This book by Peter H Wilson gives a pretty comprehensive overview of the Europe of the late 16th and early-to-mid 17th century, examining the political, military and religious trends and tensions which were prevalent.
I can imagine that some people will become slightly impatient with the lengthy preamble to the main action of the war itself, but this is necessary in order to equip the reader with a full grasp of the reasons for its outbreak and the varying motives of those who were integral to it. The author assiduously details the numerous political and confessional flashpoints which paved the way, however tortuously, to the eventual conflagration. If the level of detail is confusing and unwieldy at first, I found that the state of play "crystallized" in my mind bit by bit.
Much of the first third of this history concerns itself with the assorted manoeuvres both inside and outside the Holy Roman Empire which preceded the eruption of hostilities in 1618. Portraits of the various key players and protagonists are duly supplied. We see how all manner of considerations - religious, economic, dynastic and power-political - sparked unrest, animosity and confrontation. The various regions (Spain, Baltic, Dutch) are examined, so that we get a flavour of how things on the periphery played their part in determining the course of events.
Another feature which shines like a beacon is the curious and arcane (to modern eyes) way in which central Europe was ruled, organized and generally carved up in those days. It is almost as if someone had started with a blank sheet of paper a thousand years earlier and sought to design a system which would be guaranteed to generate the maximum possible amount of tension, ill-feeling and general unpleasantness. It looked to be riddled with moral hazards, contradictions and fault-lines. The priorities were different back then of course, but from a modern perspective it is fair to say that reason and practicality seemed conspicuously absent.
Gradually, matters become distilled down to the questions of the Habsburg succession, the intriguing of the more militant Protestant territories, and then the Bohemian revolt, where the conflict is commonly deemed to have commenced.
Some of the mysticism and superstition invoked by the radicals on both sides to justify and guide their actions is both comical and absurd, and it is chilling to read of the hatred and intransigence which was so pervasive in those times. It was often the innocent, the weak and the powerless who suffered most. Also, by its nature this was one of those conflicts which entailed troops "living off the land", which gave more scope for atrocities and general brutality.
A large part of the fascination of the Thirty Years' War is the fact that it was not always fought along clearly delineated religious or dynastic lines. Some Protestant states remained loyal to the Empire, seeking a path of constructive engagement or reconciliation. Also, there were machinations and intrigues between rulers who were nominally "allies", but who sought advantage and leverage within these arrangements. Bavaria's approach is a case in point. Much horse-trading took place to secure troops, financing or mediation. The persistent relevance of the Spanish-Dutch confrontation is underscored, both in strategic terms and in the importance of these two factions for the balance of the struggle.
Another recurring facet of the war which I discerned was that the Allied/Protestant cause/rebellion seemed constantly on the brink of collapse, but always managed to revive itself, as new backers, or foreign powers, materialised to step into the breach and breathe new life into the struggle, often with their own agendas and motives for doing so. The creation of martyrs, or the injustice of settlements imposed by the emperor, often spurred resistance and interventions.
As the account of the fighting unfolds, the suffering of the civilians, particularly in Germany, and the ravaging of the landscape and countryside, grows and grows and becomes more and more tragic and stark. Part of the difficulty in conveying the horror and cruelty in such a protracted and fragmented war is that its impact seems less pronounced and concentrated than the more systematic atrocities committed in many shorter conflicts. That said, one senses that the level of violence towards civilians escalated around 1830, with the full intervention of the Swedes in Germany. In saying that civilization has mercifully moved forward since the 17th century, we must not forget the barbarity which humans have inflicted on one another in more recent, supposedly more "civilized" times.
In the context of the suffering and general chaos, some of the peace negotiations, including those which finally concluded matters, appear incongruous in their modernity, vision and moderation.
Wilson also goes to great lengths to convey the social effects and connotations of the development of the war. We are supplied with an insight into how war was managed and prosecuted before the advent of modern nation states, and how the dearth of resources available to rulers and factions necessitated horse-trading and concessions once limited objectives had been attained.
The closing chapters are devoted to an analysis of the legacy of the war and its settlement, its effects on the Empire, and its place in the historical order of things. Wilson also puts into perspective the human, economic and cultural effects of the years of strife, and how they are perceived today.
Reading about the Thirty Years War requires intense concentration, because it is easy to lose track of the shifting and overlapping loyalties and allegiances. However, the protracted and spasmodic nature of the war, with short bursts of fighting interspersed with periods of consolidation and diplomacy, allows one to take stock, and for the mass of data to be assimilated!
If you are seeking a comprehensive and incisive overview of the Thirty Years War, I would highly recommend this book.
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