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well-being of Germany and my
other kingdoms, to create and pre–
serve peace and harmony through–
out Christendom and to bend its
forces against the Turks. My many
treaties have been .broken through
the passions of unpeaceable roen."
Many of Charles' problems stemmed
from the recalcitrance of Spain.
Spain, which is ruled by the
Habsburgs, is in itself an empire.
The governor of the Philippines
(1576) urges the emperor then on
the throne to undertake the con–
quest of China. Japanese ambassa–
dors arrive in Madrid ( 1584). The
Habsburg king of Spain, Philip II
( 1556-1598), who becomes Philip 1
of Portugal in 1580, adding the vast
Portuguese possessions in the East
[ndies to his dominions, dreams of a
worldwide trading and customs
union. According to this scheme, the
Spanish and Portuguese navies will
safeguard and regulate trade and
traffic on the high seas. German
capitalists will play a vital role in
PLAIN TRUTH
June-July 1974
providing needed
capital.
But Philip is also
a religious zealot. He
sees
himself as the defender of Cathol–
icism and seeks to crush Protestant–
ism. He constantly intervenes in
overaU European affairs, thus drain–
ing Spain's resources.
During his reign, the so-called ln–
vincible Armada is dispatched
against England. The fleet, con–
sisting of 132 vessels armed with
3,165 cannons, is defeated in the
English Channel by Drake's fleet
and destroyed by a storm off the
Hebrides between July 31 and Au–
gust 8, 1588. The power of Habs–
burg Spain is beginning to wane.
Within a generation, Austrian
Habsburgs also become involved in
a continental war that shatters the
power of the Holy Roman Empire.
Years 1618-1648: The T hirty
Years' War. This pivota! period
transforms Europe. From a revolt in
Bohemia, war develops which is to
• Spanish Empire
e Portuguese Empire'"
e Holy Roman Emplre
and Austria
• In 158() Phlllip 11
of
Spain
obtained the Portuguese
crown, although Spanlsh and
Portuguese possesslona
remained legaUy aeparate.
become a continental conflagration
between Cathotic and Protestant
Europe. But the war will also be
política!. In the Latter part of the
struggle. Sweden and France. both
enemies of the Habsburg dynasty.
enter the struggle in a continent–
encompassing war.
Swedish King Gustavu s
Adolphus smashes the imperial
army at Breitenfeld in 1631. This is
probably the most decisive battle
during the Thirty Years' War. lt
wipes out al! the Catholic gains of
1618-1629. Adolphus ' intervention
is crucial in saving German Protes–
tantism. His victory is short-lived; to
counter imperial advances, French
armies enter the Germanies in 1635.
From then on, the Franco-Swedish
armies generally maintain the upper
hand.
The French are particularly in–
strumental in prolonging and in–
tensifying the Thirty Years' War.
Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin,
both intluential French statesmen.
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