Spain and the Thirty years' War

 Spain and the Thirty Years' War 

When Phillip IV come to the Spanish Throne in 1629, he was of the opinion that in view of their recent success in the Palatinate, the trend was favourable and he accordingly renewed the Dutch war. Both England and France supported Holland and the Dutch sent an expedition to Brazil. The French however conducted the campaign badly and the Dutch were driven out of Brazil and the English attack on Cadiz was repulsed in 1625 and in the same year the Spanish forces occupied the Dutch town of Breda after a long siege.

The combined effect of the success of Catholicism and that of the Spanish and Austrian Hapsburg was to create a grave alarm among the Protestant princes of Northern  Germany. At this juncture when the Protestant princes in Germany  were undecided and wavering between obedience and rebellion, Christian IV of the Denmark intervened and began the second phase of the Thirty years' war within Germany. Christian IV (1588-1648) was opposed to Hapsburg domination, and as a Lutheran wished to champion the cause of his fellow German co-religionists. In 1652, Christian invade Germany, supported financially by England and militarily by the troops of German princes both Calvinist and Lutheran.

Tilly alone would not have been able to withstand the Danish invasion but he was ably supported by an extra-ordinary adventurer Wallenstein who having already enriched himself out of the recently confiscated estate of the rebellious Czechs, now obtained the permission of Ferdinand II to raise an independent army of his own to restore order in the empire and to expel the Danes. By liberal promises of pay and plunder, Wallenstein raised an army of 50,000 men comprising of Italians, Swiss, Spanish, Germans, Poles, Englishmen and Scots. It was indeed a motley assemblage of mercenary soldiers who by their plundering activities became a constant source of reproach to Wallenstein.

At Luther 1626 king Christian IV was defeated overwhelming by the combined forces of Tilly and Wallenstein and the Lutheran states were left at the mercy of the Catholic League. Only the victors from capturing Denmark. King Christian IV was forced into the peace of Lubeck 1629 by which Denmark was left in possession of Jutland, Schleswig  and Holstein but deprived of the German bishoprics which various members of his family had seized from the Catholic church.

This was  followed by the signing of the Edict of Restoration 1629 under pressure from the Catholic League by Ferdinand II by which all property that had been secularized in violation of the peace of Augsburg of 1555 was restored to the church. This was enforced by Imperial Commissioners, all of whom were Roman Catholics and they did such a thorough job that within a period of three years, the Catholic church in Germany recovered five bishoprics, thirty Hanse Towns, a hundred monasteries and numerous parish churches. The enforcement of the edict of Restitution against all Protestants evoked protest from both Lutherans and the Calvinists. A favourable opportunity for intervention presented itself to the most important Lutheran state - Sweden. Emperor Ferdinand II under pressure from the Catholic League dismissed the plundering and ambitious Wallenstein from service. Gustavus Adolphus (1611- 1632) of Sweden turned his longing eyes to the Baltic coast of Northern Germany, at the very time that the edict of Restitution promised him certain assistance from the aggrieved allies in that quarter.

France comes to the Aid Sweden : It was at this time that Cardinal Richelieu the able Chief Minister of Louis XIII of France desiring some means of prolonging the conflict in Germany in order to enable his masters the Bourbons to derive some profit from the defeat and humiliation of the Hapsburgs of Austria and Spain decided to help Sweden. Richelieu entered into an alliance with Gustavus Adolphus and provided arms and money in return for granting the liberty of Catholic worship in the conquered districts. Gustavus Adolphus landed in Pomerania in 1630 and occupied the chief northern fortresses and started negotiations with the influential Protestant electors of Brandenburg and Saxony. While the negotiations were still going on at Potsdam, Tilly and the imperialists succeeded in capturing the Lutheran stronghold of Magdeburg (May 1631). It was followed by the massacre of the garrison as also the civilian population resulting in the death of about 20,000. This evoked a strong Lutheran reaction and the combined forces of Brandenburg, Saxony and other Protestant princes of Germany and Gustavus  Adolphus inflicted a defeat on Tilly at Breitenfurt near Leipzig. Gustavus now turned Southwards moving towards the Rhine valley with the intension of forming a union with the Calvinist princes. Cardinal Richelieu the ally of Gustavus Adolphus protested and this prevented the immensely rich bishoprics of Cologne, Trier and Mainz from passing into Swedish control. Next Gustavus turned to Bavaria. Tilly failed to check the invasion and lost his life in the battle of Lech (April 1632). The Swedish king now planned to fight the Austrian Hapsburgs. Fearing the worst, Ferdinand II out of sheer desperation invited Wallenstein and gave him full authority over his private army. The Austrian emperor also at the same time concluded a military alliance with Spain.

The contest between the two generals - Gustavus Adolphus and Wallenstein ended in tragedy. Wallenstein was defeated on the battlefield of Lutzen and Gustavus was killed. the Swedes now without their brave general and king continued the struggle. Wallenstein was murdered in February 1634. The death of Gustavus and Wallenstein, the economic suffering and above all the desire of the people to rid the country of foreign soldiers and influence helped in concluding the third part of the Thirty years' war or what may be termed the Swedish period of war and eventually in May 1635 a treaty was signed at Prague between the emperor and such princes who were willing to lay down their arms, whereby -   (1)  all the forces were to be directly under the control of the emperor (except the contingent under the special command of the Lutheran elector of Saxony; (2) all princely leagues within the Empire were to be dissolved; (3) mutual restoration of territory was to be made and (4) as for the religious lands it was agreed that lands actually held in 1627 whether acquired before or after the religious peace of Augsburg of 1555,  would continue to be held for forty years or until as acceptable solution was arrived at.