Thirty Years' War Map of Europe in 1648, after the Peace of Westphalia. Small German states within the Holy Roman Empire are shown in grey. The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in Date 1618 –1648 Location Europe (primarily Germany) Result Peace of Westphalia Belligerents Sweden  Bohemia Denmark-Norway[1] Dutch Republic France Scotland England Saxony Electoral Palatinate Transylvania  Holy Roman Empire Catholic League Austria Bavaria Spain Commanders Frederick V Duke of Buckingham Earl of Leven Gustav II Adolf † Johan Baner Piet Pieterszoon Hein Cardinal Richelieu Louis II de Bourbon Vicomte de Turenne Christian IV of Denmark Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar Johann Georg I of Saxony Gabriel Bethlen Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly † Albrecht von Wallenstein Ferdinand II Ferdinand III Franz von Mercy † Johann von Werth Maximilian I Count-Duke Olivares Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand Strength ~495,000, 150,000 Swedes, 20,000 Danish, 75,000 Dutch, ~100,000 Germans, 150,000 French ~450,000, 300,000 Spanish, ~100-200,000 Germans

The Thirty Years' War was a religious war fought over a thirty-year time period from 1618 to 1648, involving most of the major European powers. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The term Peace of Westphalia refers to the two peace treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, signed on May 15 and October 24 of Sweden was between 1611 and 1718 one of the Great powers of Europe Bohemia (Čechy; Bohemia Czechy is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Denmark–Norway ( Danish: Danmark-Norge Norwegian: Danmark-Norge or Danmark-Noreg is the historiographical name for a former political entity union "United Netherlands" redirects here For the "Kingdom of the United Netherlands" see United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Early Modern France is the Early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century (or from the French Renaissance The Kingdom of Scotland ( Gaelic: Rìoghachd na h-Alba, Scots: Kinrick o Scotland) was a State in northwest Europe The Kingdom of England was a State (927-1707 located in Western Europe dating from the ninth or tenth century to the early eighteenth century when it was legally The Electorate of Saxony (Kurfürstentum Sachsen or Duchy of Upper Saxony was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806 The Palatinate of the Rhine (Pfalzgrafschaft bei Rhein later the Electoral Palatinate (Kurpfalz was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire Transylvania (Ardeal or ro ''Transilvania'' Erdély, see also other denominations) is a Central European region located in the eastern half of the Carpathian The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in Background In 1555 the Peace of Augsburg was signed which confirmed the result of the First Diet of Speyer (1526 and ended the violence between the Lutherans The Archduchy of Austria (Erzherzogtum Österreich one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the center of the Habsburg Monarchy and The history of Bavaria stretches from its earliest settlement and its formation as a stem duchy in the 6th century through its inclusion in the Holy Roman Empires Habsburg Spain refers to the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries (1516-1700 when this country was ruled by the Habsburg dynasty (also associated to Frederick V (Friedrich V ( August 26 1596 – November 29 1632) was Elector Palatine (1610–23 and as Frederick I George Villiers 1st Duke of Buckingham ( 28 August 1592 &ndash 23 August 1628) (surname ˈvɪlɚz ("villers" was the Favourite Alexander Leslie 1st Earl of Leven (c 1580 - April 4, 1661) was a Scottish soldier in Dutch and then Swedish service from 1605 For the other Swedish kings known as Gustavus Adolphus see Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden or Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden Killed in action ( KIA or K I A) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces by other Johan Banér ( 23 June 1596 – 10 May 1641) was a Swedish Field Marshal in the Thirty Years' War. For the Danish mathematician and poet see Piet Hein (Denmark. This article is about a cardinal For information on the Russian also called The Red Eminence, see Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov. Louis II de Bourbon Prince de Condé ( 8 September, 1621 – 11 November, 1686) was a French general and the most famous representative Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne Vicomte de Turenne, often called simply Turenne ( September 11 1611 &ndash July 27 1675) was Christian IV ( 12 April, 1577 &ndash 28 February, 1648) was the king of Denmark and Norway from 1588 until his death Bernard of Saxe-Weimar (Bernhard ( 16 August, 1604 &ndash 18 July, 1639) was a German prince and General in the John George I (German Johann Georg I; 5 March 1585 - 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656 Gabriel Bethlen (de Iktár (- English, Hungarian: Bethlen Gábor, Romanian: Gabriel Bethlen, German: Gabriel Johann Tserclaes Count of Tilly ( Dutch: Johan 't Serclaes) (February 1559 - April 30[[ 632]] known as the Monk in Armor, was a General Killed in action ( KIA or K I A) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces by other Ferdinand II Holy Roman Emperor ( July 9, 1578 &ndash February 15, 1637) of the House of Habsburg, reigned as Ferdinand II Life Eldest son of Emperor Ferdinand II from the house of Habsburg and his first wife Maria Anna of Bavaria. Franz Freiherr von Mercy (or Merci lord of Mandre and Collenburg (died 1645 German general in the Thirty Years' War, who came of a noble family of Lorraine, was Killed in action ( KIA or K I A) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces by other Count Johann von Werth (1591 &ndash September 12 1652) also Jan von Werth or in French Jean de Werth, was a German General Not to be confused with King Maximilian I of Bavaria (1756-1825 prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph. Don Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel Count of Olivares and Duke of Sanlúcar (Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel conde-duque de Olivares also known as es ''Conde de Olivares y A religious war is a War caused by religious differences It can involve one state with an established religion against another state with a different religion or a different Power in international relations is defined in several different ways ^[2][3] It mainly took place in the territory of Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. ^[4] Beginning as a religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire, it gradually developed into a general war involving much of Europe, for reasons not necessarily related to religion. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. As a Christian Ecclesiastical term Catholic —from the Greek adjective, meaning "general" or "universal"—is described The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in ^[5] The war marked the culmination of the France-Habsburg rivalry for pre-eminence in Europe, which led to further wars between France and the Habsburg powers. The term France-Habsburg rivalry (Habsburgisch-Französischer Gegensatz describes the rivalry between the House of Habsburg, rulers of the Holy Roman Empire War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units Early Modern France is the Early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century (or from the French Renaissance

The major impact of the Thirty Years' War, in which mercenary armies were extensively used, was the devastation of entire regions scavenged bare by the foraging armies. A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict who is not a national or a party to the conflict and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by Episodes of widespread famine and disease devastated the population of the German states and, to a lesser extent, the Low Countries and Italy, while bankrupting many of the powers involved. A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any Faunal species which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional Malnutrition, Starvation An infectious disease is a clinically evident Disease resulting from the presence of Pathogenic microbial agents including Pathogenic viruses Pathogenic The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest In International relations, a regional power is a State that has power within a geographic Region. ^[6] The war may have lasted for 30 years, but the conflicts that triggered it continued unresolved for a much longer time. The war ended with the Treaty of Münster, a part of the wider Peace of Westphalia. The term Peace of Westphalia refers to the two peace treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, signed on May 15 and October 24 of ^[7]

Over the course of the war, the population of the German states was reduced by about 30%. The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in ^[8] In the territory of Brandenburg, the losses had amounted to half, while in some areas an estimated two-thirds of the population died. Brandenburg ( Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The male population of the German states was reduced by almost half. The population of the Czech lands declined by a third. The " Czech lands " (České země is an auxiliary term used mainly to describe the combination of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. The Swedish armies alone destroyed 2,000 castles, 18,000 villages and 1,500 towns in Germany, one-third of all German towns. Sweden was between 1611 and 1718 one of the Great powers of Europe ^{[9][10][11][12]}

Contents 1 Origins of the War 2 Phases 2.1 The Bohemian Revolt 2.1.1 1618–1620 2.1.2 1620–1625 2.2 Danish intervention 2.3 Swedish intervention 2.4 French intervention 3 The Peace of Westphalia 4 Casualties and disease 5 Political consequences 6 Fiction 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links

