What triggered the Thirty Years' War. Causes of the Thirty Years' War
And the religious wars of the sixteenth century. only consolidated the split of Europe, but did not lead to a solution to the problems generated by these events. The confrontation between the Catholic and Protestant states of Germany was especially acute, where the slightest change could lead to a violation of the fragile balance established in the process of the Reformation. Thanks to the developed system international relations the change in the situation in Germany affected the interests of almost all other European states. Both Catholics and Protestants had powerful allies outside the empire.
The combination of all these causes created a dangerous situation in Europe, which could be blown up by the slightest spark that arose in such an electrified atmosphere. This spark, from which a pan-European fire flared up, was a national uprising that began in 1618 in the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia (Czech Republic).
The beginning of the war
Revolt of the Czech Estates
By religion, the Czechs from the time of Jan Hus differed from other Catholic peoples who lived in the possessions of the Habsburgs, and have long enjoyed traditional liberties. Religious oppression and an attempt by the emperor to deprive the kingdom of its privileges led to a rebellion. In 1620 the Czechs suffered a crushing defeat. This event became a turning point in the entire history of the Czech Republic. The previously flourishing Slavic kingdom turned into a disenfranchised Austrian province, in which all signs of national identity were purposefully destroyed.
Peace of Westphalia 1648, which ended the Thirty Years' War, confirmed the equality of the Catholic and Lutheran religions throughout Germany. The largest Protestant states of Germany increased their territories, mainly at the expense of the former church possessions. Some church possessions came under the rule of foreign sovereigns - the kings of France and Sweden. Positions catholic church in Germany were weakened, and the Protestant princes finally secured their rights and actual independence from the empire. The Peace of Westphalia legitimized the fragmentation of Germany, giving the many states that made up her full sovereignty. By drawing a line under the era of the Reformation, the Peace of Westphalia opened a new chapter in European history.
The 17th century is characterized by the unification of states, which, like people under the influence of church schism and despite the emergence of the Protestant Union and the Catholic League, they began to change and find common ground with each other. Unfortunately, the desire of states to unite was marked by a terrible devastating thirty-year war that covered the space of Europe from the coast Baltic Sea to the banks of the Po River and the mouth of the Scheldt.
The old church, mired in the abuse of its own power and the assertion of absurd teachings, revolted not only the people, but also the ruling sovereigns. And to the considerable benefit of Europe, the interests of the peoples coincided with the interests of statesmen. The benefit of the rulers went hand in hand with the interest of the subjects. The Reformation coincided with the sudden power of the Austrian Habsburgs, who threatened the freedom of the European peoples.
The Thirty Years' War is divided into four periods. Bohemian-Palatinate stage from 1618 to 1623. Danish period of the war - 1624 - 1629 The Swedish period includes 1630 - 1634. The last period of the Thirty Years' War, the Franco-Swedish, falls on 1635 - 1648.
Czech period
Open military confrontation began with the Czech uprising against the ruling House of Austria. The Kingdom of the Czech Republic occupied not the last place in the Holy Roman Empire, the nobles of the Czech Republic led an active lifestyle, revolving in enlightened European circles, their ties with Germany were especially friendly. Archduke Ferdinand of Styria, proclaimed heir by Emperor Matthew, abolished the rights of Czech Protestants enshrined in the Letter of Majesty.
On May 23, 1618, the "Prague defenestration" took place, during which the imperial governors were thrown out of the windows of the town hall, "miraculously" escaping by landing on a dunghill, it was the official beginning of the Thirty Years' War. 30 directors, elected by the Czech Sejm to the government of Bohemia and Moravia, were able to strengthen the army and expel the Jesuits. Count Jindrich Matthias Thurn was able to inflict several defeats on the imperial troops, and led the army under the walls of Vienna.
Despite the fact that the rebel forces conducted successful fighting in different directions, because of the disagreements that prevailed among the Czech commanders, the lost time, as well as the unusually vigorous activity of the outwardly good-natured Ferdinand, the Czechs began to give up their positions. Albrecht Wallenstein led an army of mercenaries from Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Imperial Field Marshal Buqua defeated the Czechs at the Battle of Sablat. Ferdinand's diplomacy was also successful. Bavaria and Saxony took the side of the empire, Spain, Tuscany and Genoa sent armies to help the emperor.
