THE EUROPEAN WARS OF RELIGION c. 1560-1660

1. THE EUROPEAN WARS OF RELIGIONc. 1560-1660

2. Philip II (r. 1556 – 1598) • Son of Charles V • Ruled Spanish & Portuguese Empires, Netherlands and Southern Italy. • Strongest military power in the world.

3. El Escorial • New royal palace/fortress (and monastery and mausoleum) in shape of grill, reflected Philip’s religious and military convictions.

4. Catholic Crusade • Philip II fanatically seeks to reimpose Catholicism in Europe. • Takes on Calvinists in his Netherlands territories. • Fights against Protestant England due to Elizabeth I’s support of the Dutch • Takes on Muslim Turks power in the Mediterranean.

5. Battle of Lepanto • Encouraged by Pope Pius V, Philip used combined Spanish and Italian fleets to fight the Turks. • Spain defeated Turkish navy off coast of Greece. • Turkish navy severely weakened as result.

6. The Dutch Revolt • Calvinist Netherlands resented foreign rule by Spain (both on religious, economic, and political grounds). • Philip II sends the Duke of Alva to suppress revolt. 1567-1572 reign of terror killing thousands of rebels. Duke of Alva

7. The Dutch Revolt • 1579, seven northern provinces form Union of Utrecht to continue fight. • William I (William of Orange) (1533-1584), led 7 provinces against Inquisition and revolt against rule of Philip II. He was assassinated in 1584. • Struggle continued to 1609; 12-year truce enacted; Defacto Dutch independence formally recognised in P of W in 1648.

8. England v. Spain • Queen Mary Tudor (Philip’s wife) reimposes Catholicism in England. • Alliance with England ends with death of Mary in 1558 and the accession of Elizabeth. • Queen Elizabeth I reverses Mary’s edicts Elizabeth helps Protestant Netherlands gain independence from Spain. • Philip plots to reimpose Catholicism in England

9. Elizabeth I • Elizabeth I of England (r. 1558-1603) championed Protestant causes in Europe. • England was an unlikely foe to Spain (lost possessions in Europe, had no overseas possessions) • Elizabeth carefully crafted her image to instill the love of her people. • Elizabeth supported the Dutch Revolt and English privateers regularly attacked Spanish colonial shipping.

10. The Armada, 1588 • Philip II attempts to invade England to end Protestant resistance. • Fleet attempts to pick up Spanish troops in the Netherlands for invasion. • Armada is harassed by smaller, better armed and more manuverable English fleet

11. The Armada, 1588 • The combination of better English seamanship and bad weather (“the Protestant Wind”) defeated the Spanish. • Forced to return home via northern route, half the fleet lost. • Marked the beginning of the end of Spanish power; leads to rise of Netherlands, England and France.

12. The French Wars of Religion -Catholic and Huguenots • Despite the spread of Reformation ideas, France remained a largely Catholic nation. • Of a total of 16 million (in the late 16th century) 1.2 million embraced Calvinism. • A large portion of French nobility were Calvinists. • Conflict between the groups led to three decades of civil war on religious and political issues.

13. Henry II (r. 1547-1559) • Son of King Francis I of the Valois line. • Henry married Catherine de Medici fourteen years old. • When his older brother Francis died in 1536 after a game of tennis, Henry became heir to the throne.

14. Henry II (r. 1547-1559) • Henry was a large, powerful man; but a weak-willed king. • Even so, he persecuted Huguenots. • Henry II severely punished them, burning them alive or cutting out their tongues for speaking their Protestant beliefs. Even those suspected of being Huguenots could be imprisoned for life. • He was killed in a jousting tournament.

15. Catherine de’ Medici • After Henry II’s death in a jousting match, Catherine used her position as Regent to influence her three sons who would serve as king. • Francis II (r. 1559-1560), Charles IX (r. 1560-1574) and Henry III (r. 1574-1589) ruled under the influence of Catherine, but could not stop the spreading Huguenot influence.

16. St. Bartholemew's Day Massacre • Open warfare began between the Catholics lead by the Guise family and the Huguenots lead by the Bourbon family in 1562. • First eight years of fighting ended in 1570. • Catherine still feared Huguenot power and ordered their massacre on Aug. 24 1572.

17. War of the Three Henrys (1585-89) • Following the massacre, Henry of Navarre (a Bourbon) emerged as Huguenots leader. • Henry III attempted to form a moderate Catholic faction as an alternative to the radical Guise faction. • Conflict erupted between Henry III, Henry of Navarre and Henry, Duke of Guise.

18. War of the Three Henrys (1585-89) • Regarding him as a serious threat, Henry III had Henry of Guise assassinated in Dec. 1588. • Guise faction retaliated and had Henry III killed July 1589. • Henry of Navarre was the only one left with a legitimate claim to the throne. He became Henry IV in 1589.

19. Henry IV (r. 1589-1610) • First Bourbon king of France. • Was a Huguenot, but converts to Catholicism. • Brings peace to the warring factions. • Issues the Edict of Nantes in 1589, granting limited toleration to the Huguenots.

