The Thirty Years War

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The Thirty Years War
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Thirty Years War Basic Facts

• Lasted 1618-1648
• Bohemian Phase 1618-1621
• Danish Phase 1621-1630
• Swedish Phase 1630-1632
• French Phase 1635-1648
• Holy Roman Empire was the battleground
• Beginning Protestants vs. Catholics
• End Hapsburg power under assault
• Resolved by Peace of Westphalia

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Ultimately involved all major European nations
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Thirty Years War Bohemian Phase

• Ferdinand II inherited Bohemia
• Bohemians hated him
• Ferdinand refused to tolerate Protestants
• Defenestration of Prague May 1618
• Bohemia named new king Frederick
• Ferdinand II became Holy Roman Emperor
• Ferdinand II borrowed army from Bavaria
• Frederick lost his lands in the fighting
• Rebellion in Bohemia inspired others

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Defenestration of Prague
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Defenestration Building in PragueJune 2009
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Frederick Temporary King of Bohemia (Winter King)
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Bohemian Phase 1618-1621
Heads of Bohemian Rebels Prague River Tower,
1621
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Thirty Years War Danish Phase

• Ferdinand II tried to end all resistance
• Tried to crush Protestants in the North
• Ferdinand II used Wallenstein for army
• Wallenstein defeated Protestants in North
• Edict of Restitution 1629
• Outlawed Calvinism
• Required Protestants to return lands
• German princes began to fear Ferdinand II
• Wallenstein fired in effort to calm princes

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• Danish Phase
• 1621-1630

Christian IV King of Denmark and Norway
1577-1648
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Wallenstein
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Thirty Years War Swedish Phase (1630-1632)

• France and Sweden now got involved
• Both wanted to stop Hapsburg power
• Sweden led the charge
• France provided support
• Gustavus Adolphus invaded the HRE
• Ferdinand II brought back Wallenstein
• Swedish advance was stopped
• German princes still feared Ferdinand II
• Wallenstein assassinated to appease them

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Gustavus Adolphus
The Lion of the North
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Gustavus Adolphus Signature
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Thirty Years War French Phase (1635-1648)

• France and Sweden switched roles
• All countries in Europe now participated
• This phase was most destructive
• German towns decimated
• Agriculture collapsed famine resulted
• 8 million dead 1/3 of population
• Caused massive inflation
• Trade was crippled throughout Europe

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French Phase 1635-1648
Cardinal Richelieu 1585-1642
Louis XIII
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JACQUES CALLOT (1592-1635) AND THE MISERIES OF
THE THIRTY YEARS WAR
The Hanging
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JACQUES CALLOT, Destruction of a Convent
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Thirty Years War Peace of Westphalia (1648)

• First modern peace treaty
• France gained Alsace-Lorraine
• Sweden received lands from the empire
• Swiss Confederation and Netherlands
• became independent
• German princes had rights reaffirmed
• Hapsburg power declined and shifted
• Would lead to rise of Prussia
• Would lead to Austro-Hungarian Empire

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Gerard Terborch, The Peace of Westphalia, 1648

• Artist was
• Eyewitness
• Dressed
• in brown