Preview

The Thirty Years War: Causes, Issues, Or Results

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1127 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Thirty Years War: Causes, Issues, Or Results
The Thirty Years War: Causes, Issues, or Results

The Thirty Years War was a series of European battles from 1618 to 1648, fought primarily in Germany. The Thirty Years war was one of the most devastating wars of the early modern periods. Ever since the Peace of Westphalia ended The Thirty Years ' War, the balance of political power among the countries of Europe has changed. In this paper I will show the main causes issues and results that came from the Thirty Years War.
The Thirty Years War began as a religious war between the German Roman Catholics and Protestants. This war soon developed into a political contest because Austrian Hapsburg rulers of the Roman Empire sought to expand in their control over Europe. The war
…show more content…
The Hapsburgs looked as if they were succeeding in centralization until France and the Swedish armies led by Gustavus Adolphus went to war with the Hapsburgs. The Swedish army had many advantages over the Hapsburgs. In the first stages of the war, the portable cannon were used victoriously to have a crushing effect at the first battle of Breitenfeld in 1631 (Bonney, 28). The focus of Gustavus Adolphus when at war was to expand his army. He recruited prisoners to fight, his main tactic to weaken the opposing army by taking away and securing the food supplies (Bonney, 70). In the battle of Jankow in 1945 the imperialists blamed their defeat on the Swedish artillery superiority that outnumbered them 60:28 (Bonney, 28). The Swedish army had one of the best artillery during that time and some of the most skilled trained soldiers. The French on the other hand confronted the Spanish in the lower countries since it was unrealistic for them to seek winter quarters in Bohemia. The armies the French fought in Germany were small with low-grade cavalries. The German armies had limited resources and ammunition which helped account for the French …show more content…
The Thirty Years ' War 1618-1648. Oxford: Osprey Publ., 2002. Print
Schiller, Friedrich, and Edward Shepherd Creasy. The World 's Cyclopedia of History ... New York: J. B. Alden, 1883. Print.
Schiller, Friedrich, and A. J. W. Morrison. The History Of The Thirty Years ' War. [Auckland, N.Z.]: Floating Press, 2008. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
Wilson, Peter H. "Who Won The Thirty Years War?." History Today 59.8 (2009): 12-19. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
"The Iron Princess; Amalia Elisabeth and the Thirty Years War.(Brief article)(Book review)." Reference & Research Book News 2013: Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Nov.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    WW1 Study Guide

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages

    c. Imperialism i. Sphere of influence (India/China – value) d. Nationalism i. Franz Ferdinand (Austria-Hungary); Gavrillo Principe (Serbia) 3. The War in Europe a. Schlieffen Plan – two front war; trench warfare b. Technology – machine guns/planes/uboats/poison gas/tanks/trench warfare c. Women’s roles – nurses/ambulance drivers d. Battles i. Ypres: Chlorine gas, Flanders Field, urban warfare ii. Somme: Bloodiest battle, tanks used iii.…

    • 360 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thirty Years War Dbq

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Thirty Years' Year War was a war between the Protestants and the Catholics that lasted from 1618, and after impacting countless numbers of people, ended in 1648. This war had a huge effect on the religious landscape of Europe and the rule of the Holy Roman Emperor was ended. The two individuals in this first hand account of the Thirty Years' War, Peter Hagendorf and Hans Heberle, lived in the same time period but led very different lives. One was a mercenary who seemed to play the role of a pawn to his army commanders, being sent to various towns to ransack and plunder. The other was a cobbler, respected in his community, caught in the crossfire of a violent war that, like most civilians in wartime,…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thirty Year's War DBQ

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Thirty years of war heavily impacted several countries; for example, Document A, an observation on the effects of…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the sixteenth and seventeenth century, Europe was plagued with long years of different religious wars that would affect the course of history thereafter. The Thirty Years’ War, the last and final religious war of its time period, came to be one of the most devastating conflicts in Europe. Religiously and politically, the Thirty Years’ War reconstructed European life and was a significant turning point in history, as many religions and countries fought each other in a struggle for both power and religious freedom. For almost two entire centuries, European nations found themselves among three different wars, all derived from the same problem.…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Hundred Year War a war that was between France and England for the French throne took place between approximately 1337 and 1453. The motivation for the beginning of the Hundred Years War is that England desired to gain control over France, and the French opposed the expansion of England’s power.…

