Jessie Wilson and Ashley Booker Mr. Murphy
F.D.A 3/27/07
Period 3&4 Essay #1
Title:
Chapter 12: The Age of Religious Wars
Author(s)
Jessie and Ashley Booker
Overview of the Age
; Chapter 12 deals with the religious and political factions in Europe. From Martin
Luther’s death in 1546 until the middle of the seventeenth century, European life
was dominated by religion and politics. Roman Catholics and Protestants across
Europe engaged in almost a century of slaughter before religion ceased to be the
primary motive or excuse for warfare. France descended into nearly 50 years of
civil war before emerging with a united monarchy under Henry IV in the Edict of
Nantes in 1598. Warfare in Germany during the Thirty Years’ War reached levels
of human destruction higher than any previously experienced. Spain escaped civil
strife and remained firmly Catholic. The country’s wealth, drawn from its
Americas, gave Spain enormous political influence in European affairs. Despite
its "superpower" status, Spain suffered defeat of its Armada naval fleet at the
hands of the English, who unlike the French managed to avoid civil war under the
inspired leadership of Queen Elizabeth, who was a politique. Spain also failed to
subdue Protestant nationalism in the Netherlands. As a result, Spain’s position in
international affairs declined. For Germany, the original center of the Reformation,
Lutherans and Catholics, after some bloodletting, had come to tolerate each other.
But in the early seventeenth century the temporary compromises collapsed. The
resulting free-for-all, known as the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648), effectively
consumed much of Europe’s energies until it was resolved in the international
settlement of Westphalia. After 1648, though the peoples of central Europe would
remain deeply divided, religion would no longer be a primary factor in
international conflict as it had been since the beginning of the Reformation.
Five Big Points
; Catholicism vs. Calvinism in France
; Spanish Occupation in the Netherlands
; England vs. Spain for Supreme Power (England as the “wildcard”)
; The Struggle with Religious and Political Factions (internationally)
; Peace Settlements
Hit List and ID’s
; Besancon Hugues – The leader Geneva’s political revolt against the House of
Savoy in the 1520s and the name Huguenot comes from his name.
; Huguenot – A French Protestant
; Francis I – The French king and was captured by Emperor Charles V at the
Battle of Pavia in 1525 provided a motive for the first wave of Protestant
persecution in France.
; John Calvin – The leader of Calvinism throughout Europe and he led various
oppositions toward French monarchy with the held of Theodore Beza.
; Theodore Beza – He converted Jeanne d’ Albert, the mother of the future Henry
IV. He wrote in his “On the Right of Magistrates over Their Subjects” in 1574,
which justified the correction and even the overthrow of tyrannical rulers by
lower authorities.
; Henry II – He ruled from 1547 to 1559 in France. He established measures
against Protestants. During a tournament held to celebrate the marriage of his 13
year old daughter to Philip II, the son of Charles V and heir to the Spanish
Habsburg lands, Henry II was wounded when a lance pierced his visor.
; Edict of Fontainebleau- It was established in 1540 by Henry II, which subjected
French Protestants to the Inquisition.
; Francis II – He comes into power in 1559 under the regency of the queen mother,
Catherine de Medicis, because he was only 15 years old and very sick. He dies on
1560.
; Guise Family – They were a very strong family, whom wanted control of France.
Francis, duke of Guise, had been Henry II’s general, and his brothers, Charles and
Louis, were cardinals of the church. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots and wife of
Francis II, was their niece. They were militant and Catholic.
; Bourbon and Montmorency – Chatillon Family – They developed strong
Hueguenot sympathies. The Bourbon Louis I, prince of Conde, and the
Montmorency - Chatillon Admiral Gaspard de Coligny became the political
leaders if the French Protestant resistance.
; Conde – He worked closely with Coligny in military organizations to merge the
religious organization of the French churches, creating a potent combination that
benefited both political and religious dissidents. He died b/w September and
August 1570, by the hostilities b/w the Guise and Huguenots.
; Admiral Gaspard de Coligny – He worked closely with Conde to further
Huegnot power in France. He was allied with Catherine de Medicis for a while.
After the death of Conde, Coligny became the Huegnot leader. He used his
position of influence to win the king of France over to a planned French invasion
of the Netherlands in support of Dutch Protestants. He was killed during St.
Bartholomew’s Day.
