Political changes of 17th cent essays

Political changes of 17th cent essays When one looks at the religious wars, it is very difficult to identify a beginning and middle. People can argue that the seed for the wars was planted in the wars between the Calvinists and Hapsburgs, otherwise known as the Dutch and the Spanish. In addition, people can argue that the Protestant Reformation in Germany and other parts of Europe sparked these "religious" wars. It was inevitable that the growing division between Christian churches in Europe would lead to a series of armed conflicts for over a century. Protestants and Catholics would shed each other's blood in monumental amounts in national wars and in civil wars. These struggles would eventually destroy the European monarchical traditions themselves. But truly, were they even religious wars? Thus, the question arises. The Bohemian War, fought from 1618 through 1623 was most likely the one war that had anything to do with religion. After Mathais, Ferdinand the Second took over as the Holy Roman emperor. Being a passionate member of the Catholic Church, Calvinism was just out of the question in his book. No one in Bohemia would be allowed to carry out religious services in any way promoting Calvinism. The conflict went much further. The Bohemian princes became irritated, and Ferdinand sent two ambassadors to try to ease the tensions. This only sparked an onslaught of aggression. Fear of being forced into Catholicism was enough t push the princes over the edge, and the two ambassadors were thrown out the window in objection. Thus came the defenestration of Prague. The fighting still had a long way to go, and at the Battle of White Mountain, the forces collided. The Catholic group, called the Catholic League, was backed by Ferdinand II, Spain, the Elector in Saxony (Germany) and also the Pope, conqu ered the relatively smallish Bohemian army. The success was immense, and Alsace went to Spain to maintain good ties. To move on to the next wars, one must discuss Cardinal Ri...