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home  /  Health/ Events of the Thirty Years' War 1618 1648 briefly. The Thirty Years' War that turned the world upside down

Events of the Thirty Years' War 1618 1648 briefly. The Thirty Years' War that turned the world upside down

We all know that world wars, which affected the interests of several states at once, occurred in the 20th century. And let's be right. However, if you dig a little deeper into European history, then we will find the fact that 300 years before the world wars, Europe had already experienced something similar - maybe not on such a scale, but nevertheless, it would be suitable for a world war. We are talking about a 30-year war that took place in the 17th century.

Prerequisites

Back in the late 16th century, Europe was experiencing a painful clash between religious groups - Catholics and Protestants. The Roman Catholic Church was losing more and more parishioners every year - European countries one after another they abandoned the old religion and accepted the new one. In addition, countries gradually began to move away from the enormous power of the Pope and accepted the power of a local ruler. Absolutism was born. During this period, a real dynastic boom began - princes of the blood entered into marriages with representatives of other states to strengthen both countries.

The Catholic Church tried with all its might to regain its former influence. The role of the Inquisition increased - waves of bonfires, torture and executions swept across Europe. The Vatican spies - the Jesuit order - thanks to their special proximity to Rome, strengthened their positions. Germany most zealously defended its position on religious freedom. Even though the Habsburg dynasty that ruled there was Catholic, the representatives were supposed to stand above all infighting. A wave of uprisings and riots swept across the country. Religious disputes eventually resulted in a war, which became a long stage for many European countries. Beginning as a religious dispute, it eventually resulted in a political and territorial conflict between European countries.

Causes

Among the many reasons for the war, several of the most significant can be identified:

  1. the beginning of the Counter-Reformation - attempts by the Catholic Church to regain its previous positions -
  2. The Habsburg dynasty, which ruled Germany and Spain, sought complete domination of Europe under its leadership
  3. the desire of Denmark and Sweden to control the Baltic and trade routes
  4. the interests of France, which also saw itself as the ruler of Europe
  5. England's tossing in one direction or the other
  6. inciting Russia and Turkey to participate in the conflict (Russia supported the Protestants, and Turkey supported France)
  7. the desire of some small princes to snatch some piece for themselves as a result of the division of European states

Start

The immediate cause of the war was the uprising in Prague in 1618. Local Protestants rebelled against the policies of King Ferdinand of the Holy German Nation because he allowed foreign officials to come to Prague in large numbers. It is worth noting here that Bohemia (the territory of the present Czech Republic) was ruled directly by the Habsburgs. Ferdinand's predecessor, King Rudolf, granted local residents freedom of religion and tolerance. Having ascended the throne, Ferdinand abolished all liberties. The king himself was a devout Catholic, raised by Jesuits, which, of course, did not suit the local Protestants. But they couldn’t do anything serious yet.

Before his death, Emperor Matthias invited the German rulers to choose his successor, thus joining those dissatisfied with the policies of the Habsburgs. Three Catholic bishops and three Protestants – the princes of Saxony, Brandenburg and the Palatinate – had the right to vote. As a result of the voting, almost all the votes were cast for the Habsburg representative. Prince Frederick of the Palatinate proposed to overturn the results and become king of Bohemia himself.

Prague began to riot. Ferdinand did not tolerate this. Imperial troops entered Bohemia to completely crush the uprising. Of course, the result was predictable - the Protestants lost. Since Spain helped the Habsburgs in this, it also snatched a piece of German land for itself in honor of the victory - it got the land of the Electoral Palatinate. This circumstance gave Spain the opportunity to continue another conflict with the Netherlands, which began years earlier.

In 1624, France, England and Holland will form an alliance against the Empire. Denmark and Sweden soon joined this treaty, rightly fearing that the Catholics would extend their influence to them. Over the next two years, local skirmishes between the troops of the Habsburgs and the Protestant rulers took place in Germany, with the Catholics winning. In 1628, the army of General Wallenstein, leader of the Catholic League, captured the Danish island of Jutland, forcing Denmark to withdraw from the war and sign a peace treaty in 1629 in the city of Lübeck. Jutland was returned with the condition that Denmark would no longer interfere in hostilities.

Continuation of the war

However, not all countries were afraid of the Danish defeat. Already in 1630, Sweden entered the war.

A year later, an agreement was concluded with France, according to which Sweden pledged to provide its troops on German lands, and France to pay the costs. This period of the war is characterized as the most fierce and bloody. Catholics and Protestants mixed in the army; no one remembered why the war started. Now everyone had only one goal - to profit from the devastated cities. Whole families of people died, entire garrisons were destroyed.

In 1634, Valenstein was killed by his own bodyguards. A year earlier, the Swedish king Gustav Adolf died in battle. Local rulers leaned first one way or the other.

