Started 400 years ago this year. Let’s make everyone Catholic, what could go wrong? Besides the deadliest war ever in the pre-mechanized era. It gave a big push to the Enlightenment by raising the possibility that there’s an answer besides “cuz God”.

It also destroyed Germany, as France, Sweden, and Austria used it as their playground. German population fell by, I think, one-third; and the territory emerged as scores of little principalities that could be controlled by the big neighbors. it wasn't till Bismarck's day that Germany achieved union, and it did so in a way that provoked world wars.

The 30-years War was a horrible thing and left a terrible legacy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2018 07:01PM by Lot's Wife.

I agree that it wasn’t exactly fun and games. But wasn’t it overly rigid religious structures that caused it? Or maybe throwing people out of windows was their way of saying “Jesus loves you”.

I only bring this up because TSCC is an overly rigid religious structure.

Religion was part of it, but geopolitics was at least as important.

The Reformation was an effort by the German princes to establish their independence from the Holy Roman Empire (Austria) and Catholicism (Austria and France). They used Lutheranism (and other Christian religions) to justify the separation and to unite their peoples under their own rule. Some of the German states were satisfied just asserting their own political autonomy from Austria and Italy and did not bother to eliminate Catholicism within their borders. So politics mattered at least as much as religious belief.

The 30-Years War started as an attempt by certain German states and Austria to restore the status quo ante--to reduce or end the autonomy of the German states. But once Austrian armies were trampling through the area, France and Sweden intervened. Those armies were after territory and people, to be sure, but they also wanted whatever they could steal or rape. So the war continued until 1848, when general exhaustion ensued.

The final settlement was signed in Westphalia and ensrhined the principle that each prince in Germany could decide what religion to impose on his people and the other states were not to intervene. Again, this was a political deal that enhanced the power of the principalities at the expense of the Catholic Church and Austria.

Religion was a secondary consideration.

in b 4 ~ it's been 400 years already ? ~


seems like just yesterday that Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians started killing, looting, pillaging and raping each other ~


time flys when you having fun ~

Yes, thank goodness the protestants came out alive. And freedom of religion won out in the end. This why the pilgrims came to America in the first place. 1620 They had fled England because they kept being thrown in jail, and set up society in Holland and there was no certainty that the Dutch would be able to get untangled from the Spanish and the Catholic Church (30 years War politics). There was no freedom in Spain and the inquisition was in full swing. So they decided to save their skins and try their luck in the new world. the Puritans soon followed and also the Dutch up and down the Hudson River.

And New England was born, the head of America.

The Coast Guard wasn’t as good at catching boat people back then.

That is a very Mormon interpretation of history.