AP®︎ European History: Topic 2.4 Flashcards

Conflicts from the Reformation through 1648 in which confessional divisions combined with struggles over dynastic power, noble privilege, territory, taxation, and commerce

The medieval ideal of a single western Christian community under shared religious authority, made impracticable by the Reformation and effectively ended at Westphalia

Habsburg ruler and Holy Roman emperor whose efforts to restore Catholic unity failed amid Protestant resistance, war with France, and Ottoman pressure

Alliance formed by Protestant princes in 1531 to defend themselves against Charles V's efforts to restore Catholicism in the Holy Roman Empire

Charles V's 1546–1547 war against the Schmalkaldic League; his victory failed to eliminate Protestantism or restore lasting Catholic unity

Ottoman sultan whose expansion into Hungary and toward Vienna forced the Habsburgs to divide resources between eastern defense and religious conflict

The 1526 Ottoman defeat of Hungary that opened the way for Ottoman expansion toward Habsburg central Europe

Suleiman's unsuccessful 1529 siege that demonstrated the Ottoman threat to the Habsburg lands and central Europe

The 1555 settlement allowing each imperial ruler to choose Catholicism or Lutheranism for the territory, while excluding Calvinists and individual religious freedom

French Calvinists whose support among nobles and towns made them a major political and military faction during the French Wars of Religion

The 1562–1598 civil wars in which conflict between Catholics and Huguenots combined with noble factionalism and the weakness of the monarchy

French queen mother and regent who alternated between compromise and repression to preserve the vulnerable Valois monarchy against rival confessional factions

The 1562 killing of Protestant worshippers by followers of the duke of Guise that helped initiate the French Wars of Religion

The 1572 killing of thousands of Huguenots in Paris and elsewhere, which intensified confessional hatred and damaged trust in the French monarchy

The 1585–1589 struggle among Henry III, Catholic League leader Henry of Guise, and Huguenot heir Henry of Navarre for control of France

A leader, exemplified by Henry IV, who placed the peace and interests of the state above uncompromising religious uniformity

Henry IV's 1598 edict maintaining Catholic predominance while granting Huguenots limited worship, civil rights, freedom of conscience, and security towns

Catholic king of Spain who defended Catholicism while fighting England and suppressing Dutch resistance to Spanish taxation, centralization, and religious policy

Philip II's failed 1588 invasion fleet against England, defeated through English tactics, coordination problems, and severe weather

The Netherlands' rebellion against Philip II over Protestant persecution, taxation, centralization, provincial liberties, and commercial interests

The repressive tribunal established by the duke of Alba to punish opposition to Spanish authority in the Netherlands

Dutch rebels who attacked Spanish authority from coastal bases and helped sustain the revolt in the Netherlands

The principal political leader of Dutch resistance to Philip II and Spanish rule in the Netherlands

The 1579 alliance of northern Dutch provinces that became the political foundation of the independent Dutch Republic

The 1581 declaration by the northern Dutch provinces repudiating Philip II as their sovereign

Independent federation of the northern Netherlands with a privileged Reformed Church but limited practical toleration for other religious communities

The 1573 agreement protecting religious peace among Poland-Lithuania's politically privileged nobility

The 1618–1648 war that began as a religious and constitutional struggle in the Holy Roman Empire and became a European contest over Habsburg power

The 1618–1625 phase in which Protestant Bohemian nobles rebelled against Habsburg religious and political centralization but were defeated

The 1618 incident in which Protestant Bohemian nobles threw imperial officials from a castle window, symbolically beginning the Thirty Years’ War

Catholic Habsburg emperor who defeated the Bohemian revolt, promoted Catholic restoration, and attempted to strengthen imperial authority

The 1620 Habsburg victory over the Bohemian rebels, followed by Catholic restoration and reduced Bohemian political autonomy

The 1625–1629 phase in which Lutheran Christian IV intervened to defend Protestantism and expand Danish influence in northern Germany but was defeated

Ferdinand II's 1629 order restoring Catholic church property acquired by Protestants since 1552, alarming Protestant and Catholic princes alike

The 1630–1635 phase in which Sweden defended German Protestants while seeking Baltic power, aided by subsidies from Catholic France

Swedish king who intervened for Protestantism and Baltic influence, won at Breitenfeld, and died at Lützen in 1632

The 1635 settlement reconciling the emperor with many German princes but failing to end the wider war because France and Sweden continued fighting

The 1635–1648 phase in which Catholic France and Protestant Sweden fought the Habsburgs primarily to prevent Habsburg domination of Europe

Catholic chief minister of France who supported Protestant powers and fought the Habsburgs to protect French security and power

The principle that the security and power of the state could take precedence over religious allegiance

The 1648 settlements that ended the Thirty Years’ War, recognized Calvinism and Dutch and Swiss independence, strengthened imperial estates, and marked the effective end of universal Christendom

Supreme political authority within a territory and independence from outside control, strengthened by Westphalia's confirmation of territorial rulers' rights

Huguenot heir who became king of France, converted to Catholicism to secure the kingdom, and issued the Edict of Nantes