Chapter 3 religious wars
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Chapter 3 Wars of Religion 1560-1648 pages 124-138
Transcript of Chapter 3 religious wars
Chapter 3Wars of Religion1560-1648pages 124-138
1556 Charles V retired to a Spanish monastery
Philip IIr. 1556-1598
Spanish King and son of Charles V
Spain Under Philip IIEmpire: Netherlands, parts of Italy, Philippines,
the Americas, and conquered Portugal
Militant Catholic
Violently against Muslims, Jews, and
Protestants
“I would rather lose
all my lands and a
hundred lives than be
king over heretics.”
Wealth from Americas
1571 Battle of Lepanto halted Ottoman expansion
Philip and Queen Mary of England married in 1554
Catholicism
Queen Mary died with no heirEnglish Protestant Queen Elizabeth
Grrrrrrrrrr! Protestants
El Escorial (1563-1584)Symbol of Spain as the center of Christianity
Netherlands(Low Countries)
Ruled by Spain
1560s Some Embraced
Militant Calvinism
Start of the Dutch War of Independence (poly and relig)
The Eighty Years’ War 1568-1648
Protestant Iconoclast Riots
King Philip II
(1527-1598)Raised taxes and attacked
Calvinists
Spanish establish the “Council of
Blood”Fernando Álvarez
de Toledo
William Nassau
(1533-1584) Prince of Orange
Prot. rebel leader until his
assassination
1581 United Provinces
Northern Protestants
Spanish Netherlands
Catholic
vs.
Queen Elizabeth supported Dutch
Protestants
Feared future Spanish attack
on England
1586 Babington PlotMary Queen of Scots
Sir Francis DrakePlundered Spanish ships
Increased English/Spanish tensions
Pope Sixtus V offered Philip a million gold ducats to invade England
1588 Philip II sent the “Invincible”
Spanish Armada(130 Ships) to attack England
“I know I have the body but of
a weak and feeble woman; but I have the
heart and stomach of a
king…”
I bet the English will rise against
their evil protestant queen to return to
Catholicism
“He who placed me
in this seat will keep me
here.”
The “Tilbury Speech”
Exploration and Conquest\Elizabeth Clips\Queen Elizabeth's Tilbury Speech - Helen Mirren.mp4
Speech to the Troops at TilburyDelivered by Elizabeth to the land forces assembled at Tilbury (Essex) to repel the anticipated invasion of the Spanish Armada, 1588.
My loving people, We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant general1 shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.
Inventory of an English soldier, Tilbury 1588 by Thom Atkinson
1588 Battle of Gravelines
Spanish “Invincible”
Armada failed to defeat England
“It is impiety, and almost blasphemy
to presume to know the will of God. It
comes from the sin of pride, Even kings … must submit to
being used by God's will without knowing
what it is.”
Elizabethan Era (1558-1603)Renaissance in England
National pride and a Golden Age of arts and culture"England was economically healthier, more expansive, and more optimistic under the Tudors”
-Historian John Guy (1988)
Conflict between
England and Spain
continued for years
Spanish power and wealth declined steeply in the coming years
French Civil Wars of Religion 1562-1598 (on and off)
A Problem of Unity18 mil people in ~300 areas with different
legal and cultural traditions
Huguenots Nobles (1 out of 10)vs.
Catholic Monarchy
Protestant Iconoclasm angered Catholics
Chaotic and brutal violence usually not government affiliated
Catherine de' MediciMother of 3 French Kings
Francis II, Charles IX, Henry III
Angry over the wedding of her
daughter to Prot. Henry of Navarre
Henry of Navarre and
Margaret Valois
-------------------Marriage for
Cath/Prot peace
1572 St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre instigated by Catherine
Caths killed 100,000 Prots
“In an instant the whole city was filled with dead bodies of every sex and age, and indeed
amid such confusion and disorder that everyone was allowed to kill whoever he pleased…The continuous
shooting of pistols, the frightful cries of those they slaughtered,
the bodies thrown from windows…An unforgettable
picture of the calamity appalling in every way.”
Years of Religious War destroyed FrancePolitiques want a strong monarchy to
stop the violence
Both Catholic
Former allies
War of the Three Henrys 1587-1589Catholic League against Henry III’s Protestant
brother-in-law Henry’s right to the throne
King Henry IIILast Valois King
Henry Duke of GuiseLed Catholic LeagueSupported by Spain
1588 Duke Henry Killed
by King Henry III’s
bodyguards
1589 Childless Henry III assassinated by the
Catholic League
Gave his support to Henry of Navarre
Henry IVof Navarre
(1553-1610)
Huguenot Leader
1589 King of France
House of Bourbon
Henry IV
Louis XIII
Louis XIV
Louis XV
Louis XVI
Louis XVIII
Charles X
Louis-Philippe
House of Bourbon Family Tree
Henry IV defeated theCatholic League
For peace Henry converted to
Catholicism but…1598 Edict of
NantesCath = official
Prot = tolerated with limited rights
“Paris is worth a mass.”
Henry as Hercules
killing the Catholic Hydra
Restored peace,
eliminated debt, and improved
trade roads
“I want there to be no
peasant in my realm so poor that he will not have a chicken in his pot every
Sunday.”
1610 Henry IV assassinated by a Catholic
Henry IV’s Son
Louis XIII(1601-1643)
Too Young To Rule
Marie de Medici
(1575-1642)2nd Wife of Henry IV
Ruled as Regent for her son
(until he exiled her)
Cardinal Richelieu(1585-1642)Chief Minister King Louis XIII
1. Increase royal power over nobles2. Weaken the Habsburgs
“Secrecy is the first essential in affairs
of state.”
“To mislead a rival, deception is permissible;
one may use all means against his enemies.”
Intendants – govt admins loyal to the king-finances, policing and justice-appointed and temporary
Louis XIII and Richelieu attacked Huguenot cities and forced conversions
Siege of La Rochelle
The Thirty Years’ War 1618-1648• Tense 1555 Peace of Augsburg
–Luth and Calv spreading–Cath aggressions
• Protestant Union 1608• Catholic League 1609• Violence in Bohemia (HRE)
Protestants threw two Catholic officials from a window in Prague (Defenestration of Prague)
“you are enemies of us and of our religion, have desired to deprive us of our Letter of Majesty, have horribly plagued your Protestant subjects... and have tried to force them to adopt your religion against their wills or have had them expelled for this reason“ -Count von Thurn, 1618
Bohemian Phase: Catholic Victory (Habsburg)Danish Phase: Denmark stayed ProtestantSwedish Phase: Swedish Prots defeated Habsburgs in Germany (Richelieu’s help)French Phase: Anti-Habsburg attacks
Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus (1594-1632)
Ensured the survival of Protestantism
Continuation of Habsburg/Bourbon Rivalry
CatholicRichelieu supported
protestants in Habsburg
lands
“Where the interests of the
state are concerned, God absolves actions which, if privately committed, would
be a crime.”
Economic and Social Devastation (Mostly in Germany)
“Germany… is a place of dead men’s skulls and a field of blood.”
Edward Calamy, English Preacher 1641
-300+ Germanic princes asserted independence-Holy Roman Empire greatly weakened (divisions)-France strengthened (Louis XIV)-Spain weakened-Dutch independence from Spain
1648 Peace of WestphaliaEnd of the Religious Wars