In 1635, France finally decided to enter the war in person. The Swedish troops, who had previously suffered mostly defeats, regained their courage and defeated the imperial troops at the Battle of Wittstock. Spain fought on the side of the Habsburgs as best it could, but the king also had something to do besides the military arena - in 1640, a coup took place in Portugal, as a result of which the country achieved independence from Spain.

Results

Over the past few years, wars have been fought throughout Europe.

It was no longer only Germany and the Czech Republic that were the main arena of battles - clashes took place in the Netherlands, the Baltic Sea, and France (the province of Burgundy). The Europeans were tired of the incessant fighting and sat down at the negotiating table in 1644 in the cities of Münster and Ausanbrück. As a result of 4 years of negotiations, agreements were reached that took the form of the Peace of Westphalia.

  • German rulers gained autonomy from the empire
  • France received the lands of Alsace, Metz, Verdun, Toul
  • Sweden has a monopoly in the Baltic
  • The Netherlands and Switzerland gained independence.

Speaking of losses, this war can be compared to the world wars - about 300 thousand people on the Protestant side, and about 400 thousand on the Empire side over several battles. This is only a small part - in just 30 years, almost 8 million people died on the battlefield. For Europe of that time, which was not very densely populated, this was a huge figure. But who knows whether the war was worth such sacrifices.

Albert von Wallenstein - commander of the Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) was the first all-European war. One of the most cruel, persistent, bloody and long-lasting in the history of the Old World. It began as a religious one, but gradually turned into a dispute over hegemony in Europe, territories and trade routes. Conducted by the House of Habsburg, the Catholic principalities of Germany on the one hand, Sweden, Denmark, France, and German Protestants on the other

Causes of the Thirty Years' War

— Counter-Reformation: an attempt by the Catholic Church to win back from Protestantism the positions lost during the Reformation
— The desire of the Habsburgs, who ruled the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation and Spain, for hegemony in Europe
— Concerns of France, which saw in the Habsburg policies an infringement of its national interests
The desire of Denmark and Sweden to monopolize control of the Baltic sea trade routes
— The selfish aspirations of numerous petty European monarchs, hoping to snatch something for themselves in the general chaos

Participants of the Thirty Years' War

— Habsburg bloc - Spain and Portugal, Austria; Catholic League - some Catholic principalities and bishoprics of Germany: Bavaria, Franconia, Swabia, Cologne, Trier, Mainz, Würzburg
— Denmark, Sweden; Evangelical or Protestant Union: Electorate of the Palatinate, Württemberg, Baden, Kulmbach, Ansbach, Palatinate-Neuburg, Landgraviate of Hesse, Electorate of Brandenburg and several imperial cities; France

Stages of the Thirty Years' War

  • Bohemian-Palatinate period (1618-1624)
  • Danish period (1625-1629)
  • Swedish period (1630-1635)
  • Franco-Swedish period (1635-1648)

The course of the Thirty Years' War. Briefly

“There was a mastiff, two collies and a St. Bernard, several bloodhounds and Newfoundlands, a hound, a French poodle, a bulldog, several lap dogs and two mongrels. They sat patiently and thoughtfully. But then a young lady came in, leading a fox terrier on a chain; she left him between the bulldog and the poodle. The dog sat down and looked around for a minute. Then, without a hint of any reason, he grabbed the poodle by the front paw, jumped over the poodle and attacked the collie, (then) grabbed the bulldog by the ear... (Then) all the other dogs opened hostilities. The big dogs fought among themselves; The small dogs also fought with each other, and in their free moments they bit the big dogs on the paws.”(Jerome K. Jerome "Three in a Boat")

Europe 17th century

Something similar happened in Europe at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The Thirty Years' War began with a seemingly autonomous Czech uprising. But at the same time, Spain fought with the Netherlands, in Italy the duchies of Mantua, Monferrato and Savoy were sorted out, in 1632-1634 Muscovy and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth fought, from 1617 to 1629 there were three major clashes between Poland and Sweden, Poland also fought with Transylvania, and in turn called on Turkey for help. In 1618, an anti-republican conspiracy was discovered in Venice...

