Mother Courage and Her Children

Spanning from 1618 to 1648, the Thirty Years’ War remains one of the longest conflicts in human history. Fought across continental Europe, it resulted in over 8 million casualties, a figure which includes civilians who perished of starvation from resulting famines. Initially begun as a religious war between Catholics and Protestants, its ultimate purpose was to establish dominion across Europe.

Many scholars regard the war as an extension or byproduct of the Protestant Reformation, which began in the 1500s and sought to legitimize Protestant faiths, Calvinism and Lutheranism. In 1555 the Peace of Augsburg allowed nations to choose whether to adopt Protestantism or Catholicism. In response, Emperor Ferdinand II assumed the position of the head of state of the Holy Roman Empire in 1619 and sought to force all citizens to convert to Catholicism. This move was especially unpopular in the Bohemian states, Czechoslovakia and Austria. In 1618, the Bohemian states flung one of Ferdinand’s representatives out of a castle window. The Bohemian states quickly called for a revolt against Ferdinand, looking to Germany as an ally, while Ferdinand sought allegiance with Spain, a Catholic nation. Ultimately, France, Sweden, and Denmark would also become involved.

The war was a complicated one, with a separate series of battles fought between nationalized armies as well as private ones. It is notable for the profiteering that occurred, with both individuals and groups plundering what resources they could. Chaos ensued as separate factions from the various kingdoms or states sprang up. The war is also recognized as being particularly brutal to those not directly involved in combat. Though documentation is limited, it appears that though civilians were not directly in danger of combat, they did suffer dramatically from rampant pillaging, disease, and famine. Typhus killed many, as did the Bubonic plague, brought to many unsuspecting citizens by foreign soldiers. Still others became victims of poverty when governments levied heavy taxes to fund the war. Marriage and birth rates were dramatically impacted. Some areas of Europe lost nearly 60% of their total population—a figure much higher than the 5% loss average across Europe during the First World War.

When the war ended in 1648, there was no true “winner.” A document called the Peace of Westphalia ended the conflict by endorsing the sovereignty of individual states, thus weakening the Holy Roman Empire. It granted independence to the nations of Portugal, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. It also legitimized Calvinism and Lutheranism as valid belief systems. Some scholars argue that the involved parties were worn out from fighting and that the document merely restated the terms of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. Religious tensions continued to exist, and little benefit resulted from the devastation.