On November 8, 1620, Catholic troops inflicted a crushing defeat on the Czech-Moravian rebels in a fierce battle near the White Mountain. Wallenstein's mercenaries, the Polish Cossacks of Lisovsky and the Hungarian haiduks, called upon to fight the "foxes", terrified the Czechs and completely deprived them of the will to resist. The "era of darkness" has come, the Czech Republic has become an ordinary province of Austria.
Danish phase of the war
After the suppression of the Czech uprising, the flames of war engulfed new lands. Fearing the strengthening of Austria, Denmark and Sweden entered the war. England and France supported the Danish king in financially. Encouraged by the allies, Christian moved troops against the empire, but it was not there. In reality, the allies did not support Denmark, busy with their own, both external and internal civil wars, and in addition, the plague mowed down Europe.
In the battles of Dessau and near the village of Lutter, the Danes were finally defeated by Wallenstein and Tilly. In Lübeck in 1629, a peace was concluded according to which Denmark did not interfere in the affairs of Germany, in addition, consolidating the victory over the Danes, Ferdinand proclaimed the Restructuring Edict, which prohibited Calvinism.
Swedish period
The strengthening of the Habsburgs gave rise to European confrontation. Guided by Richelieu, the ambitious Swedish king, who dreamed of an empire in the center of Europe, landed his troops in Pomerania. The army of Gustavus Adolphus was equipped with mercenaries accustomed to fighting and free Swedish peasants who received modern flintlock guns and light field artillery. Swedish troops won a series of victories and reached Berlin.
The empire was in danger of defeat were it not for the genius of Wallenstein. The Swedes lost their king at the Battle of Lutzen. Wallenstein, with a 100,000 army, had a rather power-hungry character, and became objectionable to Ferdinand, who suspected Friedlanz of treason. Hired assassins eliminated the Generalissimo. Further successes of the imperial army caused a truce between the warring parties, but not for long, but only for the war to move into the phase of a European conflict.
Franco-Swedish period
The anti-Habsburg coalition, led by France, having in its arsenal 180,000 army of Berengardus, inflicted endless defeats on the Habsburgs, and despite the resistance of the Austrians, came close to Vienna.
Aftermath of the Thirty Years' War
In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia was concluded. The Habsburg Empire lost significant territories and its influence on European politics. France received Alsace and the cities of Metz, Toul and Verdun, 10 cities of the empire, and several other settlements. The German principalities expanded their borders considerably. Holland and Switzerland became independent.
But Sweden had the biggest benefit, the territory of Western Pomerania and the regions of Eastern Pomerania, the island of Rügen, the cities of Wismar and Stetin, control over the rivers Oder, Elbe, and Weser, as well as the entire Baltic coast, passed to it. The Swedish king became an imperial prince and was given the opportunity to interfere in the affairs of the empire. The Austrian empire of the Habsburgs was in decline, and Germany and the Czech Republic were subjected to unprecedented ruin.
The Thirty Years' War is the first military conflict that engulfed the whole of Europe. It was attended by two large groups: Habsburg bloc (Austro-German and Spanish Habsburgs, Catholic principalities of Germany, Poland) and anti-Habsburg coalition (Denmark, Sweden, France, Protestant principalities of Germany, England, Holland, Russia). The development of this conflict was facilitated by both religious and political reasons.
Religious reasons
"War of Faiths" is the second name of a large-scale military conflict that lasted from 1618 to 1648. Indeed, the Thirty Years' War became the most terrible period of confrontation between Catholics and Protestants in the 17th century. Many people took up arms to establish the dominance of the "right faith". The names of the opposing alliances also testify to the religious nature of the war. In particular, the Protestants created the Evangelical Union (1608), and the Catholics - the Catholic League (1609).
The intensity of relations between Protestants and Catholics occurred when in 1617 Ferdinand of Styria was proclaimed king of the Czech Republic, who at the same time was the heir to the entire Holy Church. He was a Catholic and was not going to reckon with the interests of the Protestants. This was clearly shown in his policy. So, he gave various privileges to Catholics, and he limited the rights of Protestants in every possible way. The main government posts were occupied by Catholics, while Protestants, on the contrary, were persecuted. A ban was imposed on the implementation of Protestant As a result of violence, part of the Protestants moved to the Catholics. Religious clashes became common again.
All of the above led to the uprising of the Prague Protestants on May 23, 1618. Then the “Second Prague Defenestration” took place: the rebellious Protestants threw Habsburg officials out of the windows of one of the fortresses in Prague. The latter remained alive only thanks to the fact that they fell into the dung. Later she explained their salvation by the help of angels. After the events described, the Catholic army moved on the rebels. Thus began the Thirty Years' War.
