroi, however, the French were defeated by the Imperial and Catholic League forces at the Battle of Tuttlingen in 1643. Louis XIII had died earlier in the year, leaving his five-year-old son on the throne. Cardinal Mazarin was effectively running the government until the new king was old enough, and he began working to end the war.
"Meanwhile, in 1643, Denmark-Norway was again making preparations to intervene in the war, but this time against Sweden. The Swedish forces had gained a stronghold south of Denmark-Norway and hindered their participation as mediators in the peace talks. In 1644, the Swedes would inflict a decisive defeat on the Danish navy, thereby forcing them out of the conflict for good. After this win, the Swedish forces went from Denmark south to Bohemia. There, the Swedes would defeat the Imperial forces and go on to threaten both Prague and Vienna.
"The following year, the Swedes attacked Vienna, but they were unable to capture the city and had to retreat. Furthermore, the Swedes were met with fierce resistance from Habsburg forces in Bohemia, and after five months, they had to withdraw. This would bring everyone to the table for the peace talks, but there is still one more part to this story."
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December 31, 2022 - December 31, 2022.
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Chapter 7. War in Iberia
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"“Long live the land, death to bad government!”
"—Slogan used during the Reapers’ War"
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"As the French saw numerous victories in 1640, they encouraged rebellions against Habsburg Spain in both Catalonia and Portugal. Cardinal Richelieu of France purposefully sought to sow division at home in Spain and had, toward that end, been supplying aid to the Catalans and Portuguese.
"That same year, the Catalan revolt known as the Reapers’ War broke out. This represented a significant threat to the Habsburg government, which responded by sending a large army of 26,000 soldiers to crush the uprising. Along the way, the Spanish army captured several cities and executed hundreds of prisoners. On January 23 of 1641, the recently created Catalan Republic was defeated; still, the rebels were not discouraged. The French reinforced their efforts, and together they won an important victory against the Spanish army on January 26 at the Battle of Montjuïc. France also took control over Perpignan after a 10-month siege.
"After that, the Catalan ruling powers accepted Louis XIII of France as the sovereign count of Barcelona and fought under French vassalage for the next decade. The French, however, were slowly gaining more and more control over Catalonian affairs, particularly in northern Catalonia. As this happened, the Catalonians noticed that the new rulers were not much different from the old, and their support of the French began to dwindle.
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"Like their Catalan counterparts, the Portuguese also rose up against Spanish rule in December of 1640. The French supported their efforts, which brought Portugal into the Thirty Years’ War, albeit as a minor player. Over the next two decades, Spain and Portugal would be at war. During this period, Spain sought to isolate Portugal both militarily and diplomatically while Portugal sought to maintain its independence.
"With all of these problems festering in Spain’s domains, Richelieu’s war of diversion was finally successful in its objective. Philip IV of Spain had no choice but to divert his attention and forces from the war in Europe to deal with his problems at home. Even his advisers were recommending that he withdraw his forces, a decision which effectively severed the Spanish Road connecting Habsburg Spain with the Habsburg possessions in the Netherlands and Austria. Philip could no longer send reinforcements to the Low Countries, and the drumbeat of French victories continued as the French gained victories at Gravelines (1644), Hulst (1645), and Dunkirk (1646).
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December 31, 2022 - December 31, 2022.
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Chapter 8. Peace at Last
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"“All others of the said Confession of Augsburg, who shall demand it, shall have the free exercise of their religion.”
"—Peace of Westphalia"
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"The Battle of Prague in 1648 was the last action of the Thirty Years’ War. It took place while the peace talks were still ongoing, following on the heels of the signing of the Truce of Ulm in March of 1647 and the defeat of the Imperial army by the French in the Battle of Zusmarshausen. Between May and October of 1648, there were a series of peace treaties signed in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties, which together became known as the Peace of Westphalia, ended the European wars of religion, including the Thirty Years’ War.
"The negotiation process for the Peace of Westphalia was a long, complex affair that included a total of 109 delegations representing various states. The negotiations began in Cologne in 1641, but they were blocked by Cardinal Richelieu, who wanted his allies included in the talks. The talks then continued in Hamburg and Lübeck, and after that, the Holy Roman Empire, along with Sweden, declared that the preparations made at Cologne and Hamburg were preliminaries for the overall peace agreement. That led to the main peace negotiations in Westphalia in the demilitarized, neutral cities of Münster and Osnabrück. Negotiations between the Holy Roman Empire and France, and the Dutch Republic and Spain, took place in Münster, which was Catholic. Sweden, on the other hand, preferred to negotiate with the Holy Roman Empire in Osnabrück, which was controlled by Protestant forces.
