Crises in
early
th
17
Europe
c.
The Great
European
Witch Hunt
Overview:

Europe was caught in the grip of a mass hysteria over
witchcraft (mid-16th c. to late 17th c.)

70,000 to 100,000 put to death for harmful magic (maleficium)
& diabolical witchcraft

The witchcraft craze was a predominantly rural phenomenon

Witchcraft trials held in England, Scotland, Switzerland,
Germany, parts of France & Low Countries

The charges against witches…
 Inflicting harm on neighbors
 Attending sabbats (mass meetings w/ devil & demons)
 Indulging in sexual orgies w/ the devil
 Cannibalism (devouring of small Christian children)
 Ritual practices that denied Christian beliefs
The Witches’ Sabbat
English woodcuts c.
1600
The Burning of Witches in
Germany, c. 1555.
A Little Humor?
The
Thirty Years
War
(1618-1648)
1618-1648
Causes – 30 Years’ War
 Growing Religious Tensions in HRE
 Formation of Religious Leagues –
Protestant Union (1608) & Catholic
League (1609)
 Austrian Hapsburgs hoped to unite HRE
& preserve Catholicism (supported by
Spanish relatives!)
 Ferdinand of Styria (Hapsburg
Archduke) elected new king of Bohemia
Defenestration of Prague
May 23, 1618
The Bohemian Phase (1618-22)
Protestant
Union
CIVIL
WAR
Catholic
League

Protestant Union led by Frederick V of the Palatinate

Catholic League led by Ferdinand (now HRE Ferdinand II),
Maximilian of Bavaria & aided by Spanish

Battle of White Mountain (1620) – ends Bohemian phase

Frederick lost his lands in Palatinate to Spain

Bohemia given back to Ferdinand  confiscate nobles’ land
& restores Catholicism

Rebellion in Bohemia inspired others
The Danish Phase (1625-30)
King Christian
IV
WAR
Ferdinand’s
Imperial
Forces

King Christian IV of Denmark entered war to bolster weakened
Protestant position in Germany (+ satisfy imperial motives)

Ferdinand II hired Albrecht von Wallenstein to lead imperial army
to victory

Edict of Restitution (1629):



Restored to Catholics all lands lost since 1552.
Deprived all Protestants, except Lutherans,
of their religious and political rights.
Wallenstein becomes divisive figure Ferdinand fires him
Albrecht
von
Wallenstein
Soldiers pillaging a Farm:
The Swedish Phase (1630-35)
Secretly supported by Cardinal Richelieu of France
Gustavus
Adolphus
WAR
Ferdinand’s
Imperial
Forces

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden invades HRE (died in victory @
Lützen in 1632)

Ferdinand II forced to bring back Wallenstein to defeat
Swedes. Wallenstein later assassinated for disloyalty.

Peace of Prague (1635):



Annulled Edict of Restitution
Guaranteed So. Germany would remain Catholic
Hapsburg dream of uniting Germany ended!
Gustavus
Adolphus
A Military Revolution?
 Gustavus Adolphus Model







Larger standing armies (conscription)
Armies more expensive
Military schools est. to train officers
Linear formations (SALVO, mobility &
flexibility)
Increase use of firearms (musket w/
bayonet)
Naval arms race (“ships of the line”)
Heavy taxes to maintain armies
The Franco-Swedish Phase (1635-48)
France,
United Provinces,
Savoy, Scots,
Finns &
Germans
WAR
HRE & Spain

Long & indecisive phase (no decisive battles)

French victorious  defeat Spanish at Rocroi (1643)
 This phase was most destructive for Germany!





German towns decimated.
Agriculture collapsed  famine resulted.
8 million dead  1/3 of the population [from 21 million in
1618 to 13.5 million in 1648]
Caused massive inflation.
Trade was crippled throughout Europe.
Peace of Westphalia (1648)
The Peace of Westphalia (1648)
Political Provisions:
 German princes become sovereign rulers  power of
HRE & Spanish/Austrian Hapsburgs severely limited
 Switzerland & Dutch Netherlands (United Provinces)
made independent states
 Important Territorial Gains



France  Ger. speaking province of Alsace
Sweden  lands in No. Ger. on Baltic & North Sea Coasts
Brandenburg (future Prussia)  territories on North Sea &
central Germany
Religious Provisions:
 “Cuius region, eius religio” = Peace of Augsburg
reinstated w/ Calvinism added
 Edict of Restitution revoked  guaranteed
possession of former Church states to Protestant
holders
Nobody Was Happy!
 Many Protestants felt betrayed.
 The pope denounced it.
 Only merit  it ended the fighting in a
war that became intolerable!
 For the next few centuries, this war
was blamed for everything that went
wrong in Central Europe.
1688-1700