Imperial Expansion and State Rivalries during the Military Revolution

“The Thirty Years War”

“The Thirty Years War”

• One of the Greatest Conflicts of Early Modern European History

• Extension of the Dutch Revolt & French Wars of Religion

• Continued Religious struggles between Catholics, Lutherans, & Calvinists

• Internal Civil War between Holy Roman Empire & German Principalities

• Primary Antagonists were the ruling members of the Habsburg Dynasty

• International oppositions to Habsburgs formed by its neighbors

• Extension of the Franco-Habsburg Rivalry

• Consisted of a series of declared and undeclared wars (1618-1648)

A Simplified Overview

“The Thirty Years War” Extension of the Dutch Revolt & French Wars of Religion

• The Dutch Revolt (1566 – 1609)

Rebellion by 17 Protestant Dutch Provinces

against Roman Catholic Spain

Religious Differences

Unreasonably High Taxes by Spanish Crown

Twelve Year Truce began in 1609

• French Wars of Religion (1562 – 1598)

Conflict between French Catholics and

Protestant Huguenots

Political disputes between French houses

of Bourbon and Guise (Lorainne)

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

Edict of Nantes (Limited Protestant Rights)

“The Thirty Years War”

Continued Religious struggles between

Catholics, Lutherans, & Calvinists

Catholic

League Formed 1609

Protestant

Union Formed 1608

• Holy Roman Emperors

• King of Spain

• King of Bohemia

• King of Hungary

• Archduke of Austria

• Catholic German Princes

• Elector of Palatine

• King of Denmark & Norway

• King of Sweden

• King of France

• Prince of Orange (Dutch Rep)

• Protestant German Princes

“The Thirty Years War” Internal Civil War between

Holy Roman Empire & German Principalities

• Holy Roman Emperor had

give official recognition to the

German Lutherans under the

Peace of Augsburg in 1555

• Catholics dominated many of

the provincial governments

• Protestants continued to take

over former Catholic lands

• German Princes allowed the

spread of Calvinism

• Protestant distrust for both the

Habsburgs and Catholic

Church increased

“The Thirty Years War”

Primary Antagonists were the ruling members of

The Habsburg Dynasty

“The Thirty Years War”

Primary Antagonists were the ruling members of

The Habsburg Dynasty

Directly against Emperor

Indirectly against Emperor

Directly for Emperor

Indirectly for Emperor

International oppositions to Habsburgs

Formed by its neighbors

“The Thirty Years War”

• Franco-Ottoman

Alliance (1532 - 1798)

• Protestant Union (1608)

• Catholic League (1609)

• Franco-Swedish

Alliance (1631 – 1648)

• League of Heilbronn

(1633 – 1648)

“The Thirty Years War” Extension of the Franco-Habsburg Rivalry

• Habsburgs originally sought expansion through marriage

Motto “Wars may be led by others – you, happy Austria, marry.”

Maximilian I (Holy Roman Emperor) married Mary of Valois (1477)

Philip of Austria married Joanna of Castile and became King of Castile

Charles I (son of Philip & Joanna) became King of Spain (1516)

He also became Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1519)

Philip II, King of Spain, also gained control of Portugal through marriage

• Habsburgs managed to gain control of Europe’s largest empire

Kingdom of Spain and Portugal

The Spanish (later Austrian) Netherlands

Kingdoms of Bohemia, Hungary, and Austria

Independent German Provinces or the Holy Roman Empire

• France regarded the encirclement by the Habsburgs as a threat

Consisted of a series of declared and undeclared wars (1618-1648)

“The Thirty Years War”

The Bohemian Phase (1618-1621)

• Austrian Archduke Ferdinand was appointed

King of Bohemia by Holy Roman Emperor

• Bohemian’s deposed the Habsburg King &

elected Frederick V as the Palatine King

• Ferdinand II (Holy Roman Emperor) struck

back with support from the Catholic League

• Catholic forces under the Count of Tilly met

Protestants under Count von Mansfield

• Bohemians were defeated at Prague and

the Spanish secured the lower Netherlands

Ferdinand II

Holy Roman Emperor

Frederick V

Elector of Palatinate

Consisted of a series of declared and undeclared wars (1618-1648)

