Thirty Years' War
Defenestration's continental aftermath
The Thirty Years' War was a devastating conflict fought primarily in Central Europe from 1618 to 1648, beginning as a religious struggle between Protestant and Catholic states within the Holy Roman Empire and evolving into a broader European power struggle.
It remains one of the deadliest conflicts in European history, with some regions losing a third or more of their population to warfare, famine, and disease.
The Peace of Westphalia that ended it established principles of state sovereignty that shaped modern international relations.
Post-schism Western Christian
- CatholicPapal church adherent
- ReformationReligious movement splitting Christianity
- Counter-ReformationChurch's internal reform movement
- CalvinismPredestinarian Protestant theology
Lutheranism · Jesuits · religious tolerance · sectarian · heresy · ecclesiastical · papacy · religious persecution
Encirclement forcing surrender
- cavalryMounted military force
- infantryGround combat troops
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- mercenarySoldier fighting for pay
fortification · battlefield · plunder · skirmish · dragoons · garrison · musketeers · scorched earth
1648 sovereignty-establishing treaties
- Holy Roman EmpireMedieval Germanic political entity
- HabsburgsAustrian imperial dynasty
- TillyFeminine proper name
- BaroqueOrnate artistic period
Severe food shortage
- plagueDeadly epidemic disease
- depopulationLoss of inhabitants
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
- atrocitiesExtremely cruel acts
civilian casualties · destruction · epidemic · starvation · war crimes · displacement · economic collapse
Protestant
Post-schism Western Christian
- CatholicPapal church adherent
- ReformationReligious movement splitting Christianity
- Counter-ReformationChurch's internal reform movement
Calvinism · Lutheranism · Jesuits · religious tolerance · sectarian · heresy · ecclesiastical · papacy · religious persecution · church lands
siege
Encirclement forcing surrender
mercenary · fortification · battlefield · plunder · skirmish · dragoons · garrison · musketeers · scorched earth · looting
Peace of Westphalia
1648 sovereignty-establishing treaties
- Holy Roman EmpireMedieval Germanic political entity
- HabsburgsAustrian imperial dynasty
- TillyFeminine proper name
famine
Severe food shortage
- plagueDeadly epidemic disease
- depopulationLoss of inhabitants
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
atrocities · civilian casualties · destruction · epidemic · starvation · war crimes · displacement · economic collapse
- Thirty Years' WarPeace of Westphalia, Bohemia, Prague, Sweden, Richelieu
Thirty Years' WarSix-Day War
Week-minus-one combat, 1967
Falklands War · limited engagement · Gulf War · lightning war · blitzkrieg
Thirty Years' WarPeace of Westphalia
1648 sovereignty-establishing treaties
Pax Romana · peacetime · armistice · Concert of Europe · détente
Thirty Years' Warreligious tolerance
Acceptance of differing faiths