THIRTY YEARS WAR

Question 1

What is the takeaway question?

Answer 1

Is this a religious war? is it about the roman empire? governance?

Question 2

How is the emperor of the holy roman empire elected?

Answer 2

the Imperial Electoral College

*Electoral College consists of a mix of clerical rulers and secular rulers
*Electoral College represents a fraction of the member state

Question 3

Explain the three types of cities?

Free imperial cities (e.g. Augsburg)

Prince-bishoprics (e.g. Cologne)

Archduchy (e.g. Austria)

Answer 3

Free imperial cities (e.g. Augsburg) = Self ruling

Prince-bishoprics (e.g. Cologne) = governed by bishop

Archduchy (e.g. Austria) = governed by archduke

Question 4

(review) what is the Peace of Augsburg (1555)?

Answer 4

: every prince gets to choose the religion of their state
*This holds relatively well until the 1580

Question 5

Which family are most Holy Roman Emperors from?

Answer 5

Habsburgs

Question 6

Which countries do the Habsburgs rule?

Answer 6

Spain and Austria + rivalry with other European monarch

Question 7

Do the Habsburgs keep control over Ferdinand 1’s land after he dies? (Bohemia and Hungary)

Answer 7

Yes, by having their successors elected

These countries have elective monarchies

Question 8

What was the ideological conflict brewing with 30 years war?

Answer 8

Religious tension
*Rise of Calvinism splits Protestants
*Counter-Reformation re-energizes Catholics
*Peace of Augsburg means people should convert with their rulers = should they?

Question 9

What was the governing conflict brewing with 30 years war?

Answer 9

Nature of Rule:
*Mostly a Central European problem:
*How should the Holy Roman Empire work?
*How does elective monarchy work?
*How to manage the Habsburg dynasty?

*Fluctuation in European dynasties
*Habsburgs losing the Netherlands
*Bourbon dynasty emerges in France
*Scots ruling England

Question 10

What happened at the “defenestration of Prague”?

Answer 10

Letter of majesty (Rudolf 2 king of Bohemia, granting religious tolerance to both Protestant and Catholic citizens living in the estates of Bohemia)
- Had grey areas

Ferdinand takes over as king and Demolishes Protestant churches or stops them from being built on Crown land

a group of Protestant lords threw two Catholic lord regents and their secretary out the window
*They survived the fall, possibly by landing in a dung heap
*This insult meant war and Catholics and Protestants in the region started amassing allies

Question 11

What was the Bohemian Revolt (1618–1620)?

Answer 11

Ferdinand II deposed as King of Bohemia in 1619, but is elected Holy Roman Empire
*After the Defenestration, he tries to de-escalate without conciliating and it fails

Fredrick is elected king instead
- Cuz he’s calvanist and his wife has strong English/ Irish ties
- Started protestant Union

Maximillion 1st of Bavaria wants war (thinks it’ll make him rich) and he’s backed by Catholic league (Habsburgs)

Battle of White Mountain (November 8, 1620): decisive defeat for Frederick V, he fled to the Netherlands, Ferdinand re-took the throne and disbanded the Protestant Union

Question 12

Was the defeat of Frederick V the end of things?

Answer 12

It was not

Question 13

What were protestant princes stressed about?

Answer 13

Protestant princes ambivalent about Bohemian revolt but concerned about growing Habsburg power

Question 14

What caused stress for Holy Roman Imperial electors?

Answer 14

1623: Ferdinand II strips Frederick V of his imperial titles and gives them to Maximilian
- “You can’t do that! You can’t remove our hereditary titles!”

Question 15

What was Spain up to? How did they drag in other countries?

Answer 15

1619: Spain invades the Lower Palatinate as part of its efforts to tamp down the Dutch Revolt
- Dutch support Fredrick V (Protestant guy)
- England retaliates by attacking Spanish ships (mostly loses tho)

Question 16

What are the three reasons Denmark (the Danish) got involved?

Answer 16

1. commercial interest,
2. religion,
3. rivalry with Sweden

Question 17

How did Denmark (the Danish) get involved? (first foreign intervention)

Answer 17

The plan was audacious:
- Split forces to attack the Catholic mercenary forces of Albrecht von Wallenstein

• Some of his split groups are defeated and negotiates a withdrawal with Wallenstein in 1629 = end of Denmark’s dominance in the Nordics

Question 18

How did Sweeden get involved?

