Question:
- Analyze the impact of religious tensions on the Thirty Years' War. How did the conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism influence the course of the war, and how did the involvement of France, Spain, and Sweden shape the outcome of the conflict and the balance of power in Europe?
Contextualization
By the beginning of the 16th century, the medieval Church and all that it represented, entered a period of profound crisis. By this time, the Church was nearly fifteen centuries old. Throughout its history the Church always had to confront problems both within its organization and from without. But by 1500, these problems rose to the surface and the Church would shake at its very foundation.
Political Issues
Political philosophers like Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) had already rejected the medieval idea that popes were superior to kings.
- As a citizen of Renaissance Florence, Machiavelli was a Christian, yet he distrusted and disliked the clergy.
- He saw no need to reform the Church and Christianity because his secular theory of the state was based on the notion that religion and faith was nothing more than the cement which held society together.
- He would certainly have agreed with Karl Marx who, more than three centuries later, would argue that:
Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. [Contribution to a Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, 1844]
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Economic Issues
A second problem of the period concerned the merchants, bankers and artisans of Europe's largest cities and towns who resented the fact that local bishops of the Church controlled all of their commercial and economic activities.
Social Issues
Peasants in England, Italy, France, Germany and elsewhere were also on the move.
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Thesis Statement
The Protestant Reformation and religious pluralism that followed exposed and heightened the political, economic, and social tensions in Europe. However, religious conflicts which erupted in the 17th century would eventually evolve into political disputes that would establish modern nation-states. Therefore, between 1560 and 1715, Europe witnessed only thirty years of international peace due to the growing political tensions between rival states.
The 80 Years' War / Dutch War of Independence (1568 - 1648)
In the 1560s, the Dutch revolted against Philip II (1527-1598, r. 1556-1598) of Spain, the greatest power in 16th century Europe.
Philip understood the commercial greatness of the Dutch, but the influence of Lutherans, Anabaptists and Calvinists in the Netherlands led to a social revolt in which Philip was clearly the loser.
Philip understood the commercial greatness of the Dutch, but the influence of Lutherans, Anabaptists and Calvinists in the Netherlands led to a social revolt in which Philip was clearly the loser.
- The Protestants were driven into rebellion which forced the Spanish government to maintain an army by raising taxes in loyal provinces.
After the initial stages, Philip II deployed his armies and regained control over most of the rebelling provinces.
The Dutch Republic was recognized by Spain and the major European powers in 1609 at the start of the Twelve Years' Truce.
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Involvement of England
Scottish Rebellion against Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587), a Catholic who was supported by Spain created further conflict between England and Spain. And then in 1588, the Spanish attempted an armed naval assault upon the English.
Scottish Rebellion against Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587), a Catholic who was supported by Spain created further conflict between England and Spain. And then in 1588, the Spanish attempted an armed naval assault upon the English.
- Elizabeth I of England had attempted to navigate a compromise between Catholics and Protestants in England. However, the execution of Mary Queen of Scots by order of Elizabeth set in motion the attack launched by Spain.
- The Spanish Armada was a failure for the Spanish government and spelled the ultimate decline of Spain as a dominant power on the Continent.
The French Civil War / War of Religion
Between 1562 and 1598, there were numerous civil wars and outbreaks of violence that were clearly motivated by religious differences. For example, although Protestantism was illegal in France, the Calvinist minority grew in numbers and organization.
- By the 1530s, it had attracted the nobility, urban townspeople and women.
- Although Huguenots (French Calvinists) made up only 7% of the population, over half the French nobility had converted to Calvinism.
- By 1559, the French Calvinists or Huguenots organized a militant campaign against Henry II (1519-1559) and the Guise (a powerful Catholic family with ties to the Spanish crown).
- A Huguenot appeal for more liberal treatment was ignored and in 1562, a civil conflict broke out between Protestants and Catholics.
An attempt at conciliation was made in 1572 -- the marriage of the nominal head of French Protestantism, Henry of Navarre (1553-1610), to Margaret of Valois (1553-1615), a Catholic member of the royal family.
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Henry of Navarre eventually became the king of France as Henry IV (1589-1610), but only after his conversion to Catholicism.
- In 1598, he issued the EDICT OF NANTES which granted a small degree of religious toleration to the French people (the first such document of its kind).
- His successors in the 17th century consistently weakened the Edict until the REVOCATION of the Edict was made official by Louis XIV on October 22, 1685.
The Thirty Years' War
The greatest "international" conflict of the period was the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), a war that had its origins in the complicated religious and political environment of the period.
In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg brought an end to religious wars in Central Europe by dividing the numerous German states between Catholic and Lutheran authority.
In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg brought an end to religious wars in Central Europe by dividing the numerous German states between Catholic and Lutheran authority.
- Although each prince had the right to determine the religion of his subjects, it happened that Lutheranism continued to spread into catholic-held lands.
- The spread of Calvinism, not recognized at Augsburg, also increased tensions. By 1609, the Holy Roman Empire had fragmented into two hostile alliances -- the Protestant Union and the Catholic League.