Origins of the War

The Peace of Augsburg (1555), signed by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, confirmed the result of the 1526 Diet of Speyer and ended the violence between the Lutherans and the Catholics in Germany. The Peace of Augsburg was a treaty between Ferdinand I, who replaced his brother Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor, and the forces of the Schmalkaldic Charles V (24 February 1500 &ndash 21 September 1558 was The First Diet of Speyer was the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire in the city of Speyer, Germany. Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther ^[13]

It stated that:

• German princes (numbering 225) could choose the religion (Lutheranism or Catholicism) of their realms according to their consciences (the principle of cuius regio, eius religio). Cuius regio eius religio is a phrase in Latin that means "Whose region his Religion "
• Lutherans living in an ecclesiastical state (under the control of a bishop) could continue to practice their faith.
• Lutherans could keep the territory that they had captured from the Catholic Church since the Peace of Passau in 1552. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V had won a victory against Protestantism in the Schmalkaldic War of 1547.
• The ecclesiastical leaders of the Catholic Church (bishops) that had converted to Lutheranism were required to give up their territories (the principle called reservatum ecclesiasticum). An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government so named by analogy with a secular Province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian
• Those occupying a state that had officially chosen either Protestantism or Catholicism could not practice a religion differing from that of the state.

Although the Peace of Augsburg created a temporary end to hostilities, it did not solve the underlying basis of the religious conflict. In addition, Calvinism spread quickly throughout Germany in the years that followed. Calvinism (sometimes called the Reformed tradition, the Reformed faith, or Reformed theology) is a theological system and an approach to the This added a third major faith to the region, but its position was not recognized in any way by the Augsburg terms, to which only Catholicism and Lutheranism were a party. ^[14][15]

The rulers of the nations surrounding the German states also contributed to the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War:

• Spain was interested in the German states because it held the territories of the Spanish Netherlands on the western border of the German states and states within Italy which connected by land through the Spanish Road. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Southern Netherlands (Zuidelijke Nederlanden Países Bajos del Sur Pays-Bas du sud were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain ( Spanish The " Spanish Road " was a military supply/trade route used from 1567–1620 which stretched from Northern Italy to the Low Countries. The Dutch revolted against the Spanish domination during the 1560s, leading to a protracted war of independence that led to a truce only in 1609.
• France was threatened by two surrounding Habsburg states (Spain and the Holy Roman Empire), and was eager to exert its power against the weaker German states; this dynastic concern overtook religious ones and led to Catholic France's participation on the otherwise Protestant side of the war. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.
• Sweden and Denmark were interested in gaining control over northern German states bordering the Baltic Sea. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude.

The Holy Roman Empire was a fragmented collection of independent powers. The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in One of these, the Austrian House of Habsburg (including also Bohemia and Hungary), was a major European power, ruling over some eight million subjects. Bohemia (Čechy; Bohemia Czechy is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic The Empire also contained several regional powers, such as Bavaria, Electoral Saxony, the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the Palatinate, Hesse, the Archbishopric of Trier and Württemberg (containing from 500,000 to one million inhabitants). Bavaria ( German:, with an area of 70553 Km² (27241 square miles and almost 12 The Electorate of Saxony (Kurfürstentum Sachsen or Duchy of Upper Saxony was an independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806 The Margraviate of Brandenburg (Markgrafschaft Brandenburg was a major Principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 The Palatinate of the Rhine (Pfalzgrafschaft bei Rhein later the Electoral Palatinate (Kurpfalz was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire The Landgraviate of Hesse (Landgrafschaft Hessen was a Landgraviate of the Holy Roman Empire. The Archbishopric of Trier (Erzbistum Trier was a Roman Catholic Diocese in Germany, that existed from Carolingian times until the end of the Württemberg, formerly known as Wirtemberg, is an area and a former state in Swabia, a region in southwestern Germany. A vast number of minor independent duchies, free cities, abbeys, bishoprics, and petty lords (whose authority sometimes extended to no more than a single village) rounded out the Empire. Apart from Austria and perhaps Bavaria, none of those entities was capable of national-level politics; alliances between family-related states were common, due partly to the frequent practice of splitting a lord's inheritance among the various sons.

Religious tensions remained strong throughout the second half of the 16th century. The Peace of Augsburg began to unravel as some converted bishops refused to give up their bishoprics, and as certain Catholic rulers in Spain and Eastern Europe sought to restore the power of Catholicism in the region. In many rites of the Roman Catholic Church and in Anglican churches, a diocese is an administrative territorial unit administered by a Bishop. This was evident from the Cologne War (1583-88), a conflict initiated when the prince-archbishop of the city converted to Calvinism. As he was an imperial elector, this could have produced a Protestant majority in the College that elected the Holy Roman Emperor  – a position that had always been held by a Catholic.

In the Cologne War, Spanish troops expelled the prince-archbishop and replaced him with Ernst of Bavaria, a Roman Catholic. Ernest of Bavaria ( December 17 1554 - February 17 1612) was Prince-elector Archbishop of the Archbishopric of Cologne After this success, the Catholics regained pace, and the principle of cuius regio eius religio began to be exerted more strictly in Bavaria, Würzburg and other states. Würzburg (ˈvʏɐ̯ʦbʊɐ̯k is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany This forced Lutheran residents to choose between conversion or exile. Lutherans also witnessed the defection of the lords of Palatinate (1560), Nassau (1578), Hesse-Kassel (1603) and Brandenburg (1613) to the new Calvinist faith. Thus at the beginning of the 17th century the Rhine lands and those south to the Danube were largely Catholic, while Lutherans predominated in the north, and Calvinists dominated in certain other areas, such as west-central Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge However, minorities of each creed existed almost everywhere. In some lordships and cities the number of Calvinists, Catholics, and Lutherans were approximately equal.

Much to the consternation of their Spanish ruling cousins, the Habsburg emperors who followed Charles V (especially Ferdinand I and Maximilian II, but also Rudolf II, and his successor Matthias) were supportive of their subjects' religious choices. Charles V (24 February 1500 &ndash 21 September 1558 was Ferdinand I Holy Roman Emperor ( Alcalá de Henares (near Madrid) Kingdom of Castile (now Spain) 10 March 1503 &ndash Maximilian II ( July 31, 1527 &ndash October 12, 1576) was king of Bohemia from 1562 king of Hungary and Croatia Rudolf II ( July 18, 1552, Vienna, Austria - January 20, 1612, Prague, Bohemia, now part of Matthias ( February 24 1557 - March 20 1619) of the House of Habsburg reigned as Holy Roman Emperor from 1612-1619 These rulers avoided religious wars within the empire by allowing the different Christian faiths to spread without coercion. This angered those who sought religious uniformity. ^[16] Meanwhile, Sweden and Denmark, both Lutheran kingdoms, sought to assist the Protestant cause in the Empire, and also wanted to gain political and economic influence there as well. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe

Religious tensions broke into violence in the German free city of Donauwörth in 1606. In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city (in German: freie Reichsstadt) was a City formally ruled by the Emperor only &mdash Donauwörth is a city in the German State of Bavaria (Bayern in the region of Swabia (Schwaben There, the Lutheran majority barred the Catholic residents of the Swabian town from holding a procession, which provoked a riot. Swabia, Suabia, or Svebia ( German: Schwaben, Schwabenland or Ländle) is both a historic and linguistic This prompted foreign intervention by Duke Maximilian of Bavaria (1573–1651) on behalf of the Catholics. Not to be confused with King Maximilian I of Bavaria (1756-1825 prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph. After the violence ceased, Calvinists in Germany (who remained a minority) felt the most threatened. They banded together and formed the League of Evangelical Union in 1608, under the leadership of the Palatine elector Frederick IV (1583–1610), (whose son, Frederick V, married Elizabeth Stuart, the daughter of James I of England). The Protestant Union or League of Evangelical Union (also known as the Evangelical Union or Union of Auhausen) was a coalition of Protestant The Palatinate of the Rhine (Pfalzgrafschaft bei Rhein later the Electoral Palatinate (Kurpfalz was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire The Prince-Electors (or simply Electors) of the Holy Roman Empire ( German: Kurfürst ( pl Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine ( March 5, 1574 &ndash September 19, 1610) only surviving son of Louis VI Frederick V (Friedrich V ( August 26 1596 – November 29 1632) was Elector Palatine (1610–23 and as Frederick I Elisabeth Electress Palatine and Queen of Bohemia (born Princess Elizabeth Stuart of Scotland; 19 August 1596 &ndash 13 February 1662 James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625 was King of Scotland as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James ^[17] Incidentally, the Prince-Elector had control of the Rhenish Palatinate, a state along the Rhine that Spain sought to acquire. The Palatinate (Pfalz Pfälzer dialect Palz) historically also Rhenish Palatinate (palatinatum Renensis Rheinpfalz is a region in south-western Germany Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The establishment of the League prompted the Catholics into banding together to form the Catholic League in 1609, under the leadership of the Duke Maximilian. Background In 1555 the Peace of Augsburg was signed which confirmed the result of the First Diet of Speyer (1526 and ended the violence between the Lutherans

By 1617 it was apparent that Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia, would die without an heir, with his lands going to his nearest male relative, his cousin Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria, heir-apparent and Crown Prince of Bohemia. Matthias ( February 24 1557 - March 20 1619) of the House of Habsburg reigned as Holy Roman Emperor from 1612-1619 Bohemia (Čechy; Bohemia Czechy is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Ferdinand II Holy Roman Emperor ( July 9, 1578 &ndash February 15, 1637) of the House of Habsburg, reigned as Ferdinand II

Ferdinand, having been educated by the Jesuits, was a staunch Catholic who wanted to impose religious uniformity on his lands. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order This made him highly unpopular in protestant (primarily Hussite) Bohemia. The Hussites were a Christian movement following the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus or John Huss (c The populations sentiments notwithstanding, the added insult of the nobilities rejection of Ferdinand, who had been elected Bohemian Crown Prince in 1617, triggered the Thirty Years' War in 1618 when his representatives were thrown out of a window into a pile of horse manure. The act of defiance, lead by a group of nobility with the temerity to hold a trial and convict three of his representatives in a questionable act of civil disorder known as the Defenestration of Prague—Defenestration being the act of being tossed out of windows—lead to a Royal temper tantrum which was moot. Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime The Defenestrations of Prague were two incidents in the history of Bohemia. Bohemia was in open revolt and had foreign allies. Ferdinand II of Austria, a staunch anti-protestant supporter of the German Catholic league and reformation, a ruler of vast Hapsburg monarchy demesnes, and soon to be elected Holy Roman Emperor was quite upset by this calculated insult, but his intolerant policies in his own lands had already positioned him weakly. Habsburg Monarchy (alternatively Habsburg Empire) refers to the territories ruled by the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg, and then by the successor The Hapsburg cause in the next couple of years would seem to suffer unrecoverable reverses, and that of the protestants seemed to wax toward a quick overall victory.

The War can be divided into four major phases: The Bohemian Revolt, the Danish intervention, the Swedish intervention and the French intervention.

Phases

The Bohemian Revolt

1618–1620

Without heirs, Emperor Matthias sought to assure an orderly transition during his lifetime by having his dynastic heir (the fiercely Catholic, Ferdinand of Styria, later Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor) elected to the separate royal thrones of Bohemia and Hungary. Matthias ( February 24 1557 - March 20 1619) of the House of Habsburg reigned as Holy Roman Emperor from 1612-1619 Styria (Steiermark is a state or Bundesland, located in the southeast of Austria. Ferdinand II Holy Roman Emperor ( July 9, 1578 &ndash February 15, 1637) of the House of Habsburg, reigned as Ferdinand II Bohemia (Čechy; Bohemia Czechy is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic ^[18] Some of the Protestant leaders of Bohemia feared they would be losing the religious rights granted to them by Emperor Rudolf II in his letter of majesty. Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Rudolf II ( July 18, 1552, Vienna, Austria - January 20, 1612, Prague, Bohemia, now part of They preferred the Protestant Frederick V, elector of the Palatinate (successor of Frederick IV, the creator of the League of Evangelical Union). Frederick V (Friedrich V ( August 26 1596 – November 29 1632) was Elector Palatine (1610–23 and as Frederick I Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine ( March 5, 1574 &ndash September 19, 1610) only surviving son of Louis VI The Protestant Union or League of Evangelical Union (also known as the Evangelical Union or Union of Auhausen) was a coalition of Protestant ^[19] However, other Protestants supported the stance taken by the Catholics,^[20], and in 1617, Ferdinand was duly elected by the Bohemian Estates to become the Crown Prince, and automatically upon the death of Matthias, the next King of Bohemia.

The king-elect then sent two Catholic councilors (Vilem Slavata of Chlum and Jaroslav Borzita of Martinice) as his representatives to Hradčany castle in Prague in May 1618. Vilém Slavata z Chlumu a Košumberka (ˈvɪlɛːm ˈslavata Wilhelm Slawata von Chlum und Koschumberk in German) ( December 1, 1572 - Jaroslav Bořita z Martinic ('jarɔslav 'bɔr̝ɪta Jaroslav Borsita von Martinic/Martinitz was a Bohemian nobleman and a representative of Ferdinand II Holy Roman Emperor Hradčany ( German Hradschin) the Castle District, is the Prague district surrounding the Prague Castle. Prague Castle (Pražský hrad is a Castle in Prague where the Czech kings Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia Prague (ˈprɑːg Praha (ˈpraɦa see also other names) is the Capital and Largest city of the Czech Republic. Ferdinand had wanted them to administer the government in his absence. According to legend, the Bohemian Hussites suddenly seized them, subjected them to a mock trial, and threw them out of the palace window, which was some 50 feet off the ground. The Hussites were a Christian movement following the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus or John Huss (c Remarkably, they survived unharmed. The Catholic version of the story claims that angels appeared and carried them to safety, while the Protestant version says that they landed in a pile of manure, which saved their lives. Manure is Organic matter used as Organic fertilizer in Agriculture. ^[21]

This event, known as the Second Defenestration of Prague, is what started the Bohemian Revolt. The Defenestrations of Prague were two incidents in the history of Bohemia. Soon afterward the Bohemian conflict spread through all of Greater Bohemia, which was effectively Bohemia, Silesia, Lusatia and Moravia. Bohemia (Čechy; Bohemia Czechy is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Etymology One theory claims that the name Silesia is derived from the Silingi, who were most likely a Vandalic (East Germanic people Upper and Lower Lusatia Upper Lusatia ( Oberlausitz or Hornja Łužica) is today part of the German state of Saxony except for a small part east of Moravia (Morava; Morawy Moravie Moravia is a historical region in central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, one of the former Czech lands. Moravia was already embroiled in a conflict between Catholics and Protestants. The religious conflict eventually spread across the whole continent of Europe, involving France, Sweden, and a number of other countries. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. ^[19]

Had the Bohemian rebellion remained a local conflict, the war could have been over in fewer than thirty months. However, the death of Emperor Matthias emboldened the rebellious Protestant leaders, who had been on the verge of a settlement. The weaknesses of both Ferdinand (now officially on the throne after the death of Emperor Matthias) and of the Bohemians themselves led to the spread of the war to western Germany. Ferdinand was compelled to call on his nephew, King Philip IV of Spain, for assistance. Philip IV (es ''Felipe IV'' pt ''Filipe III'' ( 8 April, 1605 &ndash 17 September, 1665) was King of Spain between 1621 and

