Chapter 3 part I French Wars of Religion (1560s 1590s) Calvinism was appealing to a significant minority of Frenchmen. The bourgeoisie in certain regions became Huguenot because it was a more cerebral faith, it emphasized hard work and education, and it offered congregational control of the church. Some very important noble families became Huguenot as well, in part because they saw the Reformation as an opportunity to make France more decentralized (as in the Holy Roman Empire, where the Reformation had allowed lords to increase their power at the expense of the Emperor and of the Catholic Church). The Reformation in France led to a bitter and bloody conflict, where compromise was difficult because each side held mutually irreconcilable views. The majority of Frenchmen, and the monarchy, remained Catholic. Francis I (r. 1515 1547) and his son Henry II (r. 1547 1559) both persecuted the earliest French Protestants. After Henry II died, his widow Catherine de Medici was either regent or the power behind the throne during the reigns of her three sons. The wars of religion began during this time. The most important Catholic noble family was the house of Guise, and the most important Huguenot noble family was the house of Bourbon. They would each lead a side during the wars of religion. 1
2
Catherine pivoted during the wars, supporting one side, and then the othe She opposed whichever side was too powerful. As the fortunes of battle changed, she would switch sides. In 1572 Catherine, as part of an alliance with the Bourbons, married her daughter Margot to Henry, King of Navarre, head of the Bourbon family. Sh then betrayed the Huguenots immediately after the wedding with the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Thousands of Protestants were murdered across France. This episode taught the Protestants that they were in a struggle for survival and could not compromise. The war continued, accompanied by frequent atrocities and foreign intervention. Spain invaded in support of the Catholics, while England offere sporadic support to the Huguenots. In 1589 Henry III was assassinated by a fanatical monk as a result. His heir was his distant cousin and brother in la Henry of Navarre, who became Henry IV, the first Bourbon king of France. France, one of the pillars of European Catholicism, now had a Huguenot king. Henry IV was a politique, meaning he was willing to compromise in ord to keep his throne and restore peace. He could not rule a Catholic kingdom without being Catholic, so he converted. "Paris is well worth a mass." Franc was exhausted from warfare, and he was personally popular. Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598, ending the wars of religion. Huguenots were granted freedom of religion and equal rights. They were allowed to continue fortifying their towns and maintain their own army. 3
Henry IV (r. 1589 1610) began the process of centralizing state power in the monarchy with the help of his chief minister the Duke of Sully. In France Parlements were not lawmaking bodies but rather courts. There were Parlements in Paris and in most of the provinces. They were controlled by hereditary nobles. Laws had to be registered with the Parlements in order for them to take effect. In order to centralize power the king had to dominate the Parlements. Henry IV and Sully took an active role in stimulating the economy and centralizing power. They established royal monopolies in gunpowder, salt, and mining. A canal was built connecting the Atlantic with the Mediterranean. They imposed a labor tax known as the corvee, which required people to work for the state for certain periods of time. Henry IV was assassinated in 1610, and he was succeeded by his 9 year old son, Louis XIII. The regent was the king's mother, Marie de Medici. She appointed a new chief minister, the Cardinal de Richelieu (1585 1642). He remained in control of France for the rest of his life. His policies aimed to centralize power and strengthen France. He appointed intendants as provincial governors. The intendants answered to the king and reduced the power of the Parlements. Richelieu had defiant nobles arrested and even executed. 4
5
Huguenots lost their right to have their own army and their own courts. Richelieu believed a single Catholic faith helped centralize power. Only France's alliance with Protestant Sweden, kept him from denying all freedom to the Huguenots. During the Thirty Years' War Richelieu supported the Protestants against France's Hapsburg enemies (Spain and Austria). Richelieu was willing to do anything, even support the enemies of his Church, in order to advance French power. This policy of doing anything to preserve and advance the power of the state is known as raison d'etat. 6
