Thirty Years War

Between 1618 and 1648 Europe and her people were in the clutches of war.
A was that was fought amongst different nations for various reasons such as religion, land, dynasty and trade rivalries.
Once the war ended Europe was broken and its map had completely changed.
While the historians mark the year 1618 as the beginning of the Thirty Years War its foundation had already begun a few years earlier.
It began when the Holy Roman emperor Ferdinand II tried to impress Roman Catholicism in his territory when he was the King of Bohemia.
His act infuriated the Protestant nobles of Austria and Bohemia who rebelled against their Catholic King.
Ferdinand II was victorious in the revolts which took place for five years.
The King of Denmark Christian IV had lost his Baltic provinces to Sweden earlier and in 1625 wanting to compensate the losses he tried to capture important regions in Germany.
In 1629 Christian IV’s attempts were all in vain and it also saw Denmark lose its position as a European power.
On the other hand Gustav II Adolf of Sweden also invaded Germany after he ended a war with Poland which had lasted for four years.
Gustav II Adolf was an anti-Catholic and after winning several German princes added them to his cause.
Meanwhile Poland attacked Russia and established a dictatorship in Moscow.
Poland’s future king Wladyslaw took over Russia as its dictator.