The Age of Religious and
Civil Wars
The Civil Wars over Dynastic Power and
Religion
The period from
approximately 1560 to 1648 witnessed continuing warfare, primarily between
Protestants and Catholics. Though
religion was not the only reason for the wars occasionally Catholics and
Protestants were allies religion was the dominant cause of the
bloodshed. The other cause was Lust for
Power. Many Princes and Kings used Religion
as an Excuse to gain Political Power In the latter half of the 16th century,
the fighting was along the Atlantic seaboard between Calvinists and Catholics;
after 1600, the warfare spread to
Early Civil Wars
over Religion: Review
ended by Peace of Augsburg in 1555
-
Spanish
and French trying to control
Treaty
of Hapsburg in 1559 ended these wars
Turkish
Invasion of Eastern Europe HRE Charles V defeated them at
The Wars Spread and Move North
The
Catholics attempted to spread Catholicism and retake the Protestant areas
Calvinists
spread and worked hard to become a political force across
The
Reformation divided
Protestant
Princes began to fight Catholic Princes for power and land all over
Kings
began to take sides and the wars grew
Peace
of
The Wars
French
Civil and Religious Wars War of 3 Henrys:1556-89)
Protestant
Henry VI wins and becomes Catholic
Protestant
Netherlands win and split from
Catholic
Belgium divides from
Spain
(C) vs.
30 Years War (1618-1648) fought mostly in
4
stages Protestants win 3 of 4 but Catholics win the war
The
French fight the least and get the most
English
CivilWar (1660s)
Calvinists
(P) win; Catholic king gets head cut off
Background: See Reformation and Creation
of Nation States
As
the nation states and principalities grew in power, they began to fight for
power and dominance in
The
Church and both Catholics and Protestants wanted to win
Both
groups often switch sides depending on their own selfish desires.
Warfare and the Effects of Gunpowder
Peace of
Concludes the
Religious Wars in Germany Catholic and Lutheran Princes agree that they can
co-exist in
The principle of ruler determines the religion of the region become the law of the land in
Let the Wars Begin
French Huguenots were left out so they saw they would
have to fight for their existence
French nobles were tired of the king consolidating power and
began plotting to fight
Many Nobles became Calvinist because they wanted to fight the king
The French Wars were a powder keg that set everything else off
Civil War in
Francis I (1515-47) obtained control of the
With
the signing of the Treaty of Chateau Chambrei in 1559, the struggles of the Hapsburgs and Valois ended, leaving the French with no fear of outside invasion for a
while
The French Families
Three
noble families, - Valois, Bourban and Guise sought more power and attempted to
dominate the monarchs after 1559.
Partly
due to politics in Southern France, the Bourbons
(from
Henri of Guise is strongly Catholic but jealous of
the Henri II and III
Henri II is king of
a devoted
Catholic ruled
When
Henri II died as a result of injuries sustained in a tournament, he was
succeeded, in succession by his three sons
Francis II, 1559-60
Charles IX 1560-74
Henri III 1571-89
These three sons were all dominated by their mother; Catherine
Medici
Calvinism in
John Calvin was a Frenchman and
French Calvinists were sometimes called Huguenots.
The rising French middle class also began to support
the ideas of Calvinism.
Because the Calvinists were nobles wanting more
power and the King was Catholic, Calvinists quickly were labeled as
troublemakers by the French monarchs
The Wars of
the Three Henris
A total of nine wars occurred from 1562 to 1589.
The wars became more brutal as killing civilians supplanted military action.
The St. Bartholomews Day Massacre on August 24,
1572, was planned by Catherine de Medici and resulted in the deaths of 20,000 Huguenots.
The pope had a medal struck commemorating the event and the king of
As a result of the St. Bartholomews Day Massacre,
and other killings, Protestants throughout
War of the
Three Henris (continued)
During the reign of Henry III, and after the St.
Bartholomews Day Massacre civil war broke out in
Three opposing sides tried to gain control of
Henry III (Catholic)
Henry Guise (Catholic)
Henry of
Early in the war, the Holy League (HRE) united the
Catholic forces against the Calvinists
Henry Guise defeated French protestants
at Vimory and Auneau. Henry of Guise was later assassinated by
Catherine de Medici and Henry IIIs henchmen.
This split the Catholics and a Catholic monk assassinated
Henri III in 1589
Henri of Navarre was crowned Henri IV, in 1589.
(He was the Last Henri Standing)
The Winner
is
Henri IV (of
A Calvinist and member of the Bourbon family, Henry
of
Personally popular, Henry began to unite
In 1593, he converted to Catholicism saying
In this respect, he was a politique,
more interested in political unity than religious uniformity.
The Edict of
In 1589, Henry issued the Edict of Nantes which
permitted Huguenots to
worship publicly,
to have access to the universities and to public
office,
and to maintain fortified towns in
The Edict was not
a recognition of the advantages of
religious tolerance so much as it was a truce in the religious wars.
