(1618-1648).
ORIGIN OF THE WAR.--In _Germany_, more than in any other country,
the Reformation had sprung from the hearts of the people. Its progress
would have been far greater had it not been retarded by political
obstacles, and by divisions among Protestants themselves. Germany, to
be sure, was not disunited by the Reformation: it was disunited
before. But now strong states existed on its borders,--_France_,
even _Denmark_ and _Sweden_,--which might profit by its
internal conflicts. The _Peace of Augsburg_, unsatisfactory as it
was to both parties, availed to prevent open strife as long as
_Ferdinand I_. (1556-1564) and _Maximilian II_. (1564-1576)
held the imperial office. The latter, especially, favored toleration,
and did not sympathize with the fanaticism of the Spanish branch of his
family. He condemned the cruelties of _Alva_ and the massacre of
St. Bartholomew. With the accession of _Rudolph II._, a change
took place. He had been brought up in Spain. The Catholic
counter-reformation was now making its advance. The order of the
_Jesuits _was putting forth great and successful exertions to win
back lost ground. There were out-breakings of violence between the two
religious parties. A Catholic procession was insulted in
_Donauwörth_, a free city of the empire. The city was put under
the ban by the emperor; the Bavarian Duke marched against it, and
incorporated it in his own territory (1607). On both sides, complaints
were made of the infraction of the Peace of Augsburg. The Donauwörth
affair led to the formation of the _Evangelical Union_, a league
into which, however, all the Protestant states did not enter. The
_Catholic League_, under the Leadership of Maximilian of Bavaria,
was firmly knit together and full of energy.
FIRST STAGE IN THE WAR (to 1629).
THE BOHEMIAN STRUGGLE.--The _Bohemians_ revolted against
_Ferdinand II_. in 1618, when their religious liberties were
violated, and shortly after (1619) refused to acknowledge him as their
king. He was a narrow and fanatical, though not by nature a cruel,
ruler. He gave himself up to the control of the Catholic League. The
two branches of the _Hapsburg_ family--the _Austrian_ and
_Spanish_--were now in full accord with each other. The Bohemians
gave their crown to _Frederick V_., the Elector Palatine, the
son-in-law of _James I_. of England. Bohemia was invaded by
_Ferdinand_, aided by the League, and abandoned to fire and
sword. The terrible scenes of the Hussite struggle were re-enacted. In
the protracted wars that ensued, it was estimated that the Bohemian
population was reduced from about four millions to between seven and
eight hundred thousand! The _Palatinate_ was conquered and
devastated. The electoral dignity was transferred to the _Duke of
Bavaria_. At last, in 1625, _England_, _Holland_, and
_Denmark_ intervened in behalf of the fugitive Elector
Palatine. _Christian IV_. of Denmark was defeated, and the
intervention failed. The power gained by Maximilian, the Bavarian Duke,
made his interests separate, in important particulars, from those of
_Ferdinand_. _Ferdinand_ was able to release himself from the
virtual control of _Maximilian_ and the League, through
_Wallenstein_, a general of extraordinary ability. He was a
Bohemian noble, proud, ambitious, and wealthy. He raised an army, and
made it support itself by pillage. The unspeakable miseries of Germany,
in this prolonged struggle, were due largely to the composition of the
armies, which were made up of hirelings of different nations, whose
trade was war, and who were let loose on an unprotected
population. Captured cities were given up to the unbridled passions of
a fierce and greedy soldiery. Germany, traversed for a whole generation
by these organized bands of marauders, was in many places reduced
almost to a desert.
