Thirty Years' War

1618-1648

The Thirty Years' War was the result of the German Reformation and Counter-Reformation. The war was begun in 1618 by the revolt of the Bohemians against their Hapsburg ruler, Ferdinand II, and the acceptance of their crown by the Calvinist Elector Palatine, Frederick V, son in law of James I of England and father of the princes Rupert and Maurice. The troops of the Emperor immediately entered Bohemian territory and drove out Frederick, depriving him also of his electorate of the Lower Palatinate, a task rendered more easy by the inactivity of James I of England and the Protestant princes of Germany. Catholic Austria, Spain, and Bavaria all profited from this situation in different ways.

The Hapsburgs now developed their policy on larger lines; Germany was to become an exclusive Hapsburg possession and the land lost to Catholicism by the Reformation was to be regained. The Imperial generals, Tilly and Wallenstein swept all before them; northern Germany and the Baltic ports seemed to lie at their mercy. Christian IV of Denmark came forward as the champion of German Protestantism, but was defeated and forced to make peace in 1629 at Lübeck. Wallenstein had established the Hapsburg supremacy in the north, but had failed to take Stralsund; in the following year Gustavus II (Adolphus) aided by French subsidies, took Christian's place as the champion of Protestantism, and with his appearance began the turn of the tide. Wallenstein had been dismissed at the Diet of Ratisbon; the German princes feared the man whom they regarded as a mere mercenary upstart. Gustavus Adolphus marched from victory to victory. Tilly was defeated at Breitenfeld, and Gustavus marched to the south. In 1631 he again defeated, and killed, Tilly on the banks of the Lech, and Wallenstein was recalled. Gustavus won the battle of Lützen the following year but he was killed during the battle and much of his work was undone. From this point the religious motives of the war entirely disappear. France, anxious to break the power of the Hapsburgs, gave support to the Swedes and German Protestant princes. Richelieu played his hand well; enemies to the Hapsburgs were aided in Germany, Italy, and Spain; the Dutch were given support in their struggle against Spanish power; and the power of the Hapsburgs, both Austrian and Spanish, began to decline. The policy of Richelieu was continued after his death by Mazarin, and the French generals Condé and Turenne won brilliant victories over the Imperialists. Finally the end came in 1648, when the Emperor, suffering from defeats in Germany at the hands of the Swedes and the French, agreed to peace terms.

The Treaty of Westphalia was signed in 1648. The territorial gains of France and Sweden, and the independence of the German princes, were recognised. The attempted revival of the power of Catholicism by the sword had failed, and Imperial power became nominal except in Austria. The independence of Switzerland and the United Provinces were also recognised by this treaty. The terrible devastation which the war caused in Germany had political and social consequences of long duration, although not all areas suffered in equal measure.

© JM Dent/Historybookshop.com

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