; Catherine de Medicis – She becomes the regent for Francis II and Charles IX.
She wanted a Catholic France, but didn’t want the power to reside with the Guise.
She allied with the Bourbon family, but did become allies with the Guise. She
helped foster many Catholic resistances toward the Protestants, especially with
the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
; Saint-Germain-en-laye - In 1570, the peace of Saint Germain-en-laye ended the
third war of France’s age of religious wars. The crown acknowledged the power
of the protestant nobility and thus granting Huguenots religious freedoms within
territory and the right to fortify their cities.
; Henry of Navarre - (r.1589-1610) was a Bourbon who became Henry IV after
his marriage to the sister of King Henry III, Margarite Valois, who was a Catholic.
He converted to Catholicism in 1590 due to the upheaval that his marriage had
caused among Protestants, claiming that “Paris is worth a mass”. He issued the
Edict of Nantes.
; Edict of Nantes - This Edict was passed in1598 and it gave Protestants religious
freedoms and settlement. They were allowed to worship and have open
assemblies in their own designated towns. This was significant because Lutherans
were finally being recognized.
; Catholic League- This was a league of Catholics that was formed to counter the
unification of the Protestants. They wanted religious uniformity and began
persecuting the Protestants all over Europe. The Catholic League also helped the
Guises maintain their control in France.
; Day of the Barricades - Henry the 3rd planned a surprise attack on the Catholic
League. His attempts failed and he was forced to flee to Paris. Since he had been
defeated so many times, he had the duke and Cardinal of the Guises assassinated
which sent France into turmoil.
; Peace of Beaulieu - In 1576 passed by King Henry III who was trying to pacify
the religious and political feud between the Protestants and the Catholics. It
granted Huguenots almost complete religious and civil freedom. However, France
was not ready for such a movement and within seven months of this Peace the
Catholic League forced Henry to return to his attempt of religious unification.
; Phillip II- King of Spain-devoted Catholic, he created organized bureaucracy
and tried to take over the Netherlands. He lost it because of Perpetual Edict on
1577 in which the Netherlands made Don John, the military leader, sign. He lost
his holdings to the Americas and Spain fell.
; Cardinal Granville- He was left to aid Phillip the 2nd half sister in control of the
autonomies of the Netherlands. Since he was Catholic he wanted to create a
centralized government and he wanted to create religious uniformity. Many of the
people in the autonomies were Calvinist so they didn’t want uniform Catholicism
and they wanted him taken out of power.
; William of Orange -He was Calvinist and against the concept of religious
uniformity. In 1564, after seeing Granville was planning his reorganization of the
Netherlands, he and Edmont were able to get him out of power. He and his wife
Mary would eventually become the monarchs of England after the “Glorious
Revolution.”
; The Compromise of 1564- After the Council of Trent, Protestants were in
opposition of many of the laws put in place. William of Orange’s brother led the
opposition and was supported by the majority of the townspeople. In 1564, this
compromise was reached and it resisted the decrees of the Council of Trent.
; The Duke of Alba- He was sent by Spain to suppress the rebellion in the
Netherlands. During his reign, he executed thousands of Protestants causing the
Calvinist to hate him. William of Orange became the leader for Netherlands
independence meaning the overthrowing of the Duke.
; Sea Beggars- Anti Spanish exiles were given this name. They captured seaports
in Holland and Zeeland and were given permission by Elizabeth. They were
responsible for sparking the rebellion against Alba.
; Don Luis Requesens - The Commander of Spanish forces in the Netherlands in
November 1573. Power was ceded to him by the faltering Duke of Alba who
couldn’t stabilize the Spanish siege in The Netherlands. During his rule, the
Spanish troops mutinied and Spain went bankrupt.
; Pacification of Ghent - An alliance of the provinces of the Netherlands for the
purpose of driving Spain out of the country which was signed on November of
1576. The northern and southern provinces of the Low Countries put aside their
religious difference and united in revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs. The
Pacification of Ghent called for the expulsion of Spanish troops from the Low
Countries, and an end to the persecution of Calvinists.
; Don John - The victor over the Ottoman Turks at the naval Battle of Lepanto in
1571. In 1576 he took command of the Spanish land forces and was appointed
Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. In February of 1577 he was confronted by
unified Netherlands resistance and forced to sign the Perpetual Edict.