  • 1618, March - Czech Protestants appealed to the Holy Roman Emperor Matthew demanding an end to the persecution of people on religious grounds
  • 1618, May 23 - in Prague, participants in the Protestant congress committed violence against representatives of the emperor (the so-called “Second Prague Defenestration”)
  • 1618, summer - palace coup in Vienna. Matthew was replaced on the throne by Ferdinand of Styria, a fanatical Catholic
  • 1618, autumn - the imperial army entered the Czech Republic

    Movements of Protestant and Imperial armies in the Czech Republic, Moravia, the German states of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, sieges and capture of cities (Ceske Budejovice, Pilsen, Palatinate, Bautzen, Vienna, Prague, Heidelberg, Mannheim, Bergen op -Zoom), battles (at the village of Sablat, on White Mountain, at Wimpfen, at Hoechst, at Stadtlohn, at Fleurus) and diplomatic maneuvers characterized the first stage of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1624). It ended in victory for the Habsburgs. The Czech Protestant uprising failed, Bavaria received the Upper Palatinate, and Spain captured the Electoral Palatinate, providing a springboard for another war with the Netherlands

  • 1624, June 10 - Treaty at Compiegne between France, England and the Netherlands on an alliance against the imperial house of Habsburg
  • 1624, July 9 - Denmark and Sweden joined the Treaty of Compiegne, fearing the growing influence of Catholics in northern Europe
  • 1625, spring - against imperial army Denmark spoke
  • 1625, April 25 - Emperor Ferdinand appointed Albrech von Wallenstein commander of his army, who invited the emperor to feed his mercenary army at the expense of the population of the theater of operations
  • 1826, April 25 - Wallenstein's army defeated the Protestant troops of Mansfeld at the Battle of Dessau
  • 1626, August 27 - Tilly's Catholic army defeated the troops of the Danish king Christian IV at the Battle of the village of Lutter
  • 1627, spring - Wallenstein's army moved to the north of Germany and captured it, including the Danish peninsula of Jutland
  • 1628, September 2 - at the Battle of Wolgast, Wallenstein once again defeated Christian IV, who was forced to withdraw from the war

    On May 22, 1629, a peace treaty was signed in Lübeck between Denmark and the Holy Roman Empire. Wallenstein returned the occupied lands to Christian, but obtained a promise not to interfere in German affairs. This ended the second stage of the Thirty Years' War

  • 1629, March 6 - the emperor issued the Edict of Restitution. fundamentally curtailed the rights of Protestants
  • 1630, June 4 - Sweden entered the Thirty Years' War
  • 1630, September 13 - Emperor Ferdinand, fearing Wallenstein’s strengthening, dismissed him
  • 1631, January 23 - an agreement between Sweden and France, according to which the Swedish king Gustavus Adolf pledged to keep a 30,000-strong army in Germany, and France, represented by Cardinal Richelieu, assumed the costs of its maintenance
  • 1631, May 31 - The Netherlands entered into an alliance with Gustavus Adolphus, pledging to invade Spanish Flanders and subsidize the king's army
  • 1532, April - the emperor again called Wallenstein into service

    The third, Swedish, stage of the Thirty Years' War was the most fierce. Protestants and Catholics had long been mixed in the armies; no one remembered how it all began. The main driving motive of the soldiers was profit. That's why they killed each other without mercy. Having stormed the Neu-Brandenburg fortress, the emperor's mercenaries completely killed its garrison. In response, the Swedes destroyed all prisoners during the capture of Frankfurt an der Oder. Magdeburg was completely burned, tens of thousands of its inhabitants died. On May 30, 1632, during the battle of the Rhine fortress, the commander-in-chief of the imperial army Tilly was killed, on November 16, in the battle of Lützen, the Swedish king Gustav Adolf was killed, on February 25, 1634, Wallenstein was shot by his own guards. In 1630-1635, the main events of the Thirty Years' War unfolded in the lands of Germany. Swedes' victories alternated with defeats. The princes of Saxony, Brandenburg, and other Protestant principalities supported either the Swedes or the emperor. The conflicting parties did not have the strength to bend fortune to their own benefit. As a result, a peace treaty was signed between the emperor and the Protestant princes of Germany in Prague, according to which the execution of the Edict of Restitution was postponed for 40 years, the imperial army was formed by all the rulers of Germany, who were deprived of the right to conclude separate alliances among themselves

  • 1635, May 30 - Peace of Prague
  • 1635, May 21 - France entered the Thirty Years' War to help Sweden, fearing the strengthening of the House of Habsburg
  • 1636, May 4 - victory of Swedish troops over the allied imperial army in the Battle of Wittstock
  • 1636, December 22 - the son of Ferdinand II Ferdinand III became emperor
  • 1640, December 1 - Coup in Portugal. Portugal regained independence from Spain
  • 1642, December 4 - Cardinal Richelieu, the “soul” of French foreign policy, died
  • 1643, May 19 - Battle of Rocroi, in which French troops defeated the Spaniards, marking the decline of Spain as a great power

    The last, Franco-Swedish stage of the Thirty Years' War had character traits world war. Military operations took place throughout Europe. The duchies of Savoy, Mantua, the Republic of Venice, and Hungary intervened in the war. The fighting took place in Pomerania, Denmark, Austria, still in the German lands, in the Czech Republic, Burgundy, Moravia, the Netherlands, and in the Baltic Sea. In England, which supports Protestant states financially, an outbreak broke out. A popular uprising raged in Normandy. Under these conditions, in 1644, peace negotiations began in the cities of Westphalia (a region in northwestern Germany) Osnabrück and Münster. Representatives of Sweden, German princes and the emperor met in Osanbrück, and ambassadors of the emperor, France, and the Netherlands met in Münster. Negotiations, the course of which was influenced by the results of the ongoing battles, lasted 4 years

Beginning of the Thirty Years' War

The beginning of the 17th century in Europe was marked by a long war for supremacy. It lasted from 1618 to 1648 - thirty years, so later it began to be called the Thirty Years.