Philip II, King of Spain (r. 1556 1598), son of Charles V, inherited Spain, the Low Countries, and parts of Italy from his father. Austria and the imperial title went to Charles V's brother, creating two Hapsburg branches. Philip II built a monastery, El Escorial, outside of Madrid, as his residence. He lived like a monk and governed his global empire from his desk in his austere cell. It was also built as a burial place for all of the Kings of Spain. Philip saw himself as the champion of Catholicism, and he wanted to eliminate Protestantism by force. During his reign, Spain was the greatest power in Europe and an enormous influx of American gold and silver paid for his wars. In 1571 Spain, Venice, and the Papal States defeated the Ottoman Empire in major naval battle at Lepanto. Philip II also conquered Portugal in 1580 after claiming its throne and therefore ruled all of its empire as well. 7
8
APEH Chapter 3 part I.notebook 9
Dutch War of Independence (1560s 1580s) The Netherlands was a collection of self governing provinces nominally under the sovereignty of Philip II as part of his Burgundian inheritance. These provinces had become the wealthiest and most urbanized part of Europe and were leaders in trade and manufacturing. The northern provinces embraced Calvinism. Philip II decided to centralize control over the Low Countries and tax them directly. He also wanted to eradicate the Calvinist heresy. The Dutch rebelled. Dutch "pirates" attacked Spanish treasure fleets and colonial ports. Protestant England helped the Dutch rebels. The Spanish army under the Duke of Alba carried out harsh reprisals. Civilians were massacred, the Inquisition was introduced, and high taxation was imposed The "Spanish Fury" of 1576 was the worst episode of the war, when Spanish troops massacred 7,000 Calvinists in Antwerp. The Dutch leader was William "the Silent," Prince of Orange (1533 1584). He was elected governor (stadholder) by the Dutch provinces and became a Calvinist after the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. As with France, Calvinism became a vehicle and justification for resistance to centralized authority. The southern Catholic provinces joined the northern rebellion in respons to the Spanish Fury. Eventually, the southern provinces made peace with Spain, as they feared Calvinism even more. 10
11
The northern provinces responded with the Union of Utrecht, which continued the rebellion. Spain was overextended by the 1580s, having taken on Protestant England and the Huguenots in France as well. The Dutch managed to secure their independence in 1581 as the United Provinces of the Netherlands, although Spain would not recognize it until 1648. Spain remained in control of the southern provinces, known as the Spanish Netherlands. Philip II failed in his goal of achieving religious uniformity and political centralization in his domains. 12
13
14
Mary I (r. 1553 1558), Queen of England, succeeded her half brother. As the daughter of Catherine of Aragon, she was raised Catholic, and upon her accession she made England Catholic again. She persecuted any Protestants who resisted. She married Philip II, King of Spain, the greatest enemy of the Reformation in Europe. This marriage aroused much opposition in England, for both religious and political reasons. Many in England feared they would fall under Spanish domination. The reign of Elizabeth I (r. 1558 1603) was a high point of power and culture in English history. She was a "politique," as she was willing to make compromises in order to achieve a peaceful religious settlement. She never married, as she never wanted to diminish her power or status as reigning Queen. She was known as the Virgin Queen. Elizabeth I was a Protestant, and she restored the Church of England and banned Catholic worship. Her religious settlement was a compromise, for the Church of England combined Catholic rituals, churches with images and music, and a hierarchy of priests and bishops with Protestant doctrine about salvation and the monarch as supreme governor. The idea was to satisfy as many people as possible by straddling the divide between Catholics and Protestants. It satisfied most English people, and England remained at peace. 15