EDICT OF RESTITUTION.--Victory attended the arms of _Wallenstein_,
and of _Tilly_, a brutal commander, the general of the League. The
territory of the Dukes of _Mecklenburg_ was given to
_Wallenstein_ as a reward (1629). He was anxious to conquer the
German towns on the _Baltic_. _Stralsund_ offered a stubborn
resistance, which he could not overcome. The League moved
_Ferdinand_ to the adoption of the _Edict of Restitution_
(1629), which put far off the hope of peace. This edict enforced the
parts of the _Peace of Augsburg_ which were odious to the
Protestants, especially the _Ecclesiastical Reservation_ (p. 410),
and abrogated the provisions of an opposite tenor. It was evident that
the real aim was the entire extinction of Protestantism. The League,
moreover, induced the emperor to remove _Wallenstein_, of whom
they were jealous. The effect of these measures was to rouse the most
lukewarm of the Protestant princes, including the electors of
_Brandenburg_ and _Saxony_, to a sense of the common
danger. It was plain that _Wallenstein_ was a sacrifice to the
League, and to the ambition of _Maximilian_ of Bavaria.
SECOND STAGE IN THE WAR (1629-1632).
In the second act of this long drama, _Gustavus Adolphus_ of
Sweden is the hero. His reign is marked by the rise of his country to
the height of its power.
EVENTS IN SWEDEN: CAREER OF GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS.--_Gustavus Vasa_
made the mistake of undertaking to divide power among his four
sons. There was a vein of eccentricity, amounting sometimes to
insanity, in the family. _Eric XIV_. was hasty and jealous,
imprisoned his brother _John_, and committed reckless crimes. In
1569 he was himself confined, and nine years after was secretly put to
death. _John_ and another brother, _Charles_ of Südermanland,
now reigned together. _John_ was favorable to the Roman-Catholic
Church, and offended his Protestant subjects by efforts at union and
compromise. Moreover, he unwisely made concessions to the nobles, and
increased the burdens of the peasants. Finally, he wanted to make his
son _Sigismund_ king of Poland, a country which, from its
anarchical constitution, was on the road to ruin. _Poland_ was a
Catholic land; and, in order to get the crown, _Sigismund_ avowed
himself a Catholic. _Charles_, a strict Lutheran, drew to his side
all who were hostile to _John's_ spirit and policy. On the death
of the latter (1592), Duke _Charles_ came into collision with
_Sigismund_ and with the nobles, whose power depended on his
concessions; and he gained the victory over them (1598). In 1604 the
Diet gave him the crown, which he wore for seven years. He had to
contend against faction, and to withstand the attacks of _Denmark_
and of _Russia_. In the midst of these troubles he died, and was
succeeded by his son _Gustavus Adolphus_, then less than eighteen
years of age (1611-1632). He was a well-educated prince, early familiar
with war, a devoted patriot, and, although tolerant in his temper, was
a sincere Protestant, after the type of the old Saxon electors. For
eighteen years after his accession, it had been his aim to control the
_Baltic_. This had brought him into conflict with _Denmark_,
_Poland_, and _Russia_. His interposition in the German war,
a step which was full of peril to himself, was regarded by
_Brandenburg_ and _Saxony_ with jealousy and repugnance. But
when the savage troops of _Tilly_ (1631) sacked and burned
_Magdeburg_, the neutral party was driven to side with
_Sweden_. _Gustavus_ defeated _Tilly_, and the advance
of his army in the South of Germany prostrated the power of the
League. The princes regarded the Swedish king with suspicion: the
cities regarded him with cordiality. Whether along with his sagacious
and just intentions he connected his own elevation to the rank of King
of Rome, and emperor, must be left uncertain. _Ferdinand_ was
obliged to call back _Wallenstein_. The battle of _Lützen_,
in 1632, was a great defeat of _Wallenstein_, and a grand victory
for the Swedes; but it cost them the life of their king.
FRANCE.--THE BOURBON KINGS.
