Central European Monarchs Clash

Ch. 5.3

1555Peace of Augsburg settled religious differences amongst German Princes by allowing each prince to determine the religion of his subjects. However, Calvinist churches were not allowed, only Catholic and Lutheran.

Tensions between the Catholics and Protestants in Germany led to the creation of the Protestant Union in 1608.The Charter document of the Protestant Union concluded in Auhausen in 1608 by 8 protestant dukes and 17 Estates under the leadership of Friedrich V.

Catholics unite…

In 1609 the opposing Catholic League was formed under the impulse of Maximilian I of Bavaria.

Maximilian I, Elector and Duke of Bavaria

John Calvin 1509-1564

Both groups were suspicious of each other and the Calvinists.

Thirty Years War 1618-1648 1618- Ferdinand II

(catholic and future Holy Roman emperor,) was an Austrian and the head of the Hapsburg family. Because of this, he was the ruler of the Czech kingdom of Bohemia and the kingdom of Hungary.

Ferdinand II closed some Protestant churches which led to revolts. Ferdinand II sent in troops to squash the revolt. Several German princes took this opportunity to take up arms against their Catholic emperor. This was the beginning of the Thirty Years War, (1618-1648) which was a conflict over religion, territory and for power among European ruling families.

2 Phases of the 30 Years WarHAPSBURG TRIUMPHS

the first 12 years, Ferdinand II’s 125,000 men crushed troops hired by the Protestant princes and succeeded in putting down the Czech uprising.

HAPSBURG DEFEATS Gustavus Adolphus of

Sweden (Protestant) shifted the tide of the war in 1630 with his 13,000 troops. They drove the Hapsburg armies out of northern Germany but their advances would end with Adolphus’s death in 1632.

The Devil is very near at hand to those who, like monarchs, are accountable to none but

God for their actions.

Gustavas Aldolphus of Sweeden

But wait…I thought you were on my side…

Cardinal Richelieu and Cardinal Mazarin of France would then lead the German princes to the eventual victory despite the fact that they were Catholic. They feared the power of the Hapsburg family more than the Protestant princes and did not want any European ruler to have more power than the French king. French troops entered the fight with the Protestants in 1635 and effectively tipped the scales.

The Destruction of War Germany suffered

greatly in the war and lost about 4 million of its population. Both trade and agriculture were disrupted and Germany’s economy was ruined. The long road to recovery from the devastation was the major reason why the German states did not unify until the 1800’s.

Jacques Callot, a baroque printmaker, published a series of etchings entitled Les Misères De La Guerre (The Miseries and Misfortunes of War). The etchings documented the French invasion and occupation of Lorraine (now part of France) during the 1630s.

1648- Peace of Westphalia ended the war and resulted in 5 important consequences.

The Peace of Westphalia largely settled German affairs for the next century and a half. It ended religious conflicts between the states and included official recognition of Calvinism.

Its signatories altered the boundaries of the empire by recognizing that Switzerland and the Netherlands had become sovereign states outside the empire.

Portions of Alsace and Lorraine went to France.

Sweden received some territory in northern Germany, which in the long run it could not retain.

Brandenburg became stronger, as did Saxony and Bavaria.

Aftermath of the War… The Peace of

Westphalia set up a new Europe in which the hope of a Catholic empire was abandoned and the new modern state system began. However, the formation of these new modern states was slower in central Europe.

Reasons why central Europe developed slower than the west:

The aristocracy of central Europe passed laws restricting the ability of serfs to gain freedom and kept them from moving to the towns. These nobles would force their serfs to sometimes work up to 6 days a week in order to increase production. The surplus produced was then sold by the nobles to the west at large profits and increased the nobles’ wealth and power. The lack of people living in towns and in the middle class caused a lack in tax revenues for the state.

The landowning nobles also blocked the development of strong kings. Polish nobility elected their king and allowed him little income, no court laws and no standing army. The Ottoman Empire had reached its peak in 1529 under Suleiman the Magnificent’s reign when he conquered Hungary. The Holy Roman Empire was terribly weakened by the 30 yrs war and had no real power over its German states.