Case study: The Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest armed conflicts in the Early modern period and one of the most devastating - though it can also be viewed as a series of wars fought by many different nations for a variety of reasons which included religious, dynastic, territorial and commercial rivalries. The fighting took place in the German states of the Holy Roman Empire, but involved countries from most of Europe. It ended with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.
1. The Thirty Years' War: Causes
The Thirty Years’ War was the most destructive war in European history. It killed 5 million people, or 20% of the population of the German states. For comparison, the Soviet Union lost 12% of its population...
2. The Thirty Years' War: Practices
The Thirty Years' War saw Europe experiencing 'total war' for the first time; armies grew rapidly and had to be financed in new ways while populations suffered from the ravages of war on a much larger...
3. The Thirty Years' War: Effects
The negotiations which concluded with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 marked the first time in European history that countries came together (at a congress) to resolve a number of different disputes...
5. The Thirty Years' War: Extra resources
Here you can find useful websites for this unit along with historians' texts that students might find enjoyable to develop their understanding further.These books are useful for extra reading and for...