Definition 1

The Thirty Years' War was a military clash between European countries for hegemony in Europe and the Holy Roman Empire. The conflict began as a religious struggle between Protestants and Catholics, and later turned into opposition to the power of the Habsburg dynasty.

The causes of the conflict have been brewing for a long time. Political disagreements between the German states were intertwined with religious contradictions. In the second half of the 16th century, the Counter-Reformation developed in Germany.

After the completion of the Reformation, the position of Catholics was gradually restored. In many German states, Catholics are beginning to push back Protestants. Both find allies among European monarchies. On the side of the Catholics were: the Pope, Catholic Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. The Protestants were supported by England, Holland, Denmark and Sweden. Catholic France also became a supporter of the Protestants, which did everything against its worst enemy - the Habsburg dynasty.

The Prague uprising against the emperor on May 23, 1618 is considered the beginning of the war. Catholics moved against Protestants and defeated the rebels near Prague in 1620. The ensuing massacres alarmed neighboring countries. Spain joins the war and pushes back the Dutch. The Northern Kingdoms, primarily Denmark, come to the aid of Holland. Thus the war acquires a pan-European character.

Main periods of the war

The Thirty Years' War is usually divided into four periods. Their names come from the main rival of the German emperor at this stage.

  1. Bohemian-Pfalian period lasted from 1618 to 1624. It included two wars: in Bohemia and in the Palatinate. Ended in victory for the Habsburgs. The uprising of Czech Protestants was suppressed. The Principality of the Palatinate was divided between Bavaria (Upper Palatinate) and Spain (Kurpfalz). Protestant countries formed the Compiegne Union, which included the Netherlands, England, Sweden, Denmark and Catholic France.
  2. Danish period covers the years 1625-1629. Big role Commander Albrecht Wallenstein played a role in the victory over the Danes. The Catholic Church received all the lands secularized by Protestants.
  3. Swedish period lasted from 1630 to 1635. Wallenstein, having defeated Denmark, sent his forces to Sweden. The Swedish army was led by King Gustav II Adolf. He led his troops throughout Germany and brought defeat to the Catholics. Wallenstein retreated, lost influence and was killed. In 1635, the Peace of Prague was signed, cementing the victory of the Catholics.
  4. Franco-Swedish period became the last in the Thirty Years' War. It began with France's entry into the war on May 21, 1635. The war ceased to be religious, since Catholic France sided with the Protestants against Catholic Spain. Supporters of the Reformation began to win victories. Exhausted by prolonged hostilities, the countries began negotiations to sign peace.

Treaty of Westphalia

In 1648, the warring countries signed a peace treaty. It reflected a completely new distribution of power in Europe. The Holy Roman Empire and Spain lost primacy, the war strengthened the position of France and Sweden. Sweden, having received the northern territories of Germany, became the master of the Baltic. France, having captured imperial Alsace, gained a foothold on the Rhine.

There have been changes in religious life. Calvinism and Lutheranism were recognized as equal. The provisions of the Edict of Restitution and the Peace of Prague were annulled. The princes received the right to choose religion on their land. The principle of religious tolerance was declared throughout the empire. Church properties returned to the boundaries existing on January 1, 1624.

Note 1

The Thirty Years' War demonstrated the impossibility of resolving religious differences by military means.

The 17th century is characterized by the unification of states, which, like people under the influence of church schism and despite the emergence of the Protestant Union and the Catholic League, began to change and find common ground with each other. Unfortunately, the desire of states to unite was marked by a terrible, devastating thirty-year war that covered the space of Europe from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the banks of the Po River and the mouth of the Scheldt.

The old church, mired in the abuse of its own power and the assertion of absurd teachings, outraged not only the people, but also the sovereign rulers. And to the great benefit of Europe, the interests of the people coincided with the interests of statesmen. The benefits of the rulers went hand in hand with the interests of their subjects. The Reformation coincided with the sudden power of the Austrian Habsburgs, which threatened the freedom of European nations.

