Show fi The Thirty Years' Years War f THINK not J am come to send peace on earth I come not to send peace but a sword And jAnd a mans man's foes shall be his own household He that his life shall lose it and he that loseth his life for my sake shall shaH find it Matt c 34 36 39 As the Great Teacher instructed His disciples He knew human character and saw that the time would come when His teachings would not be understood by men who because of them would contend contend contend con con- tend and slay each other Seeing too that religion penetrated all affairs of life He knew it would cause trouble in nations in parts of nations in communities ties and in families Man never gave his life better than to establish the truths Luther taught though life was truly lost to morality if it survived ed the terrible terrible terrible ter ter- religious conflict of the seventeenth cen century tury For many centuries Germany suffered from the want of a centralized government government government govern govern- ment and other national institutions The greatest harm was from the heartrending heartrending heartrending heart heart- rending Thirty Years' Years War Never has any calamity of Christian nations been its equal Soon after Luther died the Catholics and Protestants of Germany had some trouble which was supposedly settled by bythe bythe bythe the Treaty of Augsburg in 1555 The wording of this treaty was not definite enough to compel either side to live up to its requirements As there was no central government in Germany to enforce enforce enforce en en- force or interpret the document each of the ruling princes of the German states undertook to to put his own interpretation upon it One of the most talented of these rulers was the the Calvinist Prince Christian Christian Christian Christ Christ- ian of Anhalt who reigned early in the sixteen hundreds Christian was was' skilled in diplomacy fond of war ambitious of power petulant in foreign policy and a bitter hater of Catholics His disposition tion did much to cause the war as on the other hand did the Catholic Maxi Maxi- i milian Duke of Bavaria Bavaria an an ardent re- re re re- While the two leagues that had existed existed existed ex ex- isted among the German states for nearly a hundred years were thus snarling at atone atone atone one another over the division of church lands the house of Austria overthrew the elective monarchy in Bohemia and followed by oppressing the Bohemian Protestants Representatives from the Protestant estates met and protested The ruler insultingly replied The assembly is illegal so on May 3rd 1618 a band of inflamed Protestants Protestants went to the royal castle and threw two of the regents out of a window to the ground seventy feet below Thus began the Thirty years' years War Bad was that beginning The greatest and best results never come from such hasty actions It was the moderate beginning of Luther when he advised his congregation not to buy that led to the Reformation It was the many little rights gained one oneat oneat oneat at a time that has made England a free country so when a person thinks to gain rights by a rash act it often proves detrimental to him The man many rash acts of Protestants and Catholics led to much trouble that would have been avoided by a central governments government's having having hav hav- ing had had the power of control over some of the rash German princes for on one hand were the Protestant rulers stern and revengeful revengeful revengeful-on on the other were the Catholics fanned till ready to flame by ardent Jesuits Hardly had the war war Broken out when to the sacrifice of the common cause the Lutheran and Cal- Cal vanist princes began quarreling Then they were quickly defeated by Catholic unity All seemed lost to the Protestants Protestants Protestants Protest Protest- ants as this the Bohemian period of of the end and Protestants Protestants Protestants Protes Protes- war came to an many tants were made homeless by the merciless merciless merciless mer mer- ciless Catholic warriors The second period of the war began when in iri 1625 reckless Christian IV with ith thirty thousand Danish soldiers rs came to fo the fatherland as opponent to to the triumphant Catholics Tilly and Wallenstein The spring sprin of 1626 saw the antagonists meet but three years made mage neither conqueror and 1629 saw Christian retire from the war on to him a favorable treaty Two famous Protestants Protestants Protestants Pro Pro- Christian of Anhalt and Count Mansfield now died leaving no leader for the followers of Luther and Calvin One soon appeared in Gustavus Adolphus Adolphus Adol- Adol king of Sweden who espoused the Protestant cause in 1630 Little fearing the approaching Swede the emperor at the same time removed Wallenstein from his command Napoleon Napoleon Napoleon Na Na- has said II Gustavus Adolphus was the greatest commander the world ever produced and the found out his greatness and Wallenstein was restored to his place Let us look at these men Wallenstein tall sandy and of terrible gaze was of middle age w Gustavus of a complexion and build that characterizes the Swedes has turned grey The German is working f for r power aggrandizement and wealth the Swede for his country and religion This Catholic cares not for his sovereign sovereign sovereign eign his country his religion nor his pope this Protestant what Protestant what a shame others of that faith were the opposite opposite- loves only his God It has been said II He He Gustavus was the only just conqueror conqueror conqueror con con- that ever lived II It seems as though only one just man ever took command during the whole thirty years All Europe looks on now and wonders what the result will be but the answer comes II Lutzen Lutzell is fought and the Swedes have won but Gustavus has fallen Wallenstein has fought his last battle for the emperor distrusts him and the assassin is on his track night and the commanders