Thirty Years War Causes And Effects

This paper will briefly highlight the causes and the resulting consequences of the disorder and violence that involved a large portion of Europe in the first half of the 17th century known as the Thirty Years’ War. Religious conflict was nothing new. However, developing new concepts like absolutism and the ‘nation state’ played key components in the causation and continuation of this sustained conflict. Changes in the science of warfare was also a contributing factor. In the end there was a new degree of religious tolerance and stronger secular, dynastic-nationalist considerations. Furthermore, the excessive taxation that was necessary to finance over 30 years of warfare created an atmosphere ready for new upheavals of class warfare now that religion and politics were separate. Ferdinand II embraced the concept of absolutism. With the absolutist notion that as king of Bohemia he …show more content…
Spain suffered from internal revolts and years of civil war. Danish military losses lead to a constitutional crisis. The people of France had heavy taxes levied. Parts of Germany were completely devastated. Even after the end of the Thirty Years’ War the new practice of having large standing armies was an expense that the lower classes would have to bare. In conclusion, the biggest cause of the Thirty Years’ War was one man, Ferdinand II. As King of Bohemia and again as Holy Roman Emperor he took actions of a personal nature from his Jesuit education that violated the sovereignty and religious freedom of his subjects by claiming it was his god given right and that he had to answer to no man. This created a conflict on such a grand scale that it forced early 17th century Europe to look beyond religious differences and find secular, dynastic-nationalist considerations that were more important. We also find medieval warfare was