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Definition: Thirty Years' War from Collins English Dictionary

n

1 a major conflict involving principally Austria, Denmark, France, Holland, the German states, Spain, and Sweden, that devastated central Europe, esp large areas of Germany (1618–48). It began as a war between Protestants and Catholics but was gradually transformed into a struggle to determine whether the German emperor could assert more than nominal authority over his princely vassals. The Peace of Westphalia gave the German states their sovereignty and the right of religious toleration and confirmed French ascendancy


Thirty Years War

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
1618–48, general European war fought mainly in Germany. There were many territorial, dynastic, and religious issues that figured in the outbreak and conduct of the war. The extent of religious motives is debated, but cannot be dismissed, particularly in explaining individual behavior. Throughout the war there were shifting alliances and local peace treaties. The war as a whole may be considered a struggle of German Protestant princes and foreign powers (France, Sweden, Denmark, England, the United Provinces) against the unity and power of the Holy Roman Empire as represented by the Hapsburgs , allied with the Catholic princes, and against the Hapsburgs themselves. The war began with the resistance and eventual revolt of Protestant nobles in Bohemia, which was under Hapsburg domination, against the Catholic king Ferdinand (later Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II ). It spread through Europe because of the constitutional frailty of the Holy Roman Empire, the inability of the German states…
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Full text Article Thirty Years' War

From Philip's Encyclopedia
(1618-48) Conflict fought mainly in Germany, arising out of religious differences and developing into a struggle for power in Europe. It began with a Protestant revolt in Bohemia against the Habsburg Emperor, Ferdinand II . Both sides sought allies and the war spread to much of Europe. The Habsburg…
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Also known as: Uskok War 1618–1648 The Thirty Years’ War was a series of wars, escalating from armed clashes of German princes to military confrontations involving all major European monarchs from 1618 to 1648. It was a crucial stage in the ongoing European wars of religion between Catholicism and…
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Full text Article Thirty Years’ War

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
(1618–48) Series of intermittent conflicts in Europe fought for various reasons, including religious, dynastic, territorial, and commercial rivalries. The overall war was mainly a struggle between the Habsburg-controlled Holy Roman Empire and the Protestant principalities that relied on the chief…
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THIRTY YEARS’ WAR
In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg became the law of the Holy Roman Empire, which included modern-day Germany, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. The ruling Habsburg dynasty was divided into two branches, one in Austria and the other in Spain, each with its own…
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Full text Article Thirty Years War

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
1618–48, general European war fought mainly in Germany. There were many territorial, dynastic, and religious issues that figured in the outbreak and conduct of the war. The extent of religious motives is debated, but cannot be dismissed, particularly in explaining individual behavior. Throughout the…
| 1,431 words
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Full text Article Thirty Years War.

From The Oxford Companion to British History
The war, from 1618 to 1648, was primarily a conflict between the Habsburgs and their Spanish allies against France, Sweden, and the Dutch. There were two reasons why England might be drawn into it. The casus belli was the decision by the Bohemians to defy the Habsburgs and offer their throne to…
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Full text Article Thirty Years War

From Environmental History and Global Change: A Dictionary of Environmental History
Lasting from 1618 to 1648, the Thirty Years War was fought principally in Germany but also involved other parts of Europe and had a major impact on the demography of the worst affected areas. Fought between Catholic and Protestant states and as a dynastic struggle between Bourbon and Hapsburg, it…
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An engraving of the Michaelskirche and Jesuit...
On May 20, 1631, as the violence and chaos of the Thirty Years' War embroiled Germany, Catholic troops sacked the Saxon city of Magdeburg. Founded by Charlemagne in 805, the city named for the Virgin Mary had served as the de facto capital of Emperor Otto the Great. Located on the Elbe, Magdeburg…
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Full text Article Thirty Years' War

From Chambers Dictionary of World History
A complex phase, specifically German in origin, of a long and intermittent power struggle between the kings of France and the Habsburg rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain (1491–1715). It was triggered by the Bohemian Revolt (1618) against the Habsburgs, but the background was complicated by…
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Full text Article Thirty Years' War

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Thirty Years' War
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