The Bohemians, desperate for allies against the Emperor, applied to be admitted into the Protestant Union, which was led by their original candidate for the Bohemian throne, the Calvinist Frederick V, Elector Palatine. The Protestant Union or League of Evangelical Union (also known as the Evangelical Union or Union of Auhausen) was a coalition of Protestant Calvinism (sometimes called the Reformed tradition, the Reformed faith, or Reformed theology) is a theological system and an approach to the Frederick V (Friedrich V ( August 26 1596 – November 29 1632) was Elector Palatine (1610–23 and as Frederick I The Bohemians hinted that Frederick would become King of Bohemia if he allowed them to join the Union and come under its protection. However, similar offers were made by other members of the Bohemian Estates to the Duke of Savoy, the Elector of Saxony, and the Prince of Transylvania. Charles Emmanuel I ( Italian: Carlo Emanuele I di Savoia, January 12 1562 &ndash July 26 1630) surnamed the Great John George I (German Johann Georg I; 5 March 1585 - 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656 Gabriel Bethlen (de Iktár (- English, Hungarian: Bethlen Gábor, Romanian: Gabriel Bethlen, German: Gabriel The Austrians, who seemed to have intercepted every letter leaving Prague, made these duplicities public. ^[22] This unraveled much of the support for the Bohemians, particularly in the court of Saxony. The rebellion initially favoured the Bohemians. They were joined in the revolt by much of Upper Austria, whose nobility was then chiefly Lutheran and Calvinist. Upper Austria (Oberösterreich Horní Rakousko is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Lower Austria revolted soon after and in 1619, Count Thurn led an army to the walls of Vienna itself. Lower Austria (Niederösterreich is one of the nine states or Bundesländer in Austria. Count Jindrich Matyas Thurn-Valsassina, English Henry Matthew Thurn-Valsassina, German Heinrich Matthias Graf von Thurn und Valsassina, Italian Enrico Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. In the east, the Protestant Prince of Transylvania led a spirited campaign into Hungary with the support of the Ottoman Sultan. Transylvania (Ardeal or ro ''Transilvania'' Erdély, see also other denominations) is a Central European region located in the eastern half of the Carpathian Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic The Emperor, who had been preoccupied with the Uzkok War, hurried to reform an army to stop the Bohemians and their allies from entirely overwhelming his country. The Uskok War was fought between the Austrians and Spanish on one side and the Venetians Dutch and English on the other Count Bucquoy, the commander of the Imperial army, defeated the forces of the Protestant Union led by Count Mansfeld at the Battle of Sablat, on 10 June 1619. Charles Bonaventura Buquoy ( Czech Karel Bonaventura Buquoy, full name in French Charles Bonaventure de Longueval comte de Bucquoy, German The Protestant Union or League of Evangelical Union (also known as the Evangelical Union or Union of Auhausen) was a coalition of Protestant Ernst Graf von Mansfeld (also sometimes called Ernst Graf von Mansfield, Ernst Count of Mansfeld or Peter Ernst Graf von Mansfeld) (c Events 1190 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Sally River while leading an army to Jerusalem This cut off Count Thurn's communications with Prague, and he was forced to abandon his siege of Vienna. The Battle of Sablat also cost the Protestants an important ally — Savoy, long an opponent of Habsburg expansion. Savoy had already sent considerable sums of money to the Protestants and even sent troops to garrison fortresses in the Rhineland. The Rhineland ( Rheinland in German) is the general name for the land on both sides of the river Rhine in the west of Germany. The capture of Mansfeld's field chancery revealed the Savoyards' involvement and they were forced to bow out of the war.

In spite of Sablat, Count Thurn's army continued to exist as an effective force, and Mansfeld managed to reform his army further north in Bohemia. The Estates of Upper and Lower Austria, still in revolt, signed an alliance with the Bohemians in early August. On 17 August 1619 Ferdinand was officially deposed as King of Bohemia and was replaced by the Palatine Elector Frederick V. Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli In Hungary, even though the Bohemians had reneged on their offer of their crown, the Transylvanians continued to make surprising progress. They succeeded in driving the Emperor's armies from that country by 1620.

1620–1625

The Spanish sent an army from Brussels under Ambrogio Spinola to support the Emperor. Don Ambrogio Spinola Doria marqués de los Balbases (1569&ndash September 25, 1630) was an Italian general at the service of Spain In addition, the Spanish ambassador to Vienna, Don Iñigo Vélez de Oñate, persuaded Protestant Saxony to intervene against Bohemia in exchange for control over Lusatia. Íñigo Vélez de Guevara, seventh Count of Oñate and Count of Villamediana ( 1566 - Madrid October 31 1644) was a Spanish The Free State of Saxony (Freistaat Sachsen ˈzaksən Swobodny Stat Sakska is the easternmost federal state of Germany. The Saxons invaded, and the Spanish army in the west prevented the Protestant Union's forces from assisting. Onate conspired to transfer the electoral title from the Palatinate to the Duke of Bavaria in exchange for his support and that of the Catholic League.

Under the command of General Tilly, the Catholic League's army (which included René Descartes in its ranks) pacified Upper Austria, while the Emperor's forces pacified Lower Austria. Johann Tserclaes Count of Tilly ( Dutch: Johan 't Serclaes) (February 1559 - April 30[[ 632]] known as the Monk in Armor, was a General The two armies united and moved north into Bohemia. Ferdinand II decisively defeated Frederick V at the Battle of White Mountain, near Prague, on 8 November 1620. The Battle of White Mountain, November 8, 1620 ( Bílá hora is the name of White Mountain in Czech was an early Battle in the Prague (ˈprɑːg Praha (ˈpraɦa see also other names) is the Capital and Largest city of the Czech Republic. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration In addition to becoming Catholic, Bohemia would remain in Habsburg hands for nearly three hundred years.

This defeat led to the dissolution of the League of Evangelical Union and the loss of Frederick V's holdings. The Protestant Union or League of Evangelical Union (also known as the Evangelical Union or Union of Auhausen) was a coalition of Protestant Frederick was outlawed from the Holy Roman Empire and his territories, the Rhenish Palatinate, were given to Catholic nobles. His title of elector of the Palatinate was given to his distant cousin Duke Maximilian of Bavaria. Frederick, now landless, made himself a prominent exile abroad and tried to curry support for his cause in Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe

This was a serious blow to Protestant ambitions in the region. As the rebellion collapsed, the widespread confiscation of property and suppression of the Bohemian nobility ensured that the country would return to the Catholic side after more than two centuries of Hussite and other religious dissent. The Hussites were a Christian movement following the teachings of Czech reformer Jan Hus or John Huss (c The Spanish, seeking to outflank the Dutch in preparation for renewal of the Eighty Years' War, took Frederick's lands, the Rhine Palatinate. The Dutch Revolt, Eighty Years' War or the Revolt of the Netherlands (1568—1648 was the revolt of the Seventeen Provinces in the Low Countries The Palatinate (Pfalz Pfälzer dialect Palz) historically also Rhenish Palatinate (palatinatum Renensis Rheinpfalz is a region in south-western Germany The first phase of the war in eastern Germany ended 31 December 1621, when the Prince of Transylvania and the Emperor signed the Peace of Nikolsburg, which gave Transylvania a number of territories in Royal Hungary. Events 406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia. The Peace of Nikolsburg or Peace of Mikulov was signed on December 31 1621 in Nikolsburg Moravia (now Mikulov in the Czech Republic Royal Hungary was the name of a territory of medieval Hungary (together with Kingdom of Croatia) where the Habsburgs were recognized as Kings of Hungary