commander's bath is over He starts to bed but the murderers break into his castle He stops at the noise The villains stab him and fly to the emperor who protects and rewards them Such actions were common in those times Led by and helped by Richelieu the soldiers of Gustavus still carry carryon on the war The Swedes now fight to plunder Richelieu helps that he may humble the s and arid make France first in Europe Several years pass but the greedy strife goes goeson on the on-the the Bourbons contend for glory the for existence In 1635 Germany Germany Ger Ger- many gained peace yet Bourbon had hadnot hadnot hadnot not demolished Hapsburg so other countries become the battlefield Eight years of this manner of strife went on but ended when Richelieu died in 1643 Hapsburg was humbled Five years of negotiations followed and Europe was happy when then the Peace of Westphalia ended the war in 1648 Now l let t the thread of the narrative be broken that we may view a few incidents illustrating the character ot of the war war war- its unfaith and cruelty I will take first those connected with and forming the siege of Magdeburg its subsequent capture capture capture cap cap- ture and s sack ck When Gustavus first landed his troops in Germany the Protestant Protestant Protestant Pro Pro- princes had no no confidence in each other so that the war w was was s an unopposed victory for the Imperialists who were b besieging the city of Magdeburg To relieve the city Gustavus needed to march across Saxony which he asked permission to do The Protestant elector elector elector elec elec- tor to his disgrace refused to allow it thus leaving lea the city without help Soon the city unconditionally surrendered being being being be be- ing then given up to sack and pillage Of what followed the German historian Schiller says II Here commenced a scene for which history has no language poetry no pencil Neither innocent childhood nor helpless old age neither youth sex rank nor beauty could disarm disarm disarm dis dis- arm the fury of the conqueror The Croats amused themselves with throwing children into the flames Pop- Pop Walloons with stabbing infants infants infants in in- at the mothers mother's breast Some officers officers officers cers of the League struck horror-struck at the dreadful scene ventured to remind Tilly that he had it in his power to stop the carnage Return in an hour was his answer and land I will see what I can do the soldier must have some reward for his danger and toil II But ere the pillage ceased the city was on fire A few hours longer and no city remained II Never since Jerusalem was taken has there been such a victory for Christ is the comment of a contemporaneous writer You Yon remember too how Richelieu Richelieu Richelieu Riche Riche- lieu had crushed the Protestants of France but blat how for selfish motives he readily aided them in Germany Once after a complete Protestant victory he sent a message to Gustavus saying What share am I Ito to have in Germany but the just old Swede replied Not one slice The terms of the peace of Westphalia have shaped the entire religious and principal political history of modern Europe Being the most important I will first mention those referring to religion In word though not in spirit there was no religious freedom for any prince might on three years notice banish members of any other church than the theone theone theone one he established Yet the spirit of the treaty was such that none were ever banished Thus through one of the most i immoral moral unprincipled wars that ever was came the greatest boon that Europe ever received for now Catholicism Catholicism cism found that it had no more rights than any other ism The Protestants were taught that they would receive persecution for persecution while all Europe was shown the terrible effects of religious intolerance We should now know it better than they and not forget that every belief is sacred to its adherents The other part of t this is treaty left Switzerland and the Netherlands free Who can estimate the value of that freedom for it furnished the spirit of Americanism What nations advance in liberty without Dutch and Swiss ideas None Sweden received considerable land landin landin landin in the north of Germany which afterward afterward afterward after after- ward made the Swedes a maritime nation of importance The Great Elector Frederick William had taken a prominent part during the latter part of the war so by skilled diplomacy he here made the first addition addition addi addi- tion addi tion to Brandenburg This then was the first acquisition made mad by what afterwards afterwards afterwards after after- wards gathered all Germany into one united country This growing power was aided by the treaty's diminishing the power of the German emperor which gave the more capable House of the ruling hou house e of Prussia and Brandenburg a chance to show its capacity for forming an empire Yet these good effects must Just not hide the bad for Germany had a population of thirty millions when the war began but only twelve millions when it ended Immorality and vice flourished every every- where During the war an army of twelve thousand were for months followed by bya a crowd of dishonest immoral men and women Poetry art and literature were stifled so that despite the solid German character civilization of the fatherland never recovered until the present century This was was' the last of the many events teaching Christendom to put an end to religious wars for men learned the dearly taught lesson that other men would think That brute force could never stop their thinking That religion religion religion ion is the thought and not the ceremony Hereafter civil not religious strife was to drench the world with blood Christ was right He had not brought immediate immediate immediate imme imme- diate peace but an immediate sword He will bring final peace when men do doas doas doas as H He taught them to do |