The Thirty Years' War is divided into four periods. Bohemian-Palatinate stage from 1618 to 1623. Danish war period - 1624 – 1629 The Swedish period includes 1630 – 1634. The last period of the Thirty Years' War, Franco-Swedish, falls on 1635 - 1648.

Czech period

Open military confrontation began with the Czech uprising against the ruling House of Austria. The Kingdom of the Czech Republic occupied not the last place in the Holy Roman Empire; the nobles of the Czech Republic led an active lifestyle, moving in enlightened European circles; their ties with Germany were especially friendly. Archduke Ferdinand of Styria, proclaimed heir by Emperor Matthew, abolished the rights of Czech Protestants enshrined in the Letter of Majesty.

On May 23, 1618, the “Defenestration of Prague” took place, during which imperial governors were thrown out of the windows of the town hall and “miraculously” escaped by landing on a dung heap; it was the official beginning of the Thirty Years' War. 30 directors elected by the Czech Sejm to the government of Bohemia and Moravia were able to strengthen the army and expel the Jesuits. Count Jindrich Matthias Thurn was able to inflict several defeats on the imperial troops, and led the army to the walls of Vienna.

Although the rebel forces were successful fighting on different directions, due to the disagreements that reigned among the Czech commanders, lost time, as well as the unusually vigorous activity of the outwardly good-natured Ferdinand, the Czechs began to lose ground. Albrecht Wallenstein brought an army of mercenaries from Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Imperial Field Marshal Buqua defeated the Czechs at the Battle of Sablat. Ferdinand's diplomacy also brought success. Bavaria and Saxony took the side of the empire, Spain, Tuscany and Genoa sent armies to help the emperor.

On November 8, 1620, Catholic troops inflicted a crushing defeat on the Czech-Moravian rebels in a fierce battle near the White Mountain. Wallenstein's mercenaries, Lisovsky's Polish Cossacks and Hungarian haiduks, called upon to fight the "lisovchiks", terrified the Czechs and completely deprived them of the will to resist. The “age of darkness” began; the Czech Republic became an ordinary province of Austria.

Danish stage of the war

After the suppression of the Czech uprising, the flames of war engulfed new lands. Fearing the strengthening of Austria, Denmark and Sweden entered the war. England and France supported the Danish king financially. Encouraged by his allies, Christian moved troops against the empire, but that was not the case. In reality, the Allies did not support Denmark, busy with their own, both external and internal Civil wars, and in addition, the plague was mowing down Europe.

In the battles of Dessau and near the village of Lutter, the Danes were finally defeated by Wallenstein and Tilly. In Lübeck in 1629, a peace was concluded according to which Denmark did not interfere in the affairs of Germany; in addition, consolidating the victory over the Danes, Ferdinand proclaimed the Edict of Restructuring, which prohibited Calvinism.

Swedish period

The strengthening of the Habsburgs gave rise to European confrontation. Guided by Richelieu, the ambitious Swedish king, who dreamed of an empire in the center of Europe, landed his troops in Pomerania. Gustav Adolf's army was staffed by mercenaries who were accustomed to fighting and free Swedish peasants who were armed with modern flintlocks and light field artillery. Swedish troops won a number of victories and reached Berlin.

The Empire was in danger of defeat if not for the genius of Wallenstein. At the Battle of Lützen, the Swedes lost their king. Wallenstein, with an army of 100,000, had a rather power-hungry character, and became displeasing to Ferdinand, who suspected Friedlanz of treason. The assassins eliminated the Generalissimo. Further successes of the imperial army caused a truce between the warring parties, but not for long, but only so that the war moved into the phase of the European conflict.

Franco-Swedish period

The anti-Habsburg coalition, led by France, having Berengardus's army of 180,000 in its arsenal, inflicted endless defeats on the Habsburgs, and despite the resistance of the Austrians, they came close to Vienna.

Consequences of the Thirty Years' War

In 1648 the Peace of Westphalia was concluded. The Habsburg Empire lost significant territories and its influence on European politics. France received Alsace and the cities of Metz, Toul and Verdun, 10 cities of the empire, and several other settlements. The German principalities significantly expanded their borders. Holland and Switzerland became independent.

But Sweden had the greatest benefit; the territory of Western Pomerania and the region of Eastern Pomerania, the island of Rügen, the cities of Wismar and Stetin, control of the Oder, Elbe, and Weser rivers, as well as the entire Baltic coast, went to it. The Swedish king became an imperial prince and was given the opportunity to intervene in the affairs of the empire. The Austrian Habsburg Empire was in decline, and Germany and the Czech Republic suffered unprecedented devastation.