"Though there were 109 delegations, they never met altogether; rather, various delegations arrived between 1643 and 1646 and left between 1647 and 1649. It was between January of 1646 and July of 1647 that the largest number of diplomats were present for negotiations. For this reason, there was no set beginning or end to the negotiations. All told, there were delegations sent by 16 European states, 66 Imperial states, and 27 interest groups. After the negotiations were finished, three treaties were signed that ended the overlapping wars. These included the Peace of Münster, the Treaty of Münster, and the Treaty of Osnabrück. These treaties ended not only the Thirty Years’ War but also the Eighty Years’ War between Spain and the Low Countries.
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"The main tenets of the Peace of Westphalia included the agreement that all parties would recognize the Peace of Augsburg, signed in 1555, which gave each prince the right to determine the religion of his own state. The religious options included Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism. Additionally, those Christians living in a principality where their religion was not the established church were guaranteed the right to practice their own faith in private and in public during specific hours.
"Finally, in terms of territorial changes, the Netherlands gained independence from Spain, and the power of the Holy Roman Emperor over Germany was diminished. Sweden meanwhile gained control of the Baltic Sea region, and France became the foremost power in continental Europe.
"The Peace of Westphalia also set a precedent of peace being established by diplomatic congress. That resulted in a new political order in Central Europe, one based upon peaceful coexistence between sovereign states. It established a balance of power that would hold inter-state aggression in check and that established a new norm against interference in another state’s domestic affairs. Furthermore, these principles established in Westphalia became a central part of international law and the prevailing world order. This was particularly true of the concept of sovereign states."
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December 31, 2022 - December 31, 2022.
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Chapter 9. Impact and Casualties
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"“Had Luther and Calvin been confined before they had begun to dogmatize, the states would have been spared many troubles.”
"—Cardinal Richelieu of France"
Such thinking lay at root of inquisition, while desire to impose one's own creed was the cause of most wars of any abrahmic creeds' involvement.
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"This war had one of the highest casualty counts of any war in human history. Not only were soldiers lost in battle, but terrible famines and plagues devastated European populations. In fact, the Thirty Years’ War ranks as the greatest medical catastrophe in modern European history. Since there were no census data, historians have had to extrapolate using information from well-studied regions. In the German states, the overall population loss was around 25 to 40 percent. Not surprisingly, some regions were more affected than others. Württemberg, for example, lost three-quarters of its population while Brandenburg lost about half, and the loss of adult males overall is estimated at approximately half for the German states. Fighting killed soldiers and many civilians, but it also caused famines, disrupted commerce, destroyed livelihoods, and forced large numbers of people to relocate.
"Disease, famine, and the expulsion of Protestants resulted in a population decline of one-third in the Czech lands. Additionally, many civilians’ lives were destroyed by the cruelty and greed of mercenary soldiers, who destroyed property as well. They plundered numerous villages, and those that survived would take almost a hundred years to fully recover. Just the Swedish armies alone destroyed some 18,000 villages, 1,500 hundred towns, and up to 2,000 castles.
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"Aside from the physical destruction, pestilence of numerous varieties raged among the combatants who spread it throughout the regions where they fought. With almost constant troop movements, the influx of soldiers from foreign lands, and the shifting location of battle fronts, it’s not surprising that disease spread like wildfire. The civilian populations were on the move as well when they were displaced from their homes, and they often found refuge in crowded cities where disease became their new tormentor.
"Parish registers and tax records tell the story of numerous epidemics, though these tended toward exaggeration. Still, when civilian populations were displaced and armies were traveling from region to region, that presented ideal conditions for the spread of disease, and the overcrowding that resulted in many areas placed additional stress on resources, which led to famine.
"The types of diseases that plagued the region are not always entirely clear. Local chronicles referred to “head disease,” “Hungarian disease,” and “spotted disease,” the latter of which many experts believe was typhus. There are also chronicles that identify an epidemic of bubonic plague. The northern half of the Italian Peninsula, for example, experienced an epidemic of plague after the Mantuan War from 1629-1631. In 1634, Dresden, Munich, and other German communities also recorded large numbers of plague victims. And, by the time of the final decades of the war, typhus and dysentery had become endemic in Germany.
