The Thirty Years' War

328 Pages·20.526 MB·English

by  Josef V. Polišenský

v , •«>. A.’.
This analysis of a critical stage in the
J. V. Polisensky was educated at the
evolution of the‘modern’capitalist state i
universities of Prague, London and
conflict with a dying feudalism has a far
Oxford. Professor of Universal History at
wider scope than might be immediately
the Charles University of Prague he is
apparent from its title. Professor
also a member of the Dutch Royal
Polisensky goes back to the 1570s to
Academy of Sciences and sometime
uncover the preconditions of the war am
visiting professor at the universities of
forward almost a century in order to
California, Heidelberg, Vienna, Budapest,
outline the consequences of the
Cologne and Santiago de Chile. His
upheaval.
publications in English include: England
In contrast to the traditional depiction and Czechoslovakia (Prague, 1946); A
of the period as a portrait gallery of History of Czechoslovakia in Outline
generals, statesmen and monarchs the (Prague, 1948); The Bohemian War and
author examines the grass-root conditioi British Policy (Prague, 1949); Britain
in Moravia and Bohemia, with the and Czechoslovakia (Prague, 1964).
help of local source material Robert Evans was educated at Jesus
undiscovered in family archives until 19^ College, Cambridge and is now research
and unfamiliar to English-speaking fellow in the field of Habsburg history at
students of this period. Thus, the town Brasenose College, Oxford. Dr Evans
of Zlin in Moravia becomes a fascinating is at present preparing for publication
microcosm, at once reflecting and a book on the Emperor Rudolf n.
influencing the wider European struggle.
The intricacies of the local political,
social and economic structures in
Central Europe and the relationship of
peasantry and nobility to an alien and
aggressive Church and State are themes
related to the wider thesis of the clash of
the opposed ‘models’ of the Dutch and
Spanish civilizations. The resultant
changes in the basic fabric of European
society were complex and it is one of the
achievements of this book that it brings
together the local perspective and general
strategy with clarity and scholarship.
Josef Polisensky is Professor of
Universal History at the Charles
University of Prague. The translator,
Dr Robert Evans, is research fellow of
Brasenose College, Oxford.
COASTAL Ci ...wLINA COMMUNITY COLLEGE NORTH CAROLINA
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Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2018 with funding from
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https://archive.org/details/thirtyyearswarOOOOpoli
THE THIRTY YEARS WAR

THE THIRTY
YEARS WAR
J. V. POLISENSKY
translated from the Czech by
Robert Evans
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles 1971
7 3 | 0 6
First published in English 1971
(c) J. V. Polisensky 1971
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
BERKELEY AND LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
ISBN: 0-520-01868-0
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 77-89894
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
Contents
General map of Central Europe, c. 1618 vi
Map of Bohemia and Moravia, c. 1618 viii
1 Europe in a Century of Crisis and Revolution i
2 The World at the Turn of the Century n
3 The End of Equilibrium and First Attempts to Resolve
the Crisis 66
4 The Bohemian War: the Local Conflict and its
Wider Importance 98
5 The Dutch Period of the War, 1621-5 I33
6 The Danish War and the Rise of Wallenstein 168
7 The Swedish War and the Fall of Wallenstein, 1631-5 192
8 New Horizons and New Miseries 217
9 The Compromise and the Peace 235
10 The Peace and its Consequences 254
Notes on Literature and Sources 266
Appendix on Place Names 296
Index 297