Student 1

Student A

Mr. Soeldner

Individuals and Societies

28 October 2016

How does the Thirty Years War compare and contrast with World War One?

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity. Sun Tzu. Sun Tzu was a Chinese

general, military strategist and philosopher, who lived during the Spring and Autumn Period of

ancient China, from 770 B.C. until 476 B.C. Sun Tzu was making a statement about how wars

can be chaotic, yet, can settle disputes and create opportunity for countries. There are many

similarities and differences between the Thirty Years War, which took place between 1618 and

1648, and World War One, which took place between 1914 and 1918. How did the strong beliefs

and practices in religion lead to one of the most destructive conflicts in European history? And

how do the causes of these two very different wars compare and contrast? In the following essay,

I will talk about the differences and similarities between the Thirty Years War and World War

One regarding, religion, alliances, imperialism and nationalism.

Although religion played no role in the cause of World War One, it was the sole cause of

the Thirty Years War. The Holy Roman Emperor and king of Bohemia, Ferdinand II, decided to

disallow his Bohemian subjects, who were mostly Protestant, to be Protestant. Instead, he wanted

them all to convert to Catholicism, the religion he was devoted to. When his subjects heard the

news spread by the kings messengers, they became outraged. The Defenestration of Prague then

happened in result of the uproar. The Protestants threw the messengers of the king out of

windows which resulted in most of them falling over 20 meters to the ground. This caused the
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Battle of White Mountain where the Bohemia army faced the Protestants in an unfair battle,

where the Holy Roman Empire won. The Danish king, Christian IV, who was a Protestant

himself, wanted to support his fellow Protestants, and so he sent troops to Bohemia to help

strengthen the Bohemians. The soldiers Christian IV sent were immediately stopped, and sent

back to Denmark by Wallenstein, a mercenary working for the Habsburgs, the royal family

controlling the Holy Roman Emperor at the time. When Gustav Adolf, the king of Sweden, saw

how Protestantism was being rejected in Bohemia, he used the land in the Holy Roman Empire

he ruled over to launch an attack at them. The battle was known as the Battle of Breitenfeld, in

which the Swedes won. Religion played absolutely no part in World War One and cannot be

classified as a cause of the war.

Both of the wars started off as two opposing sides, which gradually expanded. After the

wars began, powers began to choose sides. During the Thirty Years War, the two opposing sides

were the Protestants of Bohemia and the Catholic King of Bohemia, Ferdinand II, who denied

his subjects the right to choose their religion, sparking rebellion among the mostly Protestant

population of Bohemia at the time. Hereafter, the rebellious and furious Protestants of Bohemia

took place in the Defenestration of Prague. The Protestants threw the messengers King Ferdinand

II had sent to communicate with them out of windows. This caused the king to become outraged,

so he took action during the battle of White Mountain, where the kings army won. Denmark and

Sweden supported the Protestants of Bohemia because their kings, Christian IV and Gustav

Adolf, were both protestant. Although France was a Catholic country and had a Catholic leader,

they decided to fund Sweden, who were supporting the Protestants of Bohemia because France

believed that politics were more important than religion. France wanted to balance the power in

Europe and did not want the Habsburgs, the royal family that ruled over the Holy Roman Empire
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at the time, who were already the most influential and powerful royal house in Europe at the

time, to become even more powerful and influential. Religion bonded the allies throughout the

war which led the war to become one of the most destructive wars in European history. On the

other hand, during World War One, after Franz Ferdinand was assassinated and Austria-Hungary

delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia, which they rejected, the two opposing sides

were Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbia. After Austria-Hungary declared war on

Serbia, Russia began mobilizing in support of Serbia, while Germany, an ally of Austria-

Hungary in the Triple Alliance, invaded Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards

France. This led the United Kingdom, an ally of Russia and France in the Triple Entente, to

declare war on Germany. Both wars began as a conflict between two opposing sides, and then

each side began gradually gaining allies. However, during the Thirty Years War, alliances began

forming after the war started, whereas during World War One, alliances were already formed

with the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance. Though allies began getting involved only after

the war began. The reason the war became so big was because of all of alliances. Once Austria-

Hungary declared war on the Kingdom of Serbia, the allies of both of these countries got

dragged into a war which then spiraled out of control.

Before World War One started, Germany was the main culprit of imperialism.

Imperialism is a policy of extending a country's power and influence through colonization, use

of military force, or other means. Germany wanted to have colonies like England and France

had. Although Morocco wanted their independence, they were given as a gift from Britain to

France in 1904. Germany, who were supporting Morocco in their pleas for independence,

protested against how Moroccos bids were being rejected in 1911. This caused a lot of tension

between France, being supported and allied with Britain, and Germany. This tension carried over
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until Britain declared war on Germany in 1914. The tension could have been one of the key

reason why Britain hastily declared war on Germany after they invaded Belgium and

Luxembourg. During the Thirty Years War, imperialism could arguably been one of the reason

why France supported Sweden, and fought for the protestants. Although France was ruled by a

Catholic King, Louis XIII, and his chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu, they considered the

Habsburgs too powerful, due to the fact that they ruled over multiple territories on Frances

eastern border, including the Netherlands. This frightened the French because the Holy Roman

Empire already ruled The French decided to support the Swedes in the hopes of weakening the

Holy Roman Empire and strengthening themselves, which ended up happening.

Nationalism played a role in the cause of both wars. Nationalism is a patriotic feeling,

principles, or efforts. During the Thirty Years War, a different type of nationalism can be

observed, known as religious nationalism. This nationalism was the main cause of the Thirty

Years War. Religious nationalism is the relationship of nationalism to a

particular religious belief, dogma, or affiliation. Ferdinand II, as well as most Europeans at the

time, can be considered religious nationalists. Ferdinand II was such a devoted believer of

Roman Catholicism, which he decided to enforce among his subjects, sparking rebellion amongst

them. This led to the involvement of other rulers, also showing religious nationalism. Christian

IV and Gustav Adolf decided to support fellow believers of their religion, the Protestants of

Bohemia, purely because they believed in the same religion. Nationalism can be classified as of

the major causes of World War One. It led Europes powers to develop an extreme belief in its

own cultural, economic and military supremacy. This caused arrogance, which was promoted by

the media of the countries involved in the war. The nationalists wanted to prove that their

country was better than everyone elses. When war broke out between Austria-Hungary and the
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Kingdom of Serbia, the allies of those countries were already eager to go to war, to prove that

they are the superior countries.

The Thirty Years Wars main causes were religion and religious nationalism. The Thirty

Years war had very different causes compared to World War One. Despite both taking place in

Europe, and both taking place within 300 years, it is fair to say that a lot has changed in that

time, regarding the causes of conflict. World War Ones main causes were nationalism and

imperialism. Although both wars had a lot of different causes, they did have one major cause that

they shared, namely nationalism. In conclusion, these two wars have mainly different causes,

however, the wars do share a couple of causes, most importantly nationalism. Otherwise, they

have no other common causes.