This book is an exallent book on the thirty years war. Basically it was about religion, a war fought to determine the power of one religion over the other. More than three and a half centuries have passed since the peace of westphalia ended the thirty years war 1618 48. Gustavus adolphus magnus by the riksdag of the estates in 1634. Peter wilson offers the first new history in a generation of a horrifying conflict that transformed the map of the modern world. This volume deals with the entanglement of scotland in the thirty years war 1618 1648, discussing both the diplomatic and military aspects of the conflict that led to scottish involvement in the heart of the holy roman empire. That book is about half the length of this one and gives shorter shrift to the second half of the war. The initial phase, what historians refer to as the bohemian revolt, was a result of the holy roman emperor, ferdinand ii, attempting to assert imperial and catholic control over territories that had. If one is looking more for pure military tactics and strategy about the thirty years war, the osprey publishing company has excellent books on these aspects of the war. John murray, 1847 and samuel rawson gardiner in the thirty years war 1618. Wilsons book is a major work, the first new history of the thirty years war in a.
The bavarian army during the thirty years war, 16181648. Without any question the period of the thirty years war, from 1618 to 1648, was one of the most horrifying in the history of germany. Asch puts the religious and constitutional struggle in the holy roman empire squarely back into the centre of events. King christian iv lutheran ruler of denmark and duke of holstein and ferdinand ii religious. This is the second book ive read recently about the thirty years war, both of which have the same informative, if unimaginative, title of the thirty years war. Its destructive campaigns and battles occurred over most of europe, and, when it ended with the treaty of westphalia in 1648, the map of europe had been irrevocably changed. The role of sweden in the thirty years war the brief, brilliant campaigns of gustavus adolphus dominate the history of the thirty years war for many.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. I believe this book is like a time capsule which allows one to experience what it must have been like living during that time period in europe. Most of the fighting took place in the holy roman empire, although the war grew to include european powers outside of the empire. The nine years war 16881697, often called the war of the grand alliance or the war of the league of augsburg, was a conflict between louis xiv of france and a european coalition of the holy roman empire led by austria, the dutch republic, spain, england, and savoy. A deadly continental struggle, the thirty years war devastated seventeenthcentury europe, killing nearly a quarter of all germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike. King christian iv and the decline of the oldenburg state lockhart, paul douglas on. More broadly, the duel between swedish and imperial forces has become the defining conflict of the war, with the twelve years that preceded it being relegated to the background. Buy the bavarian army during the thirty years war, 16181648.
The swedish empire in the baltic nations north west. It was literally a series of wars, fought mainly on german soil, and was in large part a struggle to alter the european balance of power. Despite its age first published in 1938, this is still one of the best english language narratives of this most complex of wars, tracing the intricate dance of diplomacy and combat that involved all of europe in the fate of germany. It remains one of the longest and most brutal wars. Not only were huge numbers of soldiers killed in battle in virtually every part of the holy roman empire, but even greater numbers of the civilian population died in the conflict or through starvation or disease. What you are about to read is an attempt at a new and different account of the thirty years war, seen as an example of two civilizations and ideological conflict. It remains one of the longest and most brutal wars in human history, with more than 8 million casualties resulting from military battles as well as from the famine and disease caused by the conflict. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The thirty years war was a european continental war that took place from 16181648 thirty years. In the summer of 1630, the swedes made landfall in germany. There were other religious conflicts in the years to come, but no great wars. Thirty years war bohemian period danish period swedish period. The war fought between 1618 and 1648 remains, by many measures, the most destructive in europes history. Sweden and the protestants were now without a leader.
Best books on the thirty years war five books expert. One of the most destructive conflicts in human history, it resulted in. This war saw the rise of sweden and france but most importantly saw the foundations of modern diplomacy built. It was a military conflict that took place between 1630 and 1635, during the course of the thirty years war. Thirty years war bohemian period, danish period, swedish period, and swedishfrench period. It is a good place to start a study of the conflict. It begins its narative in 1608 to show some of the background of the war. Thirty years war, swedish phase, part 3 armchaircapitalist. He led sweden to military supremacy during the thirty years war, helping to determine the political as well as the religious balance of power in europe. Kristina of sweden, queen from age six, who fights the conservative forces that are against her ideas to modernize. The thirty years war 16181648 the thirty years war has been described as the last major european war of religion and the first alleuropean struggle for power. Thus the problems of war finance are shown to be an important key to the interaction between interstate and domestic conflicts during the war. Most textbooks refer to two different series of events as the thirty years war.