HENRY IV, 1589-1610, (2), _m._
Mary, daughter of Francis, Grand Duke of Tuscany
|
+--LOUIS XIII, 1610-1643, _m._
| Anne, daughter of Philip III of Spain.
| |
| +--LOUIS XIV, 1643-1715, _m._ Maria Theresa,
| | daughter of Philip IV of Spain.
| | |
| | +--Louis, Dauphin, _d._ 1711, _m._ Maria Anna,
| | | daughter of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria.
| | | |
| | | +--Louis, Duke of Burgundy, _d._ 1712, _m._
| | | Mary Adelaide, daughter of Victor Amadeus II of Savoy.
| | | |
| | | +--LOUIS XV, 1715-1774, _m._
| | | Mary, daughter of Stanislas Leczinsky, King of Poland.
| | | |
| | | +--Louis, Dauphin, _d._ 1765, _m_
| | | Maria Josepha, daughter of Frederick Augustus II
| | | of Poland and Saxony.
| | | |
| | | +--LOUIS XVI, 1774-1792 (deposed, executed 1793),
| | | | _m._ Marie Antoinette, daughter of
| | | | Emperor Francis I.
| | | |
| | | +--Louis, Count of Provence (LOUIS XVIII),
| | | | 1814-1824.
| | | |
| | | +--Charles, Count of Artois (CHARLES X), 1824-1830
| | | (deposed),_m_ Maria Theresa, daughter
| | | of Victor Amadeus III of Savoy.
| | |
| | +--Francoise (Mademoiselle de Blois),
| | _m._
| | +--Philip, regent, _d._1723.
| | | |
| | | +--Louis, _d._ 1752.
| | | |
| | | +--Louis Philippe, _d._ 1785.
| | | |
| | | +--Louis Philippe (Egalite), executed 1793.
| | | |
| | | +--LOUIS PHILIPPE, 1830-1848 (deposed), _m._
| | | Maria Amelia, daughter of
| | | Ferdinand I of Two Sicilies.
| | |
| | (2), Elizabeth, daughter of Charles Lewis, Elector Palatine.
| | (1), Henrietta Maria.
| +--Philip, _m._
|
+--Henrietta Maria _m._ Charles I of England.
THIRD STAGE IN THE WAR (1632-1648).
FRANCE AFTER HENRY IV.--After the death of _Gustavus_, in the new
phase of the war, the influence of _Richelieu_, the great
minister of France, becomes more and more dominant. Germany was in the
end doomed to eat the bitter fruits of civil war, such as spring from
foreign interference, even when it comes in the form of help. _Henry
IV_. had died when he was on the point of directing the power of
France, as of old, against the house of Hapsburg. The country now fell
back for a series of years to a state akin to that under the kings who
preceded him, although it was saved from a long civil war. _Louis
XIII._ (1610-1643) was a child; and the queen, _Mary de
Medici_, who was the regent, an Italian woman, with no earnest
principles, deprived of the counsels of _Sully_, lavished the
resources of the crown upon nobles, who were greedy of place and
pelf. At the assembly of the States-general in 1614, nobles, clergy,
and the third estate were loud in reciprocal accusations. The queen
fell under the influence of the _Concinis_, an Italian
waiting-maid and her husband, the latter of whom she made a marquis
and a marshal of France. She leagued herself in various ways with
_Spain_. As the king grew older, a party rallied about him, and
the marshal was assassinated (1617). From that time _Louis_ was
under the influence of a favorite, the Duke de Luynes, a native
Frenchman, with whom the nobles were in sympathy. The duke died in
1621. Then _Richelieu_, Bishop of Lucon (made a cardinal in
1622), a statesman of extraordinary genius, began his active career in
politics, and after 1624 guided the policy of France, as a sort of
Mayor of the Palace. _Louis XIII._ was not personally fond of
him, but felt the need of him._ Richelieu's_ aim, as regards the
government of France, was to consolidate the monarchy by bringing the
aristocracy into subjection to the king. Under him began the process
of centralization, the system of officers appointed and paid by the
government, which was fully developed after the great revolution. He
accomplished the overthrow of the _Huguenots_ as a political
organization, a state within the state. In 1628 _Rochelle_, the
last of their towns, fell into his hands. He was determined to make
the civil authority supreme. He resisted interference with its rights
on the part of the Church. The nobles were reduced to obedience by the
infliction of severe punishments. The common people were kept
under. But the domestic government of _Richelieu_ made it
possible for the selfish and ruinous policy of _Louis XIV._ to
arise. The key of his foreign policy was hostility to _Austria_
and _Spain_, to both branches of the Hapsburgs. Before he took
active measures against them, he had to procure quiet in France, and
to provide himself with money and troops.
