Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Chapter 15
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 - Students 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
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zObXSVvliAs 30 Years War Video
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The first link I viewed was about Catherine d’Medici. A lot of the information, I had already previously heard in class, but there was some I found to be quite interesting. Catherine was not looked highly upon by the French people because she was Italian and her only friend was her father-in-law, King Francis I. Her husband’s brother Dauphin Francis died in 1536, which left Henry of Orleans as the heir to the throne. This caused a lot of commotion because the French did not want an Italian woman to become queen and they hoped that she would do something wrong to keep her from reaching the throne. They believed she would never have children, but she actually ended up having ten children, three died in infancy, but three of them, Francis, Charles, and Henry would eventually serve as the Kings of France. Once Francis I died, her husband became king and thus she became queen. Her unpopularity became greater because she was not of royal blood and she was Italian. Her marriage with Henry was also not the greatest. She loved him, but he loved his mistress Diane de Poitiers more. This bothered her greatly, but she kept her feelings to herself. I feel sorry for her in that she was not very well liked by anyone really and I’m sure that must have been difficult to deal with.
The second link I viewed was the YouTube video about Gustavus Adolphus. One fact that I learned about him was that as a general, he was famous for employing mobile artillery on the battle field, as well as very aggressive tactics, where attack was stressed over defense, and mobility and cavalry initiative were emphasized. He also adopted much shallower infantry formations with formations typically fighting in five or six ranks, occasionally supported at some distance by another such formation. These more linear deployments replaced traditional deep squares up to fifty ranks deep, used in other armies of the day. His advancements in military science made Sweden a dominant Baltic power.
-Cortney Holmes
The first link I perused was the about.com article on my main man, Albrecht von Wallenstein. Although I am, for the most part, well versed in his exploits, a few things stood out to me. First of all, Wallenstein had several important military experiences before his role in the second and third phase of the Thirty Years War. He fought for HRE Rudolf II against the Ottomans, and later, with wealth accrued from the death of his elderly wife (coincidence), created a formidable cavalry to be used in the Styrian Archduke's battles with the Venetians. During the Bohemian rebellion at the beginning of the Hundred Years' War, he was forced to flee his lands but still managed to lead a regiment of cuirassiers with his trademark strategical brilliance. Because of his resources, favor, and tremendous skill, it is no surprise that Ferdinand selected him as his generalissimo. This new information helped me get a more complete portrait of Wallenstein's coolness.
I also chose to look at the slideshare.net slideshow on the 30 Years War. Although a rather simplified version of the conflict's events, it helped me place some of its more important events in a concrete chronology. For instance, I had not realized that the Edict of Restitution was created at the end of the Second Phase, nor had I realized how poorly it treated the defeated Protestants. On the same note, I did not know that Gustavus Adolphus's successes in the third phase led to the revocation of the Edict of Restitution, or that the International phase was actually the most destructive of the four. Finally, a particularly interesting provision of the Treaty of Westphalia was that the Pope could not intervene in HRE affairs. Overall, this simple slide-show helped give me a clearer, more sequential understanding of the war.
The first link I checked out was a Youtube video about the Thirty Years' War. The information the creators provided was very vague and they omitted specific, but important details, for instance, Cardinal Richilieu, but it was overall a decent summary if you just wanted a gist of the phases of the war and who was involved. I was also unimpressed with what they mentioned as the results of the war because they did not match up with what we learned in class and what I found on other links, which I think were pretty big and important. However, I did really enjoy the artwork that they chose to go along with the audio.
The second link I looked at was a slideshow about the Thirty Years' War. Again, it was just a basic summary of the phases of the war, but it really helped put everything we've learned together for me in chronological order. It highlighted only the important facts and figures in a simplified way, which was helpful in clarifying some of the things I was confused about in the readings, etc. Overall, I'm glad I checked out the slideshow because it reiterated the main ideas from class and was a nice review.
1. Taking the throne at only 16, it is astounding to see how Adolphus quickly became a leading military mind. He quickly employed many more muskets that his contemporaries and organized his infantry in such a different way. It’s truly fitting that he ended up dying in battle and that his army avenged him in that battle.
2. The slideshow about the 30 Years War was pretty interesting. I felt like most of the stuff was already in my noggin from what we went over in class, but it was pretty good. As a review, I will probably go back over it before the test but as of right now it was more a reiteration of what I already had known. Pretty cool!
