Essay

Charles V dreamed to create a unified German state. He failed, however, and one last attempt containing religious and political issues was made in an effort to finalize this dream. The Thirty Years' War brought about a turning point in Europe because of various reasons including: an end to religious wars, increase in military power, and power being handed on to France.

The Thirty Years' War began in Bohemia. Protestant nobles were flustered with the disrespect shown towards their religion by King Ferdinand, so they threw two of his advisors out of a window. The Holy Roman Empire had been divided into numerous Catholic and Protestant camps. All of which were ready to fight to stand up for their faith. When Ferdinand II became ruler of Bohemia and started to rid the city-states of certain religious rights, Protestants became angry and reached out to other Protestant countries. Ferdinand needed to defend himself as well, so he too reached out to different countries for help. Ferdinand won a victory and became in control for just a little bit, but he was able to exterminate Protestantism in a lot of the lands. Ferdinand joined forces with other countries and decided to fight against Protestant supporters in Germany. Ferdinand then issued the Edict of Restitution where he forced Protestants to return land they had won from Catholics. The Swedish military, led by Gustavas Adolphus, was the only thing saving the Protestants. They helped drive imperialists out of Breitenfield. The Protestants were doing well for a while, until they were defeated by Spanish forces and forced out southern Germany. The war between Catholics and Protestants continued, but was eventually settled by The Peace of Westphalia. The treaty did not completely get rid of religious wars, but it helped immensely. A lot of the huge arguments were settled and Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism all became fully recognized.

An increase in military power also caused a turning point in Europe. The military improved immensely during the war and became much stronger. The changes helped the armies in he war a lot because they were able to fight more effectively. The bad part, however, was that taxes went up because the cost became increasingly high. The size of the armies started to increase as well. Control over armies became harder with the size of the armies continuing to rise. During the thirty years war, armies started to come up with more tactical plans so that they could fight more effectively. During the thirty years war, artillery was also made lighter so it was better for transportation. It was also made stronger and more efficient. Overall, the military reforms helped change the future as well because it made fighting more efficient and easier.

The last change from the war was the main power being handed over to France. Spain and Austria had become weaker and more vulnerable during the war, so they were no longer fit to be the dominant powers. Germany was also very weak because they had still been separated and were not completely unified. Out of the major powers, France was still strong and was the most fit for rule. They had defeated Spain and proved their worth during the war. Therefore, they became the dominant power in Europe. This led to many changes throughout the rest of European history because France impacted the way people thought.

Overall, the 30 Years War had many effects on Europe. The greatest one probably being the end to major religious battles. Military improvement and French coming to power both played large impacts on the future of Europe.