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The Thirty Years War, 1618 - 1648: The First Global War and the End of Habsburg Supremacy
The 'Defenestration of Prague', the coup d'etat staged by Protestant Bohemian nobles against officials of the Hapsburg Emperor triggered the Thirty Years War. When Habsburg Spain intervened in support of their Holy Roman Emperor relative, what had started as a localized political and religious dispute in Germany, transformed into a European and global conflict.
In seeking to exploit the Bohemian revolt, Spanish Habsburg revanchist ambitions directed by the Spanish Count of Olivarez at the economically powerful Dutch Republic were allied with the Habsburg Emperor’s counter-reformation ambitions. After the Bohemian defeat at the White Mountain in 1620 the war widened as the Dutch Republic, England, Transylvania, Denmark, Sweden, and Richelieu’s France all intervened to roll back Habsburg hegemony and restore the balance power.
There was extensive fighting across the globe, as the Dutch and English sought to challenge the Spanish Habsburg global monopoly. These colonial wars were a major factor in the Iberian revolutions with brought down the Habsburg Imperium. Professor Charles Boxer called it: “the first world war”.
It was a tragic war of attrition but also an epic story of remarkable individuals including the 'titans’ of the era, Imperial General Wallenstein, warrior King Gustavus, sinister Count Olivarez, and the masters of international intrigue, realpolitik and diplomacy- Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin. Above all there were the decisive victories of the under-sung military genius of the era, Lennart Torstensson.
The Treaties of Westphalia followed a war which not only changed the global balance of power, but accelerated over thirty years the transformation of the European continent from a world characterized by dynasties and the medieval concept of United Christendom to a European order that was recognizably modern.
In seeking to exploit the Bohemian revolt, Spanish Habsburg revanchist ambitions directed by the Spanish Count of Olivarez at the economically powerful Dutch Republic were allied with the Habsburg Emperor’s counter-reformation ambitions. After the Bohemian defeat at the White Mountain in 1620 the war widened as the Dutch Republic, England, Transylvania, Denmark, Sweden, and Richelieu’s France all intervened to roll back Habsburg hegemony and restore the balance power.
There was extensive fighting across the globe, as the Dutch and English sought to challenge the Spanish Habsburg global monopoly. These colonial wars were a major factor in the Iberian revolutions with brought down the Habsburg Imperium. Professor Charles Boxer called it: “the first world war”.
It was a tragic war of attrition but also an epic story of remarkable individuals including the 'titans’ of the era, Imperial General Wallenstein, warrior King Gustavus, sinister Count Olivarez, and the masters of international intrigue, realpolitik and diplomacy- Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin. Above all there were the decisive victories of the under-sung military genius of the era, Lennart Torstensson.
The Treaties of Westphalia followed a war which not only changed the global balance of power, but accelerated over thirty years the transformation of the European continent from a world characterized by dynasties and the medieval concept of United Christendom to a European order that was recognizably modern.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published November 30, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 21, 2024
There are wars and complex wars, then there is the Thirty Years War fought between 1618 and 1648. This was a multi-faceted war for the religious, political, and economic control of Europe, a war that would create nations while diminishing empires and ending the dreams and ambitions of many a prince and lord, and a war that would usher in early modern Europe. Explaining all that would be some undertaking for any historian, but John Pike goes further to place this war in its global context. It is quite the journey.
Pike gets off to a good start by placing his general maps up front, which is a blessing for a war such as the Thirty Years War. The text begins on familiar ground with the defenestration of Prague in 1618. Then Pike lays out his groundwork with an extended description of the Habsburg supremacy and the challenges it faced, both internally and externally. The Thirty Years War exposed both, beginning as a civil war then connecting to other conflicts to create a global conflagration. Pike continues with his background, folding in the major players and characters while embarking on his narrative of events. This is mostly straightforward military history, but Pike deftly mixes in economic, logistical, and political factors. He is aided in this by adding regular (idiosyncratically drawn) maps, and he uses subtitles, which act as very useful signposts for this complicated journey.
