Speaker 1: Hello, and Welcome to Western SIV, Episode three hundred and
Speaker 1: thirty five, The Eve of War. The death of Emperor
Speaker 1: Rudolph in sixteen twelve brought his brother Matthias to the throne.
Speaker 1: While this marked a period of recovery for the Habsburg dynasty,
Speaker 1: Matthias's position was precarious. He lacked the same authority as
Speaker 1: his brother and was already fifty five years old, making
Speaker 1: his grip on power tenuous. From the outset, The empire
Speaker 1: in Matthias inherited was one riddled with internal divisions and vulnerabilities.
Speaker 1: The Turkish truce back in sixteen oh six, though bringing
Speaker 1: much needed peace, had ironically diminished the emperor's international standing.
Speaker 1: The Austrian Habsburg's policy of neutrality in European conflicts further
Speaker 1: sidelined them in international affairs, further weakening the perception of
Speaker 1: imperial strength. Matthias leaned heavily on his advisor, Melchor Kessel,
Speaker 1: who we've met previously. A cunning strategist who understood the
Speaker 1: need for a delicate balancing act to maintain a semblance
Speaker 1: of unity within the fractured empire. Kessel championed composition. This
Speaker 1: was a policy aimed at reconciling the Catholic and Protestant
Speaker 1: factions through pragmatic compromise rather than forceful imposition. Kessel recognized
Speaker 1: the need to quell religious tensions to bolster imperial authority,
Speaker 1: believing that forcing a resolution would only exacerbate the existing
Speaker 1: fissures within the empire. Kessel wanted to walk a tightrope,
Speaker 1: attempting to placate both the Protestant princes and somehow the papacy.
Speaker 1: He downplayed any overt consolidation of Catholicism within Habsburg territories,
Speaker 1: which you may recall, was primarily what he had been
Speaker 1: doing for the years leading up to Rudolph's death, and
Speaker 1: instead presented him as some sort of an impartial mediator,
Speaker 1: not that anyone necessarily agreed with that. The question of succession,
Speaker 1: a powder keg prime to ignite religious conflict, was deliberately postponed,
Speaker 1: adding to the uncertainty and fueling political maneuvering amongst those
Speaker 1: vying for power. The death of Christian of Saxony in
Speaker 1: sixteen eleven brought John George to the forefront of a
Speaker 1: political state, a figure who will play a pivotal role
Speaker 1: in the unfolding drama. John George, unlike his predecessors, approached
Speaker 1: politics with pragmatism. This new leader of Saxony favored peace
Speaker 1: and stability over ideological crusades. This made him the key
Speaker 1: lynchpin in Kessel's grand strategy of composition. But a storm
Speaker 1: was brewing on the horizon because he wasn't the only
Speaker 1: person to come to prominence around sixteen ten sixteen eleven.
Speaker 1: You see, John George had what you would call an
Speaker 1: evil twin, and this was embodied in the young and
Speaker 1: ambitious Frederick the Fifth, who has sended to the position
Speaker 1: of Elector Palatine in sixteen ten. Frederick represented a new
Speaker 1: breed of Protestant leaders, emboldened and highly confrontational, a stark
Speaker 1: contrast to John George's measured approach. Deeply influenced by his
Speaker 1: marriage to Elizabeth Stewart, the daughter of James the First
Speaker 1: of England, Frederick envisioned a united Protestant front against Catholic encroachment.
Speaker 1: His lavish court at Heidelberg became a magnet for Calvinist
Speaker 1: thinkers and a hotbed for intellectual and religious fervor, further
Speaker 1: unsettling the delicate religious balance within the Empire. The Reichstag
Speaker 1: of sixteen thirteen, convened by Matthias in order to address
Speaker 1: the empire's difficulties, instead served to expose the widening chasm
Speaker 1: between the Catholic and Protestant camps. Castle's carefully crafted proposals
Speaker 1: for reconciliation were met with fierce resistance, particularly the staunchly
Speaker 1: Catholic Duke Maximilian of Bavaria. The Protestant Union of Princes,
Speaker 1: emboldened by Frederick the Fifth's assertive stance, refused to endorse
Speaker 1: the Reichstock, reattering their demands for religious parody and the
Speaker 1: restoration of previous rites. The session dissolved in a stalemate,
Speaker 1: ending effectively any hopes for a peaceful resolution. The failure
Speaker 1: of the Reichstock marked a turning point. Kessel's carefully constructed
Speaker 1: edifice of composition began to crumble under the weight of
Speaker 1: mounting distrust and overall animosity that spread throughout the empire.