THIRTY YEARS' WAR (1618–1648) - war of the Habsburg bloc (Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs, Catholic princes of Germany, papacy) with the anti-Habsburg coalition (Protestant princes of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Holland and France). One of the first pan-European military conflicts, which to one degree or another affected almost all European countries (including Russia), with the exception of Switzerland. The war began as a religious clash between Protestants and Catholics in Germany, but then escalated into a struggle against Habsburg hegemony in Europe.

Prerequisites:

Great power policy of the Habsburgs (Since the time of Charles V, the leading role in Europe belonged to the House of Austria - the Habsburg dynasty).

The desire of the papacy and Catholic circles to restore the power of the Roman Church in that part of Germany where in the first half of the 16th century. Reformation won

Existence of disputed regions in Europe

1. The Holy Roman Empire of the German nation: contradictions between the emperor and the German princes, religious schism.

2. Baltic Sea (struggle between Protestant Sweden and Catholic Poland for territory)

3. Fragmented Italy, which France and Spain tried to divide.

Causes:

The unstable balance established after the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, which sealed the split of Germany along religious lines, was threatened in the 1580s.

At the very end of the 16th – beginning of the 17th century. Catholic pressure on Protestants intensified: in 1596, Archduke Ferdinand of Habsburg, ruler of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, forbade his subjects to profess Lutheranism and destroyed all Lutheran churches; in 1606, Duke Maximilian of Bavaria occupied the Protestant city of Donauwerth and converted its churches into Catholic ones. This forced the Protestant princes of Germany to create in 1608 the Evangelical Union, headed by Elector Frederick IV of the Palatinate, to “protect the religious world”; they were supported by the French king http://www.krugosvet.ru/enc/istoriya/GENRIH_IV.html Henry IV. In response, in 1609 Maximilian of Bavaria formed the Catholic League, entering into an alliance with the main ecclesiastical princes of the Empire.

In 1609, the Habsburgs, taking advantage of the dispute between two Protestant princes over the inheritance of the duchies of Jülich, Cleve and Berg, tried to establish control over these strategically important lands in northwestern Germany. Holland, France and Spain intervened in the conflict. However, the assassination of Henry IV in 1610 prevented war. The conflict was resolved by the Xanten Agreement of 1614 on the division of the Jülich-Cleves inheritance.

In the spring of 1618, an uprising broke out in Bohemia against the rule of the Habsburgs, caused by the destruction of several Protestant churches and the violation of local liberties; On May 23, 1618, the townspeople of Prague threw three representatives of Emperor Matthew (1611–1619) from the windows of Prague Castle (Defenestration). Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia joined the rebellious Bohemia. This event marked the beginning of the Thirty Years' War.

Sides:

On the side of the Habsburgs: Austria, most of the Catholic principalities of Germany, Spain united with Portugal, the Papal Throne, Poland (traditional conservative forces). The Habsburg bloc was more monolithic; the Austrian and Spanish houses maintained contact with each other, often conducting joint military operations. Richer Spain provided financial support to the emperor.

On the side of the anti-Habsburg coalition: France, Sweden, Denmark, the Protestant principalities of Germany, the Czech Republic, Transylvania, Venice, Savoy, the Republic of the United Provinces, supported by England, Scotland and Russia (growing stronger nation states). There were major contradictions between them, but they all receded into the background before the threat of a common enemy.

Periodization:

(There were several separate conflicts outside Germany: the Spanish War with Holland, the War of the Mantuan Succession, Russian-Polish War, Polish-Swedish War, etc.)

1. Czech period (1618-1625)

Emperor Matthew of Habsburg (1612–1619) tried to reach a peace agreement with the Czechs, but negotiations were interrupted after his death in March 1619 and the election of the implacable enemy of the Protestants, Archduke Ferdinand of Styria (Ferdinand II), to the German throne. The Czechs entered into an alliance with the Transylvanian prince Bethlen Gabor; his troops invaded Austrian Hungary. In May 1619, Czech troops under the command of Count Matthew Thurn entered Austria and besieged Vienna, the residence of Ferdinand II, but were soon defeated by the invasion of Bohemia by the imperial general Buquois. At the General Diet in Prague in August 1619, representatives of the rebel regions refused to recognize Ferdinand II as their king and elected in his place the head of the Union, Elector Frederick V of the Palatinate. However, by the end of 1619 the situation began to develop in favor of the emperor, who received large subsidies from the pope and military assistance from Philip III of Spain. In October 1619, he concluded an agreement on joint actions against the Czechs with the head of the Catholic League, Maximilian of Bavaria, and in March 1620 - with Elector Johann Georg of Saxony, the largest Protestant prince in Germany. The Saxons occupied Silesia and Lusatia, and Spanish troops invaded the Upper Palatinate. Taking advantage of the disagreements within the Union, the Habsburgs obtained from it an obligation not to provide assistance to the Czechs.

