The 30 Years War Between the Catholics and the Protestants in Europe

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The thirty years war was a war of change between the Protestants and the Catholics. It started in Germany. Many European countries were involved in this war. It transcended from a religious war to a political war that engulfed Most of Europe. It was the climax of the France Habsburg political rivalry to dominate Europe. Consequently, the war metamorphosed to the war between France and Habsburg government. The mercenary armies were the main combatants in this war. The following paragraphs will explain why the thirty year war was both a religious war and a territorial battle as well (JÁszi 40).

Body

The countries involved in the war of change included Sweden, Bohemia, Denmark, Norway, Dutch Republic, France, Scotland, England, Saxony, Electoral Palatinate, Transylvania, Hungarian anti –Hapsburg, The Holy Roman Empire, the Catholic League, Austria, Bavaria, Croatia and the Spanish Empire. The major effect of the war was the widespread devastation that victimized large portions of Europe. Disease and hunger stalked the lands caught in the middle of the conflict (Murdoch 5).

Before the War

The Peace of Augsburg treaty that was signed in 1555 by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V was one of the factors that triggered the thirty years war. This treaty was instituted to put a stop to the religious war between the Lutheran of Germany and the Catholics. The agreement stated that each of the more than two hundred German princes can dictate the religion of his territory. Many Chose Catholicism. The others chose the Lutheran. The treaty also stated that the Lutheran army could retain the Catholic territories they conquered in war (Raitt 145).

Also, the Catholic Bishops who converted to the Lutheran faith must surrender their Catholic communities since they have left their original faith. Most importantly, all residents within the state must practice the religion ordered by their German Princes or leaders without reservation. This treaty was very disheartening because the ordinary folks lost their freedom of religion. The neighboring countries contributed to the war. Spain was instrumental in sparking the thirty year war. Its main concern was to maintain Spanish influence on the Spanish territories in Netherlands located on the western part of the German territory(ibid).

Plus, France was besieged on two fronts at this time. It was threatened by the Habsburg state of Spain on one side. It was also on war terms with the other Habsburg state known as the Holy Roman Empire. France was dragged into the war because it was a Catholic country and they pillaged its neighboring German Lutheran towns. The French victories in the thirty year were due to it was militarily superior to the defending armies of the Lutheran towns. Sweden and Norway also attacked and slaughtered many parts of Germany because of their superior military power. The Swedes and the Norwegians were interested to take control of the German states located along the Baltic Sea (Glete 35).

And, the Holy Roman Empire also triggered the thirty years war. The war was a religious one and the Holy Roman Empire was a Catholic state. The Holy Roman Empire was a conglomeration of many smaller Roman Catholic States. The Austrian House of Habsburg that included the states of Bohemia and Hungary were Catholic nations. The Holy Roman Empire logistics at the start of the thirty year was approximately more then seven million people. Some of the states under the Holy Roman Empire included the Electoral Saxony, Bavaria, Palatinate, and Brandenburg. The Holy Roman Empire state of Wurttemberg accounted for an estimated one million residents (Walker 9).

Clearly, the inaction of some defecting Catholic Bishops to give up their religious territories to the Catholic rulers in compliance with the Peace of Augsburg conditions was one of the factors that preempted the thirty year war. Likewise, the forcing of the residents to take up the religion of their German Princes angered the devout Catholics as well as Lutheran citizens who were force to practice the Lutheran Faith. Some areas like the Rhine region remained stout Catholics.

The Catholic Spanish troops dethroned the Cologne Prince and installed a Roman Catholic leader named Ernst of Bavaria. The Lutheran residents under the Catholic leaders were either forced to accept the new religion or be expelled from their homeland. The Lutheran leaders also rammed the Lutheran faith mercilessly down the throats of the Catholic devotees living within their newly acquired territories (Hampson 53).

In addition, some of the leaders gave their subjects the freedom to practice the religion of their choice. The Habsburg emperors Ferdinand I and Maximilian II gave their subjects the freedom to choose their own faith. They tried their best to avoid a religious war by giving their inhabitants the freedom to pray the way they want to. The people were not forced to follow either the Catholic faith or the Lutheran teachings. All the above factors truly triggered the thirty years war.

