After angry protestants tossed three representatives of. That depends on your current knowledge of the subject, and the level of detail youd like to have. The thirty years war devastated entire regions, resulting in high mortality from hunger and disease. The thirty years war was a 17thcentury religious conflict fought primarily in central europe. Wedgwood a descendent of the potter who founded the wedgwood company. Somewhere along the way i picked up that the book on the thirty years war was the prosaically entitled the thirty years war written in 1938 by a twentyeightyearold english woman, c. Caught between the different potentates, the people of europe were forced to choose. C v wedgwood europe in 1618 was riven between protestants and catholics, bourbon and hapsburgas well as empires, kingdoms, and countless principalities. There in 1618 the protestant nobility refused to recognize. Drawing on a huge body of source material from different languages and countries throughout europe, it provided a clear and comprehensive narrative and analytical account of the subject.
Europes tragedy is a history of prodigious erudition that manages to corral the byzantine complexity of the thirty years war into a coherent narrative. There were several reasons that the thirty years war started. Thirty years war students britannica kids homework help. The thirty years war was such a disaster and so prolonged that its end was greeted as something akin to a miracle. In fact, almost all of the powerful countries in europe were involved in the war. As a source of information, parkers the thirty years war undoubtedly excels. The book is devoted primarly to political history, diplomatic history, and the structural effects of the thirty years war on the european state system and the organization of individual states. I knew it only upon reading the first chapeter of europes tragedy did i realize how little i actually knew about the 30 years war. Thirty years war kids britannica kids homework help.
The war also bankrupted most of the combatant powers. From the introduction by anthony grafton this is a masterful narrative, written by one of the great exponents of that alltoorare skill. Death came during the battles, from disease and the rampaging of the armies through the. The thirty years war, 16181648 by samuel rawson gardiner free ebook project gutenberg. Europe in 1618 was riven between protestants and catholics, bourbon and hapsburgas well as empires, kingdoms, and countless. The book is based on the authors firsthand experience. The holy roman empire and europe, 161848 written by ronald g. The politics are obscure, the geographic landscape unfamiliar, and the personalities, with just a couple of exceptions are largely unknown. The thirty years war began, to be sure, as a religious civil war within the holy roman empirea ramshackle collection of dukedoms and. Thirty years war simple english wikipedia, the free. It continues to provide a narrative and analytical account of the war. It is a good place to start a study of the conflict. Best books on the thirty years war five books expert.
The thirty years war, a combination of numerous religious, political and economic factors, was probably the most defining moment in european history until the first world war, and so it should be ripe with royal drama, thrilling exploits, military spectacles and political intrigue. It was jumbled up with several other european wars that took place between the reformation and the french revolution. Due to the complex nature of this war, the reader may have difficulty keeping track of the various individuals or the significance of certain battles. The history of the thirty years war by friedrich schiller free ebook project gutenberg. Dec 08, 2004 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. The war of the mantuan succession 162831 was a peripheral part of the thirty years war. Its destructive campaigns and battles occurred over most of europe, and, when it ended, the. This book was first published in 1938 and is still considered the best book on the thirty years war. The thirty years war complete by friedrich schiller free. It is a fascinating, brilliantly written attempt to. An understanding of the thirty years war is essential to comprehending modern european history. The first edition of the thirty years war offered an unrivalled survey of a central period in european history.
Somewhere i read that it set back civilization and development 200 years in germany. New york wedgewoods book is the only comphrensive study of the thirty years war, as it was actually a series of wars with the reformation in the background along with the convoluted politics of 15th century europe. A books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Wilsons masterful book will stand as the definitive account of this epic conflict. The history of the thirty years war by friedrich schiller. Cicely veronica wedgwoods history is considered a classic englishlanguage history of the war, and with good reason. Europe in 1618 was divided between protestants and catholics. In his monumental study of the causes and the consequences of the thirty years war. At seven in the morning on may 20, 1631, 18,000 soldiers loyal to the holy roman emperor ferdinand ii stormed the ancient german city of magdeburg. By the end of the war, the shape of europe had been greatly changed.
It began as a fight about religion the protestants and catholics were the two groups that disagreed. The thirty years war involved numerous leaders, battles, and political alliances. Its atrocities and devastation were a trial run for the world wars of the 20th century, and it left us. The enigma of the thirty years war is a wellreceived biography one of the wars chief generals. Books on the thirty years war 16181648 score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. The thirty years war, 16181648 by samuel rawson gardiner. Thirty years war recreates this conflict with the award winning game system used in gmts wilderness war, paths of glory, and for the people. What are the best history books for the 30 years war. Of particular interest to the authors is the question of why the thirty years war lasted so long. Upon lysander s request, the thirty were elected as a government, not just as a legislative committee.
This book was written to counterbalance those accounts that see the thirty years war as a parade of campaigns, battles, and states. Oct 15, 2011 a deadly continental struggle, the thirty years war devastated seventeenthcentury europe, killing nearly a quarter of all germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike. The thirty years war was a very confusing conflict on many levels, and to attempt any account of it in barely 200 pages is almost foolhardy. Campaigning armies and mercenaries funded themselves by looting or by exacting contributions from the inhabitants of occupied territories, imposing severe hardships on the populace. The swedish invasion of the holy roman empire, or the swedish intervention in the thirty years war is a historically accepted division of the thirty years war. Nevertheless, the author did a good job of condensing the entire 30 year time span into a brief narrative.
