AP European History
AP European History
As was mentioned previously, the Reformation resulted in an antagonistic, often hateful, relationship between Catholics and Protestants. In addition, the conflict between the two religious groups often strained and complicated international politics and diplomacy.
In France, because of the Concordat of Bologna (an agreement between France and the pope that allowed the French crown to appoint church officials in France if the first year’s income of the appointed officials went to the pope), the French government held close ties to Rome and the Catholic Church, and as a result, most Frenchmen were Catholic. Because of the influence of Calvin in France, though, growing numbers of Frenchmen became Calvinists, known as Huguenots. In the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572, paranoid Parisian Catholics killed 20,000 Huguenots to prevent the possibility of a Protestant coup. This threw France into a bitter civil war between Catholics and Protestants. In 1589, Henry of Navarre, a Protestant, (1553-1610, king 1589-1610) became King Henry IV when the Catholic Henry III was assassinated. A Calvinist who was more interested in political than religious unity, Henry TV could not sway Paris away from Catholicism. Saying, “Paris is worth a mass,” Henry became Catholic. However, he issued the Edict of Nantes that allowed the Huguenots to worship freely in France.
In England, Mary I, who was the daughter of the Catholic Catherine of Aragon, attempted to return England to Catholicism. She met with some resistance due to the large numbers of people who held on to the Protestant beliefs. Mary dealt with the resistance by executing many Protestants during her reign and consequently submitted England to the papacy.
This changed with Mary’s successor, Elizabeth I. Elizabeth returned England to Protestantism, though only moderate Protestantism, and was not concerned when she was officially excommunicated. Elizabeth sought to compromise and reduce the tensions between Catholics and Protestants. However, in matters of international politics, Elizabeth openly supported Protestants. For example, Elizabeth supplied many troops to help support the efforts of the rebels in the Netherlands. As a result, England and Spain remained at odds for years.
The revolt in the Netherlands occurred for both political and religious reasons. Philip II of Spain wanted to exert more political control in the Netherlands. He also wanted to strengthen Catholicism in the Netherlands in response to the growing number of Calvinists there. Philip sent 20,000 troops to the Netherlands and ordered the Duke of Alva to establish the Council of Troubles to deal with the Calvinists there. Better known as the Council of Blood, the Council of Troubles executed thousands for heresy. The northern and southern provinces united in 1576 bur ultimately separated into two sections. These two sections became modern-day Netherlands, which was Calvinist, in the north and modern-day Belgium, which was Catholic, in the south. In 1585, England sent troops and money to aid the rebels there. At the end of the sixteenth century, the Spanish were driven from the northern Netherlands, and the war came to an end in 1609. In 1648, the northern Netherlands won their independence from Spain and became known as the United Provinces. As the Spanish Netherlands, the southern provinces remained under the control of Spain.
The final and most devastating war of religion was the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). Although the war did not begin until 1618, the tensions mat led to it date back to me Peace of Augsburg (1555), an agreement that allowed German princes to choose the religion of their territories. The only two religions that were recognized, though, were Catholicism and Lutheranism. In the early seventeenth century, Germany was divided into two main groups, the Protestant Union and the Catholic League of German States. The English, French, and Dutch supported the Protestant Union, while Spain and the Holy Roman Empire supported the Catholic League. The foundation was laid for the first continental war. Generally, historians divide the Thirty Years’ War into four phases.
The first phase was the Bohemian Phase (1618-1625). The Bohemians, most of whom were Calvinists, distrusted their Catholic king, Matthias. After appeals to the king for intervention in the harsh acts of the Catholic Church in Bohemia went unanswered, the Protestants in Prague threw two of the king’s officials out of a window. This act, known as the Defenestration of Prague, signaled the beginning of a national conflict. The following year, the Catholic king died and Ferdinand, the Holy Roman Emperor’s Catholic cousin, became King of Bohemia. The Protestants rejected Ferdinand and chose as their king Frederick Elector of the Palatinate, a Calvinist. In 1620, Bavarian forces fighting for Ferdinand crushed Frederick at the Battle of White Mountain. Spanish forces then conquered the Palatinate in 1622, thus ending Frederick’s political career. Ferdinand confiscated the land of the Bohemian Protestant nobles and declared Catholicism the religion of Bohemia.
The second phase, or Danish Phase (1625-1629), began when the Lutheran King of Denmark. Christian IV (1577-1648, king 1588-1648), led an army into northern Germany in an attempt to aid the Protestants. Ferdinand responded by sending Albert of Wallenstein and his army of mercenaries to Germany. Wallenstein’s army ravaged Germany and defeated Christian’s army in 1626. In 1629, the emperor issued the Edict of Restitution, an act that outlawed Calvinism within the Holy Roman Empire and ordered Lutherans to turn over all property that they had gained since 1552.
In the third phase, or Swedish Phase (1629-1635), the French became disturbed by the resurgence of Habsburg power and offered monetary support to Gustavus Adolphus (1594-1632. king 1611-1632) for his help in Germany. The Swedish king was a great military mind who commanded an outstanding army. He was also Protestant. Persuaded to involve himself and his troops in the war, Gustavus Adolphus moved into Germany and met with much success against the anti-Protestant forces until he was killed in 1632. The Swedes lost their effectiveness after his death and were eventually defeated, thus guaranteeing that southern Germany would remain Catholic. The Protestant states signed an agreement with the emperor that revoked the Edict of Resolution. The Swedes insisted on continuing the war effort, and France entered the war on the side of the Swedes.
The fourth and final phase of the war, the French-Swedish Phase (1635-1648), proved to be the most destructive. The French and Swedish forces fought against the Habsburgs and the Spanish. Both sides won several battles, bur none were decisive. Finally, after the French defeated the Spanish at Rocroi, the war-weary participants wanted peace. Negotiations began at Westphalia, and after several years of peace talks, the countries signed the Peace of Westphalia (1648). The Peace of Westphalia reinstated the Peace of Augsburg, except that Calvinists were given consideration, and the Edict of Restitution was revoked. Switzerland and Holland both gained independence. France and Sweden both received territories. Finally, German princes were granted sovereignty. As a result of the Peace, the Habsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire were severely weakened. Germany was devastated. Its agriculture took heavy losses, and its population was decimated. Entire towns were destroyed, and much of its culture was lost. In regards to the Reformation, Protestantism had established itself in Europe for good.