Thirty Year's War Research Paper

While the Thirty Years War ultimately began in 1618, this was not the beginning of religious tension and conflict within Europe. In 1555 the Peace of Augsburg was signed stating “Cuius Regno, Eius Religio” meaning whoever is in ruling gets to dictate the religion of their territory. This became an issue when a Catholic leader began ruling over a primarily Protestant population. So if the Thirty Years War was simply a religious war, then why was so much of the political system affected by the conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants? In this essay, I hope to explore other factors that influenced the Thirty Years War.

The four stages of the Thirty Years' War, which was fought mostly in the Holy Roman Empire (modern Germany), involved nearly all of the major powers of Europe, and was a war that used religion as a cover-up for politics. The war caused the demise of the Holy Roman Empire, and the rise of France as the new power in Europe. During the war new technologies also were used. The Thirty Year's War was ended by the peace of Westphalia in 1648.

In the decades since World War II, there have been many attempts to glorify this generation through the media. Myth and the Greatest Generation: A Social History of Americans in World War II by Kenneth D. Rose, attempts to pare back the delusions of grandeur that often characterize histories of the World War II generation to show society as it was rather than how we have come to perceive it. Rose claims that often times when commentators focus on wars, they choose stories that are meant to make the population feel good as opposed to showing the realities. As a result, in retrospect wars seem to generate heightened patriotism and national unity (1). In this book, Rose hopes to give true honor to the Americans of this generation, not by glorifying their contributions, but by presenting a picture more in line with the historical record, hoping that in doing so his work will deliver a more accurate portrayal of “Americans at war” (3). Rose chooses not to rely heavily on secondary source material, but rather to highlight the first-hand accounts of individuals who experienced the war. He does so in order to give them proper credit but also to show that the so-called Greatest Generation was not without flaws, and was indeed an ordinary generation that lived through traumatic events that tested their character (7).

The veteran I selected to research for this paper is Carl D. Beck. He was born in Avondale, Missouri on November 21, 1925. Mr. Beck served in the US army during WWII and the Korean war, with the 501st parachute infantry regiment. It is unclear what his rank was at the time of his service, but by the end of his military career, Mr. Beck’s rank was master Sergeant.

Philip, Spanish kings. Philip I (the Handsome), 1478-1506, king of Castile (1506), was the son of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and Mary of Burgundy. He inherited Burgundy and the Low Countries from his mother and was titular joint ruler of Castile with his wife, Joanna. But her father ruled these lands as his regent, so he contested (1504) Ferdinand's regency and assumed (1506) joint rule of Castile with his wife. Philip's early death, however, and his wife's deteriorating mental condition allowed Ferdinand to resume joint control of Castile. The Low Countries passed to Philip's son, who later became Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Philip II, 1527-98, king of Spain (1556-98), king of Naples and Sicily (1554-98)

World War I was sparked by the assassination of Archduke of Austria Hungary, Franz Ferdinand. Gavrilo Princip, A member of the terroristic group, The Black hand, is responsible for the death of the Archduke, and his wife. With this happening, almost immediately Austria- Hungary wants to declare war on Serbia, where his death happened. Allies of each country go to defend one another, with Russia moving in to defend Serbia, and Germany moving in to help Austria-Hungary. France moves to help Russia, and July 28, 1914, is when Austria-Hungary pulls the trigger, and goes to war with Serbia. Each country has their allies defending them, and battling on the other side.

The War of Independence is arguably the most influential event in American history. The far reaching influence of this momentous struggle still heavily impacts modern day society.

Starting with the hedgerows of the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany on June 7, 1944 to May 7, 1945 Ambrose tells an authentic story of World War II from the point of view of the men who battled in the war. The author explains the narrative of the “GIs, junior officers and enlisted men “ (Ambrose 14), proved Hitler wrong by driving his Wehrmacht back from the beached of Normandy back to Germany. One of the greatest lessons that the reader can learn from reading the book, Citizen Soldiers is that the success of war is heavily relied upon by the junior officers and non-commissioned officers on the front lines.

Thirty Year's War= The last “religious” war in Europe. This war was fought between 1618-1648 and started in Bohemia as a Protestant revolution. When the war ended it established France as the most powerful country in Europe and left Germany in fragments.

The Catholic Faith has certain doctrines about the concept of war. This doctrine states that a war must be just; one must do everything possible to avoid war. Even when all means were taken to bypass war, there are some matters when force is necessary to correct one’s manifest injustice. Therefore, war is permitted if there are no other ways to resolve the conflict, but must abide by these conditions:

The Thirty Years' War was a series of wars fought in the Holy Roman empire, involving most of the countries within, the war lasted 30 years. This war massively affected europe and created a cultural divide between catholics and protestants. Philip III of Spain attempted to continue the foreign policy views of his father, Philip II, which basically meant that Spain had to be kept ready for war. Thus in 1618, when Ferdinand II, heir apparent to the throne of Bohemia, began to slash certain religious privileges enjoyed by his subjects there, they immediately appealed for aid to the Protestants in the rest of the empire and to the leading foreign Protestant states: Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, and Denmark (Trueman).

“There are some dreams from which it is better not to wake.” Japanese Commanding Officer during WWII, Hiroo Onoda, died after 30 years of hiding out in the Philippine Jungle. Onoda had no idea when the war ended so he never came out of hiding, even when the members with him had died. Onoda was considered a hero once he came out of hiding. He spent time giving speeches, writing his book, No Surrender: My Thirty Year War.” Hiroo Onoda was an important person because he spent thirty years in the jungles of the Philippines without surrendering until 1945, was persuaded back to Japan where he became famous and then established a school where Japanese Children could learn survival tactics.

Sub topic:The Seven Years' War (1756–63) was the first global war, fought in Europe, India, and America, and at sea. In North America, imperial rivals Britain and France struggled for supremacy. Early in the war, the French (aided by Canadian militia and Aboriginal allies) defeated several British attacks and captured a number of British forts.

The Thirty Years' War was a series of wars in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648. It was one of the extensive and most destructive conflicts in European history. Also it was the deadliest European religious war, resulting in eight million casualties. In the beginning, it started based upon which religion should be the dominant way that everyone followed. Ferdinand II tried to change everyone to Catholicism, but certain groups of nobles rebelled. Since multiple wars took place, perspectives changed and switched their motive. People started to argue about politics instead of religion and brought another war into place. In the end, a treaty called Westphalia, created a system where the emperor would control what religion people followed.

European history, from the end of the Thirty Years’ War to the aftermath of World War II. Including the consideration of major events and figures such as the French Revolution and Napoleon. I particular enjoyed the attention paid to the experience of ordinary people in times of upheaval and transition. I found it most thought-provoking to view this period not in terms of historical inevitability nor as a procession of great men, but rather through the lens of the complex interrelations between demographic change, political revolution, and cultural development.