Under the command of General Tilly, the Catholic League army pacified upper Austria while Imperial troops restored order in lower Austria. Then, united, they moved to the Czech Republic, bypassing the army of Frederick V, who was trying to fight a defensive battle on the distant frontiers. The battle took place near Prague (Battle of the White Mountain) on November 8, 1620. The Protestant army suffered a crushing defeat. As a result, the Czech Republic remained in the hands of the Habsburgs for another 300 years. The first phase of the war Eastern Europe finally ended when Gábor Bethlen signed peace with the emperor in January 1622, gaining himself vast territories in eastern Hungary.

Results: Habsburg victory

1. The collapse of the Evangelical Union and the loss of all his possessions and titles by Frederick V. Frederick V was expelled from the Holy Roman Empire.

2. The Czech Republic fell, Bavaria received the Upper Palatinate, and Spain captured the Palatinate, providing a springboard for another war with the Netherlands.

3. A push for closer unity of the anti-Habsburg coalition. On June 10, 1624, France and Holland concluded the Treaty of Compiegne. It was joined by England (June 15), Sweden and Denmark (July 9), Savoy and Venice (July 11).

2. Danish period (1625-1629)

The Habsburgs' attempt to establish themselves in Westphalia and Lower Saxony and carry out a Catholic restoration there threatened the interests of the Protestant states of Northern Europe - Denmark and Sweden. In the spring of 1625, Christian IV of Denmark, supported by England and Holland, began military operations against the emperor. Together with the troops of Mansfeld and Christian of Brunswick, the Danes launched an offensive in the Elbe basin.

To reflect it, Ferdinand II provided emergency powers to the new commander-in-chief, the Catholic Czech nobleman Albrecht Wallenstein. He gathered a huge mercenary army and on April 25, 1626 defeated Mansfeld near Dessau. On August 27, Tilly defeated the Danes at Lutter. In 1627, the Imperials and Ligists captured Mecklenburg and all mainland possessions of Denmark (Holstein, Schleswig and Jutland).

But plans to create a fleet to capture the island part of Denmark and attack Holland failed due to opposition from the Hanseatic League. In the summer of 1628, Wallenstein, trying to put pressure on the Hansa, besieged the largest Pomeranian port of Stralsund, but failed. In May 1629, Ferdinand II concluded the Peace of Lübeck with Christian IV, returning to Denmark the possessions taken from it in exchange for its obligation not to interfere in German affairs.

The Catholic League sought to regain the Catholic possessions lost in the Peace of Augsburg. Under her pressure, the emperor issued the Edict of Restitution (1629). Wallenstein's reluctance to implement the edict and the complaints of the Catholic princes about his arbitrariness forced the emperor to dismiss the commander.

Results:

1. Peace of Lübeck between the Empire and Denmark

2. The beginning of the policy of restoration of Catholicism in Germany (Edict of Restitution). Complications in the relationship between the emperor and Wallenstein.

3. Swedish period (1630-1635)

Sweden was the last major state capable of changing the balance of power. Gustav II Adolf, King of Sweden, sought to stop Catholic expansion as well as establish his control over the Baltic coast of northern Germany. Before this, Sweden was kept from war by the war with Poland in the struggle for the Baltic coast. By 1630, Sweden ended the war and gained Russian support (Smolensk War). The Swedish army was armed with advanced small arms and artillery. There were no mercenaries in it, and at first it did not rob the population. This fact had a positive effect.

Ferdinand II had been dependent on the Catholic League since he disbanded Wallenstein's army. At the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631), Gustavus Adolphus defeated the Catholic League under Tilly. A year later they met again, and again the Swedes won, and General Tilly died (1632). With Tilly's death, Ferdinand II again turned his attention to Wallenstein. Wallenstein and Gustav Adolf fought in a fierce battle at Lützen (1632), where the Swedes barely won, but Gustav Adolf died.

In March 1633, Sweden and the German Protestant principalities formed the League of Heilbronn; all military and political power in Germany passed to an elected council headed by the Swedish chancellor. But the absence of a single authoritative military leader began to affect the Protestant troops, and in 1634 the previously invincible Swedes suffered a serious defeat in the Battle of Nördlingen (1634).

On suspicion of treason, Wallenstein was removed from command and then killed by soldiers of his own guard at Eger Castle.

Results: Peace of Prague (1635).

Cancellation of the “Edict of Restitution” and the return of possessions to the framework of the Peace of Augsburg.

The unification of the army of the emperor and the armies of the German states into one army of the “Holy Roman Empire”.

A ban on the formation of coalitions between princes.

Legalization of Calvinism.