Answer 18

• They were busy before (King attacking Catholic cousin King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuana)
  - France pays to get treaty written (wanted Sweeden as ally - different religions, shared desire to counterbalance the Habsburgs)

Question 19

Why did Sweden join the war?

Answer 19

: support Lutherans, secure trade dominance

(Note: France is supporting Sweden financially)

Question 20

How does Sweden start conflicts with Germany?

Answer 20

Where Sweden’s interests clash with German princes, Swedish forces see no reason not to brutally react (e.g. 1631 sack of Frankfurt an der Oder)

 *Nonetheless, there are not many allies for Sweden (other than France)

Question 21

How did Sweden start losing?

Answer 21

*1632: Gustavus (King) dies in battle, but his Chancellor continues his policies

*1634: Massive defeat at Nördlingen, as Sweden loses all its gains in Southern Germany

Question 22

What is the Vasa? (Swedish)

Answer 22

*Flagship of the Swedish fleet

*Built between 1626 – 1628 for use in the Polish-Lithuanian campaign and as a sign of Swedish naval dominance

*Named after the royal family’s symbol

*Sank in Stockholm harbour on her maiden voyage

*Dredged up in the 1950s

Question 23

How did France and Sweden pull themselves together?

Answer 23

Swedish defeat forces France to take direct action
- France Cardinal funds sweden again (hires mercs and declares war on Spain)

Ferdinand II dies now Ferdinand III (Habsburg guys)

France and Sweden cut the Spanish Road, disrupting Spain’s supply lines & the Dutch prevent maritime re-supply

*France Cardinal Richelieu dies in 1642, King Louis XIII in 1643 = 5 year-old Louis XIV & Cardinal Mazarin now run France

Question 24

In short, what happened in the final years?

Answer 24

French win, then lose (start making noise about peace negotiation)

• France signs Truce of Ulm with Cologne, Bavaria, and Sweden

Bavaria= Defeated by france and sweden
- And they stole a bunch of stuff right before they signed so it was “spoils of war” technically

Question 25

What is the Peace of Westphalia? (parts of it)

Answer 25

technically three separate treaties

*Peace of Münster between Spain and the Dutch Republic: acknowledges Dutch independence

*Treaty of Osnabrück between Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire

*Treaty of Münster between France and the Holy Roman Empire

Question 26

What does Peace of Westphalia do?

Answer 26

1. Reaffirms Peace of Augsburg: rulers can choose their religion BUT subjects no longer must convert
2. States determine dominant religion by Jan 1st
3. France and Sweden become guarantors of the Holy Roman Imperial constitution with a right to intercede militarily if necessary (Make sure it’s running like it should)

Question 27

Why does the Peace of Westphalia matter?

Answer 27

*Holy Roman Empire had to negotiate with its members before agreeing to a deal
*Ferdinand III loses most of his power as Emperor

*Westphalian sovereignty as the blueprint for modern nation-states
*Inviolability of borders
*Non-interference

Question 28

What are the consequences of the 30 years war?

Answer 28

1. Lack of provisions = armies become foragers and looters, units become smaller and more mobile
2. Reliance on cavalry as shock troops (+ Artillery)
3. Rise of professional army

Question 29

How many deaths?

Answer 29

4.5 – 8 million deaths (mostly civilians)

Most civilian deaths were due to disease or starvation; only ~3% were due to military action

Question 30

How many in the army died?

Answer 30

Killed and wounded in action: 450,000 soldiers
*Disease kills two-to-three times as many: ~ 1.5 million soldiers

Question 31

What are the consequences of war?

Answer 31

• Collapse of government
• Mercs paid in plundering towns
• Massive displacements
• Disease and starvation
• Troop resupply issues

Question 32

What was the starvation of Bavaria?

Answer 32

*Initial problem: soldiers plundering and destroying fields

*Starvation worsened by a sudden population explosion among rodents who scavenged off traveling soldiers

*Winter 1638: wolves overrun Bavaria

*Spring 1639: an explosion in the boar population leads to the destruction of farms as they rut in the field

(Basically, series of terrible incidents)

Question 33

How did the 30 years war impact newpapers?

Answer 33

In 30 years war, daily newspapers with updates received from letters

Question 34

How did the 30 years war impact delivery service?

Answer 34

demand for personal letter delivery
- Had catholic letter delivery, started protestant delivery

Thurn und Taxises also began publishing a daily newspaper in 1650 that collated all the news they had received via their postal system

• First Postal System!

Massive consequences for European political, intellectual, scientific, and social culture