Intervention by denmark and sweden, 16251635 the great powers in conflict june 5, 2008 by marge anderson a vigorous and ambitious monarch, king christian iv sought to extend danish political and economic power over northern germany. She published her first history, the thirty years war 1938, before her thirtieth birthday, and in the years that followed wrote a succession of chronicles of seventeenthcentury europe that made her one of the most popular and bestknown historians in britain. Europe during the thirty years war book i of ii book. Osprey has several books that cover specific armies. Basically the 16111721 time period, i would like some thing with detail but not hard to read, but please dont exclude any books regardless.
Armies so covered are given limited treatment in this article. Finance and the thirty years war as with any war, the thirty years war had an impact on finance throughout europe. Until recently i just knew a few random facts the king of sweden killed in battle in the middle of germany, the complete and utter devastation suffered in the heart of europe, and the importance of avoiding windows in prague. There in 1618 the protestant nobility refused to recognize. The thirty years war was a very confusing conflict on many levels, and to attempt any account of it in barely 200 pages is almost foolhardy. Bohemian soldier and politician, who offered his services, and an army of 30,000 to 100,000 men during the danish period 16251629 of the thirty years war 16181648, to the holy roman emperor ferdinand ii. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the thirty years war. Over 200 states of varying sizes fought in the war. This vast comprehensive history is perfect as both an introduction and a fullblown exegesis of the longwaged war, the brutal conflict that pitted protestants vs. Though it was primarily centered in germany, several other countries became involved in the conflict, including france, spain, and sweden.
Focusing on the various roles women performed in the bloody and extended conflict, mary elizabeth ailes analyzes how methods of warfare and swedish society were changing in profound ways. One occurs in the first half of the 17th century and the other in the middle of the 18th century. During the time of swedish rule, several social changes began to take form that became a part of baltic culture. The king of sweden from 1611 to 1632, credited with founding the swedish empire, who led sweden to military supremacy during the thirty years war. Written in 1939, it is interesting to see how the german war on her horizon factors into her understanding of the events of the book. A book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. This marked one of the turning points of the thirty years war, but it must be emphasized that swedish intervention was not a foregone conclusion. The king and wallenstein fought again, this time at lutzen.
The war ended in stalemate and diplomats gathered to patch up affairs in the peace of westpahlia 1648. The clash of one conception, deriving from the legacy of humanism, tinged with protestantism and taking as its model the united netherlands, with another, catholichumanist one which followed the example of spain, becomes thus the. The size of armies grew massively as did the cost of keeping those armies in the field. The war originated with dual crises at the continents centre. On september 17th, 1631, the protestants first victory occurred at the battle of breitenfeld. A documentary history headnotes introduce each selection, and a general introduction provides both a brief history of the war and a discussion of its causes. Pdf the thirty years war download full pdf book download. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. The war raged over most of what is today known as germany and involved many european powerful countries. How did the thirty years war and the treaty of westphalia affect the holy roman empire. Peter wilson offers the first new history in a generation of a horrifying conflict. The thirty years war was a series of conflicts that began early in the 17th century in the holy roman empire and finally involved much of europe. A deadly continental struggle, the thirty years war devastated. The thirty years war was fought from 1618 until 1648.
The thirty years war was a 17thcentury religious conflict fought primarily in central europe. One of the most destructive conflicts in human history, 14 it resulted in eight million fatalities not only from military engagements but also from violence, famine, and plague. Europe in 1618 was riven between protestants and catholics, bourbon and hapsburgas well as empires, kingdoms, and countless. The thirty years war was the last religious war in europe, and was also the bloodiest war to affect the continent before the twentieth century. Cristian cantirs mentorship throughout my undergraduate career at oakland university, particularly as i created, revised, and presented this paper. Swedish intervention and conduct in the thirty years war. The swedish empire and its modern military force was founded by gustavus adolphus, who inherited the throne in 1611 at age 17. It started as a conflict between protestants and roman catholics but soon became a struggle for political power. The swedish invasion of the holy roman empire, or the swedish intervention in the thirty years war is a historically accepted division of the thirty years war. The thirty years war saw a change from little wars to what was effectively total war.
