Defenestration of Prague in 1618

Defenestration of Prague in 1618

The Thirty Years War began as an internal conflict that started with three individuals being thrown out of a window in a Bohemian castle. The incident began with transition from one leader to the next. In the process, a policy shift also followed. The shift turned out to be for the worst. It instigated contempt and then violence, which eventually resulted to an event known as the 1681 Defenestration of Prague. What events led to the defenestration? What transpired during the event? And lastly, how the Defenestration of Prague shook Europe?

St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

By Francois Dubois

The 16th century became rattled by religious divide throughout Europe. The Holy Roman Empire became divided over the Protestants and the Catholics. France, the other major power other than Spain, also became embroiled in bitter religious wars between Catholics and the French Calvinist Protestant called Huguenots. In 1572, it appeared that the worst was over until suddenly, Paris and the whole of France was shocked with violence that was known as the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.

Sea Beggars: The Foundation of the Dutch Navy

William "the Silent"

In the upheavals of the Protestant Reformation, the Spanish Netherlands of Philip II saw the rise of a new world power. The Dutch sought to make their own destiny. A destiny impossible under the Spanish hegemony. As a result, a war that would last over eighty years rocked the Low Countries. At the front of the conflict were group of seafarers that would later lay the ground work for the Dutch navy – the Sea Beggars.

Schmalkaldic League

John Frederick of Saxony

In a period of chaos and division, small nation came to together to form a strong defense alliance that would aim in protecting their interest, this was the condition of the 1500’s Holy Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Emperor aimed in securing his imperial rule and the imposition of his Catholic ideals. A group of small Protestant states feared there demise. And as a result, they formed an alliance that would be known as the Schmalkaldic League.