; Perpetual Edict -An Edict forced on Don John by a Unified Netherlands in 1577.
This edict provided for the removal of all Spanish troops from the Netherlands
within 20 days. It gave William of Orange control over the Netherlands and ended
Philip’s plans of using the Netherlands as a staging area for invading England.
; Mary Tudor -The hardcore Roman Catholic queen of England from 1553 to
1558. She married Prince Phillip II of Spain, and forced Parliament to repeal the
Protestant statutes of Edward and reverted England to the Catholic religious
practices of her Father. Executed great protestant leaders of her time such as John
Hooper, Thomas Cranmer and Hugh Latimer.
; Elizabeth I -The politique queen of England from 1558 to 1603, she was able to
subordinate theological doctrine to political unity and urging tolerance,
moderation, and compromise in religious matters which resulted in the Episcopal
Anglican church. In 1563 she insured the 39 Articles on Religion which
Protestantism the official religion in England.
; Act of Supremacy (in Elizabeth's Reign) - An act by Elizabeth that passed
England’s parliament in 1559, which asserted Elizabeth’s right as supreme
governor over both spiritual and temporal affairs. It repealed all anti-Protestant
legislations that Mary Tudor established in England during her rule.
; Act of Uniformity -An edict issued by Elizabeth I, at the beginning of her reign.
This Act revised the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty- Nine Articles,
enforcing them in each parish. This Act also made Protestantism the official
religion of the Church of England.
; Mary Stuart/Mary Queen of Scots - Heir to the Scottish throne, Mary abdicated
her throne to her son, after a controversial marriage to Bothell. During her years
of exile in England, many Catholics saw the arrival of Mary as an opportune
moment to replace the Protestant Elizabeth I. Mary was executed by Elizabeth II,
after her devout advances to inherit the throne.
; The Spanish Armada - During the second half of the sixteenth century, Spain
emerged as a European juggernaut. Spain’s strong army brought it success and
wealth, until it faced the defeat of English resistance.
; Frederick III - Fredrick III was a devout convert to Palatine and made Calvinism
the dominant religion in Germany. Frederick helped Calvinists to gain recognition
as they struggled to be an official religion. Calvinists were a threat, not only a
threat to Catholicism, but to Lutheranism. Lutherans found their outspoken and
aggressive behavior as a mockery to the Reformation.
; Peace of Augsburg -After fierce Protestant resistance, Catholics issued the Peace
of Augsburg recognizing Lutheranism as an official religion. This edict marked a
permanent division in Catholicism. Calvinism and Anabaptism failed to gain
recognition, which in turn prolonged a determined Protestant resistance.
; Frederick IV - After Ferdinand II was forced to abdicate the Bohemian throne,
Calvinist elector Palatine, Frederick was declared overlord. During he first stage
of the Thirty Years War, the Calvinists suffered a humiliating loss at the Battle of
White Mountain. Ferdinand II not only subdued the Protestants, but was able to
re- organize Catholicism and re-conquer Palatinate.
; Albrecht of Wallenstein - Wallenstein was a powerful mercenary, joined
Ferdinand in conquest of Bohemia. Eventually gained great territory by carrying
the conquest into Denmark. Major victory was a breaking of Protestant resistance
allowing King Ferdinand to lay the deadly blow: The Edict of The Restitution.
Unfortunately for the Catholics, he was assassinated by Ferdinand in 1634
because of Ferdinand’s jealously and the fact that he was leading a “double life”
apparently helping out the Protestants for land.
; Edict of Restitution -This Edict or law was issued by Ferdinand in 1629 after
Albrecht Wallenstein broke Protestant resistance allowing Ferdinand to move in
not only did it reassert the Catholic safeguards of the Peace of Augsburg. It made
Calvinism illegal and forced the Lutherans to give back all church lands
(bishoprics etc) that they obscured since 1552
; Gustavus Adolphus - Deeply pious king of unified Lutheran nation came into
power during the Swedish Period of the 30 years war. He was bankrolled by
Cardinal Richelieu of France, and the Dutch who were supporting his force in
their effort against the Habsburg Empire which had dominated them during the
15th and 16th century. Gustavus Adolphus’ life came to an end at the hands of
Wallenstein’s forces during the 30 years war
; The Treaty of Westphalia -The Holy Roman Empire’s hostilities effectively
came to an end in 1648. One of its major provisions gave Germany’s individual
princes sole control over all its provinces which was cause for much confusion in
the past. The treaty also altered Europe’s religious status, widening the legal
status of Protestantism, so much that the pope objected, but could not make a
decisive veto of it. Finally, one of the “aftershocks” of this treaty was that
Germany, badly in need of a centralized government, was not able to wholly
govern it’s provinces until the modern period, causing political weakness for
years to come.