During the thirty years war of 1600s, a band of protestant mercenaries peacefully coexist with german catholic villagers in a hidden idyllic mountain valley untouched by war. The military of the swedish empire is commonly and wrongfully recognized only as the caroleans, which were in fact not in service until the late 17th century under karl xi and his successor. The swedish intervention in the thirty years war, which took place between 1630 and 1635, was a major turning point of the war, often considered to be an independent conflict. Mar 16, 2011 thirty years war, danish phase 16 mar with the rebellion crushed in bohemian and the austrias, the rebel cause fled, taking with it their ideas and belligerent spirit. French armies of the thirty years war soldiers of the past. Alfred doblins sprawling historical novel wallenstein 1920 is set during the thirty years war. Scandinavia wwii books on the war in norway, denmark.
Disgreed with terms of peace of prague because they want to be benefitted get landpower support protestant sweden seems like they are fighting just to fight. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. It echoes the contributions of scholars like barkin 2003 by applying both realism and constructivism to achieve a more accurate depiction of empirical reality. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude for dr. The regiment was both an administrative unit and a tactical unit even if only about 10% of the manpower in the swedish forces in germany during the 30 years war were swedish or finnish in origin, the regiments created a formal structure into which mercenaries were sorted to use swedish organisation and tactics. Cicely veronica wedgwoods history is considered a classic englishlanguage history of the war, and with good reason. This paper presents a theoretical explanation for swedens intervention and behavior in the thirty years war. Thirty years war simple english wikipedia, the free. The thirty years war was a war fought primarily in central europe between 1618 and 1648. The peace of augsburg is 1555 said that the ruler determined religion. Thirty years war 161848, in european history, a series of wars fought by various nations for various reasons, including religious, dynastic, territorial, and. Her fathers role in the thirty years war may have turned the tide from the catholics to the protestants.
The swedish force only entered the thirty years war 12 years after it began to side with the protestants. If you are new to the thirty years war andor want a shorter, even more readable account, consider cv wedgwoods classic narrative history the thirty years war. Books on the swedish empire during the thirty years war. The thirty years war began 400 years ago and were all. The thirty years war consisted of multiple phases, lasting from 1618 to 1648. What began as a local, religious conflict became more and more continental and political with each expanding phase of the war. Europe during the thirty years war book i of ii by. Denmark danish period background events bohemia bohemian period ferdinand ii ferdinand ii king christian iv history lead up to event. The thirty years war was not taught as a subject when i studied history at school in the uk a great many years ago. Swedish intervention and conduct in the thirty yearsaz war. Swedish intervention in the thirty years war wikipedia.
The danish intervention led to the catholics becoming stronger, gaining more land, a better reputation as fighters, and the support of wallenstin. For the avid reader of military history, the thirty years war has everythingeuropean realpolitik, religious conflict, dramatic characters, military innovation and violence enough to satisfy the most lurid imagination or touch the coldest heart. A documentary history kindle edition by helfferich, tryntje. The backbone of the catholic league century of the soldier by spring, laurence isbn. Biography of christina, unconventional queen of sweden. Courage and grief illuminates in a nuanced fashion sweden s involvement in europes destructive thirty years war 161848. Her childhood came during a long european cold spell called the little ice age and the thirty years war 16181648, when sweden sided with other protestant nations against the habsburg empire, a catholic power centered in austria. New in paperback the first purely military focussed publication on the thirty years war in english for over 40 yearsthere has been a recent trend in history to interpret the rise and fall of great powers in terms of economics, or demographics, or geogr. Sweden wanted control of the baltic while france used the war to acquire alsace and lorraine, two areas that were to cause. War and innocence is a world war ii memoir written from the perspective of a young girl. The french war 163548 and the dutch war with spain 162048 the last phase of the war and the road to settlement france was now faced by the prospect of a spanish offensive supported by the emperors army against the garrisons it had placed beyond its frontiers, in lorraine, alsace, and along the upper rhine and moselle rivers in the preceding years. An index, suggestions for further reading, a map, and several examples of seventeenthcentury artwork are included.
