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Foundations of Modern History
Thirty Years War
In The Thirty Years war, Mr. Steinberg reorients and reinterprets those complex but momentous upheavals in the hear of seventeenth-century Europe which historians have traditionally labeled The Thirty Years War. The Thirty years war begins with the Bohemian revolt in 1618 and ends with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. This is the third book in a series called Foundations of Modern History.
- GenresHistory
140 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
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May 31, 2021
Part of this book is a succinct political history of the period which helps clarify some of the main themes and outcomes of the war. I liked that part quite a bit, although I thought more detail could’ve been given on Spanish war aims, Olivares, and the monarchy.
Another part of the book is a polemical revision of the history, which is quite interesting to read now, the book and the thrust of the historian’s arguments having been written in the aftermath of World War II. My understanding is that a couple of Steinberg’s key arguments have been debunked: That the concept of a 30 years war did not emerge until four after the events, and that Germany’s population actually increase during this period. However, my sense was that his challenge to the view that these wars were of a scale comparable to the 20th century has a lot of factual merit. I also thought that placing the war in the context of France challenging Habsburg encirclement, for example, helped challenge the perception of the war as senseless or inscrutable.
It was also a bit funny to me that although one of the authors primary purposes is to challenge the label 30 years war, he includes it in the title! And that, while trying to shift the focus of the war from being all about Germany to being a broader conflict, the section on cultural and social life at the end only focuses on Germany.
Another part of the book is a polemical revision of the history, which is quite interesting to read now, the book and the thrust of the historian’s arguments having been written in the aftermath of World War II. My understanding is that a couple of Steinberg’s key arguments have been debunked: That the concept of a 30 years war did not emerge until four after the events, and that Germany’s population actually increase during this period. However, my sense was that his challenge to the view that these wars were of a scale comparable to the 20th century has a lot of factual merit. I also thought that placing the war in the context of France challenging Habsburg encirclement, for example, helped challenge the perception of the war as senseless or inscrutable.
It was also a bit funny to me that although one of the authors primary purposes is to challenge the label 30 years war, he includes it in the title! And that, while trying to shift the focus of the war from being all about Germany to being a broader conflict, the section on cultural and social life at the end only focuses on Germany.
Displaying 1 of 1 review