http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/cathymedici.html Catherine de Medici
http://www.answers.com/topic/gustav-ii-adolph-of-sweden Adolphus
http://www.answers.com/topic/ferdinand-ii HRE Ferdinand II
http://www.answers.com/Christian%20IV Christian IV
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/army/p/wallenstein.htm Wallenstein
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwKYqSyoopw&feature=related U-Tube Adolphus
http://www.thecaveonline.com/APEH/thirtyyearswar.html First and Second in brief summary
http://www.pipeline.com/~cwa/TYWHome.htmhttp://www.strategos.demon.co.uk/tywhome/http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/riley/787/30/ Arms of the War
http://us1.seafight.com/indexInternal.es?action=internalStart&help=false&battleTeaser=&sid=d53b90648987538c3b90f03752417676Pirate Game, might have to play at home. Just for fun!!!!
http://hankshistoryhour.com/2007/10/ Hank's Podcast - John D likes to use these so give them a try.
http://www.slideshare.net/davebudt/wars-of-religion-thirty-years-war-presentation Slide Show on 30 Years War
http://stipteacher.net/apeuro/appodcasts/index.htm Listen to the sections marked PB for the 30 Years War
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So I read about Chirstian IV of Denmark. From reading his bio I concluded that this guy was quite a character. From the time of his childhood Chirstian was given the best education out there-like many other prices during the time- and grew up to become a, shall we say...powerful loser? Maybe thats a bit harsh, but I think that’s the truth. In 1597 he married Anna Catherine who bore him a son, and then she died after; as with a lot of women at this time. He remarried to Kirsten Munk who was a commoner. That must've been one very dramatic and scandalous move because she was not of noble birth. Kirsten gave him twelve children and then apparently comitted adultery so Chirstian banished her from court. Lets just take one step back for a moment; this women gave him 12 children! To be perfectly pg-rated I'm just going to ask this question, why would she be in the mood to commit adultery, isn't she a bit tired of that stuff. Although being the man Chirstian was perfectly fine with sleeping around. Along with the womenizing comes gambling and heavy drinking, this guy is a total a winner. But it would be unfair to judge him too harshly because luckily he still had some brains in there. Chirstian knew that he must keep and protect his power from the rigsraad. By keeping the economy in mind he gained money for his country. Binding the nobles through holdings in Northern Germany he was able to keep the rigsraad under control and get some personal financial gain as well, which was a pretty ingenious move on his part. He also knew the importance of the waterways. They were the only way in and out to the Baltic Sea; sound dues would be put along the waterways and money would be collected. Although I think like many rulers Chirtians immense wealth as well as power blinded him from the growing power of the Swedes. He also meddled in affairs that were beyond him in a way… the Thirty Years War. I could see that he wanted to protect his land in parts of Germany, but the war was not about him, Chirstian didn’t even put a dent on all the fighting. Instead he put his country in jeopardy by draining all the money, having parts of Jutland destroyed, heavily taxing the people, and then on top of all of that the country suffered from disease and bad harvests. From then all everything just kind of falls. Now come the Swedes, but mostly the Dutch that come and claim half of the waterways and take islands too. Following with more plague and another bad harvest from 1647 to 1651 Denmark is losing its shine. By 1648 Chirstian died broke, power was given to aristocrats, and he had admit defeat as a less than effective military leader.
I watched the movie on Gustavus Adolphus and read the piece on him. I found him to be a very interesting person and one who I thought didn’t make as big of a difference as he did. To be credited with the father of modern warfare is quite an honor and his military exploits were truly marvelous. To secure the protestant hold in the northern part of the empire against such odds. Also it sounded as if his men were some of the most elite for that time. I believe it truly showed how important he was when he died and everything just fell apart, meaning he was holding Sweden together. I also read the piece about the 30 years war and it was a good review and clarified some things I was little fuzzy on and covered a lot of the main points.
Gustavus Adolphus is the man. The Kid was younger than me when he took the throne in Sweden and was like "lets fight off the Danes". AND NOT ONLY did he do that but hes like well I'm going to utilize all of the most efficient war tactics available and take my small armies and conquer much of northern Europe. He probably could have done it if he wasn't killed in battle, fitting for a man so committed to the art of war.
So, Good old Catherine De'Medici... I was actually glad to learn more about her (For some strange reason), and I have to say, I think it's funny that the french people thought of her as "that Italian Woman". Isn't that just typically french, though? The woman is running the country, and she's still just that Italian woman. That brings up another point. The royal bloodlines in Europe must have been extremely interconnected at the time. Everyone died early! First it was the dauphine, Catherine's brother-in-law, then Her husband, and then practically all of her sons! The only reason she lived so long is because she wasn't connected to the bloodline (One of the things the french people didn't like about her)
I enjoyed reading about good old Gustov II Adolf (The way the swedes say it). Being 32% Swedish in heritage, I was waiting for the Swedes to enter the picture, and now they have. Gustovus was a strong leader, and built a large army for such a small population. I thought it was interesting when they talked about the lost generation in sweden after the wars. This is very similar to what happened in England after WWI. I thought it was cool making connections...
As for the podcasts, I haven't listened to them yet ( I normally cram before the exam) but I appreciate the shout out! He seems to know what he's talking about...
