Friday, February 15, 2013
back to before FRANCE
FERDINAND II(1575-1637)- emperor grandson of ferdinand I + son of charles, duke of styria + mary of bavaria, b 7/19/1578. educated by jesuits + having imbibed strong anti-protestant sentiments is said to have taken a vow before an altar that, on receiving the crown, promised him by his cousin Matthias, he would at whatever cost re-establish roman catholic religion in his states. in 1618 M II abdicated he thrones of bohemia + hungary in F II's favor, + on the death of M II in 1619 he laid claim to the imperial crown. his keen roman catholic sympathies, allied to a character gloomy, fanatical, + cruel, had already led him to disregard the guaranties of toleration by which his election to the throne had been acceded to, on that account the bohemians, shortly after M died, rose in revolt, + under count thurn, besieged him in vienna, until the arrival of an army under general bonquo; forces their retreat, + allowed him to go to frankfort to be crowned. the bohemias notwithstanding their defeat , chose as their king the elector of palatine frederick V, son in law of james I, king o england, + w/ their assistance of gabor bethlen, prince of transylvania, who revolted against ferdinand in hungary, virtually inaugurated the long struggle for religious liberty known as the 30 years war. ferd however, w/ the support of the catholic league + the alliance of john george I, elector of saxony, was able to completely subdue them. 1620, he deprived them of their constitutional rights, banishing the leading protestant families, expelled reformed preachers + recalled the JESUITS, + by cruel persecutions totally quelled every manifestation of Protestantism. but in hungary not so successful to enable him to be a total dick. instead he concluded peace in 1621 + ceded 1/2 the country to bethlen gabor + granted religious toleration to the rest. in germany, more favorable to roman Catholics; several german princes had entered into a league w/ denmark's christian IV, but that monarch defeated by ferd's general wallenstein, + a peace between then signed in 1629. taking advantage, ferd passed the famous edict of restoration of all german ecclesiastical property that had passed into other's hands since the treaty of passan in 1552. but it was prevented from being fully executed- partly by the unwillingness of the roman catholic princes to give up property that they had gotten, partly by the intrigues of cardinal richelieu, who was jealous of the increasing influence of the emp, but principally through the arrival of gustavus adolphus. uniting w/ the protestant princes of germany, gustavus inflicted a succession of defeat on ferd, who, having at the urgent representations of the cath princes, dismissed wallenstein from command of the imperial army, possessed no general at all adequate to cope w/ the genius of the swedish king. gus will + energy, tehn joined by the elector of saxony, + fortune failed ferd. even after recalling wallenstein, who was defeated at luzen in 11/1632. gus died in the battle, but wallenstein took little advantage of this great loss; + the emp, learning that, he finally mediated. treachery caused wallenstein to be assissinated 2/1634. in the same year the imperial army as successful at nordlingen, + soon after the elector of saxony left the swedes + made peace w/ ferd. swedes foght + france joined the swedes. ferd died 2/1637, was uncomforted by he hope of any near fulfillment of his oath.