The first link I explored was a summary of the Thirty Years War (http://www.pipeline.com/~cwa/TYWHome.htm). It was so helpful, I’m actually going to print it out and put in my binder! It concisely summed up the “players” as it were in the war with their goals, before going on the background and then breaking down the Bohemian, Palatinate, Danish, Swedish, and French phases of the war. The Palatinate phase was not one we had in our notes, but having a separate section about Frederick V and his goals/struggles was helpful. Finally, there was a section of the Peace of Westphalia which covered who got what (either in money/rights/land) and potential outcomes of that.
The second link I explored was the biography of Albrecht von Wallenstein. He sounded like quite the man before his time when we talked about him in class, so I was interested to learn more. The biography broke his life down into five sections: Early Life, Rise to Power, The Emperor’s Commander, Return to Power, and Downfall. This covered his life working as brilliant military commander in the 30 Years War and his untimely assassination. I was familiar with the main outline of his story, but I found some points about him I had not known before. For example, when he was young, he was sent to a Jesuit school, but later went to a Lutheran University. Even though he primarily served the Holy Roman Emperor (who was a strict Catholic) later in his life, that alone makes you wonder how good he was at keeping his personal life separate from his work in a time where own’s personal beliefs often dictated what one did or how one did it.
The first link I opened was on Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor from 1619 - 1637. At different times he was also the Archduke of Austria, King of Bohemia and King of Hungary. When The Diet at Bohemia deposed him a year after being elected as King and placed Fredrick in his stead, it essentially marked the beginning of the 30 Years War. As a die - hard Catholic, Ferdinand ruled with an iron fist over his rebellious protestant lands. Wallenstein, Jordan's "main man," procured most of Ferdinand's victories in war. He compromised with the protestants in the end and is known as one of the Counter-Reformation leaders and a symbol of absolutism. Much of this can be explained by his childhood, during which he was educated by the Jesuits. The theme of Catholicism drove the war, with Count Tilly leading the charge at first, but as time wore on the war became less religious as Wallenstein took the lead. Wallenstein had an on and off career with Ferdinand, being fired then hired then fired and assassinated. Ferdinand realized that his kingdom would fall without a unified base and a strong leader. He was able to get the support of most of the aristocracy and his countries. With their support, Ferdinand was able to bring his kingdom to complete Catholicism. However, with the Edict of Restitution and the war's continuance, Ferdinand lost some protestant support in his kingdom. The war did not end during his lifetime, but during his son's.
The second link I entered was on Catherine de'Medici. She was born to the Medici Family of Florence, but her parents died quickly after her birth. She was due to become the next great queen, as we all know, but what stuck out to me was the fact that she was a hostage most of her childhood. A mob of angry Florentines took over her palace, held her hostage, and placed her in different convents. It was there that she got a quality education. The mob was finally destroyed by Pope Clement VII, a relative. She lived with him for a time, with an arranged marriage to Henry of Orleans, French Prince. Her entrance into the French court caught the attention of all of France with her high heel shoes. She was alienated by the French for being foreign, but against the hatred she bore 10 children, 3 of which would later become king. In 1547, she became Queen with Henry of Orleans. Henry was having an affair unfortunately, and Catherine could to nothing to stop the lover, Diane, from gaining influence on France. In 1560, Henry died and during all three of her son's reigns, she was the Regent Queen.
Alexander Browne
I first looked at the link about Albrecht von Wallenstein. It was a good summary of both old and new informatin with plenty of intreige. Wallenstein was a power player, he brown-nosed his way to the top of Emperor Ferdinand's military. From his new position of power he bought back his familys land and set out to gather himself further military glory in the netherlands. There his cocky arrogant nature angered the german princes who demanded Wallensteins removal in exchange for their votes for Maximillion.
Wallenstien was forced home to the freidland, but was soon recalled to make the same mistakes he made earlier. The princes were no more impressed and he was assasinated by a team of dragoons following Ferdinands inditment.
Then I looked at the link concerning Ferdinand. Ferdinand was a devout Catholic and belived that everybody else should be too. His forced conversion of Boheimia led to civil unrest and his ouster, efectivly begining the 30 years war. He continued to consolidate his power through the victories of general Wallenstein gaining a solid peace treaty in Denmark. However his zealotry quickly passed him over as his insisstance on resoring old church lands in the Edict of Restitution nearly brought the local princes to arms.
The life of Wallenstien seems the life of a up and coming war leader. He and Count Tilly both studied from the Jesuits which is strange because that doesn't relate to their strength in battle. After his commendation in the battle against the Ottomans he continued to rise. His death was a sad mistake.
Gustavus Adolphus becoming King at 16 is surprising. The first battles of his carrer led him to be the general he was and Sweeden's power during these coming years. His strategy of horsemen using swords would be used much more both in Europe and the Americas.
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