I chose to look over the military history website that dealt with Wallenstein. I found it interesting that as a kid Wallenstein attended a primarily Jesuit school, but while at the school he professed to convert to Catholicism. Some things I already knew was his rise and fall to power because he was a big part of the phase Isabel and I studied. I also chose to read about Gustavus because I thought that his ability to lead the Swedes to victory was awesome and the way he hired Scottish mercanaries was a very smart move.
I read the article about Catherine d'Medici. I had no idea that she had gone through so many hardships in her life! All I have to say is that she is one strong lady! To be able to deal with being an orphan, being ridiculed by hundreds of people, losing a total of 6 of your children when they're very young, and having to be queen is something most people wouldn't be able to handle. I think that it's really interesting that she was still able to keep extremely poised and able to control her feelings when it came to her husband having a mistress that he loved more than her. Also I thought that it was kind of funny that people called her "The Italian Women" and didn't want her to rule.
I read the article about Gustavus Aldolphus. As someone who had such a big impact on sweden and warfare was, he doesn't show up much in the materials we've used (textbook, reading packets). What was really impressive was that by the time he was 35 he was the leader of a country with 30,000 mercenaries. This is quite a feat for someone who took the crown at age 16. His biggest achievment was that he made sweden a world power for a breif time due to the power of the army both at land and sea. It came at a great cost however, which in turn was what made sweden lose it's powerful status. More than half the population of sweden died fighting under Aldolphus.
I read the Catherine d'medici and her life seems interesting. I found it funny that they only way that she could get such a good education was through being taken hostage. She seemed to have a pretty horrible life. Then I read the one on the four phases of the 30 year war. That would have been really good to study. I also did know that the direct cause of the war was the Bohemain phase. Adolphus seemed to be a very good king. It is cool that he would bring army of 13,000 to Germany to help the Protestants.
I read about Wallenstein. I think he was a smart guy since he was born. He was raised by protestants, but studied the Catholic faith. He attended a Jesuit school and a Protestant school. Now out of luxury he could declare himself to any faith he wanted. This helped him during the 30 Years war because he went to the army which would give him the moist power and fame and this was the catholic army. Why work for a bunch of unorganized Protestants than the Emperor? Wallenstein put aside his own religious concerns to become a powerful general. He apposed the Edict of Restitution, but enforced it. Wallenstein realized that being a successful person in the reformation you had to put aside your religious concerns because they only blinded your judgment.
I read the readings on Ferinand II and Albercht von Wallenstein. Ferdinand was just like his father Charles because he wished to restore Catholicism in his region. In 1602 when Ferinand expelled Protestant teachers and preachers from Styria, closed and destroyed churches and gave Protestants the choice to convert or exile. Was a main reason for the Thirty Years War because it angered many Protestants. Ferdiand should of learned from passed monarches of England and Spain who weren't politique. That tring to force relgion on the people is going to end with war. The reading on Wallenstein was quit interesting especially on how he was a protestant who fought for the Catholics. But I find it odd that Ferdiand a devoted Catholic would hire a protestant to led his armies in the thirty years war.I find it also interesting that after defeating the Swedes in battle he would look to them for help against the HRE. Wallentein's army must not of been that loyal due to the fact that they are the ones who kill him. I found the readings to be helpful because they expanded on the lifes of these two leaders in the Thirties Year War.
I read the article about von Wallenstien. The way he gained his power was quite interesting. Through land he was able to secure himself financially to convince the government to let him take control of the army. It reminded me a bit of the way personal wealth is an important part of the election process here in the United States. It goes to show that it is difficult to get into power without money. The approach von Wallenstien used, by marrying a wealthy widower, showed his first attempt for economic gain. It was interesting that this determination is what did him in, in the end. The power he aquired was what worried his allies of a take over. It makes you question whether determination could take him that far today.
I read about Catherine d' Medici,
Queen of France. It's interesting to see how much power and influence she wheeled in the French realm. It's interesting that she was the sole heir to the Florentian Medici family at such a young age. I also think it's interesting how many French subjects despised her for her Italian heritage. Today you'd think Italy and France were the same country the way the languages and cultures are grouped together.
I read about Catherine d'Medici. She had a very unlikely rise to power, because although she was born to the powerful Italian Medici family, she was not of royal blood. Both of her parents died soon after she was born, so there was no one to really care for her, just relatives who were after her money. When she was very young, some of the Medici family's political enemies stormed their palace, and all of Catherine's relatives fled, leaving her as a hostage. Because of this, she was raised in various convents around the city of Florence, which resulted in her becoming one of the best-educated women of her time. She went to go live with her uncled when she was 14, after he had become pope, and he arranged her a marriage with Henry of Orleans, second son to the king of France. Catherine's life in France did not have an auspicious beginning, as the French strongly disliked her for being Italian and not being of royal blood. They were enraged when Henry's older brother died and he was next in line for the throne. Catherine got along very well with the old king, as he found her to be intelligent, cultured, and a good traveling companion. After he died, Henry became king and Catherine, queen. Henry mainly ignored Catherine, because he was in love with his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, and she held much more political power than Catherine thought was prudent. However, after Henry died, Catherine finally got her power, and served as Queen Regent for three of her sons.
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