30 Years' War

Like many wars after 1517 (when Martin Luther posts the 95 Theses), the 30 Year's War (1618-1648) is a religious war. To understand the circumstances surrounding the conflict, we must go back to 1555. In that year, the Holy Roman Empire (present-day Germany) passed the Peace of Augsburg which granted the various princes of the various kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire to choose which religion, Catholic or Lutheran, their subjects would be. (The Holy Roman Empire was a loose confederation of these various kingdoms.) The conflict of the 30 Years' War occurred when some princes began to choose Calvinism for their people which was not allowed in the Peace of Augsburg.

The war began with the Defenestration of Prague which was in 1618. Four Catholics were thrown out of a window in Prague, Bohemia by Protestants. (Luckily for them, the Catholics lived. They maintain that they were saved by angels, but the Protestants attribute the miracle to horse manure.) The defenestration led to a revolt in Bohemia against Catholic Hapsburg rule. After the revolt was put down, the Hapsburgs who controlled Austria were opposed by the Danish and eventually the Swedish, two Protestant nations. The most important figure of this phase of the war was Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden. He was known for his strong military strategy and defeats of Austria.

The last phase of the war was the French intervention. The French were Catholic and their leader at this time was Cardinal Richelieu. As his title suggests, Richelieu was a cardinal in the Catholic Church. So, guess which side the French helped. Catholic Austria or the Protestant Sweden? WRONG! Richelieu joined on the Protestant side in order to improve France's power in Europe by defeating a more powerful Austria.

The French intervention proved too much for Austria. In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia was signed. The Peace of Westphalia decreased Austria's size and power and made Calvinism an option for German princes. The long term effects of the war were more important. The population of the Holy Roman Empire declined as well as the power of the Catholic Church in Central Europe. The French monarchy began its climb to power that would peak with Louis XIV. Last and perhaps most importantly, the 30 Year's War makes the unification of Germany even more difficult.