INTERVENTION OF RICHELIEU.--The pretext of _Richelieu_ for taking
part in the German war was the alleged ambitious aim of the
_Hapsburgs_ to destroy the independence of other nations. He
helped _Gustavus_ with money; but the Swedish king would neither
allow him to take territory, nor to dictate the method of prosecuting
the contest. It was agreed that the Catholic religion as such should
not be attacked. _Oxenstiern_, the Swedish chancelor, in the
_Heilbronn Treaty_ (1633) adhered to the same policy.
DEATH OF WALLENSTEIN.--_Wallenstein_ had now become dangerous to
the emperor. He negotiated with the Protestants, the Swedes, and the
French, possibly to confront the emperor with the accomplished fact of
peace and to claim as a reward the _Palatinate_ or the _Kingdom
of Bohemia_. Deprived of his command and declared a traitor, he was
assassinated by some of his officers (1634).
END OF THE WAR.--The imperial victory of _Nordlingen_ (1634) made
the active assistance of France necessary. But it was not until the
death of _Bernard_ of Weimar, the foremost general of the Germans
(1639), that _Richelieu_ found himself at the goal of his
efforts. The armies opposed to the emperor were now under the control
of the French. The character of the war had changed. Protestant states
were fighting on the imperial side: the old theological issues were
largely forgotten. Yet the Court of Vienna still clung to the Edict of
Restitution (p. 424) for eight long years, during which the confused,
frightful warfare was kept up. At last the military reverses of the
emperor, _Ferdinand III_. (1637-1657), who, unlike his father,
was not indisposed to peace, wrung from him a consent to the necessary
conditions.
EFFECTS OF THE WAR.--The barbarities of this long war are
indescribable. The unarmed people were treated with brutal
ferocity. The population of Germany is said to have diminished in
thirty years from twenty to fifty per cent. The population of one city,
Augsburg, fell from eighty to eighteen thousand. There were four
hundred thousand people in _Würtemberg_: in 1641 only forty-eight
thousand were left. In fertile districts, the destruction of the crops
had caused great numbers to perish by famine. It is only in recent
years that the number of horned cattle in Germany has come to equal
what it was in 1618. Cities, villages, castles, and dwellings
innumerable, had been burned to the ground.
THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA.--The Peace of Westphalia, concluded in 1648,
was a great European settlement. It was agreed, that in _Germany_,
whatever might be the faith of the prince, the religion of each state
was to be Catholic or Protestant, according to its position in 1624,
which was fixed upon as the "normal year." In the imperial
administration, the two religions were to be substantially
equal. Religious freedom and civil equality were extended to the
Calvinists. The _empire_ was reduced to a shadow by giving to the
_Diet_ the power to decide in all important matters, and by the
permission given to its members to make alliances with one another and
with foreign powers, with the futile proviso that no prejudice should
come thereby to the empire or the emperor. The independence of
_Holland_ and _Switzerland_ was acknowledged. _Sweden_
obtained the territory about the Baltic, in addition to other important
places, and became a member of the German Diet. Among the acquisitions
of _France_ were the three bishoprics, _Metz_, _Toul_,
and _Verdun_, and the landgraviate of _Upper_ and _Lower
Alsace_. Thus _France_ gained access to the
Rhine. _Sweden_ and _France_, by becoming guarantors of the
peace, obtained the right to interfere in the internal affairs of
Germany.
CONSEQUENCES OF THE TREATY.--By this treaty, what was left of central
authority in Germany was destroyed: the empire existed only in name;
the mediæval union of empire and papacy was at an end. Valuable German
territories were given up to ambitious neighbors. _France_ had
extended her bounds, and disciplined her troops. _Sweden_ had
gained what _Gustavus_ had coveted, and, for the time, was a
power of the first class. _Spain_ and _Austria_ were both
disabled, and reduced in rank.