Key Events
; October 1534 – Protestants plastered Paris and other cities with anti-Catholic
placards. The government retaliation drove John Calvin and other members of the
French reform party into exile.
; 1559 - Treaty of Cateau- Cambresis ends Hapsburg Valois wars.
; 1559 – Francis II succeeds to French throne under regency of his mother,
Catherine de Medicis.
; 1561- More than 2000 Huegnot congregations existed throughout France.
; 1560 – Conspiracy of Amboise, which was between Conde and Coligny that they
had collaborated in an abortive plot to kidnap Francis II from his Guise advisers,
fails.
; 1562 – Protestant worshippers massacred at Vassy in Champagne by the duke of
Guise.
; 1572 – The Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre leaves thousands of Protestants
dead.
; 1589 – Assassination of Henry III brings the Huguenot Henry of Navarre to the
French throne as Henry IV.
; 1593 – Henry IV embraces Catholicism.
; 1598 – Henry IV grants Huguenots religious and civil freedoms in the Edict of
Nantes.
; 1540s in Spain- Spain had great silver mines opened in Potosi in present-day
Bolivia and in Zacatecas in Mexico. These gave Philip the great sums needed to
pay his bankers and mercenaries.
; 1568- Don Carlos died under suspicious circumstances.
; 1560s in Spain- The Turks advanced deep into Austria, while their fleets
dominated the Mediterranean.
; 1568 and 1570- Armies under Philip’s half-brother, Don John of Austria, the
illegitimate son of Charles V, suppressed and dispersed the Moors in Granda.
; October 7, 1571- Don John’s fleet engaged the Ottoman navy under Ali Pasha off
Lepanto in the Gulf of Corinth. This gave Spain the Mediterranean.
; January 6, 1579 -Union of Arras, an accord signed on in Arras by the Southern
states of the Spanish Netherlands. The southern states of the Spanish Netherlands,
expressed their loyalty to the Spanish king Philip II. They also recognized the
landlord of the southern province, Don John.
; January 23 1579- Union of Utrecht, a treaty was signed by Holland, Zeeland,
Utrecht and the province of Groningen. The treaty was a reaction of the Protestant
provinces in the Union of Arras in which the southern provinces declared their
support for the Catholic Spanish.
; Defenestration of Prague - Ferdinand II became the king of Bohemia and tried
to revoke Protestant rights Outraged Protestants threw, or defenestrated, several of
his regents out the window-their salvation rested on a mot of manure. This
conflict marked the beginning of the Thirty Years War.
; Bohemian Period - The Bohemian Period described the first phase of the Thirty
Years War. War ascended when the Bohemian throne was abdicated to Ferdinand
the Archduke of Styria. When Ferdinand tried to restore Catholicism ,by revoking
the religious rights Emperor Rudolf II granted them. Protestants were so irate that
they defenestrated the king’s regents.
; The Danish Period -Second period in 30 years war. The Lutheran King
Christian IV, eager to extend Danish influence over North Sea coastal towns. His
army was defeated by Maximilian however in Germany; Wallenstein (great
mercenary) gained a great deal of territory by joining Ferdinand. He carried a
campaign into Denmark. By 1628, he had army of more than 100,000 soldiers.
Archduke Ferdinand issued the Edict of Restitution during this time, reaffirming
the illegality of Calvinism
; The Swedish Period - During this period, Gustavus Adolphus became the new
Protestant leader within the Swedish empire. Took in revenue from Cardinal
Richelieu and the Dutch. Adolphus brought new winning tactics to his warfare.
Unfortunately for the Protestants this time, he was killed by Wallenstein’s forces
at the Battle of Lutzen. During this period Wallenstein is executed by an angered
and jealous Ferdinand, because Wallenstein attempted to strike deals with the
Protestants. At an attempt to end the war, the Peace of Prague is called in 1635
which was a deal between the German Protestant States and King Ferdinand.
