Thirty Years War Research Paper

The Thirty Years War was a series of conflicts in Europe from 1618-1648. The conflicts were fought mostly in Germany. A Protestant revolt against the Roman Empire began the war, it eventually involved most of Europe. In its final years, religion divided power between Austria and Spain on one side and France on the other. The war proved that neither Catholics nor Protestants were powerful enough to take over Europe. Freedom of worship became limited in all countries; however, it was tolerated in Germany. “The Thirty year War radically altered the balance of political power among the countries of Europe.”(Asch) The Roman Empire lost control in Germany. France became the dominant nation and Sweden gained influence as well. Spain’s power decreased and Holland and Switzerland became independent. Germany divided into states and laid out the framework for independent countries. Some communities where religious armies had made camp and lost lives had become permanently deserted. The Thirty Years War was the end result of a long struggle between Catholics and …show more content…
The Thirty Years War began as a religious conflict but escalated into a power struggle in the Holy Roman Empire. It was the last of the great religious wars in Europe. A lesson of toleration was proven, unity was no longer possible. A similar lesson was learned in Germany. Unity was not reached and when the war ended, what once was a rich country became deserted. The end of The Thirty Years War brought incentive for nations to form alliances, but understand that they would never achieve lasting peace. The European power structure was altered, the last decade of the war made Spain weak. The war was devastating in all of Europe and had effects abroad too. Famine struck many regions and disease decreased the population. Many nations went bankrupt and lost power. Armies began looting to fund