Spanish Civil
and Religious Wars
Supported Henri Guise and Henri III as part of the
HRE and the Catholic League
Tried to Control
Charles I of
1556 Charles quits
Philip II becomes king of
Maximillian becomes HRE
Philip II, profoundly Catholic and dedicated to the
expansion of Spanish power, begins his drive to re-Catholicize
Philip II of
Son of Charles V
Married to
Mary Iof
Ruled the
following areas:
Parts of
Possessions
in
Influential
throughout the
Spent most of
his reign in deep debt
Desperately wanted to preserve Catholic Power and
spread the Power Of Spain
THE
Mid-sixteenth century
17 autonomous provinces, the most important being
Flanders, Brabant, and
1506-1556 HRE Charles V was the ruler of the
The
These provinces possessed a large middle-class
population.
Each province had a tradition of some independence
each elected a stadtsman , a man
who provided military leadership when necessary.
Phillip II
Inherits the
Control of the country was handled by the Parliament
with delegates from each province
The
When his father, Charles I abdictated,
Philip II inherited the dukedom of
Philip tried to introduce Spanish politics and
religion to the
He personally disliked the
The State of
By 1560, Calvinism was a strong, militant minority
in most of the cities in the
Lutheranism had posed no serious threat to Spanish
rule.
Calvinism is what worried the Spaniards;
specifically Phillip I.
Who are the
Calvinists in the
Calvinism appealed to the middle class with an
emphasis on any form of labor well done.
It took deep root among financiers in
Working-class people were also converted, partly because
their employers would hire only other Calvinists.
* this is similar
throughout
Philip meets
the Dutch
Philip tried to crush the
Reduced power
of nobles
Reorganized
Catholic Church
Used the
Inquisition against Protestants
Billeted
troops in homes of citizens
Results of
policies:
People in
Resistance to
Philip began to organize
Some
repudiated the Catholic Church
The Dutch Hate
Philip
After inheriting the
Philips efforts provoked resistance by some nobles,
led by William of Orange (1533-84), called the Silent because he discussed
his political plans with very few people.
An agreement to resist the Spanish was made between
many Dutch nobles
called the Compromise of 1564 and signed by people throughout the
provinces
led to rebellion.
Phil
and Friends need to learn some Manners
Phillip did all he could to eradicate Calvinism
everywhere, especially in the
William of Orange tried to persuade Philip to alter
his policies
Philip refused and the Calvinist fury shocked the
The
Duke of Alva meets the Dutch
Philip sent the Duke of Alva (1508-1583) with 20,000
soldiers to suppress the rebellion.
Alva established the Council of Troubles (called the
Council of Blood by its opponents) which executed several thousand Calvinists
as heretics.
Alva also imposed new taxes, including a sales tax
of 10%.
Most significantly, the Inquisition was established.
The
Dutch Hate the Duke of Alva
Phil and Alva were broke by now and refused to pay
the mercenaries they had hired to suppress the Dutch
In 1576, the unpaid Spanish sacked
Civil
War is the result
Civil War raged in the
In 1576, the
The
Pacification of
The Calvinist
They broke apart into two religious groups; the
Calvinist Union of Utrecht (approximately modern day
The
Civil War Splits the Country and creates the
Calvinism was forbidden in the Southern areas. Protestants
had to either convert or leave
The ten southern provinces remained under the
control of the Spanish Habsburgs
The seven
In 1581 the
Philip
Keeps fighting
Philip II considered himself the international
defender of Catholicism and did not want these provinces to become Protestant,
much less independent.
Elizabeth
I and
Philip was really mad because he had been married to
Mary I until 1558 (she died) and
Philip added
The
End of the Story
The Spanish were finally driven out of the northern
Official independence was not recognized by
The independent
The southern provinces, ruled by the king of
Philip
attacks England and tries to marry Elizabeth
Philip was angry at
The
Spanish Armada 150 ships (biggest navy in European history to that
time)
Philip prepared his vast fleet of ships to sail from
The
English Fleet Sea Beggars led by Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh
However, the English had superior ships, designed by
John Hawkins, that were faster and carried more weaponry.
The English intended to sail around the armada and
destroy any stragglers.
Queen
Elizabeths Call to Honor
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 at this time, not as for my recreation or
sport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live or die
amongst you all; to lay down, for my God, and for my kingdom, and for my
people, my honor and my blood, even the dust. I know I have but the body of a
weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart 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 realms: to which, rather than
any dishonor should 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..not
doubting your obedience to my general, nor your concord in the camp, nor your
valor in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over the enemies of
my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.
The
The armada pushed forward and anchored at
The English sent in fire ships to scatter the
armada.
Bad weather forced the armada to spend too much time
in the Channel.
The Armada was slow and once split up could be
chased down individually by the faster English ships
The
Protestant Wind
It was not the English that defeated the Spanish but
a violent storm which pushed them off into the North Sea along
The Spanish couldnt find any safe harbors and nearly all the ships
were destroyed
Philip
died in 1597 and
This defeat prevented Philip II from re-imposing
unity on western Europe
Philips meddling in
He did however, greatly expand Catholicism in the