AP Euro | Crash Course – The Reformation

The Reformation

III. The Wars of King Philip II of Spain

A. Philip’s Empire

1. Emperor Charles V abdicated his many thrones in 1556. He left his territories in Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary to his brother Ferdinand.
2. Charles left his son Philip a vast empire that included Spain, Milan, Naples, the Netherlands, and the overseas empire in the Americas.

B. Philip’s Goals

1. To advance Spanish power in Europe
2. To champion Catholicism in Europe
3. To defeat the Ottoman Turks in the eastern Mediterranean

C. Battle Of Lepanto, 1571

1. A combined Spanish-Venetian fleet defeated the Turkish navy at Lepanto off the coast of Greece.
2. The victory enhanced Philip’s prestige as a champion of Catholicism.

D. The Defeat of Philip: The Netherlands

1. When Philip succeeded to the throne, the Spanish Netherlands consisted of 17 largely Catholic provinces.
2. Philip threatened traditional liberties by imposing the Inquisition and dispatching troops to support it. Philip’s ill-considered actions provoked riots against the Spanish authorities.
3. Philip responded to this challenge by sending 20,000 additional troops. led by the ruthless Duke of Alva, the Spaniards levied new taxes and sentenced thousands to death.
4. Alva’s brutal actions united the Netherlands against the Spanish. During the struggle, many showed their opposition to Spain by converting to Calvinism.
5. A new Spanish viceroy, the Duke of Parma, adopted more skillful tactics. By substituting diplomacy for force, Parma was able to induce the ten southern provinces to reaffirm their loyalty to Spain.
6. led by the province of Holland, the Dutch in the seven northern provinces could not be won back. In 1581, they boldly declared their independence from Spain.
7. The war for control of the Netherlands continued until 1609. Under the terms of a truce, the 7 northern and now heavily Calvinist provinces gained their independence and were known as Dutch. The 10 Catholic southern provinces were known as the Spanish Netherlands.

E. The Defeat of Philip: England

1. The English felt threatened by Philip’s aggressive actions in the Netherlands.
2. Queen Elizabeth openly assisted the Dutch rebels with money and troops. She also encouraged English sea captains to raid Spanish treasure ships.
3. Outraged by Elizabeth’s interference, Philip assembled a huge fleet known as the Spanish Armada to invade England. Philip hoped to depose Elizabeth and return England to Catholicism.
4. Harassed by fast English ships, the powerful but slow-moving Spanish Armada never reached England. Only 67 of the Armada’s original 130 ships returned to Spain.

F. Consequences of Philip’s Defeats

1. Although still a formidable military power, Spain began a long period of political and economic decline.
2. Now independent, the Dutch began a golden age of commercial prosperity and artistic creativity.
3. As Spain’s influence declined, England’s power increased. The English were now free to develop their overseas trade and to colonize North America.

IV. The French Wars of Religion

A. The Catholics

1. As we have seen (chapter 4), under the terms of the Concordat of Bologne (1516), Francis I recognized the supremacy of the papacy over a universal council. In return, French rulers gained the right to appoint all French bishops and abbots.
2. As a result of the Concordat of Bologne, the ruling Valois kings had no reason to support a revolt against Rome.

B. The Huguenots

1. Despite royal opposition, Calvinist ideas gained a strong foothold in France. By the 1560s, one-tenth of France’s 18 million people had become Calvinists, also known as Huguenots.
2. Calvinism had special appeal to French nobles. By the 1560s, between two-fifths and one-half of the nobility had become Calvinists. For many nobles, Calvinism provided a means of expressing opposition to the Valois kings.

C. The Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, 1572

1. The growing strength of the Huguenots alarmed the French king Charles IX and his powerful mother Catherine de’ Medici.
2. With Catherine’s support, Catholics killed thousands of Huguenots gathered in Paris to celebrate the wedding of Margaret of Valois to the Huguenot leader Henry of Navarre. The violence quickly spread to the provinces, where as many as 20,000 Huguenots were killed.
3. The Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre ignited a bloody civil war between Catholics and Huguenots that continued for 15 years.

D. The Politiques

1. The civil war devastated French agriculture and commerce.
2. A small group of moderate Catholics and Huguenots realized that the disorder and destruction had to be stopped or France would collapse. Known as politiques, they supported a strong monarchy and official recognition of the Huguenots.
3. The death of Catherine de’ Medici followed by the assassinations of the powerful Catholic Duke of Guise and King Henry III paved the way for the accession of Henry of Navarre, a leading politique who became Henry IV in 1589.