Political reasons
But the causes of the Thirty Years' War are connected not only with religion. The political nature of the conflict became clear in the subsequent periods of the war (Swedish, Danish and Franco-Swedish). It was based on the struggle against the hegemony of the Habsburgs. So, Denmark and Sweden, defending the interests of the Protestants, wanted to find in Central Europe. In addition, these countries were trying to get rid of competitors on
The Thirty Years' War contributed to the fragmentation of the Habsburg empire, so even Catholic France went over to the side of the Protestants. The latter was afraid of an excessive strengthening of the empire, and also had territorial claims in the Southern Netherlands, Alsace, Lorraine and Northern Italy. England fought the Habsburgs at sea. The Thirty Years' War, rooted in religion, quickly turned into one of the largest European political conflicts.
The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) is a pan-European war that resulted from the confrontation between France and the coalition of the Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs.
Features of the Thirty Years' War:
1) The first war of a pan-European scale
2) Became a leading factor in determining the foreign policy interests and priorities of all European states
3) The collision of two lines of political development of Europe:
medieval political tradition, embodied in the desire to create a single pan-European Christian monarchy (Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs)
the principle of creating strong states on a national basis (England, France, Holland and Sweden). In these centralized states, except for France, the Protestant religion prevailed.
Background of the Thirty Years' War:
In 1608-1609, two military-political unions of German princes on a confessional basis arose in Germany - the Evangelical Union and the Catholic League, each of which received the support of foreign states.
Reasons for the war:
Confrontation between France and the coalition of the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs. It was in France's interests to keep the empire fragmented and to prevent unity of action between the two Habsburg monarchies. She had territorial claims in Alsace, Lorraine, the Southern Netherlands, Northern Italy, and territories bordering Spain. France was ready to support the Evangelical League despite the difference in confessions. The Republic of the United Provinces saw the Evangelical League as a natural ally against the Habsburgs.
Denmark and Sweden tried to protect themselves from competition in the northern sea routes England constantly fought with Spain at sea, and for her the anti-Habsburg policy seemed natural. But, at the same time, it competed in foreign trade with the countries of the anti-Habsburg coalition.
The specific interests of different European countries and their common desire to stop the hegemonic goals of the Habsburgs determined the participation of each of them in the war in its various periods.
History of the Thirty Years' War:
Czech (1618-1623)
Danish (1625-1629)
Swedish (1630-1635)
· Franco-Swedish (1635-1648). First three periods the advantage was on the side of the Habsburg bloc. The latter led to the defeat of the empire and its allies.
The results of the war:
Mutual attrition of the opposing sides, the absolute ruin of the population of Germany
· Growing social tension in the warring countries themselves.
Thirty Years' War - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Thirty Years' War" 2017, 2018.
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At the time when Richelieu was the first minister (1624-1642), the threat of a new strengthening of the Habsburgs again hung over France. By the end of the 16th century, the pressure of the Turks on the possessions of the Habsburgs weakened: the Habsburgs again turned their eyes to Germany, hoping to restore their influence there and ....
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When, in 1618, an uprising broke out in Moravia and Bohemia, Wallenstein saved the state treasury from Olmutz, participated with the cuirassier regiment formed by him in suppressing the uprising and cleared the whole country of Protestant troops, for which he was promoted to major general with ...
THIRTY YEARS WAR (1618–1648) - war of the Habsburg bloc (Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs, Catholic princes of Germany, papacy) with the anti-Habsburg coalition (Protestant princes of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Holland and France). One of the first pan-European military conflicts, affecting to one degree or another almost all European countries(including Russia), with the exception of Switzerland. The war began as a religious clash between Protestants and Catholics in Germany, but then escalated into a struggle against Habsburg hegemony in Europe.
Prerequisites:
The great-power policy of the Habsburgs (Since the time of Charles V, the leading role in Europe belonged to the House of Austria - the Habsburg dynasty).
The desire of the papacy and Catholic circles to restore the power of the Roman Church in that part of Germany, where in the first half of the XVI century. Reformation won
Existence of disputed regions in Europe
1. Holy Roman Empire of the German nation: contradictions between the emperor and the German princes, religious schism.
2. Baltic Sea (struggle between Protestant Sweden and Catholic Poland for territory)
3. Fragmented Italy, which France and Spain tried to divide.
Causes:
The unstable balance established after the religious peace of Augsburg in 1555, which fixed the split of Germany along religious lines, was in jeopardy in the 1580s.