Speaker 1: The final blow came in sixteen fourteen with the formation
Speaker 1: of the Catholic Liga under the leadership of Duke Maximilian,
Speaker 1: effectively ending any semblance or facade of religious unity within
Speaker 1: the Empire. Cassel stripped of his power and influence was
Speaker 1: effectively sidelined by Archduke Maximilian in February sixteen sixteen, emboldening
Speaker 1: the Catholic hardliners and pushing the Empire ever closer to
Speaker 1: the precipice of war. And as we will see, unfortunately
Speaker 1: there were more religious problems within the Empire, but that
Speaker 1: will be right after this. As if religious tensions weren't enough,
Speaker 1: the smoldering embers of the disputed succession crisis in Shulet
Speaker 1: Cleaves to be discussed last time. Unresolved since sixteen oh nine,
Speaker 1: reignited in sixteen fourteen. The inability of Brandenburg and Nuremberg,
Speaker 1: the Protestant claimants, to fully assert their claim, led to
Speaker 1: nude clashes with the Catholic claimants. The conflict quickly escalated,
Speaker 1: drawing in Dutch and Spanish forces, transforming a local dispute
Speaker 1: into a proxy war between the two Europe's most powerful entities.
Speaker 1: The failure of a sixteen fourteen partition treaty and subsequent
Speaker 1: military posturing further highlighted tensions, underscoring the fragility of peace
Speaker 1: and the opportunistic maneuvering of external powers eager to exploit
Speaker 1: the empire's internal strife, adding to the sense of impending crises.
Speaker 1: The empire's own institutions seemed to be dissolving before its
Speaker 1: very eyes. The Reichschmergach, the highest court in the land,
Speaker 1: was woefully inadequate in addressing the mounting religious and political disputes.
Speaker 1: Its inability to adjudicate on matters related to religious freedom
Speaker 1: and the restoration of confiscated church property further aggravated the
Speaker 1: sense of injustice among protests, since eroding legitimacy of imperial
Speaker 1: authority and paving the way for extra legal solutions. As
Speaker 1: if these internal woes weren't enough, the Empire was then
Speaker 1: dragged into the Uskach War, which lasted from six fifteen
Speaker 1: to sixteen seventeen, a conflict with Venice over piracy in
Speaker 1: the Adriatic Sea. This seemingly unnecessary and peripheral conflict became
Speaker 1: entangled with the issue of Habsburg succession, further straining imperial
Speaker 1: resources and international relations. The involvement then of the Spanish, Dutch,
Speaker 1: and English in the same war added another layer of
Speaker 1: complexity to an already volatile situation. The negotiated settlement in
Speaker 1: sixteen seventeen did little to alleviate the underlying tensions, leaving
Speaker 1: the succession question unresolved and the Empire weakened. The specter
Speaker 1: of Matthias's impending demise without an air cast a long
Speaker 1: shadow over the Empire. While Ferdinand of Styria was the
Speaker 1: presumed successor, Spanish interests complicated this situation. Philip, a third
Speaker 1: of Spain, motivated by dynastic ambitions, initially tried to delay
Speaker 1: the succession. He then cunningly exploited the existing divisions within
Speaker 1: the Empire by promoting the candidacy of Duke Maximilian of Bavaria,
Speaker 1: a tactic designed to prevent Ferdinand's ascension and further weaken
Speaker 1: the Habsburgs. This maneuver, though ultimately unsuccessful, exposed the depths
Speaker 1: of Spanish intrigue and their willingness to exploit the Empire's
Speaker 1: vulnerabilities for their own gain. Amidst this political backdrop, the
Speaker 1: religious climate in Bohemia reached a boiling point. Ferdinand's unwavering
Speaker 1: Catholicism and perceived disregard for Bohemian religious freedoms ignited a
Speaker 1: powder cake of resentment the defense dration of Prague, which
Speaker 1: we're getting to believe me. In May of sixteen eighteen,
Speaker 1: a dramatic act of defiance in which Ferdinand's representatives will
Speaker 1: be hurled out a window marked the eruption of the
Speaker 1: Bohemian revolt in the beginning of the Thirty Years War.
Speaker 1: But as we will see, this revolt probably doesn't cause
Speaker 1: anything without all of these underlying problems. Because the revolt
Speaker 1: spreads so fast, fueled as if by gasoline, by religious
Speaker 1: fervor and decades of anti Habsburg sentiment, it wouldn't be
Speaker 1: long before the flames of rebellion would soon engulf the
Speaker 1: entire empire. And this empire, weakened by decades of internal divisions,
Speaker 1: weakness among the Habsburgs, a disputed succession, religious strife, and
Speaker 1: external meddling, was totally unprepared for the storm that next
Speaker 1: time completely breaks. I hope you've enjoyed the show. As
Speaker 1: I mentioned if you missed it in a previous episode,
Speaker 1: we're returning to shorter episodes that are coming out more frequently.
Speaker 1: We're moving faster through a lot of the material without
Speaker 1: a lot of the detailed deep dives I had been
Speaker 1: doing for a previous year or so. If you're interested
Speaker 1: in more detailed shows, you can check out Western sev
Speaker 1: two point zero. The link is in the podcast there
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Speaker 1: do that. Thank you, and next week we finally jump
Speaker 1: in to the Thirty Years War proper