Throughout the seventeenth century, Europe was in a state of crisis. In many countries, violent revolts and riots were not out of the ordinary. In most of these cases of violence, human behaviors and actions of the controlling governments and royalty authorities were the underlying factors that set the stage for the chaotic state. However, in all of the instances of revolt and anarchy seen throughout Europe, religious behaviors and influences were the most prominent and contributing cause that sparked the most violence in the general crisis during the 1600’s.
Beginning very early in the seventeenth century, religious tension was rampant throughout Europe. An example that illustrates the disastrous effects of religious conflicts in Europe that caused a tremendous amount of violence can be seen in the Holy Roman Empire. In 1618, Ferdinand Habsburg a devout Catholic succeeded the crown of the Holy Roman Empire, and set out to unify the empire under the Catholic faith. However, this mission of Ferdinand Habsburg was not accepted by Protestant citizens, which essentially led to the violence to come. In May 1618, a group of Protestant nobles killed two of the king’s catholic officials, which created the spark for Protestants all throughout the Empire to revolt. Instances of religious revolts were reported in Hungary and Bohemia, ultimately creating an exponential effect, and a reason for Protestants to unite and revolt to preserve their faith. This particular historical event later was termed the Defenestration of Prague. However, the violence did not stop there; in fact the violence only multiplied. Religious conflicts continued to occur in Bohemia in the Battle of White Mountain in 1620 in which Frederick V a Calvinist, lost to Fer...
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...t proved to be the most predominant factor that caused much of the violence seen throughout Europe. While it is usually not favored by many authoritative figures, the establishment of some sort of religious toleration law would prove to resolve many of the religious conflicts within the European countries. Examples of this such as the Edict of Nantes and the Toleration Act proved to be effective since there were little to no religious uprisings under their enforcement. In addition, the government or authoritative ruler could enact a law to punish those who persecute others based on their religion. If these two suggestions were taken into account earlier on in the sixteenth century, the violence of the seventeenth century would have been greatly reduced. More importantly, however, these solutions can be used to prevent future religious violent acts from happening.
In conclusion, though I have shown support for the religion theory most of all in this paper, I do believe that it was not one aspect that set this craze off. Many different theories overlapped to form this tragic and lengthy period of England’s history. Obviously, from the notes we’ve taken in this class, we realize that religion did and always will play a major role in England, or any other country for that matter. Perhaps from this spectacle of unnecessary death, we can learn that any institution, given too much power can, even unwillingly, prove dangerous.
The Protestant Reformation in Europe caused conflicts between the Catholics and Protestants, but ultimately ended up in unity. The first religious war was fought between the Schmalkaldic League and Charles V. That war ended up in the Peace of Augsburg, which let each German state choose their leader, and all of the people
The Act of Supremacy 1559 arguably was a key turning point in the relationship between Church and State in the 16th century because most of the changes it introduced were permanent. However, it could be said that it was not the only factor which contributed to the changing relations as the Act of Supremacy 1534, the role of key individuals and the changes under Edwards reigns played a significant role. This implies that the changing relationship between the Church and state in the 16th century was not a consequence of Act of Supremacy 1559 but all of them together.
Roper, H. R.. The crisis of the seventeenth century; religion, the Reformation, and social change. [1st U.S. ed. New York: Harper & Row, 19681967. Print.
The 17th century was a chaotic time period in England. England saw a transition in their nation’s religion during the reign of different monarchs. Before the start of the 17th century, England was under a Roman Catholic monarch with Queen Mary. Mary attempted to turn the Church of England into a Catholic Church and in the process earned the name “Bloody Mary”. She earned this name through her executions of many Protestants in England. However once Mary was unsuccessful in creating a Catholic England and was no longer the monarch, the Church went back to a Protestant Church. With the church now being Protestant, the Catholic minority in England began to become upset with the church and even plotted to make the church Catholic again through violence.
The frequency of popular protest and rebellion in Early Modern England offers an insight into the nature of the social relations people maintained. P. Clark refers to the repetition of rebellion and popular protest as being ‘a recurrent phenomenon’ which spread throughout Europe in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth century. This implies that people thought there was a necessary cause to act in such a way, believing that change was possible to address their grievances. Additionally, Andy Wood further emphasises the ideology of the repetitive nature of popular protest and rebellion through the existence of a ‘shared tradition of popular protest’. This implies that there was a continuation in the motivations of those who chose to rebel. Many of the
The period immediately following the Protestant reformation and the Catholic counter reformation, was full of conflict and war. The entire continent of Europe and all of it's classes of society were affected by the destruction and flaring tempers of the period. In the Netherlands, the Protestants and the Catholics were at eachother’s throats. In France it was the Guise family versus the Bourbons. In Bohemia, the religious and political structures caused total havoc for over thirty years; and in England, the Presbyterians thought that the English Anglican Church too closely resembled the Roman Catholic Church. Religion was the major cause of the widespread turmoil that took place throughout Europe between 1560 and 1660.