At the very end of the XVI - beginning of the XVII century. Catholic pressure on Protestants intensified: in 1596 Archduke Ferdinand Habsburg, the ruler of Styria, Carinthia and Kraina, forbade his subjects to profess Lutheranism and destroyed all Lutheran churches; in 1606 Duke Maximilian of Bavaria occupied the Protestant city of Donauwert and converted its churches into Catholic ones. This forced the Protestant princes of Germany to create in 1608 for the "protection of the religious world" the Evangelical Union, headed by Elector Frederick IV of the Palatinate; they were supported by the French king http://www.krugosvet.ru/enc/istoriya/GENRIH_IV.htmlHenry IV. In response, in 1609 Maximilian of Bavaria formed the Catholic League, entering into an alliance with the main spiritual princes of the Empire.
In 1609, the Habsburgs, taking advantage of the dispute between two Protestant princes over the inheritance of the duchies of Jülich, Cleve and Berg, tried to establish control over these strategically important lands in northwestern Germany. Holland, France and Spain intervened in the conflict. However, the assassination of Henry IV in 1610 prevented the war. The conflict was settled by the Xanten Agreement of 1614 on the division of the Jülich-Cleve inheritance.
In the spring of 1618, an uprising broke out in Bohemia against the rule of the Habsburgs, caused by the destruction of several Protestant churches and the violation of local liberties; On May 23, 1618, the townspeople http://www.krugosvet.ru/enc/Earth_sciences/geografiya/PRAGA.html of Prague threw three representatives of Emperor Matthew (1611–1619) out of the windows of Prague Castle (Defenestration). Moravia, Silesia and Lusatia joined the rebellious Bohemia. This event marked the beginning of the Thirty Years' War.
Sides:
On the side of the Habsburgs: Austria, most of the Catholic principalities of Germany, Spain, united with Portugal, the Holy See, Poland (traditional conservative forces). The Habsburg bloc was more monolithic, the Austrian and Spanish houses kept in touch with each other, often conducting joint military operations. Wealthier Spain provided financial support to the emperor.
On the side of the anti-Habsburg coalition: France, Sweden, Denmark, the Protestant principalities of Germany, the Czech Republic, Transylvania, Venice, Savoy, the Republic of the United Provinces, supported by England, Scotland and Russia (strengthening nation states). There were major contradictions between them, but they all receded into the background before the threat of a common enemy.
Periodization:
(There were several separate conflicts outside of Germany: the War of Spain with Holland, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Russian-Polish War, the Polish-Swedish War, etc.)
1. Czech period (1618-1625)
Emperor Matthew of Habsburg (1612–1619) tried to reach a peace agreement with the Czechs, but the negotiations were interrupted after his death in March 1619 and the election to the German throne of the implacable enemy of the Protestants, Archduke Ferdinand of Styria (Ferdinand II). The Czechs entered into an alliance with the Transylvanian prince Bethlen Gabor; his troops invaded Austrian Hungary. In May 1619, Czech troops under the command of Count Matthew Turn entered Austria and laid siege to Vienna, the residence of Ferdinand II, but were soon due to the invasion of Bohemia by the imperial general Bukua. At the General Landtag in Prague in August 1619, representatives of the rebellious regions refused to recognize Ferdinand II as their king and elected in his place the head of the Union, Elector Frederick V of the Palatinate. However, by the end of 1619 the situation began to take shape in favor of the emperor, who received large subsidies from the pope and military aid from Philip III of Spain. In October 1619, he concluded an agreement on joint actions against the Czechs with the head of the Catholic League, Maximilian of Bavaria, and in March 1620, with Elector Johann-Georg of Saxony, the largest Protestant prince in Germany. The Saxons occupied Silesia and Lusatia, Spanish troops invaded the Upper Palatinate. Taking advantage of the differences within the Union, the Habsburgs obtained from her an obligation not to provide assistance to the Czechs.
Under the command of General Tilly, the army of the Catholic League pacified upper Austria while the Imperial troops restored order in lower Austria. Then, having united, they moved to the Czech Republic, bypassing the army of Frederick V, who was trying to fight a defensive battle on distant lines. The battle took place near Prague (Battle of the White Mountain) on November 8, 1620. The Protestant army suffered a crushing defeat. As a result, the Czech Republic remained in the power of the Habsburgs for another 300 years. The first phase of the war Eastern Europe finally ended when Gábor Bethlen signed peace with the emperor in January 1622, gaining vast territories in eastern Hungary.