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"Aside from disease, the war resulted in higher taxes imposed on the people, and this at a time when agricultural production declined dramatically. Thus, the people were heavily taxed and suffered food shortages at the same time. This resulted in large numbers of people starving to death, and it got so bad that the Catholic Church even received reports of cannibalism. Sadly, the suffering was largely ignored by the government entities that caused much of it.
"Another social trauma that resulted from the war was an outbreak of witch hunts. During the Danish intervention, the first wave of inquisitions began in the territories of Franconia. Because the people were suffering such hardships as starvation and disease, it was easy for the hysteria generated by the idea of witchcraft to spread rapidly throughout various parts of Germany. It was an easy explanation for the crop failures, famines, and epidemics they were enduring. Allegations of witchcraft against neighbors and fellow citizens became commonplace, and the number of trials and executions that resulted from this time would come to mark the period as the peak of the European witch-hunting phenomenon.
"Beginning in 1626, Prince-Bishop Philipp Adolf von Ehrenberg carried out numerous mass trials of witches who came from all levels of society, including nobility and clergy. By 1630, at least 219 men, women, and children had been burned at the stake in the city of Würzburg, but there were many more put to death in rural areas. Estimates range as high as 900 people executed for witchcraft.
"At the same time, another prince-bishop, Johann von Dornheim, was carrying out similar mass trials nearby in Bamberg. These trials would go on for five more years and claim close to one thousand lives, many of whom were tortured prior to their execution. There were other areas that carried out similar trials and executions. Inquisitors routinely arrived in the wake of Imperial military successes, but they soon spread beyond that as well.
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"The peak of the witch hunts came around the year 1629, and the enthusiasm for them waned after Sweden entered the war in 1630. Still, there were areas where the persecutions continued. So horrific were the excesses of this time period that Jesuit scholar, poet, and former witch confessor Friedrich Spee wrote a scathing legal and moral condemnation of the trials in Cautio Criminalis. This book was later credited with bringing an end to witch-burning in areas of Germany as well as the gradual abolition of the practice throughout Europe.
"The effects of war are not only felt between the soldiers who are waging it. It’s not only weapons that kill, and that is no better illustrated than by the casualties of this destructive war. In war, the disruption of normal life changes much more than the landscape. The displacement of people, the destruction of the land, and the ongoing stress of the unknown all work to bring about disease and famine. And, even worse, it results in mistrust, an enduring mistrust of the “other,” which leads to unthinkable accusations and persecutions. That is precisely what happened in the Thirty Years’ War, and that legacy persists to this day."
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December 31, 2022 - December 31, 2022.
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Chapter 10. Aftermath and Legacy
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"“My troops are poor Swedish and Finnish peasant fellows, it’s true, rude and ill-dressed; but they smite hard and they shall soon have better clothes.”
"—Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden"
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"The Thirty Years’ War not only resulted in millions of casualties, it completely rearranged the power structure throughout Europe. Spain had been fighting to recapture control over the Low Countries, but by the end of the Thirty Years’ War, Spain had to accept Dutch independence. Even worse, when the French entered the conflict, they managed to wrest a sizeable part of Catalonia from Spanish control. Still, Spain wasn’t the only empire to lose its supremacy. The war also resulted in increased autonomy for various states of the Holy Roman Empire. That limited the power of the emperor and decentralized authority in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe.
"Austria meanwhile had failed to reassert its authority but did suppress Protestantism in its own territory. It emerged from the war with much of its lands still intact and its army stronger than ever. Thanks to the diplomacy of Ferdinand III, Austria would play an important role in the region in the decades to come as the German states were increasingly threatened by the Ottoman Empire and France. The increased autonomy of the other states within the empire, however, would allow Brandenburg-Prussia to gain comparable status with Austria, and it would eventually seize Silesia from Austria, leading to the Seven Years’ War in the 1750s. Later, Prussia would facilitate the unification of the German peoples. For its part in the war, Sweden would emerge as a major force in Europe.