; Battle of Breitenfield - First major victory for the Protestants as Gustavus
Adolphus pretty much sealed his “fame” in the 30 years war. Battle of
Breitenfield known for training the first army to handle and run highly capable and high speed weaponry that other military’s had not yet encountered. Also, his
ingenious method of using the timing of natural light and the exploitation of his foes weaknesses sealed the Battle of Breitenfield in a matter of days.
; 1635- Peace of Prague was reached by German Protestant states and Ferdinand.
However, after peace (which was a pathetic attempt at an armistice) the Swedes received continued support from France and the Netherlands, pushing on into the war for possession purposes.
; The Swedish/French Period- Swedish/French Period=Anarchy; phase known
for the neglect ion of religion, and the fact that some countries were fighting just for the sake of land or in the Dutch’s case, for revenge against an empire that dominated you for nearly a whole century. Chaos is a perfect description word because Protestants in the past wouldn’t dare support Catholics but here they were, Catholics supporting Protestants (France and Sweden) (Germany and Spain) It was the ending of the Thirty Years War.
Intellectual Movements and Historical Trends
; The struggle between Protestant and Catholic factions and followers came to a
heat during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Religious struggles can
specifically be seen in France, and the Holy Roman Empire (Germany).
; France –The Catholic Valois monarchy of France was able to put aside religious motives in order to make political maneuverings to stay on the throne as long as they could. Catherine de Medici was a regent to her things after the death of her husband Henry II. A monk, who felt that he was not doing anything to control tensions between the Catholics and Protestants, murdered him. Catherine vacillated between Catholic and Protestant sympathies because although he did not want a Protestant France she did not want the Guise to be in power however after an attempt to assassinate Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, she ordered the death of Protestants four days after the wedding between the Valois, Marie de Medici and the Protestant Henry of Navarre (Henry IV) and over 20,000 protestants were massacred, thus the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre. Henry IV then converted to
Catholicism, thus the Edict of Nantes in which the Protestants were granted some religious freedom.
; Thirty Years War –The Holy Roman Empire was a hotbed for Protestantism,
however Calvinism was not legal. Things came to a heat when the duke of Bohemia, Ferdinand II, converted the long Lutheran Bohemia to catholic based on the peace of Augsburg of 1555 in which the ruler determines religion. He appoints
Catholics into high offices and they were defenestrated, or thrown out of the
window and were saved by a pile of horse manure (defenestration of Prague). War
broke out in Bohemia in which the Catholics Prevailed. Then was the Danish
period in which the Catholics once again prevailed. In the third period (the
Swedish period) the Protestants won with the aid of Gustavus Adolphus and in the
last period, the French period there was all out war. The war concluded with the
Peace of Westphalia in 1648. This recognized Switzerland and the Netherlands as
independent states while at the same time reinstating the peace of Augsburg with
Calvinism as a legal religion.
Changes in Political Ideology
; Britain and Spain at this time represent two different fields of political and
religious policies of their time. Britain was able to settle with the rise of
Protestantism under the Elizabethan era while Spain merely crushed it.
; Spain –Spain was under total domination by the Spanish monarchy, Phillip II.
Spain was staunchly Catholic and was easily able to subdue Protestants to
Catholic rule. Phillip II also took it upon himself to carry his religious crusades
against Protestantism throughout the rest of Europe, such as in the Netherlands
and Germany.
; Britain –Britain post the Edward error was left to the domination of Mary Tudor,
who suppressed Protestantism and exiled many. She married the Spanish king
Phillip II and after her death followed the politique, her sister Elizabeth II who
was able to create a common ground with Catholicism and Protestantism which
was later known as Anglicanism.
; Spanish Armada –Long time British and Spanish tensions came to a peak at the
Spanish Armada in which Phillip II was looking to avenge the execution of Mary
Queen of Scots and exceed the British in naval power. However, the British fleets
are victorious.
Changes in Economic Structure
; Pillars of Spanish Power –The Spanish will after this age of religious wars
descend in power but at this time they have crested. They had the first sign of
mercantilist empires in the Americas. There were new discovered silver mines in
Bolivia and Zacatecas in Mexico. They also had an increased populous and
demonstrated monarchial supremacy over the population and even domination
over the Ottomans.