“The Thirty Years War”

The Ottoman Phase (1620-1621)

• King of Poland sent an elite and ruthless

unit of mercenaries to help the Habsburgs

with their fight in Bohemia

• Gabriel Brethlen, Prince of Transylvania,

asked Sultan Osman II of the Ottomans

for assistance

• A large Ottoman army crushed the Polish

at the Battle of Tutora in 1620

• Osman II personally led his army against

the Polish at the Battle of Khotyn in 1621

• Peace Treaty forced the Polish to stay out

of the conflict to the west

Sigismund III

King of Poland

Osman II

Ottoman Sultan

Gabriel Brethlen

Prince of

Transylvania

(Bohemian)

Consisted of a series of declared and undeclared wars (1618-1648)

“The Thirty Years War”

The Palatinate Phase (1621-1624)

• Frederick V rallied with other Protestant

Rulers to reclaim the Palatinate from Spain

• The Dutch Republic joined the effort in

hopes of gaining additional territories from

the Spanish

• Protestant Forces under Count von Mansfield

were unable to defeat the unified Imperial

forces of Count Tilly & Gonzalo of Cordoba

• Imperial dominance of the Catholic Union

gained momentum throughout the German

Territories

Ernst von Mansfield (Protestant General)

Johann Tserclaes Count of Tilly

(Imperial General)

Gonzalo de Cordoba (Spanish General)

Consisted of a series of declared and undeclared wars (1618-1648)

“The Thirty Years War”

The Danish Phase (1625-1630)

• Concerns over increased success of

the Habsburgs grew

• France, England and the Dutch Republic

formed an alliance with Denmark

• Christian IV (King of Denmark) led troops

against General Albrecht von Wallenstein’s

new army of Imperial (Catholic) Troops

• Continued Catholic victories influenced the

Emperor to issue the Edict of Resitution

• Fearing Wallenstein’s power, the Catholic

League ordered him to disband his forces

Christian IV King of Denmark

Albrecht von Wallerstein

(Catholic General)

Consisted of a series of declared & undeclared wars (1618-1648)

“The Thirty Years War”

The Swedish Phase (1630-1634)

• Concerns over continued success of

the Habsburgs threatened the Baltic Region

• Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden invaded

Northern Germany supported by France

• Protestant concerns within the region

caused them to join Gustavus’ army

• The Protestant forces annihilated the

Catholic League at 1st Battle of Breitenfield

• The Holy Roman Emperor recalled the

army under Albrecht von Wallerstein

• Gustavus and Wallerstein’s troops met at

at the Battle of Lutzen (Gustavus was killed)

• Spanish troops joined the fight and inflicted

crushing defeat on Swedes at Nordlingen

Albrecht von Wallerstein

(Catholic General)

Gustavus Adolphus King of Sweden

Don Ambrosia Spanish General

Consisted of a series of declared & undeclared wars (1618-1648)

“The Thirty Years War”

The French Phase (1634-1648)

• Gustavus Adolphus died in 1633

• Albrect von Wallerstein was assassinated

under orders from the Catholic League

• German Lutheran Princes signed the Peace

of Prague with the Holy Roman Emperor

• Protestants were allowed to keep all lands

in their possession since 1627

• France continued to provide support to the

Swedish forces under Field Marshal

Lennart Torstensson

• France declared war on the Spain

• Imperial forces weakened as France took

the Rhineland & Sweden took N. Germany

Cardinal Richelieu Minister of France

Louis XIII King of France

“The Thirty Years War”

Effects of the War and the Peace of Westphalia

Effects of the War

• German region was decimated by warfare

• Population fell from 21 million to 13 million

• German strategic position was greatly weakened

• German people suffered destitution, humiliation and despair

Results of the Peace of Westphalia

• Weakened the power and influence of the Habsburg states of Spain & Austria

• German Principalities were made independent from the Holy Roman Empire

• France became dominant land military power in Western Europe

• Poland and Ottoman Empire became major military powers in Eastern Europe

• Brought an end to Religious Wars in Europe

• Introduced a new method of Peace Negotiations (still used today)

“The Thirty Years War”