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The Battle of Rocroi, by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau.

Social Consequences of the Thirty Years' War: Was it Worth it?

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The Thirty Years’ War was a major European war that occurred during the 17th century. While the conflict took place mainly in the area of modern day Germany, it involved many of the great European powers at that time. The Thirty Years’ War had a profound impact on Europe, and some of the consequences of this war can be seen in the changes that were made to European society.

The Beginning of a Brutal 30 Years

The Thirty Years’ War began in 1618, and lasted until 1648. This war started off as a religious war that pitted Catholics against Protestants in the Holy Roman Empire, but then evolved into a conflict between the Habsburg Dynasty and other European powers.

The immediate cause of the Thirty Years’ War was the decision by the newly-elected Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II of Bohemia, to impose religious uniformity in his empire. This was seen by his Protestant subjects as a violation of the Peace of Augsburg, and they banded together to form the Protestant Union. This, in addition to Ferdinand’s refusal to tolerate his Protestant subjects, led to the Thirty Years’ War.

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia by Joseph Heintz the Elder

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia by Joseph Heintz the Elder (Public Domain)

Other major European powers were soon drawn into this conflict, though most of the fighting took place on German soil. While it seemed that these powers chose their sides based on their own religious inclinations, it was in fact politics that influenced their decisions. France, for instance, though Catholic, sided with the Protestants, as they were surrounded by Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, both of which belonged to the Habsburg Dynasty.

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden at the Battle of Breitenfeld by Johann Walter 1632

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden at the Battle of Breitenfeld by Johann Walter 1632 (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Paying the Price for the Thirty Years’ War

During the Thirty Years’ War, heavier taxes were imposed upon the people. As the fighting went on for a prolonged period of time with a large number of mercenary troops, much money was needed to pay these soldiers of fortune. Therefore, citizens of the powers involved in the war were taxed heavily.

The situation was made worse by the fact that during that period agricultural production declined drastically. Poor harvest coupled with heavy taxation resulted in revolts by the peasantry in various parts of Europe. In spite of such uprisings, the discontent and suffering of the people was ignored by their governments.

It may be added that the mercenaries generally pillaged and destroyed whatever towns they captured, thus exacerbating the condition of the civilians caught up in this conflict. Moreover, the influx of soldiers from foreign lands, including mercenaries, helped aggravate the spread of disease, which was already rampant during the war.

The civilian death toll was highest in Germany, where much of the fighting took place. It has been estimated that armed conflict, disease, and famine reduced the population of Germany by between 15 and 20%.

Soldiers plundering a farm during the thirty years war by Sebastian Vrancx, 1620

Soldiers plundering a farm during the thirty years war by Sebastian Vrancx, 1620 (Public Domain)

The Peace of Westphalia

The Thirty Years’ War ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Some of the social consequences of this conflict can be seen in the treaty. For example, under the Peace of Westphalia, the rulers of the German states were once again given the right to determine the religion of their domain.

In addition, both Catholics and Protestants were now equal before the law, and Calvinism was given legal recognition. Furthermore, the right to practice one’s faith in public at allotted hours and in private at will was given to Christians living in states where their denomination was not the established church. In a way, this may also be seen as a step towards the separation of Church and State, and the freedom of religion in Europe.

A Scene of the Thirty Years War

A Scene of the Thirty Years War (Public Domain)

A Long Road to Religious Freedom

In short, the Thirty Years’ War had an extremely negative impact on the people of Europe. Disease, famine, and battles took their toll, and caused widespread suffering. The imposition of heavy taxes caused further suffering, which led a discontented population to rise in revolt. Though these were not seen as overly important during the period, it was a shadow of things to come.

Nevertheless, the Thirty Years’ War did have some positive impact on European society too. This is seen notably in the increase in religious freedom, as well as its contribution towards the development of the separation of Church and State.

Top image: The Battle of Rocroi, by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau. Source: CC BY-SA 3.0

By Wu Mingren

Updated on November 6, 2020.

References

New World Encyclopedia, 2015. Peace of Westphalia. [Online]
Available at: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Peace_of_Westphalia

New World Encyclopedia, 2015. Thirty Years’ War. [Online]
Available at: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Thirty_Years%E2%80%99_War

P.C., 2016. What happened in the Thirty Years War?. [Online]
Available at: https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2016/01/economist-explains-5

Smith, N., 2011. The Consequences and Effects of the Thirty Years War. [Online]
Available at: http://www.articlemyriad.com/consequences-effects-thirty-years-war/

Spahn, M., 1912. The Thirty Years War. [Online]
Available at: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14648b.htm

www.history.com, 2017. Thirty Years’ War. [Online]
Available at: http://www.history.com/topics/thirty-years-war

 

Comments

Europe
It appears that this use of Hebrew religion to encourage genocide and the killing of innocents, has it's beginnings in the overthrow of Black rule in Europe and the substitution of the Albino created "Protest" religions (Protestantism) in Europe.
In the 1500s Martin Luther and other Albinos had rebelled against the Black Catholic Church, then under the protection of the "Black Holy Roman Empire" headquartered in Germany. The Reformation as the Albinos called it: specifically referred to as the Protestant Reformation, was a schism in Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther and continued by John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and other early Protestant Reformers in 16th-century Europe.
It is usually considered to have started with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses by Luther in 1517 and lasted until the end of the "Thirty Years" War with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.
It was this war, where all the Albinos across Europe, ganged-up on the Black Holy Roman Empire, which killed-off millions of Black Europeans, and resulted in most of the survivors being shipped to the Americas as slaves or Indentures. This caused the fall of Black rule in Europe, and the usurping and rewriting of Black religion.
The Thirty Years’ War from 1618 to 1648 produced an amazing amount of casualties. It raged between Protestants and Catholics swirling around the Holy Roman Empire or Western Rome. Eventually major powers entered the war, Spain, Sweden, Dutch forces, Germany, Saxony, Bavaria, and France all poured resources and soldiers into this war.
It was one of the most complex wars ever fought and it resulted at the low estimate in about 8 million deaths. The overall reduction of (Black) population in the German states was typically 25% to 40%. Some regions were affected much more than others. For example, Württemberg lost three-quarters of its population during the war. In the territory of Brandenburg, the losses had amounted to half, while in some areas, an estimated two-thirds of the population died.
***
It seems you are getting your info from the "official" sources, and we know their agenda do we not?
Real truth is there hidden in plain sight, because people are too lazy to search, but just take from other's opinions, when the facts have been written about, even though these facts are usually ignored by the "official" media.

Religion poisons everything.

William Bradshaw's picture

The Thirty Years War, like many others, was actually a gender war. The Protestants were and are patriarchal while the Catholics are matriarchal. This has been going on for thousands of years with the Satan versus Luciferian battle for control of our planet. Find out the truth in my book, Secrets of the Pink Kush, where the lies embedded within history, religion and biology are revealed. The tetraploid humans are the ones ultimately responsible for these gender wars as the Old World Order battles the New World Order.

 

William H. Bradhaw, Dipl. T, CPIM
http://SecretsPinkKush.ZapperSoftware.com

dhwty's picture

Wu

Wu Mingren (‘Dhwty’) has a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient History and Archaeology. Although his primary interest is in the ancient civilizations of the Near East, he is also interested in other geographical regions, as well as other time periods.... Read More

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