Age+of+Religious+Wars

media type="custom" key="3547222" =1999 Discuss the relationship between politics and religion by examining the wars of religion. Choose two specific examples from the following: = =Dutch Revolt = =French Wars of Religion = =English Civil War = =Thirty Years’ Warmedia type="custom" key="3547204" =

Thesis: In the 16th century, the rise of ever stronger nation-states with fervent religious and national convictions led to hostilities throughout western Europe. In The Low countries the widespread acceptance of Protestantism and the growing wealth and influence of what would later become the United Provinces led the Spanish crown’s desire for control to increase Moreover, in France a serious of religious wars were caused by antagonistic aristocratic families whose political rivalries ignited deep religious tensions and conflict in France. Group 1: Protestantism and cultural alienationa. During 16th century, Protestantism quickly gained ground in Europeb. Spanish Monarchs such as Charles V and Phillip II, staunch felt it was religious duty to fight against Protestantism( Calvinism)c. Dutch were an powerful economic force, a society based on freedom, trade and tolerance, d. Spain( Cardinal Granville), wanted to check protestant reforms by internal church reforms. derail local autonomy, establish centralized govt.e. Merchant towns fiercely independent, inclined toward toleration than conformity and hierarchical order.f. Opposition, William the silent and Philip of Hesseg. Unrest grew in Netherlands, National covenant made up called the Compromise, a solemn pledge to resist the decrees of Trent( counterreformation)20and the Inquisition( conformity to Catholicismh. Phillip’s efforts at a religious and politically uniform nation led to revolt,i.With the help of the English who had broken away from the catholic church the Dutch were able to repulse the Spanish.j. Spanish massacre in Antwerp, Spanish fury bolstered the Dutch independence movementk. Independence was gained and peace was not concluded with Spain until 1609 Political Intrigue and the igniting of religious hostilitiesa. rival families mainly Guises and Bourbons held sway over different area of France b. The Guises were a catholic royal family that wanted to end growing Calvinist influencec. The Bourbons, had strong Huguenot sympathizers for political reasons.d. persecution of protestants in Europe had been present since their first appearcences starting in the 1520se. Edict of Fontainebleau subjected French protestants to the inquisitionf. Other incidents heightened hostilities between religious factions such as the attempt to kidnap Francis II, a catholic in the Conspiracy of Amboise in 1560g.2/5s of French aristocracy were Huguenots( French protestants) caused them to have considerable power, military organization in France began to merge with the religious French Huguenot institutions creating the breeding ground for religious violenceh. Ca therine of Medici who served as a regent for Charles IX tried to reconcile the protestant and catholic factions but failedi. the first war of religion began when the duke of Guise surprised a protestant congregation at Vassy in champagne and killed scores of peoplej. Catherine joined the Guises in the war, who fought the Bourbons and with her the support of the crownl. Catherine also permitted for the st. Bartholomew’s day massacre to occur, 20000 protestants throughout France were killed. Led to intensification of conflict and more of a religious struggle, inspired protestant turmoil in other area of Europe as wellm. Henry III, a shrewd politique sought the political survival of France above its political unity, forced to pursue French Huguenots, killed by a radical Jacobinn. finally, after a number of wars a formal religious settlement was concluded, The Edict of Nantes, it recognized and sanctioned minority religious rights to Huguenots, most new freedoms were supposed to be only exercised within Huguenot towns and territories, tensions between Catholics and Huguenots still existed

media type="custom" key="3528072"media type="custom" key="3528076" =2008 Analyze the reasons for the decline of the Holy Roman Empire as a force in European politics in the period 1517 to 1648. =

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The Holy Roman Empire based their strength on the legitimacy and power of the papacy in Rome. With the rise of the Protestant Revolution and the political turmoil that erupted from the Thirty Years War, the Holy Roman Empire began to see its decline in the European political sphere.=====


 * The Thirty Years War**

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• Calvinism wanted urgently to be recognized as an important religion after they were not considered to be a major religion during the Council of Trent, but in the Treaty of Westphalia, this was achieved.=====

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• The vast corruption in the Catholic Church caused many followers to convert to other religions such as Lutheranism and Calvinism which weakened the Catholic Church tremendously and therefore, hurt the Hapsburg Empire.=====

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• People who were against totalitarian rulers and who supported political decentralization converted to Genevan Calvinism, which put great pressures on the Counter-Reformation to gain the support back.=====

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• Decentralization of the central government occurred due to the corruption found in the papacy and the weak Hapsburg rulers were not able to prevent either the war, or the tension between religious groups.=====

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• In areas such as France, Huguenots obtained rights in documents such as the Edict of Nantes, which led to the rise of political power of the Huguenots and also served as an example for the Calvinists in the Holy Roman Empire.=====

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• The Thirty Years War greatly improved the social standing of Calvinism as the Treaty of Westphalia allowed them to be recognized as a major religion along with Lutheranism which had already been recognized in the Treaty of Trent.=====