The Thirty Years’ War

From the time of Charlemagne until the emergence of Protestantism in the sixteenth century, France was one of the main powers in a continent where Catholicism was – except in orthodox areas – the only mainstream form of Christianity.

The French Civil War, or French Wars of Religion were a series of wars fought from 1562 to 1598. They were primarily caused by the conflicts between Protestants and Catholics. As France had only recently begun to centralize and was starting to be seen as a threat, foreign powers joined in and funded both sides.

6.2 Religion: Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Religion was one of the most important features of life in early modern Europe. The Christian faith was predominant, although there were also Jews and Muslims living in Europe. In 1500 the Catholic Church held enormous power and influence.

Over the next four years the Swedes and their German allies won a series of victories over Imperial forces, despite the death of Gustavus at Lützen in 1632….Thirty Years’ War.

Most accounts of the Thirty Years War start with what is presented as the revolt of the Protestant Bohemians against Catholic Habsburg rule in 1618, and then describe a conflict that spread outward in concentric circles from this flashpoint in Central Europe.

the Treaty of Westphalia

“The Thirty Years’ War was fought overwhelmingly for religious purposes, with countries being drawn into war to defend the sanctity of one religion or another, and always divided Catholics and Protestants.” “The Thirty Years War was primarily fought over religion and all stemmed from a little squabble in Bohemia.”

Huguenots

450,000

In 1617 Roman Catholic officials in Bohemia closed Protestant chapels that were being constructed by citizens of the towns of Broumov and Hrob, thus violating the guarantees of religious liberty laid down in the Letter of Majesty (Majestätsbrief) of Emperor Rudolf II (1609).

The Defenestration On May 23, 1618, four Catholic Lords Regent, Count Jaroslav Bořita of Martinice, Count Vilem Slavata of Chlum, Adam II von Sternberg (who was the supreme burgrave), and Matthew Leopold Popel Lobkowitz (who was the grand prior), arrived at the Bohemian Chancellory at 8:30 am.

The war finally ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Austria was defeated, and its hopes for control over a Catholic Europe came to nothing. The Peace of Westphalia set the religious and political boundaries for Europe for the next two centuries.

As a result of the Treaty of Westphalia, the Netherlands gained independence from Spain, Sweden gained control of the Baltic and France was acknowledged as the preeminent Western power. The power of the Holy Roman Emperor was broken and the German states were again able to determine the religion of their lands.

Treaty of Paris: Primary Documents in American History On September 3, 1783, the United States and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, formally ending the Revolutionary War. This guide provides access to digital materials at the Library of Congress, links to external websites, and a print bibliography.

March 1562 – April 1598

After the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48), no emperor again attempted, as Charles V had done, to reestablish a strengthened central authority; and the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 marked the empire’s final organization on federal lines. So perished the Holy Roman Empire.

The state of absolute monarchy that began with Diocletian endured until the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire in 1453. Diocletian divided the empire into four regions, each ruled by an emperor (the Tetrarchy).

By 200 BC, the Roman Republic had conquered Italy, and over the following two centuries it conquered Greece and Spain, the North African coast, much of the Middle East, modern-day France, and even the remote island of Britain. In 27 BC, the republic became an empire, which endured for another 400 years.