The thirty year genocide is the first account to show that the three were actually part of a single, continuing, and intentional effort to wipe out anatolias christian population. The war lasted for 30 years, but the problems that caused the war were not fixed for a long time after the war was over. It is a fascinating, brilliantly written attempt to explain a compelling series of events, which tore the heart out of europe. The thirty years war was a turning point in the making of modern europe and the modern world. Peter wilson offers the first new history in a generation of a horrifying conflict that transformed the map of the modern world. From 1618 to 1648 a series of conflicts engulfed much of europe. It is written primarily by geoffrey parker, though he recruited expert colleagues to assist on some chapters.
Swedish intervention in the thirty years war wikipedia. The holy roman empire was a fragmented collection of largely independent states, which, after the protestant reformation in the 16th century, was divided between catholic and protestant rulership. Kehlmann, who found fame with another historical novel, 2006s measuring the world, transplants his hero to the gritty context of the thirty years war, which i. Its casus belli was the extinction of the direct male line of the house of gonzaga in december 1627. The thirty years war edited by geoffrey parker is much shorter than the wilson text, but worth checking out. If youre looking for an overview, the entry in my favorite singlevolume military history book, lynn montruss war through the ages is excellent, i. Its destructive campaigns and battles occurred over most of europe, and, when it ended, the map of europe had been irrevocably changed. It started as a conflict between protestants and roman catholics but soon became a struggle for political power. A deadly continental struggle, the thirty years war devastated seventeenthcentury europe, killing nearly a quarter of all germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike.
It was a military conflict that took place between 1630 and 1635, during the course of the thirty years war. This is the second book ive read recently about the thirty years war, both of which have the same informative, if unimaginative, title of the thirty years war. The overwhelming sense of relief after the signing of the treaty of westphalia in 1648 was depicted in a variety of publications celebrating the end of hostilities or reflecting on its many costs. This book is a concise introduction to the thirty years war. Asch, a professor of early modern history at the university of osnabruck, germany. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Wedgewoods book is the only comphrensive study of the thirty years war, as it was actually a series of wars with the reformation in the background along with the convoluted politics of 15th century europe.
But this book succeeds, at least in setting the stage and following the people and politics. Historical romance where the heroine or hero is widowed by war. The thirty years war is considered within its own context, rather than merely as a poor relation to the linear or napoleonic periods. Spain lost the control that it had held over much of europe. It begins its narative in 1608 to show some of the background of the war. Books on the thirty years war 16181648 71 books goodreads. The thirty years war 161848 isnt exactly a household word, though maybe it should be. It remains one of the longest and most brutal wars in human. This revised edition of geoffrey parkers text incorporates recent research whilst retaining the range and depth of coverage of the first edition. This book is an exallent book on the thirty years war. The thirty years war was fought from 1618 until 1648. The thirty years war complete by friedrich schiller. Its clear that a huge amount of research went into this book. Parker tries to examine the war from all of the sides invovled.
The thirty years war was one of the most destructive and devastating conflicts in history, superseded only by the total wars of the 20th century. The author shows people coping with the rigours of war. The back of this book is a wealth of notes and sources, most notably including an exhaustive list of other books to read about the thirty years war. The 30 years war was 400 years old in 2018 this group is about reenacting the period. Eventually, however, it came to involve political control and territory as well. Feb 01, 2020 kehlmann, who found fame with another historical novel, 2006s measuring the world, transplants his hero to the gritty context of the thirty years war, which i now know lasted from 1618 to 1648. For the avid reader of military history, the thirty years war has everythingeuropean realpolitik, religious conflict, dramatic characters, military innovation and violence enough to satisfy the most lurid imagination or touch the coldest heart. This period, known as the thirty years war, began with a religious dispute. The population of germany was cut in half as a result of the many battles fought there. The thirty years war was a war fought primarily in central europe between 1618 and 1648. The netherlands, previously ruled by spain, was granted independence at the end of the war. Parker is a careful editor, as the book has a uniform style and reads like a single author text.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The thirty years war was a series of conflicts that began early in the 17th century in the holy roman empire and finally involved much of europe. Though it was primarily centered in germany, several other countries became involved in the conflict, including france, spain, and sweden. Threading her way through one of the most complex and fraught eras of european history, wedgwood gives all who have followed her an object lesson in. The thirty years war was a series of wars between various protestant and catholic states in the fragmented holy roman empire between 1618 and 1648. Aug 07, 2010 the thirty years war 161848 isnt exactly a household word, though maybe it should be.
The years in question, the most violent in the recent history of the region, began during the reign of the ottoman sultan abdulhamid ii, continued under the young. Oct 15, 2011 wilsons scholarship and attention to both the details and the larger picture make his the definitive history of the thirty years war. I was expecting the ospery book to provide me with an informative and conscise overview which would help me unravel this dense era. Apr 22, 2016 that depends on your current knowledge of the subject, and the level of detail youd like to have. The campaigns covered in this volume include the defeat of the bohemian and german protestants 16181623, the danish war 16251629, the victories of the swedes under gustavus adolphus 16301632, and the. His book spans the range of human ingenuity, from the production of worldly goods to the most subtle products of human reason and unreason. Thirty years war 161848, in european history, a series of wars fought by various nations for various reasons, including religious, dynastic, territorial, and commercial rivalries. Peter wilsons book is a major work, the first new history of the thirty years war in a generation. The thirty years war is a difficult topic to tackle. Additional information from movie mars product description argues that religion was not the catalyst to the thirty years war, but one element in a mix of political, social, and dynastic forces that fed the conflict that ultimately transformed the map of the modern world. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg.
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