Wedgwood, C.V. The Thirty Years War. London: Lowe & Brydone Ltd, 1938. Print. It is difficult to determine when the Thirty Years War really began. Ultimately, a culmination of events led to the tension between the countries of the Ottoman Empire. Prior to the war’s beginning on May 23, 1618, Europe was in a state of religious, political, and imperial turmoil. The Lutherans, Catholics, and Calvinists were all competing for religious dominance. Political leaders tried to advocate for their religions in the elections. There was much controversy regarding the new kings of Bohemia and political stress between the Bourbons and the Hapsburgs. War was …show more content…
Although Wedgwood mentions the incident, she doesn’t emphasize it being a huge turning point with regard to the conflicts in Germany. “The extraordinary chance which had saved three lives was a holy miracle or a comic accident according to the religion of the beholder, but it had no political significance (Wedgwood p. 79).” The “Denfenstration of Prague” is the initial event that instigated the tension because it was a rebellion. People became angry and fought for what they thought was right. Frederick and Ferdinand began to raise their own armies by asking for help from other European countries. Ferdinand received assistance from Maximilian of Bavaria. In Western Civilizaton, it also mentions him getting help from Spain. He ensured this help by promising Frederick’s lands to them. Wedgwood explains that this could be considered unconstitutional according to the Peace of Augsburg. Ferdinand signed this document declaring that “German liberties” would be observed in 1555. This means that each country can have its own religion if it’s Catholic or Lutheran and that they are the Electors for the empire. If the German princes do not consent to the impeachment of Frederick as Bohemian king, then giving the land away is stealing. Frederick asked England for support, especially since he was married to the English King’s daughter Elizabeth. Unfortunately, the king had declined any
Gen. John J. Pershing , a veteran of the Spanish-American War, commanded the AEF. The U.S. was far from prepared to send an army to the European front
McDonough, James L. War In Kentucky: From Shiloh to Perryville. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1994
In everyday society cruelty is faced, weather yet another person is arrested for the killing of and innocent animal, or even the seemingly never ending brutality of the police forces going viral on YouTube yet again. Of course we have the do not touch subjects, such as war. The constant debate over is killing innocent people okay, just because it’s war. Jack London really brings this point alive in his short story “War”. In this thought-provoking piece of literature the odd uses of characterization, symbolism, morals, and irony lead a reader to an overall statement of theme that simply war is cruel.
Many people say that the metal of a man is found in his ability to keep his ideals in spite of anything that life can through at you. If a man is found to have done these things he can be called a hero. Through a lifelong need to accept responsibility for all living things, Robert Ross defines his heroism by keeping faith with his ideals despite the betrayal, despair and tragedy he suffers throughout the course of The Wars by Timothy Findley.
The Thirty Years Wars began in 1618 in central Europe but most battles were fought within Germany. It was divided up into four phases, the Bohemian Phase, Danish Phase, Swedish Phase, and the French Phase. These phases are mostly defined by the primary military support that is being supplied from an individual country. The Thirty Years War began with Ferdinand II of Bohemia, a catholic, arranging to become the Holy Roman Emperor. Nobles met and agreed that they did not want Ferdinand II to become the Holy
The English Civil War was a complicated, intellectual war between the two most powerful forces in England: Parliament and the King. Conflicts between the two powers began when King Charles I dissolved Parliament in 1625 because they would not give him the money he demanded to fund his war against Spain. Parliament, who was lead by John Pym, felt that the King was showing favouritism towards the Roman Catholics, especially since Charles had recently married the Roman Catholic French Princess. Although Charles recalled Parliament in 1626, he proceeded to dissolve the second Parliament mainly because it attempted to impeach him. John Pym, who had been prevented from being elected to the second Parliament, was
Before the war, the Holy Roman Empire already began to have its struggles. In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg was recognized. It stated that the individual prince of the Holy Roman Empire could determine the religion of his subjects. The Peace of Augsburg was unraveling as some converted bishops had not