Culture is made up of three main components: ethics, aesthetics, and religion (Lincoln 52). The lines of culture become skewed as it often blends in with political and religious views. In Western Europe during the time of the Reformation, the Church was the central ruler of the society. This meant that religion was not only a cultural view, but also a political one. As time moved on, the Church became less important, but today’s standards still connect religion to culture. This becomes an issue as individuals who are noticeably outside the culture in forms or religion are often judged and looked down upon (Lincoln 56). Due to this outcast it can cause anger to certain religions and culture which can often lead to these acts of violence. With the hate between cultures, religion becomes the justifiable mean on which violence can occur. Many individuals can state that God wants them to make their own religion superior, and one way they can draw attention to their religion is terrorism and other forms of violence. Due to this connection to culture, religion can not be separated into it’s own personal category, as it is forever affected by the changes and culture of the community (Lincoln 57). As time and culture progress, the religion of the community will either change with it, or fight the changes which will often cause conflict. This can be seen in the results of the practice of Jihad, the Reformation and
The English Reformation and the Thirty Years War, along with the incident on St. Bartholomew’s Eve are just a few examples of how Christians used violence on behalf of religion. Originally the English Reformation was purely political. The only reason protestantism advanced was because it was aided by political agenda at that time. However, since the English Reformation had no driving religious force like Calvin, Luther or Zwingli, the people had to step up to show that they cared about their religion. This is one example in which violence should be used to protect your religion. When the government is using your religion for political power, the government can easily throw it away when it feels as if your religion serves no more use to them. Once the government does that, the persecution of your religion (in this case Protestantism) will start again.
The Holy Roman Empire was an empire in central Europe consisting of many territories and ethnicities. Once very powerful, the empire’s authority slowly decreased over centuries and by the Middle Ages the emperor was little more than a figurehead, allowing princes to govern smaller sections of the empire. Though the various ruling princes owed loyalty to the emperor, they were also granted a degree of independence and privileges. The emperor, an elected monarch, needed the allegiance of the princes and other aristocracy to support him, in turn giving them power or money. This tenuous allegiance between powers was greatly strained in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as religious reform dominated Europe and religious tensions divided the empire. Beginning in the sixteenth century, the empire’s power significantly declined because of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation split the empire’s states into Protestant and Catholic divisions, straining the peace between territories. Though the relationship between the princes and the emperor had already been tenuous, the princes, seeing the religious divisions, sensed weakness in the empire and further challenged imperial authority. The Holy Roman emperors battled Protestant princes in Germany into the seventeenth century, where tensions were still high from the Reformation and wars of religion – initially contained to the German territories – began to include other territories and states. As more European states joined the conflict, the Holy Roman Empire continued to deteriorate. From the early sixteenth to the mid seventeenth century, the Holy Roman Empire’s power declined greatly because of its internal religious rifts, conflicts (in particular the Thirty Years War, whic...
What happens when people start to break away from the entity that bound an entire civilization together for over a thousand years? How does one go from unparalleled devotion to God to the exploration of what man could do? From absolute acceptance to intense scrutiny? Sheeple to independent thinkers? Like all revolutions preceding it, the Protestant Reformation did not happen overnight. Catholics had begun to lose faith in the once infallible Church ever since the Great Schism, when there were two popes, each declaring that the other was the antichrist. Two things in particular can be identified as the final catalyst: a new philosophy and simple disgust. The expanding influence of humanism and the corruption of the Catholic Church led to the Protestant Reformation, which in turn launched the Catholic Reformation and religious warfare.
The issue of toleration has and always will be a strong and influential topic among peoples of all ethnic and culture backgrounds. The same is true for the issue of religious toleration, in the case being between the Jews and the Christians in Medieval Europe. It is argued between R. Menahem ha-meir and Katz that the word toleration is not simply an explanation of the times, but rather a false impression of the truth. The truth in this case being, that the Jews and Christians wanted isolation and separatism from each other while at the same time being able to co-exist together in their respective societies.
The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century is one of the most complex movements in European history since the fall of the Roman Empire. The Reformation truly ends the Middle Ages and begins a new era in the history of Western Civilization. The Reformation ended the religious unity of Europe and ushered in 150 years of religious warfare. By the time the conflicts had ended, the political and social geography in the west had fundamentally changed. The Reformation would have been revolutionary enough of itself, but it coincided in time with the opening of the Western Hemisphere to the Europeans and the development of firearms as effective field weapons. It coincided, too, with the spread of Renaissance ideals from Italy and the first stirrings of the Scientific Revolution. Taken together, these developments transformed Europe.
The Rise in Political Power of 17th Century England and France In the seventeenth century, the political power of the Parliament in England, and the Monarchy in France increased greatly. These conditions were inspired by three major changes: the aftermath of the reformation, the need for an increased governmental financing, and the reorganizing of central governments. These three points were each resolved in a different way in both England and in France. The first major point which eventually increased political power was
The 14th century is ranked as one of the most distressing epochs in the history of Western culture. With the transformation of the Holy Roman Empire into a greatly destabilized elective monarchy, the transfer in political power from Germany to France and the escalation of England's power comes the end of the High Middle Ages in which Europe sank into a time of despair. Many events were responsible for this decline and loss of hope. Among them, three deserve special attention: the Great Schism, the Hundred Years War, and the Black Plague.