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The Thirty Years' War 1618-1648

The Thirty Years' War 1618-1648. 1618-1648. Characteristics of the Thirty Years War. The Holy Roman Empire was the battleground. At the beginning  it was the Catholics vs. the Protestants. (1600s) At the end  it was Habsburg power that was threatened.

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The Thirty Years' War 1618-1648

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  1. The Thirty Years' War 1618-1648

  2. 1618-1648

  3. Characteristics of the Thirty Years War • The Holy Roman Empire was the battleground. • At the beginning  it was the Catholics vs. the Protestants.(1600s) • At the end  it was Habsburg power that was threatened. • Resolved by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.

  4. Peace of Augsburg froze Lutheran/Catholic holdings • Frederick III: Calvinism official religion in his realm • 1609: Protestant defensive Alliance formed: Prot. Union • Maximilian of Bavaria allied w/ Catholic League of Germ. States • Jesuits return Strasbourg, Osnabruk to Catholics in German territories

  5. Social Stage: • Catholics hated protestants • Lutherans hated Calvinists • World War of the time • Treaties established major boundaries • Germany was divided: All principalities were self-governing • Some let people through to trade; others did not—no unity

  6. Bohemian Phase

  7. The Bohemian Phase: 1618-1622 • Ferdinand II inherited Bohemia. • Wants Catholicism to be dominant. • The Bohemians hated him. Most nobles were Calvinist. • Ferdinand II refused to tolerate Protestants. Protestants threw Hapsburg governors out the window of the royal castle in Prague

  8. Defenestration of Prague May, 1618—Protestants took control of Bohemia, deposed Ferdinand; Elected Elector Frederick V, head of Protestant Union as king of Bohemia 1619: Ferdinand II becomes Holy Roman Emperor—does not accept his deposition

  9. Ferdinand II borrowed an army from Maximilian of Bavaria and the Catholic League • Frederick V and Ferdinand II meet at Battle of White Mountain outside of Prague 11/8/1620 Frederick lost his lands in the fighting. • Spanish troops take advantage of Frederick’s predicament and attack Palatinate—overtaking it by 1622

  10. By 1622, Bohemia & Palatinate—Catholic • Frederick fled to United Provinces • Ferdinand re-established as king of Bohemia; declares it a hereditary Hapsburg possession; confiscated Protestant land; Catholicism is sole religion

  11. Danish Phase

  12. The Danish Phase: 1625-1629 • King Christian IV of Denmark, Lutheran, intervened for Protestants; leads army into N. Germany • Christian made alliance w/UP and England; wanted Catholic territories in N. Germany

  13. Ferdinand II tried to end all resistance. • Tried to crush Protestant northern Holy Roman Empire. • Ferdinand II used Albrecht von Wallenstein for the army—Brilliant commander; Bohemian nobleman—country’s wealthiest landowner • Wallenstein defeated Protestants at Dessau in north.

  14. AlbrechtvonWallenstein

  15. Forces of Christian IV received help from allies, but were defeated in 1626 by Catholic League army • 1627—suffered major loss to Wallenstein • Wallenstein occupied Baltic ports of Hamburg, Lubeck, Bremen • End of Danish supremacy in Baltic

  16. HRE Ferdinand at height of power-- • Edict of Restitution (1629): Prohibited Calvinist worship • Restored to Catholics all lands lost since 1552. • Deprived all Protestants, except Lutherans, of their religious and political rights. • German princes feared Ferdinand (Hapsburg power) he fired Wallenstein in effort to calm them.

  17. Swedish Phase

  18. The Swedish Phase: 1630-1635 • France & Sweden now get involved. • Both want to stop Habsburg power. • Sweden led the charge—reformed military/gunpowder/ wanted to help Lutheran brothers • France provided support.

  19. Gustavus Adolphus invaded the HR Empire. • Cardinal Richeleau paid Adolphus to keep armies occupied in Germany • Gustavus’ Tactics: • 1st standing army of conscripts • Flexible tactics

  20. Infantry Brigades: • Equal numbers of musketeers and pikemen • Six-men deep • Use of the SALVO: all rows fired at once (not by row) • Salvos cut up ranks of enemy • Pike charge followed • Infantry became offensive • Cavalry charged w/swords after pistol volley

  21. Additional flexibility obtained w/lighter artillery pieces: more easily moved during battle • Changed demanded coordination, careful training, better discipline (no more using undisciplined mercenaries) • These changes were effective and imitated by 1560

  22. GustavusAdolphus

  23. Swedish Army swept the imperial forces in Northern Germany Ferdinand II brought back Wallenstein. • Swedish army was victorious, but their advance was stopped at Lutzen in 1632 • King Gustavus Adolphus was killed in battle • Swedish army remains in Germany, although less effective

  24. German princes still feared Ferdinand II. • 1634-Wallenstein assassinated to appease German princes, on orders of HRE Ferdinand • 1634—Battle of Nordlingen—Swedes driven out of South by Imperial army

  25. Result: Southern Germany remained Catholic • HRE made peace w/German princes • Agreed to annul 1629 Edict of Restitution • No peace came to Germany: Swedes wanted to continue war; • French (Cardinal Richelieu) entered war Directly

  26. The French Phase: 1635-1648 • Religious issues lost significance • Catholic French supported Protestant Swedes against Catholic Hapsburgs of Germany and Spain • 1643 Battle of Rocroi: French beat Spanish and ended Spanish military greatness

  27. French proved victorious over HRE armies in Bavaria • This was most devastating phase of the war: • German towns decimated. • Agriculture collapsed  famine resulted. • 8 million dead  1/3 of the population [from 21 million in 1618 to 13.5 million in 1648]

  28. Loss of German Lives in 30 Years’ War

  29. Trade was crippled throughout Europe. • Caused massive inflation. • All parties ready to sue for peace • After 5 years of negotiations, peace was declared in 1648.

  30. Treaty of Westphalia (1648)

  31. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) • Political Provisions: • Each Ger. prince became free from any kind of control by the HR Emperor. (300 separate states) • The United Provinces [Dutch Neths.] became officially independent  so. part remained a Sp. possession.

  32. France received. most of the Ger-speaking province of Alsace, parts of W. Germany, and cities along Fr-Ger border • Austrian Hapsburgs did not lose territory, but diminished authority: Hapsburg emperor became figurehead in HRE

  33. Sweden  got lands in No. Ger. on the Baltic & Black Sea coasts. • Switzerland became totally independent of the HR Emperor  Swiss Confederation. • Sweden won a voice in the Diet of the HR Empire • Brandenburg & Bavaria got important territories on North Sea & in central Germany.

  34. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) • Religious Provisions: • Calvinists would have the same privileges as the Lutherans had in the Peace of Augsburg. • The ruler of each state could determine its official religion, BUT [except in the hereditary lands of the Habsburgs], he must permit freedom of private worship.

  35. Pope ignored all decisions at Westphalia • Economically and Socially: effects still debated • German population declined • Areas of Germany completely devastated • Other areas actually prospered • Most destructive war yet in Europe

  36. 1688-1700

  37. Nobody Was Happy! • Many Protestants felt betrayed. • The pope denounced it. • Only merit  it ended the fighting in a war that became intolerable! • For the next few centuries, this war was blamed for everything that went wrong in Central Europe.

  38. What were the long-range effects of the Thirty Years’ War?

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