[92], Ferdinand restarted peace talks in November, but his position worsened when Gallas' army disintegrated; the remnants retreated into Bohemia, where they were scattered by Torstenson at Jankau in March 1645. [30], Another was Frederick V, Elector Palatine, who succeeded his father in 1610, and in 1613 married Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I of England. [138] Mainz and Trier also witnessed the mass killing of suspected witches, as did Cologne, where Ferdinand of Bavaria presided over a particularly infamous series of witchcraft trials, including that of Katharina Henot, who was executed in 1627. In some areas of Germany, it has been suggested that up to 60% of the population died. Hoping to create a wider coalition against Ferdinand, the Dutch invited France, Sweden, Savoy, and the Republic of Venice to join, but it was overtaken by events. xasaifo. Brandenburg-Prussia received Farther Pomerania, and the bishoprics of Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Kammin, and Minden. Why was this conflict named the Thirty Years War? Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. In return, Ferdinand made concessions to Spain in Northern Italy and Alsace, and agreed to support their offensive against the Dutch. Frederick fled Bohemia and the revolt collapsed. [128], In 1940, agrarian historian Günther Franz published Der Dreissigjährige Krieg und das Deutsche Volk, a detailed analysis of regional data from across Germany; membership of the Nazi Party meant his objectivity was challenged post-1945, but recent reviews support his general findings. ... they were outnumbered from the start. Doing so turned the conflict into a contest between Imperial authority and "German liberties", while Catholics saw an opportunity to regain lands lost since 1555. [102], French policy was to seek to disrupt this road wherever possible, either by attacking the Spanish-held Duchy of Milan, or by blocking the Alpine passes. The Washington Times runs a story which details DEA informant Barry Seal's successful infiltration into the Medellin cartel's operations in Panama. In October, von Hatzfeldt defeated a Swedish-English-Palatine force at Vlotho but the main Imperial army under Matthias Gallas abandoned North-East Germany to the Swedes, unable to sustain itself in the devastated area. Christian IV of Denmark was also Duke of Holstein, and it was in this capacity he joined the war in 1625. [50], Ferdinand had paid Wallenstein for his support against Frederick with estates confiscated from the Bohemian rebels, and now contracted with him to conquer the north on a similar basis. What was the thirty years war and where did it begin? Emperor Rudolf approved intervention by the Catholic Maximilian of Bavaria on their behalf. [83], Three days later, a combined French-Catalan force defeated the Spanish at Montjuïc, a victory which secured Barcelona. Chronic financial weakness meant prior to 1619 the Austrian Habsburgs had no standing army of any size, leaving them dependent on Maximilian and their Spanish relatives for money and men. [140], The extent to which these witch-hunts were symptomatic of the impact of the conflict on society is debatable, since many took place in areas relatively untouched by the war. Dr Bernd Warlich has edited four diaries of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). [59], Once again, the methods used to obtain victory explain why the war failed to end. This was known as The Defenestration. In fact from 1618 to his death in 1625, the English input into the Thirty Years War was minimal. Edit. The process, or 'Congress' model, was adopted for negotiations at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1668, Nijmegen in 1678, and Ryswick in 1697; unlike the 19th century 'Congress' system, these were to end wars, rather than prevent them, so references to the 'balance of power' can be misleading. Similar phrases were repeated in many other publications, even if most communities did not celebrate peace until 1650, the year in which the terms agreed at Westphalia were implemented. [47], With Saxony dominating the Upper Saxon Circle and Brandenburg the Lower, both kreis had remained neutral during the campaigns in Bohemia and the Palatinate. The Russo-Polish Peace of Polyanov in 1634 ended Poland’s claim to the tsarist throne but freed Poland to resume hostilities against its Baltic archenemy, Sweden, which was now deeply embroiled in Germany. In the second phase, fighting in Germany became part of a wider European struggle, with Sweden and France on one side, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs on the other. In 1651, Spain recaptured Barcelona, ending the revolt. [42], The strategic importance of the Palatinate and its proximity to the Spanish Road drew in external powers; in August 1620, the Spanish occupied the Lower Palatinate. [38], On 19 August, the Bohemian Estates rescinded Ferdinand's 1617 election as king, and on 26th, formally offered the crown to Frederick instead; two days later, Ferdinand was elected Emperor, making war inevitable if Frederick accepted. The spark that set off the Thirty Years War came in 1618, when the Archbishop of Prague ordered a Protestant church destroyed. [16] Related conflicts include the Eighty Years War, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Franco-Spanish War, and the Portuguese Restoration War. Even after union, the Portuguese dominated the Atlantic trade in Triangular trade, exporting slaves from West Africa and Angola to work sugar plantations in Brazil. [36], By mid-June, the Bohemian army under Thurn was outside Vienna; Mansfeld's defeat by Spanish-Imperial forces at Sablat forced him to return to Prague, but Ferdinand's position continued to worsen. It's 1706 and I'm playing Prussia. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. [89] The French also had to rebuild their army in Germany after it was shattered by an Imperial-Bavarian force led by Franz von Mercy at Tuttlingen in November. By 1623, Spanish-Imperial forces had defeated Frederick, who was stripped of his possessions and exiled. [127] Nearly 50% of these losses appear to have been incurred during the first period of Swedish intervention from 1630 to 1635. Prompted by France, the rebels proclaimed the Catalan Republic in January 1641. [106], Throughout the 1630s, attempts to increase taxes to pay for the costs of the war in the Netherlands led to protests throughout Spanish territories; in 1640, these erupted into open revolts in Portugal and Catalonia, supported by Richelieu as part of his 'war by diversion'. It started with a bizarre act of violence The Thirty Years War began with a scene now infamous in history: the May 18, 1618 ejection, or “defenestration,” of … [144], The benefits of Westphalia for the Swedes proved short-lived. The Thirty Years' War began in Bohemia, where a group of Protestants took two Catholic officials and threw them from a window. This seemed confirmed when Tilly's Catholic League army occupied Halberstadt in early 1625. Estimates of total military and civilian deaths range from 4.5 to 8 million, mostly from disease or starvation. The strategic importance of the Duchy of Mantua meant when the direct male line became extinct in December 1627, both powers became involved in the 1628 to 1631 War of the Mantuan Succession. This is generally seen as the point when the conflict ceased to be primarily a German civil war. [99] Outnumbered by a Franco-Swedish army under Wrangel and Turenne, they were defeated at Zusmarshausen in May 1648, while von Holzappel was killed. [46] However, Spanish and Dutch involvement in the campaign was a significant step in internationalising the war, while Frederick's removal meant other Protestant princes began discussing armed resistance to preserve their own rights and territories. The Thirty Years' Peace was first tested in 440 BC, when Athens's powerful ally, Samos, rebelled from its alliance with Athens. The Peace of Westphalia consisted of three separate agreements; the Peace of Münster between Spain and the Dutch Republic, the treaty of Osnabrück between the Empire and Sweden, plus the treaty of Münster between the Empire and France. They included separation of the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs, expansion of the French frontier into the Empire, and an end to Spanish military supremacy in Northern Europe. Although retaken in 1625, a second fleet established Dutch Brazil in 1630, which was then relinquished in 1654. Most of the fighting took place in the Holy Roman Empire, although the war grew to include European powers outside of the Empire.What began as a local, religious conflict became more and more continental and political with each expanding phase of the war. It started as a conflict between Protestants and Roman Catholics but soon became a struggle for political power. In 1556, Habsburg Spain became a separate entity, while retaining Imperial states such as the Duchy of Milan, and interests in Bohemia and Hungary; the two often co-operated, but their objectives did not always align. Its central location. [28], Outside powers became involved in an internal German dispute due to the imminent expiry of the 1609 Twelve Years' Truce, which suspended the war between Spain and the Dutch. In 1621, the Dutch West India Company was formed to challenge this control and captured the Brazilian port of Salvador in 1624. What did the Peace of Augsburg do for Germany? Attempts by Maximilian of Bavaria and John George of Saxony to broker a negotiated solution ended when Matthias died in March 1619, since it convinced many the Habsburgs were fatally damaged. Over the next eighteen months, Spanish and Catholic League forces won a series of victories; by November 1622, they controlled most of the Palatinate, apart from Frankenthal, held by a small English garrison under Sir Horace Vere. The political disintegration of the Polish commonwealth led to the 1655 to 1660 Second Northern War with Sweden, which also involved Denmark, Russia and Brandenburg, while two Swedish attempts to impose its control on the port of Bremen failed in 1654 and 1666. Charles I of England allowed Christian to recruit up