This peace, however, could not suit France, since the Habsburgs, as a result, became strong

4. Franco-Swedish period (1635-1648)

Having exhausted all diplomatic reserves, France entered the war itself. With her intervention, the conflict finally lost its religious overtones, since the French were Catholics. France brought its allies in Italy into the conflict. She managed to prevent new war between Sweden and the Republic of Both Nations (Poland), which concluded the Truce of Stumsdorf, which allowed Sweden to transfer significant reinforcements from across the Vistula to Germany. The French attacked Lombardy and the Spanish Netherlands. In response, in 1636, a Spanish-Bavarian army under the command of Prince Ferdinand of Spain crossed the Somme River and entered Compiegne, and the imperial general Matthias Galas attempted to capture Burgundy.

In the summer of 1636, the Saxons and other states that signed the Prague Peace turned their troops against the Swedes. Together with the imperial forces, they pushed the Swedish commander Baner north, but were defeated at the Battle of Wittstock. In 1638, in East Germany, Spanish troops attacked the superior forces of the Swedish army. Having avoided defeat, the Swedes spent a difficult winter in Pomerania.

The last period of the war took place in conditions of exhaustion of both opposing camps, caused by colossal tension and overexpenditure of financial resources. Maneuvering actions and small battles predominated.

In 1642, Cardinal Richelieu died, and a year later King Louis XIII of France also died. Five-year-old Louis XIV became king. His regent, Cardinal Mazarin, began peace negotiations. In 1643, the French finally stopped the Spanish invasion at the Battle of Rocroi. In 1645, Swedish Marshal Lennart Thorstenson defeated the Imperials at the Battle of Jankov near Prague, and the Prince of Condé defeated the Bavarian army at the Battle of Nördlingen. The last prominent Catholic military leader, Count Franz von Mercy, died in this battle.

In 1648, the Swedes (Marshal Carl Gustav Wrangel) and the French (Turenne and Condé) defeated the Imperial-Bavarian army at the Battle of Zusmarhausen and Lens. Only the imperial territories and Austria proper remained in the hands of the Habsburgs.

Results: In the summer of 1648, the Swedes besieged Prague, but in the midst of the siege, news arrived of the signing of the Peace of Westphalia on October 24, 1648, which put an end to the Thirty Years' War.

Peace of Westphalia.

The Peace of Westphalia refers to the two peace agreements in Latin, Osnabrück and Munster, signed in 1648 and was the result of the first modern diplomatic congress and marked the beginning of a new order in Europe based on the concept of state sovereignty. The agreements affected the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, France, Sweden, the Netherlands and their allies in the person of the princes of the Holy Roman Empire. Until 1806, the provisions of the Treaties of Osnabrück and Munster were part of the constitutional law of the Holy Roman Empire.

Participants' goals:

France - break the encirclement of the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs

Sweden - achieve hegemony in the Baltic

Holy Roman Empire and Spain - achieve smaller territorial concessions

Conditions

1. Territory: France received Southern Alsace and the Lorraine bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun, Sweden - Western Pomerania and the Duchy of Bremen, Saxony - Lusatia, Bavaria - Upper Palatinate, Brandenburg - Eastern Pomerania, the Archbishopric of Magdeburg and the Bishopric of Minden

2. Dutch independence was recognized.

The war between France and Spain continued for another eleven years and ended with the Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659.

Meaning: The Peace of Westphalia resolved the contradictions that led to the Thirty Years' War

1. equalized the rights of Catholics and Protestants, legalized the confiscation of church lands, abolished the previously existing principle of “whose power is his faith,” instead of which the principle of religious tolerance was proclaimed, which subsequently reduced the importance of the confessional factor in relations between states;

2. put an end to the Habsburgs’ desire to expand their possessions at the expense of the territories of states and peoples Western Europe and undermined the authority of the Holy Roman Empire: from that time on, the old hierarchical order of international relations, in which the German emperor was considered senior in rank among the monarchs, was destroyed and the heads of the independent states of Europe, who had the title of kings, were equal in rights to the emperor;

3. According to the norms established by the Peace of Westphalia, the main role in international relations, previously owned by monarchs, passed to sovereign states.

Consequences

1. The Thirty Years' War was the first war to affect all segments of the population. In Western history, it remained one of the most difficult European conflicts among the predecessors of the World Wars of the 20th century.

2. The immediate result of the war was that over 300 small German states received full sovereignty under nominal membership of the Holy Roman Empire. This situation continued until the end of the first empire in 1806.

3. The war did not lead to the automatic collapse of the Habsburgs, but it changed the balance of power in Europe. Hegemony passed to France. The decline of Spain became obvious. In addition, Sweden has become great power, significantly strengthening its position in the Baltic.

4. The main result of the Thirty Years' War was a sharp weakening of the influence of religious factors on the life of European states. Their foreign policy began to be based on economic, dynastic and geopolitical interests.

5. It is customary to count the modern era in international relations with the Peace of Westphalia.