Thirty Years' War: A History from Beginning to End

If you had to name the most destructive conflicts in human history, you likely wouldn’t put the Thirty Years’ War near the top of that list, but in fact, this conflict resulted in more than eight million fatalities throughout Europe. The war, which began as a religious conflict, was fought between 1618 and 1648. It resulted in widespread destruction, and it bankrupted the majority of the powers involved.

The Thirty Years’ War began when the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II was elected, and he began to impose religious uniformity—Catholicism—throughout Europe. That caused a revolt on the part of Protestant communities, and before long, the conflict began to draw in many other European powers on one side or the other. Once the dust settled, there was an enduring mistrust of the “other” throughout Europe, and the first witch hunts had begun.

For such a destructive war, the Thirty Years’ War is not well-known, and yet, it changed the geopolitical face of Europe as well as the role of religion and nation-states in society. This book tells the compelling story of the Thirty Years’ War.