to 9,000 Scottish mercenaries, but they took time to arrive, and while able to slow Wallenstein's advance, were insufficient to stop him. in the Holy Roman Empire. [48], As Duke of Holstein, Christian IV was also a member of the Lower Saxon circle, while Denmark's economy relied on the Baltic trade and tolls from traffic through the Øresund. [19], After 1560, the Protestant cause was divided by the growth of Calvinism, a Reformed faith not recognised by Augsburg; Lutheran states like Saxony viewed Calvinists in the Palatinate and Brandenburg with mistrust, paralysing Imperial institutions. The Thirty Years' War began with the Defenestration of Prague on May 23, 1618, when members of a protestant revolt in Bohemia stormed the royal palace in Prague and threw two of King Ferdinand II's royal ministers out a window. [58], With Austrian resources stretched by the outbreak of the War of the Mantuan Succession, Wallenstein persuaded Ferdinand to agree relatively lenient terms in the June 1629 Treaty of Lübeck. It does not appear to have reversed ongoing macro-economic trends, such as the reduction of price differentials between regional markets, and a greater degree of market integration across Europe. The French now persuaded the Catalan Courts to recognise Louis XIII as Count of Barcelona, and ruler of the Principality of Catalonia. Previously, many had overlapping, sometimes conflicting political and religious allegiances; they were now understood to be subject first and foremost to the laws and edicts of their respective state authority, not to the claims of any other entity, be it religious or secular. [22], While Emperors were elected, since 1440 this had been a Habsburg, the largest single landowner within the Empire; their lands included the Archduchy of Austria, the Kingdom of Bohemia, and the Kingdom of Hungary, with over eight million subjects. The term Thirty Years War was already commonplace by 1648 when a twenty-four page pamphlet appeared entitled ‘From the Thirty Years German War. What year did this war begin? Unlike French gains which were incorporated into France, Swedish territories remained part of the Empire, and they became members of the Lower and Upper Saxon kreis. [82] After the French captured Arras in August 1640 and over-ran Artois, Olivares argued it was time to accept Dutch independence and prevent further losses in Flanders. (history documentary)", "The 30 Years' War (1618–48) and the Second Defenestration of Prague – Professor Peter Wilson", Dechristianization of France during the French Revolution, Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart, Persecutions of the Catholic Church and Pius XII, Pope Pius XII Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, International Alliance of Catholic Knights, Political influence of Evangelicalism in Latin America, Architecture of cathedrals and great churches, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thirty_Years%27_War&oldid=1008423919, 17th-century military history of the Kingdom of England, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with KULTURNAV identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The Thirty Years' War is briefly referenced in the survival horror game. 0. The Thirty Years’ War was a European continental war that took place from 1618-1648 (thirty years!). Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [131] The death toll may have improved living standards for the survivors; one study shows wages in Germany increased by 40% in real terms between 1603 and 1652. Thirty Years’ War, (1618–48), in European history, a series of wars fought by various nations for various reasons, including religious, dynastic, territorial, and commercial rivalries. Religion and political control France got involved on the side of the "Germanic" Holy Roman Empire which was Catholic and was trying to suppress the Protestant movement in Germany started by Martin Luther. The Thirty Years’ War Religious Divide in the Holy Roman Empire. [43], Spanish chief minister Olivares correctly interpreted this as an invitation to open negotiations, and in return for an Anglo-Spanish alliance offered to restore Frederick to his Rhineland possessions. [17], The war consisted of two main phases, the first being a primarily internal conflict between Emperor Ferdinand II and his opponents within the Holy Roman Empire, with external powers playing a supportive role. Ferdinand paid Wallenstein by letting him confiscate estates, extort ransoms from towns, and allowing his men to plunder the lands they passed through, regardless of whether they belonged to allies or opponents. It lasted 116 years and saw many major battles – from the battle of Crécy in 1346 to the battle of Agincourt in 1415, which was a major English victory over the French. In March 1638, Bernhard destroyed an Imperial army at Rheinfelden, while his capture of Breisach in December secured French control of Alsace and severed the Spanish Road. They included Christian IV of Denmark, who was also Duke of Holstein; in 1625 he intervened in Northern Germany until forced to withdraw in 