About half-way through his narrative, Pike turns to the global aspects of the Thirty Years War. This was an age of burgeoning global networks and budding imperialism. Pike also notes that the war against the Habsburgs had begun decades earlier but continued into the war years. Thus, we find the war spreading to Asia and the Americas where the ‘only law was naval power’, a military arm in which the Dutch excelled against the more powerful Spanish and Portuguese. Pike returns to Europe and a stalemate that fostered revolutions, such as the Catalan Revolt of 1640-1642 and the secession of Portugal. Almost all wars end with a settlement acceptable to all parties, but with seven primary participants in the Thirty Years War, this proved easier said than done. Pike notes that diplomacy continued during the war, but only as the war moved into its third decade did it gain a true foothold. A new generation of leaders entered the scene, which unblocked the political situation, aided by the crushing military victories at Rocroi and Tuttlingen in 1643. Exhaustion played its role too, with the Holy Roman Empire unable to field a decent army in 1645 to protect Vienna. By then peace was firmly on its way, bringing a cessation to hostilities in October 1648 through the Treaty of Westphalia. In his lengthy postscript, Pike analyses modern Europe, and its roots in the Westphalia treaty, and what that means going forward for the EU.
The Thirty Years War can be a dry and dusty subject to read, and it is easy to get lost in often kaleidoscopic sequences of almost simultaneous events and the people who participated in them. Pike’s account, however, is well managed and written with a public readership in mind. His narrative is easy to follow, and while the main thread is the military campaigns and battles, Pike effortlessly includes many of the other economic and political factors that facilitate warfare. He also embroiders small but colourful details into his text, such as the botched execution of Cinq Mars, dying bravely without a blindfold. Pike wisely adds plenty of maps to assist his readers. The inclusion of the postscript, connecting the Thirty Years War to the modern EU, felt like an unnecessary addition, but it was not intrusive. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable book that casual readers will enjoy just as much as serious students.
Pike gets off to a good start by placing his general maps up front, which is a blessing for a war such as the Thirty Years War. The text begins on familiar ground with the defenestration of Prague in 1618. Then Pike lays out his groundwork with an extended description of the Habsburg supremacy and the challenges it faced, both internally and externally. The Thirty Years War exposed both, beginning as a civil war then connecting to other conflicts to create a global conflagration. Pike continues with his background, folding in the major players and characters while embarking on his narrative of events. This is mostly straightforward military history, but Pike deftly mixes in economic, logistical, and political factors. He is aided in this by adding regular (idiosyncratically drawn) maps, and he uses subtitles, which act as very useful signposts for this complicated journey.
About half-way through his narrative, Pike turns to the global aspects of the Thirty Years War. This was an age of burgeoning global networks and budding imperialism. Pike also notes that the war against the Habsburgs had begun decades earlier but continued into the war years. Thus, we find the war spreading to Asia and the Americas where the ‘only law was naval power’, a military arm in which the Dutch excelled against the more powerful Spanish and Portuguese. Pike returns to Europe and a stalemate that fostered revolutions, such as the Catalan Revolt of 1640-1642 and the secession of Portugal. Almost all wars end with a settlement acceptable to all parties, but with seven primary participants in the Thirty Years War, this proved easier said than done. Pike notes that diplomacy continued during the war, but only as the war moved into its third decade did it gain a true foothold. A new generation of leaders entered the scene, which unblocked the political situation, aided by the crushing military victories at Rocroi and Tuttlingen in 1643. Exhaustion played its role too, with the Holy Roman Empire unable to field a decent army in 1645 to protect Vienna. By then peace was firmly on its way, bringing a cessation to hostilities in October 1648 through the Treaty of Westphalia. In his lengthy postscript, Pike analyses modern Europe, and its roots in the Westphalia treaty, and what that means going forward for the EU.
The Thirty Years War can be a dry and dusty subject to read, and it is easy to get lost in often kaleidoscopic sequences of almost simultaneous events and the people who participated in them. Pike’s account, however, is well managed and written with a public readership in mind. His narrative is easy to follow, and while the main thread is the military campaigns and battles, Pike effortlessly includes many of the other economic and political factors that facilitate warfare. He also embroiders small but colourful details into his text, such as the botched execution of Cinq Mars, dying bravely without a blindfold. Pike wisely adds plenty of maps to assist his readers. The inclusion of the postscript, connecting the Thirty Years War to the modern EU, felt like an unnecessary addition, but it was not intrusive. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable book that casual readers will enjoy just as much as serious students.
Read
June 7, 2024And by read, I mean tried to read but mostly skimmed and read certain sections. Apparently, I just am not smart enough! Whew wee!! What I did read and comprehend was interesting. :S
If you know of a book about the 30 years war for regular people then let me know!
If you know of a book about the 30 years war for regular people then let me know!
February 19, 2024
Book Report of John Pike “The Thirty Years War 1618-1648: The First Global War and the End of the Hasburg Supremacy” by Peyman ADL DOUSTI HAGH
Introduction:
The Thirty Years War had already been brewing for some time, but it is generally agreed that the war officially started in 1618. At that time, the future Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II tried to enforce Roman Catholic absolutism on his territories. This sparked a rebellion led by the Protestant nobles of Bohemia and Austria.
The Thirty Years' War took place from 1618 to 1648, initially fought between the Catholic and Protestant states that made up the Holy Roman Empire. However, as the war progressed, it became less about religion and more about which group would dominate Europe.
Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, or disease, while parts of modern Germany reported population declines of over 50%.
The Thirty Years' War concluded with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which brought about an irreversible change to the map of Europe. The peace talks were held in the Westphalian towns of Münster and Osnabrück from 1644 onwards. On January 30, 1648, the Spanish-Dutch treaty was signed.
Summary:
The war was divided into four major phases: The Bohemian Revolt, the Danish Intervention, the Swedish Intervention, and the French Intervention.
The Thirty Years' War had three main winners - France, the Dutch Republic, and Sweden. However, the Hapsburgs of Spain and Austria were significantly weakened. Specifically, Spain lost much of its power and never regained the same level of influence it had before the war.
The Thirty Years' War was primarily caused by Emperor Ferdinand II's decision to force Protestants to convert to Catholicism. The war finally came to an end with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia, which established boundaries for European countries and recognized their territorial sovereignty throughout the continent.
Analysis:
The Thirty Years' War was a religious conflict in 17th-century central Europe. It was one of the most brutal wars in human history, lasting for over three decades and resulting in more than 8 million casualties from military battles, famine, and disease. The war started in 1618 as a dispute between the Catholic and Protestant states that formed the Holy Roman Empire. However, as the conflict evolved, it became less about religion and more about who would govern Europe, leading to a change in the geopolitical face of Europe and the role of religion and nation-states in society.
Emperor Ferdinand II became the head of the Holy Roman Empire in 1619, and religious conflict began to stir up. One of his first actions was to impose Roman Catholicism on the empire's citizens despite religious freedom being granted as part of the Peace of Augsburg. The Peace of Augsburg was signed in 1555 as a vital part of the Reformation, and it allowed the princes of states to adopt either Lutheranism/Calvinism or Catholicism within their respective domains, stating that "whose realm, his religion." While this helped to calm tensions between people of the two faiths within the Holy Roman Empire for over 60 years, there were still conflicts, such as the Cologne War (1583-1588) and the War of the Julich Succession (1609). The Holy Roman Empire controlled much of Europe, but it was essentially a group of semi-autonomous states or fiefdoms, with the emperor, from the House of Habsburg, having limited authority over their governance.
In 1618, after Ferdinand II issued a decree related to religion, the Bohemian nobility in present-day Austria and the Czech Republic rejected him. They demonstrated their discontent by throwing his representatives out of a window at Prague Castle. This event, famously known as the Defenestration of Prague, marked the start of an open revolt in the Bohemian states. The Bohemian rebels had the support of Sweden and Denmark-Norway, which led to the beginning of the Thirty Years' War.
In 1618, the northern Bohemian states of the Holy Roman Empire, which were primarily Protestant, rebelled against the decision made by Ferdinand II to remove their religious freedom. This revolt, known as the Bohemian Revolt, was the first stage of the Thirty Years' War, and it led to further fragmentation of an already loosely structured empire.
During the first decade of the war, the Bohemian nobility formed alliances with the Protestant Union states in Germany, while Ferdinand II sought the support of his Catholic nephew, King Phillip IV of Spain. As a result, armies for both sides were engaged in brutal warfare on multiple fronts - in present-day Austria and the east in Transylvania. Here, Ottoman Empire soldiers fought alongside the Bohemians (in exchange for yearly dues paid to the sultan) against the Poles, who were on the side of the Habsburgs.