Results: Habsburg victory
1. The collapse of the Evangelical Union and the loss by Frederick V of all his possessions and title. Frederick V was expelled from the Holy Roman Empire.
2. The Czech Republic fell, Bavaria received the Upper Palatinate, and Spain captured the Palatinate, securing a foothold for another war with the Netherlands.
3. An impetus for a closer unity of the anti-Habsburg coalition. June 10, 1624 France and Holland signed the Treaty of Compiègne. It was joined by England (June 15), Sweden and Denmark (July 9), Savoy and Venice (July 11).
2. Danish period (1625-1629)
The attempt of the Habsburgs to establish themselves in Westphalia and Lower Saxony and carry out a Catholic restoration there threatened the interests of the Protestant states of Northern Europe - Denmark and Sweden. In the spring of 1625, Christian IV of Denmark, supported by England and Holland, began hostilities against the emperor. Together with the troops of Mansfeld and Christian of Brunswick, the Danes launched an offensive in the Elbe basin.
To repel it, Ferdinand II granted emergency powers to the new commander-in-chief of the Czech Catholic nobleman Albrecht Wallenstein. He gathered a huge mercenary army and on April 25, 1626 defeated Mansfeld near Dessau. On August 27, Tilly defeated the Danes at Lutter. In 1627 the Imperials and Ligists captured Mecklenburg and all of Denmark's mainland possessions (Holstein, Schleswig, and Jutland).
But plans to create a fleet to capture the island part of Denmark and attack Holland fell through due to the opposition of the Hanseatic League. In the summer of 1628, Wallenstein, seeking to put pressure on the Hansa, besieged the largest Pomeranian port of Stralsund, but failed. In May 1629, Ferdinand II concluded the Treaty of Lübeck with Christian IV, returning to Denmark the possessions taken from her in exchange for her obligation not to interfere in German affairs.
The Catholic League sought to return the Catholic possessions lost in the Peace of Augsburg. Under her pressure, the emperor issued the Restitution Edict (1629). Wallenstein's unwillingness to implement the edict and the complaints of the Catholic princes about his arbitrariness forced the emperor to dismiss the commander.
Results:
1. Peace of Lübeck Empire with Denmark
2. The beginning of the policy of restoration of Catholicism in Germany (Edict of Restitution). Complication of relations between the emperor and Wallenstein.
3. Swedish period (1630-1635)
Sweden was the last major state capable of changing the balance of power. Gustav II Adolf, king of Sweden, sought to stop the Catholic expansion, as well as to establish his control over the Baltic coast of northern Germany. Prior to this, Sweden was kept from the war by the war with Poland in the struggle for the Baltic coast. By 1630, Sweden ended the war and enlisted the support of Russia (Smolensk War). The Swedish army was armed with advanced weapon and artillery. It did not have mercenaries, and at first it did not rob the population. This fact has had a positive effect.
Ferdinand II had been dependent on the Catholic League ever since he disbanded Wallenstein's army. At the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631), Gustavus Adolphus defeated the Catholic League under the command of Tilly. A year later, they met again, and again the Swedes won, and General Tilly died (1632). With the death of Tilly, Ferdinand II turned his attention back to Wallenstein. Wallenstein and Gustav Adolf clashed at the fierce Battle of Lützen (1632), where the Swedes narrowly won, but Gustav Adolf died.
In March 1633 Sweden and the German Protestant principalities formed the Heilbronn League; the fullness of the military and political power in Germany passed to an elected council headed by the Swedish Chancellor. But the lack of a single authoritative commander began to affect the Protestant troops, and in 1634 the previously invincible Swedes suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of Nördlingen (1634).
On suspicion of treason, Wallenstein was removed from command, and then killed by soldiers of his own guard in Eger Castle.
Results: Peace of Prague (1635).
Annulment of the "Edict of Restitution" and the return of possessions to the framework of the Peace of Augsburg.
The unification of the army of the emperor and the armies of the German states into one army of the "Holy Roman Empire".
The ban on the formation of coalitions between princes.
Legalization of Calvinism.
This peace, however, could not suit France, since the Habsburgs, as a result, became stronger.
4. Franco-Swedish period (1635-1648)
Having exhausted all diplomatic reserves, France entered the war itself. With her intervention, the conflict finally lost its religious overtones, since the French were Catholics. France involved its allies in Italy in the conflict. She managed to prevent new war between Sweden and the Republic of both peoples (Poland), which concluded the Armistice of Stumsdorf, which allowed Sweden to transfer significant reinforcements from behind the Vistula to Germany. The French attacked Lombardy and the Spanish Netherlands. In response, in 1636, the Spanish-Bavarian army under the command of Prince Ferdinand of Spain crossed the Somme and entered Compiègne, while the imperial general Matthias Galas tried to capture Burgundy.
