Chapter 4

Edict of Nantes

April 13, 1598, by Henry IV; the document that ultimately imposed a formal religious settlement on France. It was the one that guaranteed Henry IV's assassination.

Henry IV of Navarre

(r. 1574-1589) King of France; The son of Henry II, this man held power in France for more than a decade. He promoted a compromise between the warring Huguenots and Catholics in France, ending with the Peace of Beaulieu in 1576. However, soon after he was forced to seek religious unity in France once more. He had the duke and the cardinal of Guise assassinated, but finally ended hostilities between France and Spain. He was assassinated in 1610 by Francois Ravilliac.

Cardinal Granville

1517 - 1586 Spain; Leader of the Spanish Council of State after Philip's death - broke down the economy of the Netherlands seeking to totally eliminate Protestant gains.

Catherine de Medicis

1519-1589, de facto Queen of France; became regent for her minor son, Charles IX. At a meeting in Poissy, she tried unsuccessfully to reconcile the Protestant and Catholic factions. Fearing the power and guile of the Guisesm, she sought allies among the Protestants. In 1562, she issued the January Edict, which granted Protestants freedom to worship publicly outside towns - although only privately within them - and to hold synods. In March 1562, this royal toleration came to abrupt end when the duke of Guise surprised a Protestant congregation at Vassy in Champagne and massacred many worshippers.

Philip II

1527-1598; King of Spain and Portugal; king during Spain's golden age, when riches from the Americas dominated the economy and prices soared. He ruled an intensely Catholic state loyal to the church. Also the name of a Greek king from ancient times.

William of Orange

1533-1584; The Prince of Orange, converted from Catholicism to Calvinism over the course of the religious reform in Europe. He placed the well-being of the Netherlands above religious creeds and helped gain Granville's removal from office.

Thirty-Nine Articles

1562 in England during Elizabeth's rule; While the Act of Supremacy was reestablished under Elizabeth the First, these articles, a revision of the original forty-two, established Protestantism the official religion of the Church of England.

Peace of Saint-Germaine-en-Laye

1570, Saint-Germaine-en-Laye; The agreement which ended the French wars of religion and granted the Huguenots religious freedoms within their cities.

Pacification of Ghent

1576, Antwerp; Also known as the Spanish Fury, came after the unification of the Netherlands. Leaderless Spanish mercenaries killed 7000 people in Antwerp, and the once opposing Netherlands states came together in a united hatred of Spain.

Defeat of the Spanish Armada

1585 - 1587 in the Anglo-Spanish War; Sir Francis Drake, Elizabeth I's best military commander, was the leader of the forces that carried out this action in 1587. In 1585, after war between Spain and England was certainly confirmed, Elizabeth ordered Drake to attack the Spanish New World colonies in a preliminary strike, which became known as the "Great Expedition" because so many sailors, even merchants, were involved in it. This successful attack brought New World Spain to its knees, preventing it from assisting Old World Spain. Drake then shelled the harbor of Cadiz in order to prevent Spanish supply transport. When the Armada roused, Drake managed to prevent it from reaching London, deflecting it up the coast of Britain. Chased by Drake's commanders including Captain Thomas Fenner, the Armada was devastated and the only remaining ships were driven around Britain and back to Spain. This ended Spain's military power over England and the Netherlands and gave way to a new age in Europe.

Golden Century of Spain

1600s in Spain; a time of flourishing Spanish arts and culture when Spain had near-total dominance in Europe. Lots of this wealth came from the New World silver that was being sent overseas by the megaton.

Thirty Years' War

1618 - 1648; One of the longest wars in modern European history. It was between the Protestant Union and the Catholic League.

St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

August 24, 1572, Paris; In response to the Peace of Saint-Germaine-en-Laye, Colginy and 3000 followers were assaulted and killed in Paris for supposedly planning an uprising. The followers of the king assaulted other Huguenots in the city, killing an estimated 20,000 of them.

Presbyters

Calvinist church in the early days of its existence, 1500s-1600s ("elders") Leaders who represented the individual congregations of the Calvinist church that were directly shaping policies of the church.

Baroque Art

Catholic Counter-Reformation During the Catholic Counter-Reformation, this art style became popular as opposed to the simple, gentle artistic works of the Protestants. It represented life in three-dimensional, powerful depictions.

Mary, Queen of Scots

Catholic Scotland conflicts with Protestant England; was the queen of Scotland who reigned during a time of Catholic superiority in Scotland. She sought to unify the islands of Britain under Catholic rule. When Elizabeth was faced with no other choice, she executed this woman and aroused the Spanish Armada.

Presbyterians

English Religious Adjustments under Elizabeth; The sixteenth-century Puritans who invoked popular support in order to change the national church of England following the model of John Calvin in Geneva.

Politiques

European states in the age of religious wars; The term adopted by the people of multiple European countries to refer to rulers who urged tolerance and unity in their countries, and firmly struck down any sign of division or rebellion. These people believed doctrinal dispute to be subordinate to political unity.

Thirty Years' War - Prerequisite for War

Finally intolerant of Protestants in Europe, Ferdinand II, the Holy Roman Emperor from Bohemia, sought to overtake all of Europe in the faith of the Catholics.

Huguenots

France, post-reformation; The name of Calvinists in France; a term derived from Besancon Hugues, who led the Genevan revolt against the House of Savoy.

"Leadership determines the fate of a country." Evaluate this quotation in terms of Spain's experience under Philip I.

I would say, in Spain at this time, Philip I played an important role in the evolution of the state. With a unified Catholic Spain, he was powerful and brought many riches back from the New World. Oppositely, in the severed Netherlands or Germany, there was little firm leading power to even think of these ventures. These states were also decentralized and divided because nobody was in charge. Perhaps Machiavelli said it best: rule is best served with a side of fear.

