History before Westphalia Treaty

Introduction

The Protestant Reformation had encouraged religious dissention and social unrest since 1517 which
was addressed by the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, establishing the policy of cuius regio, eius
religio (“whose realm, their religion”) by which a ruler chose whether their territory would be Catholic
or Lutheran (then the only recognized Protestant sect).
https://www.worldhistory.org/Thirty_Years'_War/

October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses against (Catholic) papal indulgences, or
the atonement of sins through monetary payment, on the door of the church at Wittenberg, Germany.
Within less than four years, the Catholic Church would brand Luther a heretic, and the Holy Roman
Empire would condemn him as an outlaw. These were the early years of the Protestant Reformation, a
turning point in history that would transform not only the Christian faith, but also the politics and
society of all of Europe.
https://www.loc.gov/rr/european/luther.html#:~:text=On%20October%2031%2C%201517%2C
%20Martin,the%20church%20at%20Wittenberg%2C%20Germany.

Take Note : in 1517, Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses resulted the protestant reformation.
Since then religious conflict where unrest until 1948.

Thirty years of war has Four phases

 Bohemian Revolt (1618-1620)

 Denmark’s Engagement (1625-1629)
 Sweden’s Engagement (1630-1634)
 France’s Engagement (1635-1648)

https://www.worldhistory.org/Thirty_Years'_War/

https://www.tomrichey.net/blog/the-thirty-years-war-ap-euro-lecture-notes#:~:text=The%20Thirty
%20Years'%20War%20is,on%20political%20power%20than%20religion.

List of Holy Roman Emperors

 Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I - 1493-1519 (1517 beginning of the Protestant Reformation)
 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V - 1519-1556
 Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I -1556-1564
 Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II - 1564-1576
 Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II - 1576-1612
 Holy Roman Emperor Matthias - 1612-1619 (1917 Ferdinand II became the King of Bohemia)
 Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II - 1619-1637
 Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III - 1637-1657
http://www.holyromanempireassociation.com/list-of-holy-roman-emperors.html
How did Thirty years of war started ?
 When the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II became king of Bohemia in 1617, it upset
his largely Protestant subjects, initiating the Bohemian Revolt in 1618 - and the Thirty Years’
War .
https://www.worldhistory.org/Thirty_Years'_War/

 The war is conventionally held to have begun in 1618, when the future
Holy Roman emperor Ferdinand II, in his role as king of Bohemia, attempted to impose Roman
Catholic absolutism on his domains, and the Protestant nobles of both Bohemia and Austria rose
up in rebellion.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Thirty-Years-War

 On 23 May 1618, a group of Bohemian Protestants led by Count Jindřich Matyáš Thurn-
Valsassina threw two Catholic governors and their secretary out of a top-floor window of Prague
Castle. This episode was the unlikely flash point that set off the Thirty Years’ War.
https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2017/05/23/thirty-years-war-first-modern-war/#:~:text=On
%2023%20May%201618%2C%20a,off%20the%20Thirty%20Years'%20War.
https://english.radio.cz/defenestration-prague-400-years-8159929#:~:text=
%E2%80%9CDefenestration%E2%80%9D%20is%20the%20act%20of,from%20a%203rd%2Dfloor
%20window.

https://www.britannica.com/event/Defenestration-of-Prague-1618

Reason of Bohemian Protestant threw two Catholics governors in the

window of Prague Castle ?

 Holy Roman emperor Ferdinand II king of Bohemia, attempted to impose Roman Catholic
absolutism on his domains.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Thirty-Years-War

When did Thirty years of war started ?

 May 23, 1618
https://www.britannica.com/event/Thirty-Years-War

What are the 4 phases of hirty years if war ?

 Bohemian Revolt (1618-1620)

Although ruled directly by the Catholic Hapsburgs, Bohemian Protestants enjoyed a generous level
of religious toleration (by the standards of the time). A Hapsburg ruler had issued a Letter of
Majesty to the Bohemian Protestants guaranteeing their freedom to practice their religion. This
letter was revoked by Ferdinand II, a Jesuit-educated Hapsburg who had no interest in tolerating
Protestantism in any form.
 The conflict started with the Defenestration of Prague, in which two emissaries of the Holy
Roman Emperor were thrown out of a window. The emissaries somehow survived the 70 foot
drop - how they did depends on who you ask (Catholics maintained that they were saved by the
Virgin Mary and angels, while Protestants later wrote that they fell into a massive dung heap.).
Ferdinand took swift action against the rebels, defeating them decisively in the Battle of White
Mountain (1620). The first phase of the Thirty Years’ War concluded with the Catholics squarely
on top.

 Denmark’s Engagement (1625-1629)

The King of Denmark - a Lutheran state immediately north of the Holy Roman Empire - responded by
invading in order to help the Lutheran princes against the Emperor. This ended up being a colossal
failure, as his expected allies didn’t give him aid they had promised and he had underestimated the
strength of the Imperial armies. The Danish king retreated back into his own country with an army of
Imperial mercenaries at his heels.

The Danish Phase concluded with the Catholics again firmly in the lead. In 1629, Ferdinand issued
the Edict of Restitution, which ordered the return of Catholic lands that had been taken over by
Protestants since the Peace of Augsburg.

 Sweden’s Engagement (1630-1634)

The Protestant cause got a needed break when Gustavus Adolphus, the Lutheran King of Sweden,
invaded the Holy Roman Empire at the head of a powerful army. Gustavus Adolphus has been called
the “father of modern warfare,” being one of the first military commanders to make use of mobile
artillery on the battlefield. He scored a decisive victory at the Battle of Breitenfield (1631),
strengthening the Protestant cause.

The Swedes were helped by financial support from the French, who decided to support the Protestant
faction in spite of France being a Catholic country. Cardinal Richelieu, the First Minister of France,
was a politic in the vein of Henry IV, caring more about weakening the Hapsburgs than about what
religion people professed in the Holy Roman Empire.

 France’s Engagement (1635-1648)

Gustavus Adolphus was killed in battle in 1632, ending Sweden’s active leadership in the Protestant
cause. In the last phase of the Thirty Years’ War, the most dominant player on the Protestant side was
Catholic France. Granted, the French had a bit of help from the Swedes, who had switched roles from
fighter to financier. Here’s a device for remembering the roles of the Swedes and the French during the
later phases of the Thirty Years’ War:

Swedish Phase : SWEDISH SWORDS (Military) - FRENCH FUNDS (Supply)

French Phase : SWEDISH STACKS (Supply) - FRENCH FISTS (Military)

https://www.tomrichey.net/blog/the-thirty-years-war-ap-euro-lecture-notes#:~:text=The%20Thirty
%20Years'%20War%20is,on%20political%20power%20than%20religion.

https://www.worldhistory.org/Thirty_Years'_War/