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Thirty Years War: Bohemian Phase
The Thirty Years' War was a conflict primarily fought in Central Europe from 1618 to 1648. Estimates of total military and civilian deaths range from 4.5 to 8 million, mostly from disease or starvation. In some areas of Germany, it has been suggested that up to 60% of the population died.
Prologue
EuropeThe Protestant Reformation began in 1517, but its effects were to last far longer. The authority of the Catholic Church in Europe was in question for the first time in a long time, and the continent divided into Catholics and Protestants. While some countries were more clearly Protestant, such as England and the Netherlands, and others remained staunchly Catholic like Spain, still others were marked by acute internal division. Martin Luther’s Reformation sharply divided German princes within the Holy Roman Empire, leading to conflict between the Catholic Hapsburg emperors and the princes (primarily in the northern part of the Empire) who adopted Lutheran Protestantism. This led to several conflicts that ended with the Peace of Augsburg (1555), which established the principle of cuius regio, eius religio (whoever reigns, his religion) within the Holy Roman Empire. According to the terms of the Peace of Augsburg, the Holy Roman Emperor renounced the right to enforce a single religion throughout the “Empire” and each prince could choose between establishing Catholicism or Lutheranism in the lands under his own control.
Second Defenestration of Prague
Hradčany Castle, Prague, Czech
Battle of Pilsen
Plzen, Czechia
Battle of Wisternitz
Dolní Věstonice, Czechia
Ferdinand becomes King of Bohemia
Bohemia
Battle of Sablat
near Dříteň, Czechia
Frederick V becomes King of Bohemia
Bohemia
Battle of White Mountain
near Prague, Czechia
Battle of Wiesloch
south of Heidelberg, Germany
Epilogue
Bohemia
Key Findings:
- Dissolution of the League of Evangelical Union
- Frederick V's holdings were given to Catholic nobles.
- Frederick was outlawed from the Holy Roman Empire.
- Bohemia & the Palatinate are re-Catholicized.
- Bavaria gains Upper Palatinate Emperor.
- Catholics are strengthened and Protestants are weakened.
Characters
Key Figures for Bohemian Phase
Charles Bonaventure de Longueval
Count of Bucquoy
Martin Luther
German Priest
Johann Tserclaes
Count of Tilly
Ernst von Mansfeld
German Military Commander
Frederick V
Elector Palatine
Ferdinand II
Holy Roman Emperor
Further Reading
Book Recommenations for Bohemian Phase
- German History (2018). "The Thirty Years War". German History. 36 (2): 252–270. doi:10.1093/gerhis/ghx121
- Gindely, Antonín (1884). History of the Thirty Years' War. Putnam.
- Lee, Stephen (2001). The Thirty Years War (Lancaster Pamphlets). Routledge. ISBN 978-0415268622.
- Polišenský, J. V. (1954). "The Thirty Years' War". Past and Present. 6 (6): 31–43. doi:10.1093/past/6.1.31. JSTOR 649813
Timelines Game