In fact, the prevention of the Lutheran faithful of the Catholics from making a procession in the town of Swabian sparked a riot between the two groups in 1606. The escalation into a full blown war stopped when Duke Maximilian of Bavaria interceded for the Catholics. In addition the formation of a strong union between the Calvinists in Germany as the League of Evangelical Unions in 1608 forced the Catholics to bond together also (Walker 9).

In addition, King Ferdinand’s installation as ruler in 1617 finally broke all peace accords between the Catholics and the Lutherans. Ferdinand was a devout Catholic and he was trained under the Jesuit religious system. He used an iron hand to forcibly impose the Catholic faith on all residents of his domain. This angered the Lutherans because they did not want to be forced to accept the new religion. In retaliation, the nobles of the Lutheran states under his jurisdiction showed disrespect to their new Catholic King. King Ferdinand could not accept the Lutheran leaders’ action of thrashed his representatives out of the Bohemian meeting place and into horse manure. The start of the war in Bohemia could have been contained if it was settled internally (JÁszi 33).

Start of the War

The war finally broke out. The war quickly spread to many European States. However, many neighboring states joined in the war. King Ferdinand called his nephew the King Philip IV of Spain to his side also escalated the war to far –reaching communities. Spain joined the war in 1620. Another factor that inspired the Lutherans to enter the thirty year war was the death of Emperor Matthias and his replacement by the weak King Ferdinand and his Bohemian constituents. The Spanish army then attacked and conquered the Lutheran state of Bohemia in response to King Ferdinand’s plea for help. King Frederick of Bohemia was defeated resulting to the transformation of Bohemia into a Catholic region (Hume 29).

Further, the entry of some European countries was a factor in the thirty year war. Denmark also took part in the thirty year war of change. Denmark was a Lutheran state and it went to the aid of the Protestant communities. Denmark, under Christian IV of Denmark feared that the recent success of the Catholic States over their Protestant enemies would affect his leadership as a Lutheran. Denmark joined the war in 1625. In response, he ordered his armies to go to the aid of the Protestant countries. France also came to the aid of the Denmark. In the same fashion, England also came to the rescue of the Protestant states. France and England decided to pay for the military weapons and other expenses of the war(ibid).

Also, Sweden, a protestant state, also came to the aid of the protestant countries. The Swedes feared that the successes of the Catholics in Germany would end with the Catholics pushing right into the heart of Protestant Germany. Sweden helped the Protestants in the battle field in 1630. The Swedish King, Gustavus Adolphus, had the same fears as Christian IV. Both Christian IV and Gustavus Adolphus were financially helped by the Chief Minister of Louis XIII of France, Cardinal Richelieu. The Dutch government also funded the war expenses of Gustavus Adolphus (Murdoch 8).

Plus, France entered the war in 1636. It sided with the protestant countries because it hated the Habsburgs. The French royalty at this time felt that the Catholic Habsburg royalty outnumbered and outmatched the Protestant countries in the battlefield. France entered the war to even the playing field. Thus, they fought on the side of the Lutherans. The French sent an average of One million soldiers each year to help the Swedish army fight the Catholic nations.

However, the Spanish forced attacked major cities in France and completely trounce them in all French lands. The French Cities of Champagne, Picardy and Burgundy were literally overrun by the Spanish invading forces. The Swedish army also grew weak. They suffered a resounding and unrecoverable defeat at the battle of Nordlingen. This is located in Bavaria, Germany(ibid).

After the War

The thirty years war finally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Munster on October 24, 1648. This was part of the bigger settlement entitled the Peace of Westphalia. The end of the war brought to a halt the formation of mercenary armies. These armies were trained to heartlessly maim, kill and pillage villages and enemy soldiers in the name of Catholicism or the Lutheran faith. This war brought future large scale religious wars to an end in 1648. No other religious war had casualties covering so many nations and involving death and destruction so many towns and communities (Cruz,1).

Further, boundary dispute is one of the factors in the thirty year war. The heartless mercenaries who had the mission to kill the enemy soldiers in the name of religion were replaced by the combatant countries in the thirty year war by institutionalized armies. The new armies never fought in the name of religion like the mercenaries. These same revitalized armies fought instead for the protection of their state from foreign invaders. The new treaties installed to end the thirty year war now established the territorial boundaries of each European state. The thirty year war set Sweden on the pedestal as a strong military power. Bohemia had remained under Catholic instructions even after the war (Healey 7).