Some historians regard the period from 1621–1625 as a distinct portion of the Thirty Years' War, calling it the "Palatinate phase". With the catastrophic defeat of the Protestant army at White Mountain and the departure of the Prince of Transylvania, greater Bohemia was pacified. However, the war in the Palatinate continued. This phase of the war consisted of much smaller battles, mostly sieges conducted by the Spanish army. Mannheim and Heidelberg fell in 1622, and Frankenthal was taken two years later, thus leaving the Palatinate in the hands of the Spanish. Mannheim is a City in Germany. With 327318 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg after the capital Stuttgart Heidelberg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As of 2006 over 140000 people live within the city's area Frankenthal is a City in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The remnants of the Protestant armies, led by Mansfeld and Christian of Brunswick, fled to Holland. Although their arrival did help to lift the siege of Bergen-op-Zoom, the Dutch could not provide permanent shelter for them. Bergen op Zoom ( is a Municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands. They were paid off and sent to occupy neighboring East Friesland. Mansfeld remained in Holland, but Christian wandered off to "assist" his kin in the Lower Saxon Circle, attracting the attentions of Tilly. The Lower Saxon Circle (Niedersächsischer Reichskreis was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire. With the news that Mansfeld would not be supporting him, Christian's army began a steady retreat toward the safety of the Dutch border. On 6 August 1623, Tilly's more disciplined army caught up with them 10 miles short of the Dutch border. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. The battle that ensued was known as the Battle of Stadtlohn. The Battle of Stadtlohn was fought on August 6, 1623 between Roman Catholic and Protestant forces during the Thirty Years' War In this battle Tilly decisively defeated Christian,^[23] wiping out over four-fifths of his army, which had been some 15,000 strong. After this catastrophe, Frederick V, already in exile in The Hague, and under growing pressure from his father-in-law James I to end his involvement in the war, was forced to abandon any hope of launching further campaigns. The Protestant rebellion had been crushed.

Danish intervention

Period: 1625–1629

Peace in the Empire was short-lived, however, as conflict resumed at the initiation of Denmark. Danish involvement began when Christian IV of Denmark, a Lutheran who was also the Duke of Holstein, a duchy within the Holy Roman Empire, helped the Lutheran rulers of neighbouring Lower Saxony by leading an army against the Imperial forces. Christian IV ( 12 April, 1577 &ndash 28 February, 1648) was the king of Denmark and Norway from 1588 until his death Holstein (ˈhɔlʃtain ( Low German: Holsteen, Danish: Holsten, Latin and historical English: Holsatia) Lower Saxony ( German: Niedersachsen ch is pronounced before an s --> lies in north-western Germany and is second ^[24] Denmark had feared that its sovereignty as a Protestant nation was threatened by the recent Catholic successes. Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself Christian IV had also profited greatly from his policies in northern Germany. For instance, in 1621, Hamburg had been forced to accept Danish sovereignty and Christian's second son was made bishop of Bremen. The Archdiocese of Bremen is a historical Roman Catholic diocese and a former eccesiastical state in the Holy Roman Empire. Christian IV had obtained for his kingdom a level of stability and wealth that was virtually unmatched elsewhere in Europe. This stability and wealth was paid for by tolls on the Oresund and also by extensive war reparations from Sweden. Øresund or The Sound (Øresund Öresund is the Strait that separates the Danish island Zealand (Danish Sjælland) from the Denmark's cause was aided by France which, together with England, had agreed to help subsidize the war. Christian had himself appointed war leader of the Lower Saxon Circle and raised an army of 20,000 mercenaries and a national army 15,000 strong.

To fight him, Ferdinand II employed the military help of Albrecht von Wallenstein, a Bohemian nobleman who had made himself rich from the confiscated estates of his countrymen. ^[25] Wallenstein pledged his army, which numbered between 30,000 and 100,000 soldiers, to Ferdinand II in return for the right to plunder the captured territories. Christian, who knew nothing of Wallenstein's forces when he invaded, was forced to retire before the combined forces of Wallenstein and Tilly. Christian's poor luck was with him again when all of the allies he thought he had were forced aside: England was weak and internally divided, France was in the midst of a civil war, Sweden was at war with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and neither Brandenburg nor Saxony were interested in changes to the tenuous peace in eastern Germany. Wallenstein defeated Mansfeld's army at the Battle of Dessau Bridge (1626) and General Tilly defeated the Danes at the Battle of Lutter (1626). The Battle of Dessau Bridge (Schlacht bei Dessau was a Battle of the Thirty Years' War near Dessau on April 25 1626. The Battle of Lutter ( Lutter am Barenberge) took place during the Thirty Years' War, on 27 August 1626, between the forces of the Protestant ^[26] Mansfeld died some months later of illness, apparently tuberculosis, in Dalmatia. Dalmatia ( Croatian: Dalmacija, see names in other languages) is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, situated mostly in modern

Wallenstein's army marched north, occupying Mecklenburg, Pomerania, and ultimately Jutland itself. Mecklenburg ( Low German: Mekelnborg) is a region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern This article is about the region of Denmark. For the World War I naval battle see Battle of Jutland. However, he was unable to take the Danish capital on the island of Zealand. Zealand (also Sealand Danish: Sjælland;) is the largest Island (7031 km² of Denmark (excluding Greenland Wallenstein lacked a fleet, and neither the Hanseatic ports nor the Poles would allow an Imperial fleet to be built on the Baltic coast. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. He then laid siege to Stralsund, the only belligerent Baltic port with the facilities to build a large fleet. Stralsund (ˈʃtʁaːlzʊnt is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern Coast of the Strelasund (a sound However, the cost of continuing the war was exorbitant compared to what could possibly be gained from conquering the rest of Denmark,^[27] and so Wallenstein decided to make peace.

Negotiations were concluded with the Treaty of Lübeck in 1629, which stated that Christian IV could keep his control over Denmark if he would abandon his support for the Protestant German states. The Treaty of Lübeck was signed in Lübeck on May 22, 1629 by Albrecht von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland and King Christian IV Thus, in the following two years more land was subjugated by the Catholic powers. At this point, the Catholic League persuaded Ferdinand II to take back the Lutheran holdings that were, according to the Peace of Augsburg, rightfully the possession of the Catholic Church. Enumerated in the Edict of Restitution (1629), these possessions included two Archbishoprics, sixteen bishoprics, and hundreds of monasteries. The Edict of Restitution, passed eleven years into the Thirty Years' Wars on March 6 1629 following a very litany of Catholic successes at arms The same year, Gabriel Bethlen, the Calvinist Prince of Transsylvania, died. Only the port of Stralsund continued to hold out against Wallenstein and the Emperor. Stralsund (ˈʃtʁaːlzʊnt is a city in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, situated at the southern Coast of the Strelasund (a sound

Swedish intervention

Period: 1630–1635

Some within Ferdinand II's court did not trust Wallenstein, believing that he sought to join forces with the German Princes and thus gain influence over the Emperor. Ferdinand II dismissed Wallenstein in 1630. He was to later recall him after the Swedes, led by King Gustaf II Adolf (Gustavus Adolphus), had invaded the Holy Roman Empire with success and turned the tables around from catholics being superior to the lutherans being superior. For the other Swedish kings known as Gustavus Adolphus see Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden or Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden His contributions made Sweden the continental leader of Protenstantism until the Swedish Empire collapsed in 1721. Sweden was between 1611 and 1718 one of the Great powers of Europe ^{[28] [29]}

Gustavus Adolphus, like Christian IV before him, came to aid the German Lutherans, to forestall Catholic aggression against their homeland, and to obtain economic influence in the German states around the Baltic Sea. In addition, Gustavus was concerned about the growing power of the Holy Roman Empire. No one knows the exact reason for Gustavus to enter the war and this has been widely argued. Like Christian IV, Gustavus Adolphus was subsidized by Cardinal Richelieu, the Chief Minister of Louis XIII of France, and by the Dutch. This article is about a cardinal For information on the Russian also called The Red Eminence, see Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov. For the cognac see Louis XIII de Rémy Martin. Louis XIII ( September 27, 1601 – May 14, 1643) ^[30] From 1630 to 1634, Swedish-led armies drove the Catholic forces back, regaining much of the lost Protestant territory. His sudden transform of Sweden from a small barely known of nation into something big in wars against Russia and Poland lithuania, led the thoughts to him being "the Lion of the North", an old profecy about a golden lion from the north which would come to save the protestants from the catholics. During his campaign he managed to conquer half of the Imperial kingdoms.