    • 1556 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Thirty Years’ War was the last and most catastrophic war based on religion and politics. It took place between 1618 and 1648 in the Holy Roman Empire. The war can be split into 4 main wars which were the Bohemian Revolt, the Danish intervention, the Swedish intervention and the French intervention.…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Trueman, Chris. "Thirty Years War." History Learning Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/30YW_western_europe.htm…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    War, something the world has yet overcome. For years; life on earth have fought over religion, land, power and yet have reach a conclusion that can over come the obstacles each country has to face. Power, being the superior of something much greater than a small portion of the world is something that can overcome and peace. One can argue that the Thirty Years War was fought because of political issues, however the war was fought because of religious difference between countries of Europe. Causes of the war started because of religious matters, the Peace of Westphalia comes into place setting an example of overcoming the years of destruction , and the Resistance of Protestantism feuding with the Catholics, creating discrimination and almost…

    • 1008 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Europe as a whole was drastically altered by the Thirty Years War and the Peace of Westphalia socially, economically, politically, and religiously. Politically, the Holy Roman Empire had lost power and was no longer the center of Europe as other countries began to take over, Germany was broken up, The Dutch and Swiss declared their independence from the weakening Spanish Hapsburgs, and France along with Sweden came to be leaders in European commerce as Spain was crushed financially and bankrupt. Religiously, princes in Germany had the right to choose the religion of their provinces as Catholic, Lutheran or Calvinist. This caused a division religiously or based on religious affiliation within Europe with the Catholics in the south, Lutherans in central Germany, and the Calvinists in the northern part of Europe.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Many European nations having this ability prevented any one from rising about the rest. The affect the balance of power had on the Thirty-Years War was its result, and with most of the nations involved being on roughly equal footing there was no clear winner between the Protestants and Roman Catholics. By the Treaties of Westphalia the various nations and religions involved were forced to recognize the others right to exist, if only begrudgingly and to the most minimum extant possible. The Thirty-Years War was ended and peace negotiated by ambassadors, and was not due to any power involved dealing a decisive victory. The balance of power also resulted in previously powerful nations such as Spain relegated to a second class power due to failures in both military might, and the authority and abilities of its ruling…

    • 1549 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Thirty Years War switched the purpose of war to politics rather than religion, thus modernizing Europe. Originally, during the Bohemian and Danish phases, the war was fought on a religious basis. However, the religious basis of the war eventually became less prevalent. The war became politically during the Swedish and French phases.…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Thirty Years War

    • 1656 Words
    • 7 Pages

    References: François Dupuigrenet, D (2011).The Thirty Years War: Europe 's Tragedy., Vol. 80 Issue 4, p929-932, 4p…

    • 1656 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    To fully understand modern history, it is important to comprehend the full effects of the Thirty Years War. The end of the Thirty Years War produced a number of dramatic consequences and altered Western Europe in significant religious, political, and social ways. Generally speaking, the post-war period produced the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the subsequent fall of the Hapsburg powers. The later divisions that occurred made Europe more like it is now with the Catholic areas in the south and the Lutherans farther north and more importantly, it took the central power from the Catholic Church. It also worked to quelled some of the religious struggles with the eventual Peace of Westphalia. The war also had a large impact on society as it decimated a large portion of the German population, destroyed crops, aided in the spread of disease and obliterated the German economy from the small to large scale. The average people living in Europe during this time were perhaps the most affected by the war. The armies were huge and in order to fund them, states had to raise taxes. In addition, many of the mercenaries went through villages and towns taking all they could from already destitute towns and this, coupled with the increasing demands of the state, planted the seed of anger toward governments that would later emerge throughout the Enlightenment and future rebellions.…

    • 1372 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Thirty Years War Causes

    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The en¬tire area of Germany was destroyed and much of its culture was lost. Agricultural areas suf¬fered catastrophically. The Hapsburg and Holy Roman Empire were greatly weakened. The age of religious wars ended permanently and Protestantism was established in Europe. Finally, the concept of the balance of power emerged as a force in international diplomacy, whereby na¬tions went to war with one another, not for religion but to ensure that one power did not domi¬nate the continent (3). The major impact of the Thirty Years ' War, in which mercenary armies were extensively used, was the devastation of entire regions scavenged bare by the foraging armies. Episodes of widespread famine and disease (a starving body has little resistance to illnesses) devastated the population of the German states and, to a lesser extent, the Low Countries and Italy, while bankrupting many of the powers involved. The war may have lasted for 30 years, but the conflicts that triggered it continued unresolved for a much longer…

    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bibliography: Peter van Ham. “The Power of War: Why Europe Needs It”. Hague, 2008: 28,…

    • 4208 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics