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Thirty Years War

 

            
            
             Protestantism had provided to be the largest threat towards Catholicism for some time, and played a large role in the outbreak of the Thirty Years War. In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg had brought an end to religious warfare between German Catholics and Lutherans, but they continued to contend for control of various principalities. The treaty did not recognize the Calvinists, even though many German states adopted the faith. Elector Palatine Frederick IV assumed leadership in forming a league of German Protestant states named the Protestant Union. Duke Maximilian of Bavaria responded to this by creating the Catholic League, and created for the division of Germany into two militant armed camps on the edge of war.
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             The Thirty Years War has been broken down into four major parts: The Bohemian Phase, Danish Phase, Swedish Phase, and Franco- Swedish Phase. Bohemia, a largely Calvinist state chose Archduke Ferdinand as king, but were quickly unhappy because he was a devout Catholic, and wanted to re-Catholicize Bohemia. The Bohemian nobles overthrew Ferdinand, and replaced him with Elector Frederick V. Ferdinand defeated Frederick for the crown at the Battle of White Mountain, and established Catholicism as the sole religion while confiscating the land of Protestant nobles. The Danish Phase was commenced when Christian IV of Denmark marched an army into northern Germany on behalf of the Protestants. Christian was sorely defeated by Albrecht von Wallenstein, a Bohemian noble, and ended Danish supremacy in the Baltic. Emperor Ferdinand II issued the Edict of Restitution and prohibited Calvinist worship, and made himself much more powerful. Gustavus Adolphus, the Swedish military genius entered into Germany with a disciplined army and pushed back imperial forces. The emperor called back Wallenstein, but was defeated at the Battle of Lutzen, where Gustavus was also killed.


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