After dismissing Wallenstein in 1630, Ferdinand II became dependent on the Catholic League. France and Bavaria signed the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau (1631), but this was rendered irrelevant by Swedish attacks against Bavaria. At the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631), Gustavus Adolphus's forces defeated the Catholic League led by General Tilly. ^{[31] [32]} A year later they met again in another Protestant victory, this time accompanied by the death of Tilly. The upper hand had now switched from the league to the union, led by Sweden. In 1630, Sweden had paid at least 2,368,022 daler for its army of 42,000 men. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The riksdaler was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604 In 1632, it contributed only one-fifth of that (476,439 daler) towards the cost of an army more than three times as large (149,000 men). The riksdaler was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604 This was possible due to subsidies from France, and the recruitment of prisoners (most of them taken at the Battle of Breitenfeld) into the Swedish army. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Battle of Breitenfeld (Schlacht bei Breitenfeld Slaget vid Breitenfeld or First Battle of Breitenfeld (sometimes First Breitenfeld) was a "World Changing Gustav Adolphus recruited, among others, 20,000 to 30,000 Scottish mercenaries. The Scots people ( Scots Gaelic: Albannaich) are a Nation and an Ethnic group indigenous to Scotland. ^[33]

With Tilly dead, Ferdinand II returned to the aid of Wallenstein and his large army. Wallenstein marched up to the south, threatening Gustavus Adolphus's supply chain. Gustavus Adolphus knew that Wallenstein was waiting for the attack and was prepared, but found no other option. Wallenstein and Gustavus Adolphus clashed in the Battle of Lützen (1632), where the Swedes prevailed, but Gustavus Adolphus was killed. In 1634 the Protestant forces, lacking his leadership, were defeated at the First Battle of Nördlingen. The Battle of Nördlingen (Schlacht bei Nördlingen Batalla de Nördlingen Slaget vid Nördlingen was fought on 27 August ( Julian calendar) or 6

Ferdinand II's suspicion of Wallenstein resumed in 1633, when Wallenstein attempted to arbitrate the differences between the Catholic and Protestant sides. Ferdinand II may have feared that Wallenstein would switch sides, and arranged for his arrest after removing him from command. One of Wallenstein's soldiers, Captain Devereux, killed him when he attempted to contact the Swedes in the town hall of Eger (Cheb) on 25 February 1634. Events 138 - The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor

After that, the two sides met for negotiations, producing the Peace of Prague (1635), which entailed a delay in the enforcement of the Edict of Restitution for 40 years and allowed Protestant rulers to retain secularized bishoprics held by them in 1627. The Peace of Prague of 30 May[[ 635]] was a treaty between the Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II, and most of the Protestant states of the Empire This protected the Lutheran rulers of northeastern Germany, but not those of the south and west (whose lands had been occupied by the Imperial or League armies prior to 1627). The treaty also provided for the union of the army of the Emperor and the armies of the German states into a single army of the Holy Roman Empire (although Johann Georg of Saxony and Maximillian of Bavaria kept, as a practical matter, independent command of their forces, now nominally components of the "Imperial" army). John George I (German Johann Georg I; 5 March 1585 - 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656 Not to be confused with King Maximilian I of Bavaria (1756-1825 prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph. Finally, German princes were forbidden from establishing alliances amongst themselves or with foreign powers, and amnesty was granted to any ruler who had taken up arms against the Emperor after the arrival of the Swedes in 1630.

This treaty failed to satisfy France, however, because of the renewed strength it granted the Habsburgs. France then entered the conflict, beginning the final period of the Thirty Years' War.

French intervention

Period: 1636–1648

France, although overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, was a rival of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. Cardinal Richelieu, the Chief Minister of King Louis XIII of France, felt that the Habsburgs were too powerful, since they held a number of territories on France's eastern border, including portions of the Netherlands. This article is about a cardinal For information on the Russian also called The Red Eminence, see Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov. For the cognac see Louis XIII de Rémy Martin. Louis XIII ( September 27, 1601 – May 14, 1643) Richelieu had already begun intervening indirectly in the war in January 1631, when the French diplomat Hercules de Charnace signed the Treaty of Bärwalde with Gustavus Adolphus, by which France agreed to support the Swedes with 1,000,000 livres each year in return for a Swedish promise to maintain an army in Germany against the Habsburgs. The livre was the currency of France until 1795 Several different livres existed some concurrently The treaty also stipulated that Sweden would not conclude a peace with the Holy Roman Emperor without first receiving France's approval.

After the Swedish rout at Nördlingen in September 1634 and the Peace of Prague in 1635, as Sweden's ability to continue the war alone appeared doubtful, Richelieu made the decision to enter into direct war against the Habsburgs. France declared war on Spain in May 1635 and the Holy Roman Empire in August 1636, opening offensives against the Habsburgs in Germany and the Low Countries.

French military efforts met with disaster, and the Spanish counter-attacked, invading French territory. The Imperial general Johann von Werth and Spanish commander Cardinal Ferdinand Habsburg ravaged the French provinces of Champagne, Burgundy and Picardy, and even threatened Paris in 1636 before being repulsed by Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar. Count Johann von Werth (1591 &ndash September 12 1652) also Jan von Werth or in French Jean de Werth, was a German General Bernard of Saxe-Weimar (Bernhard ( 16 August, 1604 &ndash 18 July, 1639) was a German prince and General in the Bernhard's victory in the Battle of Compiègne pushed the Habsburg armies back towards the borders of France. Compiègne is a commune in the Oise département of France, of which it is a Sous-préfecture. Widespread fighting ensued, with neither side gaining an advantage. In 1642, Cardinal Richelieu died. A year later, Louis XIII died, leaving his five-year-old son Louis XIV on the throne. Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent His chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin, facing the domestic crisis of the Fronde beginning in 1645, began working to end the war. Jules Mazarin, born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino ( July 14 1602 &ndash March 9 1661) was an accomplished French statesman La Fronde (1648–1653 was a Civil war in France, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635

In 1645, the Swedish marshal Lennart Torstenson defeated the Imperial army at the Battle of Jankau near Prague, and Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé defeated the Bavarian army in the Second Battle of Nördlingen. Lennart Torstenson, Count of Ortala, Baron of Virestad ( 17 August 1603 – 7 April 1651) was Louis II de Bourbon Prince de Condé ( 8 September, 1621 – 11 November, 1686) was a French general and the most famous representative This article is about the second Battle of Nördlingen fought in 1645 in Germany as part of the Thirty Years' War. The last Catholic commander of note, Baron Franz von Mercy, died in the battle. Franz Freiherr von Mercy (or Merci lord of Mandre and Collenburg (died 1645 German general in the Thirty Years' War, who came of a noble family of Lorraine, was ^[34]

On 14 March 1647 Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden signed the Truce of Ulm. Events 1489 - The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to Venice. Bavaria ( German:, with an area of 70553 Km² (27241 square miles and almost 12 This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The Truce of Ulm (Waffenstillstand von Ulm (also known as the Treaty of Ulm) was signed in Ulm on March 14, 1647 between France, In 1648 the Swedes (commanded by Marshal Carl Gustaf Wrangel) and the French (led by Turenne and Condé) defeated the Imperial army at the Battle of Zusmarshausen and Lens. Carl Gustaf Wrangel ( December 23, 1613 - July 5, 1676) was a Swedish soldier and Count of Salmis. The Battle of Zusmarshausen was fought on May 7, 1648 between the Holy Roman Empire and Sweden and France (led by Henri de la The Battle of Lens ( 20 August 1648) was a French victory under Louis II de Bourbon Prince de Condé against the Spanish army These results left only the Imperial territories of Austria safely in Habsburg hands.

