European Wars of Religion Timeline

  • Sep 25, 1555

    Peace of Augsburg

    It ended the religious struggle between the two groups and made the legal division of Christianity permanent within the Holy Roman Empire. Allowed rulers to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official religion for their ruling. It ended religious tension and violence in the imperial lands.
  • Period: 1562 to

    French Wars of Religion

    A period of civil infighting primarily between French Catholics and Protestants. The spread of French Calvinism allowed French ruler, Catherine de Médicis, to show more tolerance for Huguenots. This greatly angered the Catholic family, the Guise's.
  • Aug 24, 1572

    Bartolomew’s Day Massacre

    It was plotted by Catherine de' Medici and carried out by Roman Catholic nobles and other citizens. It was one event in the series of battles between Roman Catholics and Protestants that be that France fell to in the late 16th century. Estimated 3000 Protestants died in Paris and near 70000 in all of France.
  • Edict of Nantes

    Edict of Nantes granted rights to France's Protestants, known as Huguenots. Huguenots were to be entitled to worship freely everywhere in France in private and publicly in some 200 named towns. Was still not allowed in Paris.
  • Period: to

    30 Years War

    The Thirty Years’ War was a 17th-century religious war fought primarily in central Europe. It remains one of the longest and most brutal wars in human history, with more than 8 million casualties. Religious war between the Protestants and the Catholics. It slowly became less about religion and more about who would govern Europe.
  • Treaty of Westphalia

    The treaty was signed ending the Thirty Years' War and shifted the balance of power in Europe. It was regarded as a key step in the development of secularization across the world. It strengthened nations so they could now enter foreign alliances and decide important matters.