The Wars of Religion in France from 1560-1648 and the Thirty Years War from 1618-1648 were both devastating religious conflicts that weakened the power of royal authority in Europe and left the continent divided. The Wars of Religion in France established the Bourbon dynasty and granted Huguenots limited religious rights through the Edict of Nantes. The Thirty Years War ended with the Peace of Westphalia, which established principles of state sovereignty and religious tolerance while curtailing Habsburg power in the Holy Roman Empire. Both conflicts caused widespread death, economic ruin, and political fragmentation across Europe.

1. The
Wars of
Religion
(1560-1648)

3. The Valois Family:
The Beginning of the End
v Henri II --the last powerful Valois King

4. The young Lion shall
overcome the old
on the field of battle in single
combat;
He will pierce his eye in a
cage of gold
Two wounds one, then to die
a cruel death.

5. The Valois Family:
The Beginning of the End
v Three sons followed Henri II to the throne:
§ Francis II, Charles IX and Henri III

6. The Valois Family:
The Beginning of the End
v Catherine de Medici was the power behind the
throne:
§ Was mother to the boys.
§ Played both sides in the civil war.
§ Developed a reputation for ruthlessness.

8. Francis II and Wife, Mary Stuart

9. The French Civil War
v There were two factions fighting for the royal
inheritance:
§ The Guise family led Catholics in North.
§ Bourbon family led Huguenots in South.
§ Catherine d’ Medici supported the Guises in the
first phase.

10. The French Civil War
St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
§ August 24, 1572
§ 20,000 Huguenots were killed.
§ Henri of Navarre, a Bourbon, survived.

11. St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

13. The French Civil War
v Catherine switched her support to the Bourbons—
fearing Guise power and influence.
Catholic
League
Catholic
League
Protestant
Union
Protestant
Union
CIVIL
WAR
Henry, Third Duke of Guise Garpard de Coligny, Admiral of France
Charles IX Valois

14. The War of the Three HenrysThe War of the Three Henrys
1584–15981584–1598
Henri Duke of Guise
Assassinated 1588
Henri III King of France
Assassinated 1589
Henri of Navarre

15. French Wars of ReligionFrench Wars of Religion
v Henri of Navarre
defeated the
Catholic League in
1598.
v Became King Henry
IV of France.

16. Effects of the French Wars ofEffects of the French Wars of
ReligionReligion
§ France was left divided
by religion.
§ Royal power was
seriously weakened.
§ Valois dynasty was
replaced by the
Bourbons.

17. Triumphal Entry of Henry IV Into Paris Peter
Paul Rubens

18. v Ended Spanish interference in
French internal affairs
v Converted to Catholicism :
§ Did this to
compromise/make peace.
§ “Paris is worth a mass.”
§ Henry Bourbon was a
politique-- the interest of the
state is the first priority.
Henry IV Bourbon of France

19. v Issued the Edict of Nantes in
1598:
§Granted religious rights to
Huguenots.
§Huguenots could worship in
those areas where they were in
the majority.
§Huguenots could fortify their
towns.
§This was NOT freedom of religion.
Henry IV Bourbon of France

20. The
Thirty Years
War
(1618-1648)
The
Thirty Years
War
(1618-1648)

21. 1618-1648

22. v The Holy Roman Empire was the battleground.
v In the beginning-it was Catholics vs. Protestants.
v In the end Habsburg dreams of establishing a
nation in Germany under their control were
dashed.
v Peace was achieved as a result of the treaties that
made up the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
The Thirty Years War

23. v The Hapsburg Ferdinand II inherited Bohemia.
§ Bohemian Protestants hated him.
§ Ferdinand revoked Bohemian religious liberties.
§ The Bohemian Protestants responded by the
Defenestration of Prague in May, 1618.
§ The Bohemians proclaimed a new king, Frederick II,
Elector Palatine.
The Bohemian Phase: 1618-1622

24. Defenestration of Prague

25. v Ferdinand II Hapsburg became the Emperor in 1619.
§ Frederick borrowed an army from Maximilian of Bavaria.
§ Frederick lost his land and title in the fighting—at the Battle of
White Mountain.
§ The rebellion in Bohemia inspired others to continue the war.
The Bohemian Phase: 1618-1622

26. Bohemian Phase

27. v Emperor Ferdinand II tried to end resistance.
§ Tried to crush Protestant in northern Germany.
§ Ferdinand II hired Albrecht von Wallenstein.
§ Wallenstein defeated the Protestants in north.
The Danish Phase: 1625-1629

28. v The Edict of Restitution
(1629):
§ Restored to Catholic rulers all
lands lost since 1552.
§ Deprived all Protestants, except
Lutherans,
of their religious and political
rights.
v German princes feared
Ferdinand--he dismissed
Wallenstein in an effort to calm
them.
The Danish Phase: 1625-1629

29. Danish Phase

30. v France and Sweden
now got involved.
§ Both want to limit
potential Habsburg
power.
§ Sweden led the
charge; France
provided monetary
and material
support.
The Swedish Phase: 1630-1635

31. King
Gustavus
Adolphus

32. v King Gustavus Adolphus invaded The
Empire with a Swedish army.
§ The Swedes won the Battle of Breitenfeld
and turned the tide of the war.
§ Emperor Ferdinand II brought back Wallenstein to
stem the charge.
The Swedish Phase: 1630-1635

33. v The Swedes won the Battle of Lützen but King
Gustavus Adolphus was killed.
The Swedish Phase: 1630-1635

34. v German princes feared Ferdinand II.
v Wallenstein assassinated to appease them.
The Swedish Phase: 1630-1635

35. Swedish Phase

36. v France and Sweden switched roles—the French were
determined to check Hapsburg power in Germany.
v Nearly every nation in Europe participated.
v This phase was most destructive of the war.
§ German towns were decimated by marauding armies.
§ Agriculture collapsed and famine resulted.
§ 8 million dead—perhaps 1/3 of the population--from 21
million in 1618 to 13.5 million in 1648.
§ Caused massive inflation.
§ Trade was crippled throughout Europe.
The French Phase: 1635-1648

37. Casualties
of the 30
Years War

38. Peace of Westphalia (1648)

40. § The German princes were freed from any kind of
control by the Emperor.
§ The Edict of Restitution was rescinded, and
Calvinism won official legal recognition.
§ The United Provinces (Dutch Netherlands) became
officially independent.
§ The Swiss Confederation became totally
independent of the Emperor and Bavaria became an
elector state.
§ France received most of the German-speaking
province of Alsace and won the right to intervene in
the German states at will.
The Peace of Westphalia (1648)

44. § The Pope was denied the right to participate in German
religious affairs.
§ Sweden got lands in northern Germany on the Baltic and
Black Sea coasts and won a voice in the Diet of the Empire.
§ Brandenburg-Prussia got important territories on the North
Sea and in central Germany, and became the most powerful
northern German state.
§ The Hapsburgs were forced to surrender their dream of a
united German Empire under their control—they retreated
to their dynastic territories to regroup.
§ German fragmentation and political weakness would be
perpetuated into the modern era.
The Peace of Westphalia (1648)

45. § Cuius Regio Eius Religio would apply to
Catholics, Calvinists and Lutherans equally.
§ In the hereditary lands of the Habsburgs,
freedom of private worship was to be
permitted.
The Peace of Westphalia (1648)

47. What were the
long-range
consequences of
the Thirty Years’
War?
What were the
long-range
consequences of
the Thirty Years’
War?