In addition, a census after the thirty year war disclosed that the population of Germany, Italy and some its neighbors had been reduced. Money spent to buy military arms and other war expenses forced near bankruptcy in many of the warring states. Many of the issues that sparked the war continued to be unanswered even after its end. More than half of the male residents of Germany died from the war because the main area of conflict was in Germany. Army of Sweden literally destroyed many castles, villages and towns in German. One third of Germany was razed to the ground by invading Swedish forces (Frey,1).

Counterargument

The counter that the factor where German Princes forced their citizens to change to another religion against their will did not lead to (change) during the 30 years war between the Catholics and the Protestants in Europe during the time period 1618-1648 because they can secretly practice their forbidden religion at home is unsustainable. For, some devout Catholic or Lutheran Person would prefer to die than to fake another religion (Fleischer 89).

Further, it would be unthinkable to see a faithful Catholic destroy the status of the saints and Mother Mary just to fake that he or she is a Protestant in front of the Protestant king. It would also be a defiance of a Lutheran faithful to fake being a Catholic by praying the rosary in front of the Catholic King. For, many of the faithful on both sides of the fence would rather die for their faith than to give up their faith. The thirty years war proves that many people are willing to die for the sake keeping their faith. The thirty years war shows that thirty years are not enough to openly profess and even fight for one’s religion (Theibault).

Conclusion

The thirty years war was a war of change between the Protestants and the Catholics. This large scale and thirty year long war that has left its bloodshed marks on the people of the European Countries from 1618 until our present generation. This same war has psychologically affected the exchange of religious information as well as the conversion of one person from one religion to another. The major effect of that war that occurred four centuries ago brought about widespread devastation. It victimized large portions of Europe, especially the German population.

Further, disease and hunger stalked the lands caught in the middle of the conflict. It had cut down the male population in the battle areas by almost half. The thirty year war was waged because one community forced its religious practices on another community’s inherited religion. Many of the Catholic leaders envisioned that all of their constituents must be Catholics. Many of the Lutheran leaders commanded that all their subjects should embrace the Lutheran faith.

Also, the war erupted because the leaders in one community wanted to side with one combatant in the war of change. The disrespect done by the nobles in Bohemia was the eruption point of the thirty year war. The Bohemian spark and was because the protestants had already reached their boiling point and there was no more turning from war to prevent a change in their religion from Protestant to Catholic. One beneficial effect of this war of change as prescribed by the new Treaty of Munster was a new map. The new map was drawn to finally determine the official boundaries between two or three European States to prevent a repetition of the thirty year war. For one of the reasons of the thirty day was the boundary dispute issue.

Works Cited

Brandi, Karl. The Emperor Charles V: The Growth and Destiny of a Man and of a World-Empire. Trans. C. V. Wedgwood. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1939.

Cruz, Laura. “Policy Point-Counterpoint: Is Westphalia History?.” International Social Science Review 80.3-4 (2005): 151+.

Fisher, Herbert. The Medieval Empire. Vol. 1. London: Macmillan, 1898.

Fleischer, Manfred. “Lutheran and Catholic Reunionists in the Age of Bismarck.” Church History 57.Suppl. (1988): 89-107.

Frey, Marsha L. “The Winter King: Frederick V of the Palatine and the Coming of the Thirty Years’ War.” The Historian 67.1 (2005): 162+.

Glete, Jan. War and the State in Early Modern Europe: Spain, the Dutch Republic, and Sweden as Fiscal-Military States, 1500-1660. London: Routledge, 2002.

Hampson, Daphne. Christian Contradictions: The Structures of Lutheran and Catholic Thought. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Healey, Stephen. “Dialogue among Civilizations: Possibilities after Huntington.” International Journal on World Peace 18.1 (2001): 7.

Hume, Martin. Spain in Decadence Spain in Decadence. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907.

JÁszi, Oscar. The Dissolution of the Habsburg Monarchy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1929.

Murdoch, Steve, ed. Scotland and the Thirty Years’ War, 1618-1648. Boston: Brill, 2001.

Raitt, Jill. “The Emperor and the Exiles: the Clash of Religion and Politics in the Late Sixteenth Century.” Church History 52.2 (1983): 145-156.

Theibault, John. “The Rhetoric of Death and Destruction in the Thirty Years War.” Journal of Social History 27.2 (1993): 272+.

Walker, Mack. Johann Jakob Moser and the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1981.

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