4 Phases of the Thirty Years' War
1. The Bohemian Phase
The Thirty Years' War began in Bohemia, an area in which Germans and Czechs, and Lutherans, Calvinists and Catholics lived in relative peace.
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The Bohemian phase of the Thirty Years' War ended at the battle of the White Mountain in November 1620. With Bohemia in ruins, Ferdinand used the Jesuits to recatholicize the territory. The Czech nobility lost everything, the economy lay in ruins and half the population had been killed by war or plague.
2. The Danish Phase
The Battle of the White Mountain and the ultimate collapse of Bohemian Protestantism was a clear victory for Catholicism. With the Spanish Hapsburgs intervening in the Protestant states of north Germany and numerous Catholic League victories, Protestantism faced a grave challenge.
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3. Swedish Phase
In 1630, the "Lion of the North," Gustavus Adolphus (1594-1632) entered the war in order to protect Sweden's interests in the Baltic which Wallenstein had threatened.
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4. French and Spanish Phase
It was at this time that France entered the war. Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642) had been following the events of the Thirty Years' War for some time.
The Peace of Westphalia
Peace negotiations were carried out between 1644 and 1648 at the Congress of Westphalia.
Effects
It was at this time that France entered the war. Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642) had been following the events of the Thirty Years' War for some time.
- Aiming to crush the Austrian and Spanish Hapsburgs, Richelieu accepted any allies regardless of their religion.
- In 1635, he declared war on Spain and formed an alliance with Sweden and Germany.
- The war was waged for another thirteen years but it was not until 1643 at the battle of Rocroi in the Netherlands that the Spanish Hapsburgs were finally defeated by France and its allies.
- The final phase of the war was the most destructive and left Germany in ruins.
The Peace of Westphalia
Peace negotiations were carried out between 1644 and 1648 at the Congress of Westphalia.
- The Treaty of Westphalia, signed October 24, 1648, allowed the fragmentation of the Holy Roman Empire into more than three hundred sovereign states.
- Switzerland and the Dutch Netherlands became independent states and France acquired the rights to Alsace.
- Brandenburg and Bavaria increased their territory.
Effects
- In terms of religion, the Treaty confirmed the Peace of Augsburg and added Calvinism to Lutheranism and Catholicism as a recognized faith.
- The Thirty Years' War was a terrifying war whose destruction was only matched by the First and Second World Wars. The land was destroyed and cattle slaughtered -- all of which was made worse by a revisitation of the plague.
- The Holy Roman Empire lost one quarter of its inhabitants and its fragmentation into hundreds of small states delayed economic recovery as well as any hope for a unified Germany.
Witchcraft Trials
By 1660, there was also a lengthy tradition of witchcraft in European history. The practice of witchcraft always lay under heavy suspicion but it was also an integral part of everyday life in Europe.
There were basically two kinds of witchcraft:
The Church interpreted witchcraft in its own way. Witches entered a bond with Satan in order to work against God. Witches held secret meetings and had sexual relations with Satan.
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In 1486, there appeared the The Malleus Maleficarum (The Witch Hammer) of Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger. Both men were Dominican friars who claimed to show that what witches did at the request of Satan.
By 1700, the witchcraft craze died down in England, the Netherlands and in Spain. There are two reasons why this happened.
- Kramer and Sprenger tried fifty people for witchcraft (all but two were women). By the 16th century, the link between women and witchcraft was both unmistakable and complete.
- Men could be accused of witchcraft, but in general, and no matter what country is studied, accusations against women outnumber those of men three to one.
- As many as 100,000 men and women were tried for witchcraft -- perhaps 10,000 were hanged or burned at the stake.
- In southwest Germany for the period 1561-1670, there were 3300 executions. In Switzerland (1470-1700), there were 9000 cases tried with 5400 executions.
- Why were women more prone to be singled out as witches? It was commonly believed that women were perceived to be the "weaker vessel," that is, they were weaker individuals and more quick to give in to temptation, especially of a lustful kind.
By 1700, the witchcraft craze died down in England, the Netherlands and in Spain. There are two reasons why this happened.
- The Reformation triggered an intellectual backlash that led some people to argue that there was too much religious fanaticism or enthusiasm. The intellectual developments of the 16th and 17th centuries produced an atmosphere which implied that Human Reason was capable of understanding the world and man's place in it. By the time of the 18th century Enlightenment, the goal was not so much to do away with religion or faith, but to bring it into accordance with reason. In other words, whatever could not stand the test of reason ought to be abandoned.
- But there is perhaps a more important reason why witchcraft became less popular. By 1700, the elite groups of European society began to regard astrology, witchcraft and any other form of magic, as the sole property of the common people. In other words, the 17th century witnessed a division in culture and tradition. Whereas in an earlier period, wealthy and poor shared similar beliefs, by 1700 two distinct cultures had made their appearance -- one called high or elite, the other low or popular.
Politiques
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, politiques were those in a position of power who put the success and well-being of their state above all else. References to individuals as politique often had a pejorative connotation of moral or religious indifference.