1629. In return, they dissolved the Heilbronn and Catholic Leagues. Possession of these fortresses gave France effective control of Piedmont, protected the Alpine passes into Southern France, and allowed them to threaten Milan at will. The 16th-century Reformation had split Europe’s monolithic Catholic identity wide open. 1. The Peace of Augsburg was … [67], However, once again Richelieu provided the requisite support; in the 1631 Treaty of Bärwalde, he provided funds for the Heilbronn League, a Swedish-led coalition of German Protestant states, including Saxony and Brandenburg. The Thirty Years’ War was a European continental war that took place from 1618-1648 (thirty years!). The armies of both sides plundered as they marched, leaving cities, towns, villages, and farms ravaged. [75] In the March 1636 Treaty of Wismar, France formally joined the Thirty Years War in alliance with Sweden; a Swedish army under Johan Banér entered Brandenburg and re-established their position in North-East Germany at Wittstock on 4 October 1636. The advance quickly fell apart; Mansfeld was defeated at Dessau Bridge in April, and when Maurice refused to support him, Christian of Brunswick fell back on Wolfenbüttel, where he died of disease shortly after. The Thirty Years War was a devastating religious war in Europe in the early seventeenth century. [110], The Peace of Münster was the first to be signed on 30 January 1648; it was part of the Westphalia settlement because the Dutch Republic was still technically part of the Spanish Netherlands and thus Imperial territory. [95], This allowed the Swedes, now led by Wrangel, to put pressure on the peace talks by devastating first Westphalia, then Bavaria; by the autumn of 1646, Maximilian was desperate to end the war he was largely responsible for starting. In some areas of Germany, it has been suggested that up to 60% of the population died. By weakening the Habsburgs while increasing the status of France and Sweden, it led to a new balance of power on the continent. It was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, resulting in millions of casualties. Start studying World History - Chapter 15.5 - The Thirty-Years' War. Anti-Imperial alliance: prior to 1635 [a]. [105] Combined with the diversion of Imperial resources caused by Swedish intervention in 1630, this led to the Treaty of Cherasco in June 1631. [21], Managing these issues was complicated by the fragmented nature of the Empire, a patchwork of nearly 1,800 separate entities in Germany, the Low Countries, Northern Italy, and areas like Alsace, now part of modern France. In May 1625, the Lower Saxony kreis elected Christian their military commander, although not without resistance; Saxony and Brandenburg viewed Denmark and Sweden as competitors, and wanted to avoid either becoming involved in the Empire. The defection of their German allies led France to join the war directly, which now became part of a wider European conflict. Despite these setbacks, the Habsburg lands suffered less from the war than many others and became a far more coherent bloc with the absorption of Bohemia, and restoration of Catholicism throughout their territories. One may describe a feeling of sadness as being "blue" and cowardice as being "yellow," but did American revolutionaries refer to British soldiers as "redcoats?" Overall, the struggle was between the Holy Roman Empire, which was Roman Catholic and Habsburg, and a network of Protestant towns and principalities that relied on the chief anti-Catholic powers of Sweden and the United Netherlands, which had at last thrown off the yoke of Spain after a struggle lasting 80 years. Leaving Wrangel to finish the war in Denmark, in May 1644 Torstenson marched into the Empire; Gallas was unable to stop him, while the Danes sued for peace after their defeat at Fehmarn in October 1644. The Thirty Years War began as a religious civil war between the Protestants and Roman Catholics in Germany that engaged the Austrian Habsburgs and the German princes. A Spanish offensive in 1636 reached Corbie in Northern France; although it caused panic in Paris, lack of supplies forced them to retreat, and it was not repeated. "into line with army of Gabriel Bethlen in 1620". A combined Imperial-Catholic League army funded by Maximilian and led by Count Tilly pacified Upper and Lower Austria before invading Bohemia, where they defeated Christian of Anhalt at the White Mountain in November 1620. The war soon developed into a devastating struggle for the balance of power in Europe. [78] Ferdinand was forced to divert Piccolomini's army from Thionville, effectively ending direct military cooperation with Spain. Thanks to Xios, Alan Haskayne, Lachlan Lindenmayer, William Crabb, Derpvic, Seth Reeves and all my other Patrons. [71] Two months later, the Swedes won a resounding victory at Lützen, where Gustavus was killed. By the time he died in 1631, over 900 people from all levels of society had been executed. This was known as The Defenestration. Of the 30,000 citizens, only 5,000 survived. 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