In the summer of 1636, the Saxons and other states that had signed the Peace of Prague turned their troops against the Swedes. Together with the imperial forces, they pushed the Swedish commander Baner to the north, but were defeated at the Battle of Wittstock. In 1638 in East Germany Spanish troops attacked the superior forces of the Swedish army. Having avoided defeat, the Swedes spent a hard winter in Pomerania.
The last period of the war proceeded in conditions of exhaustion of both opposing camps, caused by colossal tension and overexpenditure financial resources. Maneuvering actions and small battles prevailed.
In 1642, Cardinal Richelieu died, and a year later, King Louis XIII of France also died. Five year old became king Louis XIV. His regent, Cardinal Mazarin, began peace negotiations. In 1643, the French finally stopped the Spanish invasion at the Battle of Rocroix. In 1645 Swedish marshal Lennart Torstensson defeated the Imperials at the Battle of Jankow near Prague, and Prince Condé defeated the Bavarian army at the Battle of Nördlingen. The last prominent Catholic military leader, Count Franz von Mercy, died in this battle.
In 1648, the Swedes (Marshal Carl Gustav Wrangel) and the French (Turenne and Condé) defeated the Imperial-Bavarian army at the Battle of Zusmarhausen and Lans. Only the imperial territories and Austria proper remained in the hands of the Habsburgs.
Results: In the summer of 1648, the Swedes besieged Prague, but in the midst of the siege, news came of the signing of the Peace of Westphalia on October 24, 1648, which put an end to the Thirty Years' War.
Westphalian peace.
The Peace of Westphalia means two peace agreements in Latin - Osnabrück and Münster, signed in 1648 and was the result of the first modern diplomatic congress and laid the foundation for a new order in Europe based on the concept of state sovereignty. The agreements affected the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, France, Sweden, the Netherlands and their allies represented by the princes of the Holy Roman Empire. Until 1806, the norms of the Osnabrück and Münster treaties were part of the constitutional law of the Holy Roman Empire.
Participants goals:
France - break the encirclement of the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs
Sweden - to achieve hegemony in the Baltic
Holy Roman Empire and Spain - to achieve smaller territorial concessions
Conditions
1. Territory: France received South Alsace and the Lorraine bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verden, Sweden - Western Pomerania and the Duchy of Bremen, Saxony - Lusatia, Bavaria - Upper Palatinate, Brandenburg - Eastern Pomerania, the Archbishopric of Magdeburg and the Bishopric of Minden
2. The independence of Holland was recognized.
The war between France and Spain continued for another eleven years and ended with the Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659.
Meaning: The Peace of Westphalia resolved the contradictions that led to the Thirty Years' War
1. Equalized the rights of Catholics and Protestants, legalized the confiscation of church lands, abolished the previously existing principle “whose power is the faith”, instead of which the principle of religious tolerance was proclaimed, which further reduced the significance of the confessional factor in relations between states;
2. put an end to the desire of the Habsburgs to expand their possessions at the expense of the territories of states and peoples Western Europe and undermined the authority of the Holy Roman Empire: from that time on, the old hierarchical order of international relations, in which the German emperor was considered senior in rank among monarchs, was destroyed and the heads independent states Europe, who had the title of kings, were equal in rights with the emperor;
3. in accordance with the norms established by the Peace of Westphalia, the main role in international relations, previously owned by monarchs, passed to sovereign states.
Effects
1. The Thirty Years' War was the first war that affected all sections of the population. In Western history, it has remained one of the most difficult European conflicts among the predecessors of the World Wars of the 20th century.
2. The immediate result of the war was that over 300 small German states received full sovereignty with nominal membership in the Holy Roman Empire. This situation continued until the end of the first empire in 1806.
3. The war did not lead to the automatic collapse of the Habsburgs, but changed the balance of power in Europe. Hegemony passed to France. The decline of Spain became evident. In addition, Sweden became a great power, significantly strengthening its position in the Baltic.
4. The main result of the Thirty Years' War was a sharp weakening of the influence religious factors for the life of the states of Europe. Them foreign policy began to be based on economic, dynastic and geopolitical interests.
5. It is customary to count from the Peace of Westphalia modern era in international relations.