Bao Ninh’s The Sorrow of War is a novel that is a personal view of the Vietnam War from the perspective of a Vietnamese soldier. Like the American novel “The things they carried”, this novel brings about the effects of war on people, and especially how it defeats the human capacity for things such as love and hope. Bao Ninh offers this realistic picture of the Vietnam War’s impact on the individual Vietnamese soldier through use of a series of reminiscences or flashbacks, jumping backwards and forwards in time between the events most salient in memory, events which take on a different theme each time they are examined. His main protagonist Kien, who is basically Bao himself, looks back not just at his ten years at
Joseph Conrad once observed that “a belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” As a result of the violence that is necessary during wartime, soldiers are permitted to engage in savage behavior that is normally forbidden in society. In The Wars by Timothy Findley, however, soldiers act in violent ways even when they are not actively engaged in battle. The inherently savage nature of humankind is evident when Robert Ross kills the German soldier after the gas attack, when Robert is raped in the baths, and when Robert kills Captain Leather. These violent events that occur outside the direct action of the war demonstrate the evil inherent in
With the help of alliances “William the Silent” made with France, Germany, and England, the Netherlands was divided up with Calvinism practiced in the north and Catholicism in the Spanish controlled South (432–433). Between 1618 and 1648, Cardinal Richelieu led the Thirty Years’ War against the Huguenots, with France against Austrian and Spain and with Germany getting the brunt of the casualties (434–437). An example of the viciousness of the attacks were described by author Hans Jakob Christoph von Grimmelshausen in his fictional memoir Siplicissimus (the Simpleton), where he illustrated how ‘each had his own device to torture the peasants, and each peasant had several tortures’ (435). This ended with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which left France in a powerful position in Europe, Germany and Austria losing not only in casualties but in the power structure of Europe, and Europe as a ‘checkerboard of Protestant and Catholic principalities’ (437).
Frederick’s justification for taking the Kingship is that he was trying to restore peace and protect the Protestants in Bohemia. He claims that the Protestants were being victimized and that if he did not assume control in Bohemia then the blame for any more lives lost in the conflict could be placed on him. He explains why him taking control should not be seen as a power grab in the following quote:
Poets frequently utilize vivid images to further depict the overall meaning of their works. The imagery in “& the War Was in Its Infancy Then,” by Maurice Emerson Decaul, conveys mental images in the reader’s mind that shows the physical damage of war with the addition of the emotional effect it has on a person. The reader can conclude the speaker is a soldier because the poem is written from a soldier’s point of view, someone who had to have been a first hand witness. The poem is about a man who is emotionally damaged due to war and has had to learn to cope with his surroundings. By use of imagery the reader gets a deeper sense of how the man felt during the war. Through the use of imagery, tone, and deeper meaning, Decaul shows us the
The thirty years war was yet another example of religious strife in Europe. Rudolf II the ruler of Bohemia tolerated Protestants in his country, but his successor Ferdinand II did not and pushed the work of the counter reformation. The Bohemians rebelled, and Ferdinand exiled and executed them. They were told to register and sell their property and leave within fourteen days to "prevent further trouble and embarrassment." (Dietrich). When the truce between Spain and the Dutch ended, fighting in Germany and the Netherlands resumed. Ferdinand then issued the Edict of Nantes (which he would later suspend due to opposition by nobles), which gave Catholics back all their land that the Protestants had taken. France then entered the war, seizing the opportunity to attack their opposing Catholic power, the Hapsburgs. They also attacked Ferdinand. One third of Germany's total population was killed, but this was not the
The infant Frederick II was overlooked as the new emperor, due to his age, leading to the election of two rival claimants, Henry’s brother Philip of Swabia, and Otto of Brunswick. Philip’s murder in 1208, lead Otto to victory. Yet, the Pope, Innocent III, feared Otto’s claims on the Kingdom of Sicily, fearing that the absorption of the kingdom into the empire would surround the papal state and add greatly to Otto’s power. Thus, Innocent backed Frederick II, who eventually defeated Otto. Frederick reneged on his promise to maintain the independence of Sicily, appointing his son Henry as a puppet king. Despite Frederick’s power, his reign marked a turning point towards the disintegration of central rule in the Empire. His tendency to focus on
This short story takes place in Montreal in a Jewish family. It begins during WW2 and continues 5-10 years. It appears to be a small and mainly poor working class community. Benny’s family seems to be wanting more from life, especially his father, who always compares his son to the other sons in the community.