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The Aftermath of the Thirty Years War in Europe, An Outline

Decent Essays

1. In 1648, Europe hailed the end of the terribly destructive Thirty Years War, which had taken the lives of more than half the inhabitants of some areas.
2. The enormity of destruction and pillage was staggering; farmland which had lain untilled in the midst of war threatened survivors with famine.
a. Within the dire conditions left by the conflict, princes hurried to find settlers to cultivate their war-ravaged acres; the situation was so desperate that many even considered taking on outcast Anabaptist tenants.
b. By 1653, persecuted Swiss Brethren began to move into the wasted lands, known as the palatinate
c. Eleven years later, one of Palatinate’s dukes issued a special offer of toleration to the Swiss Brethren (he called them “Mennists”, correctly associating them with their fellow Mennonites in the north).
The Mennonites would receive religious freedom for themselves, the duke promised, but they could not proselytize, meet in large groups, or construct church buildings.
d. Despite these restrictions and heavier taxes, some Mennonites saw the offer as better than the harassment and threat of deportation they faced in Switzerland.

Anabaptist Survival
1. Anabaptist survival into the mid-1600s had not been easy, and opposition had surfaced from many quarters.
2. Still these often scattered and marginalized members of society had sought to be a church composed of committed disciples of Christ who had experienced God’s salvation and were living witnesses to

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