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Sep 25, 1555
The Peace of Augsburg
Source The Peace of Augsburg helped the followers of the Protestantism to present their ideas. In result, they were given the right to be different, strengthened by the Religious Peace. This peace stops people from juding religions and supports everyone and his beliefs. It is very important for the time period it is signed in. -
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King Christian IV of Denmark
Source King Christian IV of Denmark was very well educated. He had very good intentions for Denmark. He developed trade and architecture. However, his goal of making Denmark a leading Baltic power was ruined because of his interception in the Thirty Years War which backfired. -
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Maximillian I of Bavaria
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Maximillian was a duke and elector of Bavaria. He believed strongly in the Roman Catholic church. He founded the Catholic League. With the help of this army he gained a lot of new territories and became the leader of the German Catholics. HIs political and religious ambition were major reasons for the 30 years prolonging of the war. -
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King Louis XIII
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King Louis XIII was a religious French king who became king only at the age of nine. He had problems with his mother and his wife. He relied on Duke de Luynes and Cardinal Richelieu and together they sought to strengthen the power of the monarchy as they believed in the idea of absolutism. -
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King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Source Gustavus Adolphus was very intelligent and knowledgable on many subjects. He was a very supported and very powerful monarch who created major reforms.He pushed Sweden to a domininant position in the region and was described by E N Williams as "the greatest Swedish king and one of the greatest statesmen in European History". -
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Ferdinand of Styria as King of Bohemia
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He was educated in a Jesuit school and later became Holy Roman Emeror. He held his power in Bohemia by persecuting Protestants and rebells who were trying to defy him, because he strongly believed in Catholicism, centralization, and Habsburg advancement. His power reached its peak at the Peace of Prague, because then his lands were free of heresy and he had a powerful army. -
Defenestration of Prague
Source This event was very important because it marked the beginning of the Thirty Years War. There were two men called Jaroslav Martinic and William Slavata and they were responsible. They stood against the law and were thrown out of the window. This all happened in Prague on 23.5.1618. -
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The Bohemian Period
Source This period starts when the Defenestration of Prague happens. It is a period with a lot of revolts so it is also found as "Bohemian Revolt". It is very hard for the government to keep the peace, but in 1620, these times of rebellions end. The Catholic leaders unite with Maximilian the 1st from Bavaria. Together they are stronger and cope with the problem they are facing. -
Battle of White Mountain
Source It happened close to the city of Prague and was due to the lack of satisfaction of the Habsburgs. They fought against the Protestants and when they won, they changed the government according to their wishes. -
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Philip IV of Spain
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Philip IV was king of Spain and Portugal. Under his rule Spain had some victories against the Dutch, the Swedes, and the Weimarians. However, those victories were later counteracted by rebellions and at the end Spain was weakened economically and socially. Spain became a second class power. -
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Cardinal Richelieu
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Cardinal Richelieu is someone whose ambition allowed him to climb from a minor noble family to a place of high power as Louis XIII's chief minister. He was very successful as he fought the Huguenots, made positive reformations in the army, fought for absolutism, crushed all rebells, and wanted to make France the greatest power in Europe. -
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The Danish Period
Source The Danish Period is the 2nd in the order of the periods in the timeline. It comes after the Bohemian. The main problem is that the king of Denmark does not want to be connected with Saxony anymore, so he decides to find other countries. When he becomes stronger, he attacks Saxony, led by Ferdinand, and makes the strong province sign the Treaty of Lubeck. It divides the two sides. -
Treaty of Lubeck
Source It was needed due to the problems with deciding whether the city of Holstein will remain Denmark's territory or not. Eventually, it left the place in possession of the Scandinavian country. -
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The Swedish Period
Source In this peiod, an event to remember is a serious war. It is started by Gustavus Adolphus, It is not a surprise he is called "the Lion to the North". The Scandinavian leader is very powerful. This man supports the Protestant religion, which is a factor that leads him to starting the war. Also, he has a clash for royal power with Ferdinand. Eventually, Ferdinand wins the battle of Nordingen. This is the last event in the period. -
Battle of Lutzen
Source Then, the leader of the Swedish country was Gustavus the 2nd Adolph, or also Gustavus Adolphus. He died in that battle. Sweden and Germany had an alliance against their mutual enemy. It was the Holy Roman Empire they were against. Its leader was Emperor Ferdinand the 2nd. -
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The French Period
Source In the French Period, dating from 1635 to 1648, who comes after the Swedish and is the last of the 4, there is a war, too. Cardinal Richeleu is in charge of France and has the ambition to fight against his enemy. It is Hapsburg, which is very strong. He unites with the Swedish military and attacks Germany in 1635, but unsuccessfully. The German win gives more confidence to those who support the Protestant religion there. -
The Peace of Westphalia
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The Peace of Westphalia was the peace treaty that ended the terrifying 30 Years War. Swiss became independent of Astria. The Netherlands were granted independence of Spain. German principalities gained full autonomy. Sweden gained territory and money. Bavaria and Brandenburg also made gains. France was given Alsace-Lorraine. Roman Catholic conguest of Europe was stopped forever. Protestant religion survived. -
Treaty of Pyrenees
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A peace treaty between France and Spain. It marks the beginning of the French hegemony in Europe. The Spanish monarchy was decaying because of war not only with France but also with England and because of the leagues of German princes there was noone to assist them. There was a marriage between the 2 sides to strengthen the peace. Louis XIV was established as the most powerful European monarch. -
Treaty of Prague
ImageSource, Source
In this peace treaty both Duchies of Schleswig Holstein were given to Prussia. The Northern German Confederation was established and led by Prussia. Austria was removed from Germany.