Catholics were unsatisfied, but they were associated with foreign powers, and it seemed they would subject England to papal and Spanish domination. Puritans were also unhappy with the arrangement. They were known as Puritans because they wanted to purify the Church of England of its "papist" hierarchy, vestments, images, and rituals. Elizabeth I did not actively persecute either group, but she also did not tolerate any opposition to her rule or policies. Foreign Policy Elizabeth I pursued an anti Spanish policy. She helped the Dutch rebels and Henry of Navarre during the French wars of religion. Mary, Queen of Scots, was Catholic and Elizabeth's heir. Scotland had become Calvinist during her childhood because of John Knox. Catholic worship was banned by the Scottish Parliament but the Queen still attended mass in her palace. She respected Presbyterian worship, but Knox continually denounced her. After marrying Lord Darnley and having a son, she was believed to have had an affair with Lord Bothwell. Bothwell soon murdered Darnley. The resulting scandal led to an uprising. Mary was deposed and fled to England in 1567. Her son became King James VI while still a baby. He was raised as a Protestant. 16
Elizabeth detained Mary in a castle for about 20 years. Mary was involved in a Spanish plot to invade England and install her on the throne. For Philip II, Mary as heir was the perfect instrument to bring England back to Catholicism and overthrow his nemesis Elizabeth I. Upon discovering the plot, Elizabeth felt she had no choice but to order Mary's execution. Mary was beheaded in 1587. Philip II, outraged by Mary's execution, sent the Armada to invade England in 1588. The Armada failed because a major storm (the "Protestant wind") sank or scattered it, and surviving ships were defeated by the English and Dutch. It was one of England's greatest victories against a foreign foe. Spain would be bankrupt by the end of Philip II's reign. 17
Thirty Years' War 1618 1648 Causes: 1) Calvinists had no legal recognition in the Holy Roman Empire under the Peace of Augsburg. The Palatinate had become Calvinist, however, and was aggressively promoting its faith, even in Lutheran areas. 2) The Peace of Augsburg had not ended the friction between Catholics and Lutherans. Jesuits had had some success in bringing some areas back to Catholicism. Other areas had switched to Lutheranism after the Peace was signed, and the Catholic Church refused to recognize the loss of its properties in those areas. Bohemian Period (1618 1625) Czech Calvinist nobles deposed their Catholic king, Ferdinand II (also the Hapsburg ruler of Austria) in favor of the Calvinist Elector Palatine. Ferdinand's ambassadors met with the nobles in Prague Castle, but the nobles threw them out of a window. The Defenestration of Prague was the trigger for the war. The Catholic League, led by Austria, Bavaria, and Spain, defeated the Bohemians, subduing both Bohemia and the Palatinate. Danish Period (1625 1629) Lutheran Denmark intervened on the Protestant side to prevent a Catholic victory, but the Danes failed. Austria passed the Edict of Restitution, which banned Calvinism and demanded the return of Catholic properties. 18
Swedish Period (1629 1635) King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden, a military genius, intervened on the Protestant side. He was supported financially by France, which did not want Austria and Spain to win and become too powerful. France pursued its national interest rather than champion the cause of its fellow Catholics. Swedish French period (1635 1648) After Gustavus Adolphus died in battle, France intervened directly. France and Sweden continued fighting Spain and Austria. These great powers were indifferent to the devastation they caused in Germany. This foreign intervention prolonged the war, as th smaller German states were unable to prevent it. The war ended once the great powers exhausted themselves. It would b the last religious war between European states. Peace of Westphalia (1648) 1) European states agreed to respect each other's sovereignty. They would no longer interfere in each other's internal affairs, and political identity and loyalty to the state would take precedence over religious allegiance. 2) Spain recognized the independence of the United Provinces of the Netherlands 3) Switzerland was recognized as independent 4) Calvinism received legal recognition in the Empire 5) Cuius regio, eius religio was reaffirmed 6) Sweden obtained some German territory. Germany's division into over 300 states would continue, as the treaty affirmed their sovereignty. Two powers were greatly strengthened by the war, Brandenburg Prussia and France. France continued fighting Spain until Spain's defeat in 1659. France became the leading military power in Europe, and Spain would never again be a great power. 19
20