The Thirty Years War Flashcards
Why?
The instability caused by Protestant revolution and Catholic response created a sense of fear and threat to the entire continent
- Serious wonder about why this was the case? Angry God? Inability of states and monarchs?
… What we will see is that this sense of instability gave new opportunities to princes and rulers who took advantage of this religious fervor that ended up blowing up in their faces!
Idea of religion itself as the glue that brought people together was a dangerous idea - too much responsibility on the religious power of people.
The War
Broke out in Bohemia and spread across Europe
It was the war that changed nature of war
- Soldiers who knew the consequences would suffer the same fate as innocent civilians
- No difference between them here!
Why did this even happen?
In 1617, the Holy Roman Empire was not united
Ferdinand (Rudolph’s second cousin) refused to permit the practice of Protestantism in any of the kingdoms he ruled
–> Affect on the Bohemians where they felt that this was an interference in their natural right
- Ferdinand was deposed now because of his interface in Bohemia
- Now a Protestant was King of Bohemia and Ferdinand could not accept this SHIT
If they could get away with this, what was stopping other countries related to the house of Hapsburg?
So naturally, war was the only answer.
- Large international Catholic army met with Protestant army at the Battle of White mountain
- Protestants were completely defeated
- Those who got away were exiled
- Property was given to Catholics
AND Frederic lost his Bohemian crown
BUT THEN
- Ferdinand was re-elected King of Bohemia
- Brought in the Jesuits
- Attempt to destroy Protestantism was REAL
EDICT OF RESTITUTION
- Ferdinand wanted nothing more than Catholicism
- But what saved Protestantism? –> Fear and jealousy of over 300 princes of Germany against the emperor
- Everyone wanted the emperor to stay away from this
LEAVE THEM ALONE - Princes of Germany now realized they were being threatened by everyone! - Wallenstein too since he had such a kick ass army
- Habsburgs were obsessed with the dynasty and their protection to rule
- The Princes went to Ferdinand and said that if you keep things they way they are, they said we won’t elect your son as the next ruler
- Now Ferdinand was questioning Wallenstein’s goals. What if he was against him?
- IN 1630, Wallenstein was dismissed and the army was no longer the army of the emperor
- Habsburgs were still on TOP
- States in Germany were terrified of the new sense of unity
- If the Emperor succeeded in uniting people, it would be a HUGE force in Europe — Fear!!!
- Ferdinand now had the ambition to do this and Wallenstein and Ferdinand were feared by everyone
RICHELIEU
- Centralized powerful state would threaten France
- Attempt to try and undo Ferdinand’s ambition
- France decided it would deal with this by, not war, but by paying the Protestant King Gustavus Adolphus (1632)
Gustavus Alophus
Total counter attack to Ferdinand, he wanted to save Protestanism
So Ferdinand needed to KILL HIM
and… He did! Then word reached Wallenstein and he was like OH NO BITCH YOU DONT MESS WITH GA
So Ferdinand was like, ok ok i see you, imma hire an irishman to KILL YO ASS TOO
And so, Wallenstein died too.
Then, Ferdinand realized that he had to get the catholic states of Germany on his side
So, the Edict of Restitution was taken back and absolved all the German princes who were originally against him
Everything should have ended here!
But noooo YOU FRENCH MEN !
WESTPHALIA (1648)
- Work out compromise to try and end this war
- Hundreds of diplomats from all across Europe gathered to try and work things out
- The decisions they made were brilliant: and modeled Congress of Vienna
…Peace wasn’t easily bought though
- French and Spanish continued to fight till 1659
- French and Swedes were winner
- Habsburg empire and Spanish L O S T
- German princes who fought against emperor were now sovereign and independent
- Changed structure of boundaries of Europe
- Everything went beyond the original intentions
- No one would ever do anything in the name of religion again OM
- 30 years of war had changed everything
- Raison d’état
- Secular Europe (politically, economically, etc.)