The Peace of Westphalia

Main article: Peace of Westphalia

French General Louis II de Bourbon, 4th Prince de Condé, Duc d'Enghien, The Great Condé defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Rocroi in 1643, which led to negotiations. The term Peace of Westphalia refers to the two peace treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, signed on May 15 and October 24 of Louis II de Bourbon Prince de Condé ( 8 September, 1621 – 11 November, 1686) was a French general and the most famous representative The Battle of Rocroi, fought on May 19 1643, resulted in a decisive victory of the French army under the Duc d'Enghien, against the Over a four year period, the parties were actively negotiating at Osnabrück and Münster in Westphalia. ^[35] The end of the war was not brought about by one treaty but instead by a group of treaties such as the Treaty of Hamburg. ^[36] On 15 May 1648, the Treaty of Osnabrück was signed. Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the The term Peace of Westphalia refers to the two peace treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, signed on May 15 and October 24 of Over five months later, on 24 October, the Treaty of Münster was signed, ending both the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War. Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat The Dutch Revolt, Eighty Years' War or the Revolt of the Netherlands (1568—1648 was the revolt of the Seventeen Provinces in the Low Countries ^{[37][38] [39]}

Casualties and disease

The devastation caused by the war has long been a subject of controversy among historians. Estimates of civilian casualties of up to thirty percent of the population of Germany are now treated with caution. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The mortality rate was perhaps closer to 15 to 20 percent, with deaths due to armed conflict, famine and disease. A famine is a widespread shortage of food that may apply to any Faunal species which phenomenon is usually accompanied by regional Malnutrition, Starvation ^[40] Much of the destruction of civilian lives and property was caused by the cruelty and greed of mercenary soldiers many of whom were rich commanders and poor soldiers. A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict who is not a national or a party to the conflict and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by ^[41] The war caused serious dislocations to both the economies and populations of central Europe, but may have done no more than seriously exacerbate changes that had begun earlier. ^[42][43]

Pestilence of several kinds raged among combatants and civilians in Germany and surrounding lands from 1618 to 1648. Many features of the war spread disease. These included troop movements, the influx of soldiers from foreign countries, and the shifting locations of battle fronts. A soldier is a general English term that refers to a member of a land component of National Armed forces. In addition, the displacement of civilian populations and the overcrowding of refugees into cities led to both disease and famine. A civilian under International humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her Country 's Armed forces. According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race Information about numerous epidemics is generally found in local chronicles, such as parish registers and tax records, that are often incomplete and may be exaggerated. In Epidemiology, an epidemic (from Greek epi- upon + demos people is a classification of a disease that appears as new cases in a A parish is a Local church; it is an administrative unit typically found in episcopal or presbyterian churches The chronicles do show that epidemic disease was not a condition exclusive to war time, but was present in many parts of Germany for several decades prior to 1618. A disease is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions and can be deadly

However, when the Danish and imperial armies met in Saxony and Thuringia during 1625 and 1626, disease and infection in local communities increased. The Free State of Saxony (Freistaat Sachsen ˈzaksən Swobodny Stat Sakska is the easternmost federal state of Germany. The Free State of Thuringia (Freistaat Thüringen is located in central Germany. Local chronicles repeatedly referred to "head disease", "Hungarian disease", and a "spotted" disease identified as typhus. Typhus is any of several similar diseases caused by Louse -borne bacteria After the Mantuan War, between France and the Habsburgs in Italy, the northern half of the Italian peninsula was in the throes of a bubonic plague epidemic (see Italian Plague of 1629–1631). Mantua (Màntova in the local dialect of Lombard language Mantua is a city in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the Bubonic plague is the best-known manifestation of the bacterial disease plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis (formerly known as The Italian Plague of 1629–1631 was a series of outbreaks of Bubonic plague which occurred from 1629 through 1631 in northern Italy. During the unsuccessful siege of Nuremberg, in 1632, civilians and soldiers in both the Swedish and imperial armies succumbed to typhus and scurvy. The Siege of Nuremberg or Siege of Nürnberg was a battle campaign that took place in 1632 about the Imperial Free City of Nürnberg (Nuremberg during Scurvy (NLat scorbutus is a disease resulting from a deficiency of Vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of Collagen in humans Two years later, as the imperial army pursued the defeated Swedes into southwest Germany, deaths from epidemics were high along the Rhine River. The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge Bubonic plague continued to be a factor in the war. Bubonic plague is the best-known manifestation of the bacterial disease plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis (formerly known as Beginning in 1634, Dresden, Munich, and smaller German communities such as Oberammergau recorded large numbers of plague casualties. Dresden (etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Drježdźany is the Capital city of the German Munich (München; Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. In the last decades of the war, both typhus and dysentery had become endemic in Germany. Typhus is any of several similar diseases caused by Louse -borne bacteria Dysentery (formerly known as flux or the bloody flux) is an infection of the digestive system that results in severe Diarrhea containing mucus and blood

Political consequences

One result of the war was the enshrinement of a Germany divided among many territories — all of which, despite their membership in the Empire, won de facto sovereignty. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. This significantly hampered the power of the Holy Roman Empire and decentralized German power. The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in

The Thirty Years' War rearranged the previous structure of power. The conflict made Spain's military and political decline visible. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. While Spain was preoccupied with fighting in France, Portugal — which had been under personal union with Spain for 60 years — acclaimed John IV of Braganza as king in 1640, and the House of Braganza became the new dynasty of Portugal (see Portuguese Restoration War, for further information). This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Marriages and descendants John married Luisa de Guzman, daughter of Juan Manuel Pérez de Guzman, 8th Duke of Medina-Sidonia. History Dukes Afonso, Count of Barcelos, was an illegitimate son of King João I of Portugal. Portuguese Restoration War (Guerra da Restauração was the name given after the 19th century by romantic historians to the war between Portugal and Castile Meanwhile, Spain was finally forced to accept the independence of the Dutch Republic in 1648, ending the Eighty Years' War. "United Netherlands" redirects here For the "Kingdom of the United Netherlands" see United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Dutch Revolt, Eighty Years' War or the Revolt of the Netherlands (1568—1648 was the revolt of the Seventeen Provinces in the Low Countries With Spain weakening, France became the dominant power in Europe, an outcome confirmed by its victory in the subsequent Franco-Spanish War. The Franco-Spanish War was a military conflict between France and Spain.

From 1643–45, during the last years of the Thirty Years' War, Sweden and Denmark fought the Torstenson War. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The Torstenson war, Hannibal controversy or Hannibal War (Hannibalsfeiden was a short period of conflict between Sweden and Denmark-Norway The result of that conflict and the conclusion of the great European war at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 helped establish post-war Sweden as a force in Europe. The term Peace of Westphalia refers to the two peace treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, signed on May 15 and October 24 of ^[36]

The edicts agreed upon during the signing of the Peace of Westphalia were instrumental in laying the foundations for what are even today considered the basic tenets of the sovereign nation-state. The term Peace of Westphalia refers to the two peace treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, signed on May 15 and October 24 of Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself Aside from establishing fixed territorial boundaries for many of the countries involved in the ordeal (as well as for the newer ones created afterwards), the Peace of Westphalia changed the relationship of subjects to their rulers. In earlier times, people had tended to have overlapping political and religious loyalties. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Now, it was agreed that the citizenry of a respective nation were subjected first and foremost to the laws and whims of their own respective government rather than to those of neighboring powers, be they religious or secular.