Thirty Years' War - French Phase

In the final phase of the Thirty Years' War (1635 - 1648), the French got deeply involved in the war. Gustavas Adolphus was killed and Albrecht was also assassinated for coordinating with the Protestants for peace. The German States, meanwhile, wished to end the war and said so in the Peace of Prague, but France ignored them and got directly involved. There was chaos for years, and 1/3 of the German population was killed, until finally the Treaty of Westphalia ended the struggle.

Thirty Years' War - Danish Phase

In this phase of the Thirty Years' War (1625-1629), Christian IV of Denmark got involved in the war, hoping to rouse the Protestants of Europe. Though Maximillian was removed from command, he was replaced by Albrecht of Wallenstein, who promptly defeated Christian and forced Denmark not to get involved in the war.

Thirty Years' War - Swedish Phase

In this phase of the Thirty Years' War (1630-1635), Gustavas Adolphus II, with support from the Dutch and the French, and allied with Brandenburg and Saxony, defeated Albrecht at the Battle of Breitinfield in a successful Swedish campaign.

Frederick V

King of Bohemia 1619 - 1620; The King of Bohemia who was elected the commander of the Protestants during the Thirty-Years' War for a time. He did not stay long.

Discuss the relationship between politics and religion by examining the wars of religion. Choose TWO specific examples.

Nearly all of the wars of this turbulent era were caused by religion. The Catholics under Ferdinand tried to take over Europe not because they needed land or resources, but because they believed that everyone must be Catholic. That was their doctrine, and the church confirmed it. Politics would follow regular patters concerning religion, and groups like the Calvinists were formed because people wanted religious freedom. The wars, and battles like that at Breitenfield, came as a result of religious leaders telling political leaders telling religious leaders to attack or defend their religions accordingly. To think this all began with a bunch of theses on a church doorway 100 years ago.

Duke of Alba

Netherlands Wars; Under Philip, this duke marched an army of 10,000 journeyed northward from Milan to the Spanish as the Council of Troubles and among the Netherlands as the Council of Blood. It was a show of force to the rebellious country of the Netherlands. He was, for a time, the most hated man in the Netherlands.

Union of Utrecht

Northern Netherlands, Pre-War of Independence; The political team-up of the northern provinces of the Netherlands in response to the creation of the Spanish-ruled Union of Arras in the southern provinces.

Treaty of Westphalia

October 24, 1648 in Westphalia, Germany; the final agreement of the war-worn warring states of Europe to end all hostilities and to eliminate recognition thereof (therefore no hostilities could exist in the wake of the action).

Congregationalists

Religious problems in England; Extreme Puritans who wanted every congregation to be autonomous. The Conventicle Act of 1593 gave them the option either to conform to the Church of England or face exile or death.

John Knox

Scottish revolutionary supporter; a Scottish reformer who was very much against the rule of Mary, Queen of Scots. He won the support of Elizabeth despite having a personal rivalry with her about his book, First Blast of the Trumpet against the Terrible Regiment of Women, which was designed to provoke a rebellion against Mary.

Union of Arras

Southern Netherlands, Pre-War of Independence; Don John and Alexander Farnese of Parma revived Spanish power in the southern provinces where fear of Calvinist extremism had moved the leaders to break the Union of Brussels. These southern provinces united under the Spanish Catholics.

Price Revolution

Spain, 1500s-1600s, during the Golden Age; Spain's Golden Age did not last, because the silvers sent from the New World caused major price inflations in the country. This led to unemployment and decline in the Spanish empire, which may have led, in some part, to their defeat and recline as a major power.

Protestant Union

The French and European political and religious unrest; The association of different Protestant groups across Europe that fought to preserve themselves. They were mostly Calvinists and were the main opposing force of the Catholics in the Thirty-Years' War.

Explain who the Habsburgs were, where they held territory, and why they are important in European history.

The Habsburgs were the royal family that had most members on the throne of Holy Roman Emperor. Hence, the group was entitled to nearly all of the land in the Empire. Because so many emperors were Habsburgs, they played a huge role in the history of Europe, especially the religious wars of the day.

Define the Holy Roman Empire, and explain in whose hands the real authority lay.

The Holy Roman Empire was a huge collective of regions in Europe ruled by a single Catholic power in Rome, Italy. Though it was officially run by an emperor, the Catholic Church had the true power behind it, and nearly every military affair in its history was out of the justification of the church, for instance, trying to eliminate the Protestants.

Compare and contrast the religious policies of TWO of the following: Elizabeth I of England, Catherine de Medicis of France, and Isabella I of Spain

There were many huge differences between Isabella and Elizabeth. Elizabeth sought for religious tolerance and indifference in her state, rivaling only those threatening to harm the state of England. Isabella sought for total control of the Catholic Church in Spain, arresting anyone who did not subject to the law, and having total obedience to the Holy Roman Empire.

Gustavus Adolphus II

Thirty-Years' War, 1630-1635 phase; The commander and king of the Swedish during the successful Swedish phase of the war. He defeated Albrecht in the Battle of Breitinfield, but was later killed, throwing the war into chaos.

Catholic League

Thirty-Years' War; The indirect collective of Catholics formic across Europe to check Protestant gains. Some were formed in direct response to the Protestant Union.

Thirty Years' War - Bohemian Phase

This phase of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1621) came as a result of the Second Defenestration of Prague, in which Catholic loyalists were hurled out of windows, 70 feet to the ground into piles of dung. Led by Maximillian of Bavaria, the Empire invaded Bohemia and successfully won the state.