E. The Edict of Nantes, 1598

1. Many Catholics, including the people of Paris, still opposed Henry. Knowing that a majority of the French were Catholics, Henry chose to become a Catholic saying, “Paris is worth a mass.”
2. In 1598, Henry issued the Edict of Nantes proclaiming the toleration of Calvinism and recognizing the rights of French Protestants.
3. Henry’s decision to convert and issue the Edict of Nantes saved France and prepared the way for the resurgence of royal power in the seventeenth century.

NOTE: Be sure that you can identify the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre, define the term politiques, and explain the terms of the Edict of Nantes. One or more of these three key points have appeared on almost every APEURO exam.

V. The Thirty Years’ War, 1618-1648

A. The Holy Roman Empire in 1600

1. The Holy Roman Empire included approximately 300 small principalities, duchies, and independent cities.
2. The Peace of Augsburg in 1555 (see Chapter 5) gave each German prince the right to determine the religion of his state, either Roman Catholic or Lutheran.
3. The Peace of Augsburg did not provide for the recognition of Calvinists. Nonetheless, a number of states, including the Palatinate, had adopted Calvinism.

B. Causes of the Thirty Years’ War

1. Religious divisions
1. In 1608, the Protestant states formed the Protestant Union to defend their interests.
2. The following year the Catholic states formed the Catholic League to defend their interests.
2. Political divisions
1. The Austrian Habsburgs wanted to reverse the Protestant gains while building a stronger monarchy.
2. The German principalities and independent cities were jealous of their rights and resisted any attempt at centralization.
3. International interference
1. France opposed any policy that would create a strong power in Germany. So, although France was a Catholic power, it allied itself with Protestant princes.
2. The Lutheran kings of Denmark and Sweden were prepared to defend Protestant interests in the Holy Roman Empire.

C. The Four Phases of the Thirty Years’ War

1. The Bohemian Phase, 1618-1625
1. The Thirty Years I War began as a religious civil war in Bohemia between the Catholic League led by Emperor Ferdinand /I and the Protestant Union led by Frederick V.
2. Emperor Ferdinand II’s forces won a series of victories that left the Habsburgs and Catholics in control of Bohemia.
2. The Danish Phase, 1625-1629
1. Supported by the Dutch and English, King Christian IV, the Lutheran ruler of Denmark, intervened to support the Protestants.
2. Led by Albert of Wallenstein, the imperial armies crushed the Protestant forces.
3. Flushed with victory, Emperor Ferdinand issued the Edict of Restitution restoring all Catholic properties lost to the Protestants since 1552.
3. The Swedish Phase, 1630-1635
1. Alarmed by the Catholic victories, the Protestants, Dutch, and French turned for help to the Lutheran king of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus.
2. A charismatic ruler and brilliant military strategist, Gustavus Adolphus defeated Wallenstein and the imperial forces in a series of decisive battles.
3. The Swedish victories prevented the Habsburgs from uniting the German states.
4. The French Phase, 1635-1648
1. The death of Gustavus Adolphus prompted France to intervene on the Protestant side.
2. French, Dutch, and Swedish armies burned German farms and destroyed German commerce.

D. The Peace of Westphalia, 1648

1. The setting
1. Hundreds of diplomats representing the German states, France, Sweden, Spain, the Dutch and the pope met in Westphalia.
2. Although represented at Westphalia, the pope’s objections were largely ignored, underscoring the degree of secularization taking place in Europe.
2. The provisions
1. Each of the over 300 German states received the right to conduct diplomacy and make treaties.
2. Rulers were allowed to decide the religious faith in their territory. Calvinism was recognized as an acceptable faith.
3. The independence of the Dutch Republic and neutrality of Switzerland were formally recognized.
4. The French annexed part of Alsace.
5. Sweden received additional territory around the Baltic Sea.

E. Consequences of the Thirty Years’ War

1. For Germany

The Thirty Years’ War devastated the German economy and decimated its population. As many as one-third of the German-speaking people died from disease, famine, and combat.
Germany’s long-term commercial growth suffered because the Treaty of Westphalia gave control of the mouth of the Rhine River to the Dutch.
The Thirty Years’ War left Germany politically fragmented, thus delaying German unification for two centuries.

2. For France

France achieved its primary goals of weakening the Habsburgs and keeping the Holy Roman Empire weak and divided.
France emerged as the strongest power in Europe.

NOTE: The Thirty Years’ War is both complex and important. Do not become bogged down trying to memorize the four phases of the war. Thus far, Gustavus Adolphus is the only leader who has been the answer to a multiple-choice question. Instead, focus on the long-term consequences of the Thirty Years’ War for Germany and France. Pay special attention to the decline of the Holy Roman Empire and to the factors that prevented the development of a unified German state.