The war also has a few more subtle consequences. The Thirty Years' War marked the last major religious war in mainland Europe, ending large-scale religious bloodshed in 1648. There were other religious conflicts in the years to come, but no great wars. ^[44] Also, the destruction caused by mercenary soldiers defied description (see Schwedentrunk). A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict who is not a national or a party to the conflict and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by The Schwedentrunk (Swedish drink is a method of Torture and execution ^[6] The war did much to end the age of mercenaries that had begun with the first Landsknechts, and ushered in the age of well-disciplined national armies. A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict who is not a national or a party to the conflict and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by Landsknechts (singular Landsknecht, German plural Landsknechte, sometimes also in English publications were European most often German, Mercenary ^[6]

Fiction

• Eric Flint's Ring of Fire series of novels deals with a temporally displaced West Virginia town from the early 21st century arriving in the early 1630s war torn Germany. Gabriel Bethlen (de Iktár (- English, Hungarian: Bethlen Gábor, Romanian: Gabriel Bethlen, German: Gabriel Eric Flint (born 1947 is an American Alternate history and Fantasy author, editor, and e-publisher. West Virginia ( is a state in the Appalachian Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by The experimental novel has grown into an intensive collaborative fiction online project now in its seventh year which explores how modern knowledge and the cast of 3-3,500 townies would impact the developmental history of Europe; the theme of what would occur if the Americans set a course deliberately to undermine the power of the nobility in Europe and introduce things like a Bill of Rights, Nationalism, et al. Collaborative fiction is a form of writing by two or more authors who take it in turns to write a portion of the story. are at the heart of the works.
• The Last Valley (1971). The Last Valley is a 1971 historical drama film directed by James Clavell. A film starring Michael Caine and Omar Sharif, who discover a temporary haven from the Thirty Years' War. Sir Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr, CBE (born 14 March 1933 better known by his screen name Michael Caine, is an Oscar - and BAFTA Omar Sharif ( عمر الشريف; born April 10, 1932) is a two-time Academy Award -nominated and Golden Globe -winning Egyptian Written by James Clavell, the author of Shogun. James Clavell, born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell ( 10 October, 1924 – 7 September, 1994) was a British (later is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general" it is made up of two Kanji words sho, meaning "commander"
• Michael Moorcock's novel, The War Hound and the World's Pain has as its central character Ulrich von Bek, a mercenary who took part in the sack of Magdeburg. Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939, in London) is an English writer primarily of Science fiction and fantasy who has also The War Hound and the World's Pain is a 1981 Fantasy novel by Michael Moorcock, the first of the "von Bek" series of novels Graf Ulrich von Bek is a Fictional character created by Michael Moorcock. A mercenary is a person who takes part in an armed conflict who is not a national or a party to the conflict and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by The Sack of Magdeburg (Magdeburgs Opfergang or Magdeburger Hochzeit refers to the Siege and subsequent Plundering of Magdeburg by Roman Catholic
• Bertolt Brecht's play Mother Courage and Her Children, an anti-war theatre piece, is set during the Thirty Years' War. (born; 10 February 1898&ndash14 August 1956 was a German Poet, Playwright, and Theatre director. Mother Courage and Her Children (Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956
• George Alfred Henty (1900). George Alfred Henty ( 8 December, 1832 - 16 November, 1902) referred to as G Won by the Sword; A Tales of the Thirty Years' War, With twelve illus. by C. M. Sheldon, and four plans. From Internet Archive. The Internet Archive ( IA) is a Nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining an on-line Library and archive of Web and
• George Alfred Henty (1886). George Alfred Henty ( 8 December, 1832 - 16 November, 1902) referred to as G Lion of the North, A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus and the Wars of Religion. From Internet Archive. The Internet Archive ( IA) is a Nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining an on-line Library and archive of Web and
• Daniel Defoe (1720). Daniel Defoe (1659/1661 — April 24, 1731 was an English Writer, Journalist, and Pamphleteer, who gained enduring fame for Memoirs of a Cavalier. Memoirs of a Cavalier (1720 is a work of historical fiction by Daniel Defoe, set during the Thirty Years' War and the English Civil Wars. "A Military Journal of the Wars in Germany, and the Wars in England. From the Years 1632 to 1648".

See also

• Catholicism and the wars of religion
• Wars of the Three Kingdoms
• Gunpowder warfare
• Religious wars
• Rise of Sweden as a Great Power
• Magnate wars in Moldavia
• Swedish Deluge
• Smolensk War
• Thirty Years' War and Norway
• Spanish Empire
• List of famines
• List of Swedish wars
• List of Spanish wars
• List of wars by death toll

References

Further reading

• Åberg, A. , "The Swedish army from Lützen to Narva", in M. Roberts (ed. ), Sweden’s Age of Greatness, 1632-1718 (1973).
• Benecke, Gerhard. Germany in the Thirty Years War. London" St. Martin's Press, 1978.
• Gindely, Antonín. History of the Thirty Years' War, Putnam, 1884.
• Gutmann, Myron P. "The Origins of the Thirty Years' War", Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol.  18, No.  4. (Spring, 1988), pp.  749–770.
• Kamen, Henry. Henry A Kamen, who was born in Rangoon in 1936 is a British Historian. "The Economic and Social Consequences of the Thirty Years' War", Past and Present, No.  39. (Apr. , 1968), pp.  44–61.
• Kennedy, Paul. The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 New York: Harper Collins, 1988.
• Langer, Herbert. The Thirty Year's War. Poole, England: Blandford Press, 1980.
• Murdoch, Steve; Scotland and the Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648 Brill, 2001.
• Parker, Geoffrey. Noel Geoffrey Parker (born 1943 in Nottingham, England is a leading expert on Military history. The Thirty Years' War. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1984.
• Polišenský, J. V. "The Thirty Years' War", Past and Present, No.  6. (Nov. , 1954), pp.  31–43.
• Polišenský, J. V. "The Thirty Years' War and the Crises and Revolutions of Seventeenth-Century Europe", Past and Present, No.  39. (Apr. , 1968), pp.  34–43.
• Prinzing, Friedrich. Epidemics Resulting from Wars, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1916.
• Roberts, Michael. Gustavus Adolphus: A History of Sweden, 1611-1632 (2 vols, 1953, 1958).
• A. W. Ward, ed. The Cambridge Modern History, vol 4: The Thirty Years War 1902.
• Wedgwood, C.V.; Kennedy, Paul. Dame (Cicely Veronica Wedgwood OM DBE ( July 20 1910 &ndash 9 March 1997) was an English Historian who generally Thirty Years War. New York: The New York Review of Books, Inc. , 2005 (ISBN 1-59017-146-2).
• Luca Cristini. 1618-1648 la guerra dei 30 anni . volume 1 da 1618 al 1632 2007 (ISBN 9788890301018).
• Luca Cristini. 1618-1648 la guerra dei 30 anni . volume 2 da 1632 al 1648 2007 (ISBN 9788890301025).

External links

• The Thirty Years' War - Czech republic
• The devastation caused to some parts of Europe during the Thirty Years War
• Thirty Years' War - LoveToKnow 1911
• England Thirty Years War Chronology World History Database
• France Thirty Years War Chronology World History Database
• Germany Thirty Years War Chronology World History Database
• Holland Thirty Years War Chronology World History Database
• Sweden Thirty Years War Chronology World History Database
• The Thirty Years War - The Catholic Encyclopedia
• The Thirty Years War LearningSite
• Thirty Years War Timeline
• Project "Peace of Westphalia" (among others with Essay Volumes of the 26th Exhibition of the Council of Europe "1648: War and Peace in Europe", 1998/99)
• History of the Thirty Years' War by Friedrich von Schiller at Project Gutenberg
• The Thirty Years War

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller krɪstɔf friːtʁɪç fɔn ʃɪləʁ/ʃɪlɐ (10 November 1759 9 May 1805 was a German Poet, Philosopher Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works

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