Lecture 8: Peace of Westphalia (and Background)

Question 1

Major Periods of European Escalation (4)

Answer 1

• 30 years war (17th cen)
• Revolutionary/Napoleonic (19th cen)
• WW1 (20th cen)
• WW2 (20th cen)

Question 2

No ‘extreme’ wars in between; enormous jumps. Why was extreme war only occasional?

Answer 2

• realism doesn’t fully explain picture

- why would you fight if you can’t predict victory?

Question 3

30 Years’ War’s 4 periods of conflict

Its historical background

Bohemian historical background

Answer 3

Phases:

• Bohemian (local)
• Danish (local)
• Swedish (intl)
• French (intl)

Background –> breakup of religious unity in continent; effects of reformation (14th cen)

Protestant/Catholic divide; fundamental division of worldviews

Bohemia –> Protestant majority with Catholic ruler
- Peace of Ausburg (1555) + Letter of Majesty (1609) not fully respected.

Question 4

Phase 1: Bohemian phase (1618-1625)

• major event
• major battle

Answer 4

Bohemian –>

Defenestration of Prague (1618) –> Emperor Ferdinand sends 2 Catholic messengers to reconcile with protestants; fails. they throw them out a window

Battle of White Mountain; Emperor battles with Protestant masses, DECISIVE CATHOLIC VICTORY.

Question 5

Phase 2: Danish Phase (1625-1630)

• King
• HRE, mercenary
• Edict

Answer 5

King of Denmark (Christian IV) enters in 1625

HRE (Catholics) hire Protestant Mercenary Albrecht von Wallenstein to fight for them - DECISIVE CATHOLIC VICTORY.

Edict of Restitution (1629) –> orders all Protestant-converted churches, institutions to be restored back under Catholic control.

Question 6

Phase 3: Swedish Phase (1630 - 1635)

• Swedish King
• results
• funding

Answer 6

• continental war
• Gustavus Adolphus (Swedish King, military commander) –> father of modern warfare.
• defends protestant cause; his death on battlefield.
• decisive victory for Swedes/Protestants
• Swedish funded by French (balance of power poli)

Question 7

Phase 4: French Phase (1635-1648)

• BOP
• politik
• results

Answer 7

• France helping Protestants > Catholics b/c of balance of power considerations
• potions of politik > religion
• France threatened by growing power of Spain / House of Habsburg (HRE)’s European domination
• results –> inconclusive.

Question 8

Peace of Westphalia

• effects
• 2 main effects regarding religion
• Germany, HRE, Calvinism/religion, etc.

Answer 8

2 main effects:

• religion taken out of politics
• religion of states follows religion of ruler

Other effects

• rise of Prussia
• fragmentation of Germany; therefore bckwards
• Swiss independence, France gets Alsace
• Calvinism accepted + freedom of private worship established

Question 9

Europe in 17th cen - Period of Escalation

• sociological contribution to realism –> analysis of 17th cen states

Answer 9

Escalation due to…

1) state capacity; states were very fragile, couldn’t collect taxes, crises, power of nobility (kings lacked total power; ex. House of Guise of France fighting for Spanish Catholics)
2) Heterogeneity; period of enormous heterogeneity b/c of differential struggle for ideological, immanent power

Question 10

Europe in late 17th/Early 18th. Cen - Period of De-Escalation

2 sociological dimension applied;

• BOP/diplomacy
• Fredrick the Great
• state capacity (2 examples)

Answer 10

De-Escalation due to

• age of endless diplomacy
  1) state capacity grew immensely; agricultural revolution + Louis XIV, Versailles (centralization of power, elites under monarch)

2) heterogeneity; more agreeing on religion not being an issue to be fought over.