20. Henry IV and Duke of Sully • Henry IV of France begins the process of restoring royal power. • Appoints the Duke of Sully as finance minister • Sully introduces sound accounting practices to increase the crown’s income. • Did not attempt any major reforms (such as revoke tax-exemptions of nobility & clergy). • Neglected industrial development in favor of agriculture. Built roads and canals. • Promoted mercantilist polices.

21. Mercantilism • Mercantilism was the primary set of economic theories that drove international trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. • Government control of the economy was an essential feature. • Mercantilism assumed that there was only so much wealth in the world and the way a nation got wealthy was through a favorable balance of trade or through the accumulation of bullion (bullionism).

22. Louis XIII • In 1610, Henry IV was assassinated. • Louis XIII was only 10 yrs old, his mother Marie de Medici acted as regent. • In 1621, Cardinal Richelieu became king’s chief minister.

23. Cardinal Richelieu • Richelieu served as chief minister from 1621 until his death in 1642. • He gradually reduced the influence of the nobility in government. • He established the office of indendant. • When the Huguenots attempted to take advantage of the new king, he defeated their forces at LaRochelle and denied them to the right to fortified cities. • Richelieu revived French animosity toward the Habsburgs, involving France in the 30 yrs. War.

24. Mazarin and Louis XIV • Mazarin succeeded Richelieu as chief minister and continued in the position when the 5 yr old Louis XVI came to the throne. • Along with Queen Anne of Austria he served as regent. • He continued most of Richelieu’s policies. Cardinal Mazarin

25. The Fronde (1648-1653) • A series of revolts by nobility and townspeople broke out against royal power led by the Parlement of Paris. • Infighting led to the revolt withering away. • Its failure demonstrated the successful strengthening of royal institutions. • The disorder of the revolt convinced people that strong central power was needed.

26. Economic Crisis in Spain • Influx of silver into Spain from the New World caused rampant inflation; when flow stopped in early 1600’s economy suffered. • Philip II entangled Spain in costly international wars. • Tax based depleted through series of plagues.

27. Count of Olivares • Attempted to lift the burden on Castile through Union of Arms. • Provinces felt independence was being taken away. • This provoked a series of revolts.

28. Revolts against Spain • In the 1640s there were a series of revolts in Catalonia, Portugal, Naples and Sicily. • Olivares was dismissed by Philip IV. • Catalonian revolt lasted 11 yrs, thwarted by infighting between peasants and nobles. • Portuguese revolt was peaceful; gained independence in 1668. • This period ended Spain as a world power.

29. United Provinces • Dutch economic and political power grew as conflict between the Estates General (pro-business) and the House of Orange (pro-war) continued. • Amsterdam financial capital; biggest international shippers; religious toleration. • Jan De Witt led Dutch through golden age from 1653-1672. • French invasion put power back in the hands of the House of Orange under William III.

30. Sweden • Gustavus Adolphus (r. 1611-1632) established an efficient gov’t and bureaucracy. • Nobles took more land and power after the death of Adolphus. • Queen Christina abdicated in favor of her cousin Charles X, using the Riksdag to pull power away from the nobles.

31. Eastern Europe • Ottoman rule in Eastern Europe began to weaken after their defeat at Vienna in 1683. • Poland’s power continued to decline. • In Russia, following the Time of Troubles (1584-1613) the Romanov dynasty came to power; nobles and church brought under control of tsar (czar) and serfdom firmly restablished.

32. The Thirty Years War -Origins of the Conflict • Peace of Augsburg of 1555 brought truce to warring religious factions in the Holy Roman Empire. • The agreement only recognized Catholics and Lutherans (leaving out Calvinists). • Calvinists began to make gains in a number or states and began demanding rights. • Direct cause of the fighting was a conflict in Bohemia.

33. Bohemian Phase, 1618-1625 • In 1617, The Bohemian Diet elected Ferdinand of Styria (a Hapsburg) king. Two years later he elected HRE Ferdinand II. • His election alarmed Calvinists in Bohemia since Ferdinand was a strong supporter of the Catholic cause. • Roman Catholic officials ordered the end of construction of some Protestant chapels on land which the Catholic clergy claimed belonged to them. Protestants, who claimed it was royal • They interpreted this as a violation of the right of freedom of religious expression as granted in the Letter of Majesty issued by Emperor Rudolf II in 1609.

34. The Defenestration of Prague • On May 23, 1618, an assembly of Protestants tried two Imperial governors for violating the Letter of Majesty. • They were found guilty, and thrown out of the high windows of the Bohemian Chancellery.

35. The Defenestration of Prague • They fell some 50 ft, and they landed on a large pile of manure. They all survived. • Roman Catholic Imperial officials claimed that they survived due to the mercy of the benevolent angels assisting the righteousness of the Catholic cause. • Protestant pamphleteers asserted that their survival had more to do with the horse excrement in which they landed than the benevolent acts of the angels.