"Another important consequence of the war and the subsequent agreements in the Peace of Westphalia was that it laid the legal foundations for the modern sovereign nation-state. The agreement had established fixed boundaries for many countries that had been involved in the conflict and some newer ones that were created following the war.
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"Additionally, the Peace of Westphalia changed the relationship between subject and ruler. There had previously been overlapping allegiances for many people, but after the agreement at Westphalia, the inhabitants of a state were first a subject to the laws of the state rather than to the claims of any other type of entity whether religious or secular. This had the effect of making it easier for states to employ an army in a manner that didn’t require hiring mercenaries. This was a welcome change after the destruction caused by mercenaries in territories throughout Europe.
"Finally, the war also had some more subtle consequences. It was the last of the major religious wars in Europe, and it ended the bloodshed that accompanied the Protestant Reformation. There were other religious conflicts up until 1712, but they were minor. The Thirty Years’ War was the last of the great wars of that period.
"The effects of the Thirty Years’ War were not only significant for Europe but also for the rest of the world. The ideas elucidated in the Peace of Westphalia laid the groundwork for much of what we practice in the world today. The principles of religious freedom without interference were included in this agreement, as was the idea that sovereign nations have control over their lands, people, and their agents abroad. These are now the key principles for what is considered a modern, civilized life, and while they were later tested, the groundwork for these ideas was laid at the end of the Thirty Years’ War. They are still the basis for what is considered fair and just throughout the world today."
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December 31, 2022 - December 31, 2022.
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Conclusion
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"Many have never heard of the Thirty Years’ War, and yet, it was one of the most destructive conflicts in human history. Estimates indicate it resulted in the deaths of more than eight million people from fighting, famine, and disease. The war raged for three decades with various players entering and leaving the battlefield, but the basic religious conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism endured. The passions involved, therefore, went further beyond the desire for territory; it was a fight for the very souls of the subjects under the control of various religious leaders.
"The war was triggered when Ferdinand II was elected Holy Roman Emperor. His fight to impose religious uniformity throughout the territories he controlled was met with strong protest, and the Protestant union that resulted would prove impossible to destroy. As various countries entered the war on one side or the other, the battles raged across Europe, destroying entire regions and displacing and killing millions. Mercenaries and soldiers ravaged the areas where they fought. Added to this is the fact that famines and plagues accompanied the movement of armies and refugees. Poor harvests compounded the problem as many people starved to death. The fear and hardships endured by the people of Europe resulted in a supernatural suspicion of neighbors by neighbors, and the witch trials were born. They raged alongside the various battles, and more than 2,000 people were executed.
"Though the war began as a religious conflict, it evolved to include more European powers with various agendas. In the end, it was really a struggle for dominance between the powerful Spanish Habsburgs and the French.
"When the dust finally settled, Europe was forever changed. Multiple power shifts resulted in long-term changes in the political landscape. With the Peace of Westphalia, the concept of a nation-state was born. The relationship between subject and ruler would change forever, and religious powers—of whatever kind—saw a reduction in influence. The Thirty Years’ War may have happened a long time ago, but its legacy lives on around the world."
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December 31, 2022 - December 31, 2022.
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Bibliography
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"Berger, Stefan (2008). The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years' War to the Third Reich.
"Bossy, John (1998). Peace in the Post-Reformation.
"Darby, Graham (2001). The 30 Years' War: Graham Darby Examines the Nature and Effects of the War that Dominated the First Half of the Seventeenth Century.
"Gutmann, Myron P. (1988). The Origins of the Thirty Years' War.
"Lockhart, Paul D. (2007). Denmark, 1513–1660: The Rise and Decline of a Renaissance Monarchy.
"Lunde, Henrik O. (2014). A Warrior Dynasty: The Rise and Decline of Sweden as a Military Superpower.
"Sutherland, N. M. (1992). The Origins of the Thirty Years War and the Structure of European Politics.
"Wedgwood, C. V. (1938). The Thirty Years War.
"Wilson, Peter H. (2009). Europe's Tragedy: A History of the Thirty Years War."
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December 31, 2022 - December 31, 2022.
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THIRTY YEARS' WAR: A HISTORY
FROM BEGINNING TO END
(WARS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY),
by HOURLY HISTORY.
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December 26, 2022 - December 27, 2022
December 30, 2022 - December 31, 2022. .
Purchased December 26, 2022.
ASIN:- B09PKH7338
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5190552214
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