In the west, the Spanish army joined forces with the Catholic League, which consisted of nation-states in present-day Germany, Belgium, and France that supported Ferdinand II. Initially, Ferdinand II's army succeeded in quelling the rebellion in east and northern Austria, which led to the dissolution of the Protestant Union. However, the fighting continued west, where King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway supported the Protestant states. Despite receiving help from Scottish soldiers, the armies of Denmark-Norway were defeated by Ferdinand II's forces, resulting in the loss of much of northern Europe to the emperor.
In 1630, under Gustavus Adolphus's leadership, Sweden joined the fight on the side of the northern Protestants. The Swedish army played a significant role in pushing back the Catholic forces and reclaiming much of the territory lost by the Protestant Union. With the support of the Swedes, the Protestants continued to achieve victories. However, the death of Gustavus Adolphus in the Battle of Lutzen in 1632 weakened the resolve of the Swedes.
Bohemian nobleman Albrecht von Wallenstein provided his army of approximately 50,000 soldiers to Ferdinand II in exchange for the freedom to plunder any captured territory. With Wallenstein's military assistance, the Catholic forces began to respond, and by 1635, the Swedes were defeated. The resulting treaty, known as the Peace of Prague, protected the territories of the Lutheran/Calvinist rulers of northeastern Germany but did not protect those of the south and west in Austria and the Czech Republic. As a result, religious and political tensions in those regions remained high, and the fighting continued.
Despite being Catholic, the French were rivals of the Habsburgs and were unhappy with the terms of the Peace of Prague. As a result, they entered the conflict in 1635. However, their armies initially could not penetrate Ferdinand II's forces, even after he passed away in 1637.
Meanwhile, Spain, fighting for the emperor's successor and son, Ferdinand III, and later under Leopold I, launched counter-attacks and invaded French territory, threatening Paris in 1636. Nevertheless, the French recuperated, and the fighting between the French-Protestant alliance, the forces of Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire remained at a stalemate for several years.
In 1640, the Portuguese began to rise against their Spanish rulers, weakening their military efforts on behalf of the Holy Roman Empire. Two years later, the Swedes returned to the conflict, weakening Habsburg forces.
In the year 1643, the Thirty Years' War took a turn when Denmark-Norway joined the Habsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire in battle. This was a significant shift in the ongoing conflict. Around the same time, the death of French monarch Louis XIII left a leadership vacuum in Paris. His 5-year-old son, Louis XIV, inherited the throne. The French army experienced both victories and defeats in the following years, with one significant loss at the Battle of Herbsthausen in 1645. That same year, the Swedes attacked Vienna but did not capture the city from the Holy Roman Empire.
In 1647, the Habsburg forces, led by Octavio Piccolomini, were able to repel the Swedes and the French from what is now Austria. The following year, in the Battle of Prague, the Swedes captured Prague Castle from the forces of the Holy Roman Empire. They also looted the priceless art collection in the castle. However, the Swedes were unable to take the majority of the city. At this time, only the Austrian territories remained under the control of the Habsburgs. This battle was the last significant fighting in the Thirty Years' War.
In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia was signed by various parties involved in the Thirty Years' War. This series of treaties effectively ended the war, although it had significant geopolitical consequences for Europe. As a result of the fighting, Spain was weakened, losing its control over Portugal and the Dutch Republic. Additionally, the peace accords granted more autonomy to the former states of the Holy Roman Empire in German-speaking central Europe.
Conclusion:
Historians believe that the Peace of Westphalia, which was the result of the Thirty Years' War, laid the foundation for the formation of the modern nation-state. The peace agreement set clear boundaries for the countries involved in the fighting, which effectively established that residents of a state were subject to the laws of that state and not to those of any other institution, secular or religious. This had a significant impact on the balance of power in Europe and led to a reduction in the influence of the Catholic Church and other religious groups over political affairs.
The Thirty Years' War was a brutal conflict that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people due to famine caused by the war and an epidemic of typhus. The disease spread rapidly in areas that were particularly affected by the violence. During the war, historians believe that the first European witch hunts began as a suspicious populace attributed the suffering throughout Europe at the time to"spiritual" causes.
