Gantet, Claire La Guerre de Trente Ans 1618-1648

Between 1618 and 1648, Europe was plagued by the ravages of war. No synthesis to date has so clearly demonstrated the violence and extent of this civil and European war. The first clashes of the Thirty Years' War broke out in Bohemia in 1618 with the Defenestration of Prague. What initially appeared to be an act of rebellion by Protestant nobles against the Holy Roman Emperor developed into an unprecedented conflict on a European scale. It involved the Habsburgs in Vienna and Spain, the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, the papacy, the King of Denmark and the kings of England, Sweden and France under Richelieu and later Mazarin. For three decades, the continent was the scene of unprecedented violence: the effects of devastation and plundering were multiplied by epidemics. This war, which is said to have decimated at least 15 to 20% of the population of the Holy Roman Empire, was proportionally the deadliest in the continent's history. It was imperative to lay down the rules for a lasting peace; this was done in the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648. In this book, Claire Gantet offers a comprehensive account of the Thirty Years' War based on original research. Using a narrative that is as lively as it is captivating, she sheds light on the role of the men who tried to limit and control the use of force from the very beginning. The Peace of Westphalia, the "Wonder of the World", shaped relations between the European powers right up to the wars of the 20th century.