During the eighty years between the thirty years war and the great northern war sweden left a lasting impact on the makeup of the people that were soon to grow into the estonians and latvians. Those countries fighting in the thirty years war had to finance their campaigns and even the famous money lending families of europe such as the fuggers had seen their wealth dwindle as the war took its toll on finance. You must be certain that you do not confuse these two events. Here is the full story of the german occupation of denmark and norway that began with an attack on both countries that commenced in the predawn hours of april 9, 1940 and lasted for over five years until nazi germany unconditionally surrendered to the allies, thus ending world war ii in europe. The thirty years war, already a complex diplomatic maze, became even more so after adolphus death. Death came during the battles, from disease and the rampaging of the armies through the. Wilsons masterful book will stand as the definitive account of this epic conflict. Tough hard hitting cavalry, mobile artillery and a solid fearsome core of infantry, the swedish army of the thirty years war was arguably the best in the world at the time. The history of the thirty years war and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. There is a significant amount of detail, lots of period pictures instead of a modern artists conjectures, and a great bibliography in the back. It was a major protestant victory, but cost them their most able commander.
The concept of uniforms was under development during the thirty years war. As well as life and death in the army, this book also looks at the women who accompanied it. The selections are drawn from the standard political documents, from the apology of the bohemian estates for the defenestration of prague to the text of the treaty of westphalia, as well. This was a long war that was fought from 1618 to 1648. Finance and the thirty years war history learning site. History of europe history of europe the thirty years war. Mar 21, 2011 a swedish victory, though earned, was not celebrated, because the great swedish king, gustavus adolphus was killed during the course of battle.
How revolutionary was the swedish military tactics. The military occupation was converted into full ownership at. In fact, almost all of the powerful countries in europe were involved in the war. But this book succeeds, at least in setting the stage and following the people and politics. Hello select your address amazon pay best sellers best sellers. Books on the swedish empire during the thirty years war and the great northern war i am interested in those time periods specifically about sweden. Author hanna aasvik helmersen, only eight years old when the war began, offers us an extremely clear picture of the norwegian experience through the war years. The thirty years war marked the last major religious war in mainland europe, ending the largescale religious bloodshed accompanying the reformation, which had begun over a century before. The economist explains what happened in the thirty years war.
He was formally and posthumously given the name gustavus adolphus the great swedish. Thirty years war students britannica kids homework help. He became the supreme commander of the armies of the habsburg monarchy and one of the major figures of the thirty years war. After the victories in the thirty years war, sweden reached the climax of the greatpower era during the second northern war, when its primary adversary, denmark, was neutralized by the treaty of roskilde in 1658 this is when the swedish empire is at its largest extent. Infantry and artillery menatarms by vladimir brnardic and darko pavlovic oct 27, 2009 3. Parker tries to examine the war from all of the sides invovled. The initial phase, what historians refer to as the bohemian revolt, was a result of the holy roman emperor, ferdinand ii, attempting to assert imperial and catholic control over territories that had broken away during the reformation. The thirty years war persuaded everybody that neither the protestants nor the catholics could be completely victorious and dreams of an empire, united under a catholic church had to be abandoned. Schiller was a novelist the thirty years war, from library of congress, country. While im normally much more used to the osprey series, this book was a pleasant surprise. A nations economy was based around fighting in the war and sustaining that nations position within the thirty years war. Thirty years war, 161848, in european history, a series of wars fought by various nations for various reasons, including religious, dynastic, territorial, and commercial rivalries.
The thirty years war, from catholic encyclopedia the thirty years war, from history of protestantism y james a. After several attempts by the holy roman empire to prevent the spread of protestantism in europe, king gustav ii adolf of sweden ordered a fullscale invasion of the catholic states. Following the polish war and the thirty years war, sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern baltic coast, including pomerania and parts of livonia and prussia. Gustavus augustus gained a great victory the imperial forces, but he was killed in the battle. Lutzen was one of the most important battles of the thirty years war. A region on the southern shore of the baltic sea in central europe, split between germany and poland. The role of sweden in the thirty years war michael fassbender. The best books on the thirty years war fought in europe 16181648, recommended by professor peter wilson, author of a new history of the 30 years war. The army of gustavus adolphus was a truly awesome foe. A documentary history fills a gap in recent studies of the great paneuropean conflict, providing fresh translations of thirty eight primary documents for the student and general reader. Lasted between the bohemian, danish, swedish, and swedish french time periods.
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