Introduction:
The Thirty Years War had already been brewing for some time, but it is generally agreed that the war officially started in 1618. At that time, the future Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II tried to enforce Roman Catholic absolutism on his territories. This sparked a rebellion led by the Protestant nobles of Bohemia and Austria.
The Thirty Years' War took place from 1618 to 1648, initially fought between the Catholic and Protestant states that made up the Holy Roman Empire. However, as the war progressed, it became less about religion and more about which group would dominate Europe.
Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, or disease, while parts of modern Germany reported population declines of over 50%.
The Thirty Years' War concluded with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which brought about an irreversible change to the map of Europe. The peace talks were held in the Westphalian towns of Münster and Osnabrück from 1644 onwards. On January 30, 1648, the Spanish-Dutch treaty was signed.
Summary:
The war was divided into four major phases: The Bohemian Revolt, the Danish Intervention, the Swedish Intervention, and the French Intervention.
The Thirty Years' War had three main winners - France, the Dutch Republic, and Sweden. However, the Hapsburgs of Spain and Austria were significantly weakened. Specifically, Spain lost much of its power and never regained the same level of influence it had before the war.
The Thirty Years' War was primarily caused by Emperor Ferdinand II's decision to force Protestants to convert to Catholicism. The war finally came to an end with the signing of the Peace of Westphalia, which established boundaries for European countries and recognized their territorial sovereignty throughout the continent.
Analysis:
The Thirty Years' War was a religious conflict in 17th-century central Europe. It was one of the most brutal wars in human history, lasting for over three decades and resulting in more than 8 million casualties from military battles, famine, and disease. The war started in 1618 as a dispute between the Catholic and Protestant states that formed the Holy Roman Empire. However, as the conflict evolved, it became less about religion and more about who would govern Europe, leading to a change in the geopolitical face of Europe and the role of religion and nation-states in society.
Emperor Ferdinand II became the head of the Holy Roman Empire in 1619, and religious conflict began to stir up. One of his first actions was to impose Roman Catholicism on the empire's citizens despite religious freedom being granted as part of the Peace of Augsburg. The Peace of Augsburg was signed in 1555 as a vital part of the Reformation, and it allowed the princes of states to adopt either Lutheranism/Calvinism or Catholicism within their respective domains, stating that "whose realm, his religion." While this helped to calm tensions between people of the two faiths within the Holy Roman Empire for over 60 years, there were still conflicts, such as the Cologne War (1583-1588) and the War of the Julich Succession (1609). The Holy Roman Empire controlled much of Europe, but it was essentially a group of semi-autonomous states or fiefdoms, with the emperor, from the House of Habsburg, having limited authority over their governance.
In 1618, after Ferdinand II issued a decree related to religion, the Bohemian nobility in present-day Austria and the Czech Republic rejected him. They demonstrated their discontent by throwing his representatives out of a window at Prague Castle. This event, famously known as the Defenestration of Prague, marked the start of an open revolt in the Bohemian states. The Bohemian rebels had the support of Sweden and Denmark-Norway, which led to the beginning of the Thirty Years' War.
In 1618, the northern Bohemian states of the Holy Roman Empire, which were primarily Protestant, rebelled against the decision made by Ferdinand II to remove their religious freedom. This revolt, known as the Bohemian Revolt, was the first stage of the Thirty Years' War, and it led to further fragmentation of an already loosely structured empire.
During the first decade of the war, the Bohemian nobility formed alliances with the Protestant Union states in Germany, while Ferdinand II sought the support of his Catholic nephew, King Phillip IV of Spain. As a result, armies for both sides were engaged in brutal warfare on multiple fronts - in present-day Austria and the east in Transylvania. Here, Ottoman Empire soldiers fought alongside the Bohemians (in exchange for yearly dues paid to the sultan) against the Poles, who were on the side of the Habsburgs.
In the west, the Spanish army joined forces with the Catholic League, which consisted of nation-states in present-day Germany, Belgium, and France that supported Ferdinand II. Initially, Ferdinand II's army succeeded in quelling the rebellion in east and northern Austria, which led to the dissolution of the Protestant Union. However, the fighting continued west, where King Christian IV of Denmark-Norway supported the Protestant states. Despite receiving help from Scottish soldiers, the armies of Denmark-Norway were defeated by Ferdinand II's forces, resulting in the loss of much of northern Europe to the emperor.
