European Wars of Religion

  • Sep 25, 1555

    Peace of Augsburg

    The Peace of Augsburg was the first legal basis that allowed both Lutheranism and Catholicism to be major religions in Germany. This officially ended the struggles between the two religions and also made the Holy Roman Empire have legal division of Christianity. This treaty didn't last long because it excluded Calvinists and didn't allow everyone to follow the religion of their choice. This created a hostile environment between the religions and led to the thirty year war.
  • Period: 1562 to

    French Wars of Religion

    The French Wars of Religion were caused by the many conflict between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants. As French Calvinism grew, Catherine de Medicis began to be more lenient with the French Huguenots. This caused an upset with the Roman Catholics which only caused more conflict. These wars ended with the embrace of Roman Catholicism and the tolerance with the Protestant Huguenots because of the Edict of Nantes.
  • Aug 24, 1572

    St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

    The Massacre of St. Bartholomew was a massacre of the French Huguenots in Paris. This plan was made by Catherine de' Medici which was then followed out by Roman Catholic Nobles. They were killed due to the religious conflicts between the two denominations and their want and need for power in France. Instead of killing the Huguenots like Catherine had hoped, it only cause more issues between the two religions and more hostility throughout France.
  • Edict of Nantes

    The Edict of Nantes gave a large amount of religious rights to the protestants called Huguenots. It allowed them to worship almost anywhere, gave them full access to civil rights, and gave them a special court. The edict also allowed Catholicism in places that the practices had been stopped. Eventually, the edict was evoked by Louis XIV and took away many rights from the Protestants. More than 400,000 eventually emigrated to England and took away the French's most industrious commercial class.
  • Period: to

    30 Years War

    The 30 year war was made up of a series of wars due to the religious conflicts throughout Europe. It was a battle between the Catholic and Protestant states that resulted in somewhere around 8 million deaths. This war began because of religion but then led to a battle of many other things such as territory, power, and commercial rivalries. This war was eventually ended with the Treaty of Westphalia, but Europe had been altered in so many ways.
  • Period: to

    The Treaty of Westphalia

    The Treaty of Westphalia ended the 30 year war and caused a change in the balance of power in Europe. Many things were done through this treaty such as Netherlands gained freedom from Spain, France held power over western states, power was taken from the Holy Roman Empire, and Germans chose their own religions. All of this gave most everyone what they wanted which allowed peace and some equality throughout Europe.