36. Bohemian Phase, 1618-1625 • Taking control of Prague, the Calvinists deposed Ferdinand and elected a new king, Frederick V. • Emperor Ferdinand II won the support of Maximilian I of Bavaria. • Under the leadership of Baron Tilly, the Catholic League forces defeated the Protestants in Bohemia at the Battle of White Mountain in Nov. 1620., ending the Bohemian phase

37. Danish Phase, 1625-1629 • King Christian IV intervened on the side of the Protestants against Ferdinand II. • Albrecht von Wallenstein and Tilly defeated the Danes in 1626 with a independent army of 50,000 men. • In 1629, Ferdinand II issued the the Edict of Restitution. • The Treaty of Lubeck in 1629 restored Holstein to Christian IV while he pledged to stay out of the war. Albrecht von Wallenstein

38. Swedish Phase, 1630-1635 • Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus became the new defender of the Protestant cause. • In 1630, the Swedes invaded Germany. • Later that year, Catholic France signed a alliance with Protestant Sweden, entering the war against the Hapsburgs. • What had begun as a religious war now took political overtones. Gustavus Adolphus

39. Swedish Phase, 1630-1635 • During the early stages the Swedes won several victories • Tilly fell in battle in 1632 and Wallenstein formed a new army. • In Nov. 1632, Wallenstein was defeated at the Battle of Lutzen, but Gustavus Adolphus was killed. • Wallenstein entered into secret negotiations with the French and Swedes, Ferdinand had him relieved in 1634, he was assassinated a few days later.

40. Swedish Phase, 1630-1635 • In the autumn of 1634, Ferdinand II’s army defeated the Swedes at the Battle of Nordlingen. • Each side in the conflict was exhausted from years of fighting. • In 1635, the Treaty of Prague brought an end to the Swedish phase of the war and strengthened the position of the emperor compared to that of the princes.

41. French Phase, 1635-1648 • Settlement reached in the Treaty of Prague was wrecked by the French decision to directly intervene. • Cardinal Richelieu, Chief Minister of Louis XIII wanted to weaken Hapsburg power and gain territory. Cardinal Richelieu

42. French Phase, 1635-1648 • The French relied on the German princes and Swedes to lead the fight in Germany, while France moved against the Hapsburg Philip IV of Spain. • The war continued to ravage Germany, with no side gaining the upper hand until the French defeated the Spanish and became more directly involved. • Ferdinand II died in 1637 and was succeeded by his son, Ferdinand III (r. 1637-1657). • Peace negotiations began in 1641, but made little progress until the death of Richelieu in 1642 and the French occupation of Bavaria in 1646.

43. Peace of Westphalia, 1648 • Treaty of Westphalia ended the 30 yrs. War. • France, Sweden, and Brandenburg (Prussia) gained territory. • Settlement formally recognized the independence of Switzerland and Dutch Republic. • Granted German states the right to make treaties and alliances, further weakening the HRE. 300+ German states became sovereign. • Religious rights guaranteed in Peace of Augsburg expanded to Calvinists.

44. Effects of the Conflict • Germanyphysically devastated (as much as 1/2 of pop. in certain areas perished). • Religious wars come to an end. • France becomes the predominant power in Europe. • New rules of international affairs established (modern nation-state becomes supreme).

45. The English Civil War -Origins of the Conflict • The wars were the outcome of tensions between king and subjects over religious and civil issues. • Religious disputes centered on whether religion was to be dictated by the monarch or the choice of the subject. • Civil questions were to what extent the king's rule was constrained by parliaments. • The wars also had an element of national conflict, as Ireland and Scotland rebelled against England's primacy within the Three Kingdoms.

46. King James VI & I (r. 1603-1625) • House of Stuart of Scotland. • Belief in “divine right of kings,” wanted to rule without Parliament • Leadership of Church went to those with Arminian beliefs (predestination but with “good works”) • Archbishop Laud tried to impose Catholic-style ritual; Puritans dismayed. • King claimed “no bishop, no king” to Puritan demand to end bishop control.

47. Charles I (r. 1625-1649) • Charles sought to rule without Parliament and to control the Anglican Church • Petition of Right, 1628: Parliament attempt to bribe king (taxes) in return for accepting Parliament’s right to tax, habeas corpus, no quartering, and no martial law in peacetime • Charles dissolved Parliament in 1629; ruled without until 1640 using collection of ship money

48. Revolt in Scotland • In 1637, English gov’t ordered the use of Anglican service in Scottish churches (Book of Common Prayer). • In 1638, thousands of Scots signed the Solemn League and Covenant, pledging to defend the Presbyterianism (Calvinism) • In 1639-40, the Scots rose in revolt, in which became The Bishops War.

49. The Short Parliament • Charles needed money to stop the revolt, so he called Parliament into session in April 1640. • The session lasted only three weeks as Parliament demanded concessions from the king. • Charles dissolved Parliament and used already assembled forces in Ireland and Scotland to suppress the revolt. • His forces were defeated at Newburn on Tyne in Aug. 1640, he needed to pay the Scots to keep peace until settlement was reached, therefore he recalled Parliament.

50. The Long Parliament • Parliament met on Nov. 3 1640 (and did not dissolve until 1653). • Parliament impeached and eventually condemned to death the Earl of Strafford and Archbishop Laud. • Parliament barred the levy of taxes without its approval, that Parliament should meet every 3 yrs, and the king could not dissolve Parliament