In 1630, under Gustavus Adolphus's leadership, Sweden joined the fight on the side of the northern Protestants. The Swedish army played a significant role in pushing back the Catholic forces and reclaiming much of the territory lost by the Protestant Union. With the support of the Swedes, the Protestants continued to achieve victories. However, the death of Gustavus Adolphus in the Battle of Lutzen in 1632 weakened the resolve of the Swedes.
Bohemian nobleman Albrecht von Wallenstein provided his army of approximately 50,000 soldiers to Ferdinand II in exchange for the freedom to plunder any captured territory. With Wallenstein's military assistance, the Catholic forces began to respond, and by 1635, the Swedes were defeated. The resulting treaty, known as the Peace of Prague, protected the territories of the Lutheran/Calvinist rulers of northeastern Germany but did not protect those of the south and west in Austria and the Czech Republic. As a result, religious and political tensions in those regions remained high, and the fighting continued.
Despite being Catholic, the French were rivals of the Habsburgs and were unhappy with the terms of the Peace of Prague. As a result, they entered the conflict in 1635. However, their armies initially could not penetrate Ferdinand II's forces, even after he passed away in 1637.
Meanwhile, Spain, fighting for the emperor's successor and son, Ferdinand III, and later under Leopold I, launched counter-attacks and invaded French territory, threatening Paris in 1636. Nevertheless, the French recuperated, and the fighting between the French-Protestant alliance, the forces of Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire remained at a stalemate for several years.
In 1640, the Portuguese began to rise against their Spanish rulers, weakening their military efforts on behalf of the Holy Roman Empire. Two years later, the Swedes returned to the conflict, weakening Habsburg forces.
In the year 1643, the Thirty Years' War took a turn when Denmark-Norway joined the Habsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire in battle. This was a significant shift in the ongoing conflict. Around the same time, the death of French monarch Louis XIII left a leadership vacuum in Paris. His 5-year-old son, Louis XIV, inherited the throne. The French army experienced both victories and defeats in the following years, with one significant loss at the Battle of Herbsthausen in 1645. That same year, the Swedes attacked Vienna but did not capture the city from the Holy Roman Empire.
In 1647, the Habsburg forces, led by Octavio Piccolomini, were able to repel the Swedes and the French from what is now Austria. The following year, in the Battle of Prague, the Swedes captured Prague Castle from the forces of the Holy Roman Empire. They also looted the priceless art collection in the castle. However, the Swedes were unable to take the majority of the city. At this time, only the Austrian territories remained under the control of the Habsburgs. This battle was the last significant fighting in the Thirty Years' War.
In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia was signed by various parties involved in the Thirty Years' War. This series of treaties effectively ended the war, although it had significant geopolitical consequences for Europe. As a result of the fighting, Spain was weakened, losing its control over Portugal and the Dutch Republic. Additionally, the peace accords granted more autonomy to the former states of the Holy Roman Empire in German-speaking central Europe.
Conclusion:
Historians believe that the Peace of Westphalia, which was the result of the Thirty Years' War, laid the foundation for the formation of the modern nation-state. The peace agreement set clear boundaries for the countries involved in the fighting, which effectively established that residents of a state were subject to the laws of that state and not to those of any other institution, secular or religious. This had a significant impact on the balance of power in Europe and led to a reduction in the influence of the Catholic Church and other religious groups over political affairs.
The Thirty Years' War was a brutal conflict that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people due to famine caused by the war and an epidemic of typhus. The disease spread rapidly in areas that were particularly affected by the violence. During the war, historians believe that the first European witch hunts began as a suspicious populace attributed the suffering throughout Europe at the time to"spiritual" causes.
Read
October 31, 2024Need to read this after I have read a more straightforward narrative of the period. This is like analysis and requires a background understanding of events, polities, and leaders.
January 22, 2026
Turgid, sloppy, and well-nigh unreadable, and devoid of context or introductions to historical figures, while obsessing over battle layouts, DNF.
January 26, 2026
It was very difficult to follow and the references to the current Europe though interesting were not relevant
Read
January 30, 2026Absolutely terrible book. Had to be an historian who is a poor writer.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews