The 30 Years War and Things That Led To It.

Arguably one of the most bloody and confusing wars was the Thirty Year War. The war took place between the years 1618 and 1648. The war could have been shortened tremendously or even avoided altogether if not for the intervention of countries surrounding Germany. The main conflict between the countries and even conflicts between people in these countries was the number one starter of wars even today; religion.

In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg was signed in order to end the violence between the Lutherans and the Holy Roman Empire. Debates always seemed to turn ugly between the two religions, and people hated each other based on what they believed. The treaty outlined some very strict rules regarding each German province, and seemed to be more lenient towards those who were Lutherans, rather than following Catholicism.

The treaty stated that: German Princes were able to choose the religion their province would follow, either Catholicism or Lutheranism, based on their personal belief.

English: Map of the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th ...

English: Map of the Holy Roman Empire, 1789, trans...

The Catholicism Project

It also stated that those people who were Lutheran and living under the rule of a Catholic bishop did not have to convert, but rather could remain a Lutheran. Any Catholic land captured by the Lutherans prior to 1552 would remain Lutheran land, while the Catholics had to give the Lutherans back any land taken from them, regardless of when or how. The last, most upsetting point to the people in power was that any Catholic bishop who was the leader of a province and decided to convert to Lutheranism, was being forced to give up their position and their province.

As Calvinism was beginning to spread throughout Germany and all of Europe, the new Kings and leaders of Germany were allowing the issue of religion to become a little more lax than it had been in the...