Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

The Hapsburg Dilema

 

Netherlands was economically very powerful, technologically advanced, and the majority of the population was Protestant. Netherlands eventually won independence and formed The United Provinces of Netherlands. .
             This was what the European stage looked like. The Hapsburg were potentially capable of dominating Europe whereas there were countries opposed to Hapsburg domination. There was a religious show-down going on between the Catholics and the Protestants which would inevitably trigger the wars which would raise hackles on the European Continent. .
             The essay will now be discussing events and wars which shaped European history from the 1500's to 1650. .
             The first set of wars focused entirely on Italy where the French King, Francis I, was eager to expand into Northern Italy. To counter this move, Spain, England and Austria declared open war against France. The French were outnumbered thus they retreated. In 1519 the Pope declared Charles the 5th as Holy Roman Emperor therefore the French could no longer fight the Spanish. France withdrew its claim that it owned Northern Italy and Milan. The Hapsburg Empire began to become stronger and in order to safeguard the interests of France the French decided to launch a series of wars against the Spanish. .
             Two major battles were fought between the French and the Spanish but France was defeated in both battles. The French were easily beaten back by the Spanish but Charles the 5th had to worry about the Ottoman presence in Africa and Eastern Europe. Ottoman ships were threatening the Hapsburg-possessed island of Sardinia. The Ottoman armies were directly threatening Vienna, Austria. Another problem that aroused for Charles the 5th was that the Reformation had spilt MittleEuropa causing warfare between the Protestant German princes and the Catholics to the south. Charles was able to swiftly crush the rebellion in Mittleuropa at the battle of Muhlberg. The French invaded Mittleuropa to rescue the Protestants therefore helping the German princes survive Spanish aggression.


Essays Related to The Hapsburg Dilema