The European wars of Religion (16th and 17th Centuries) which brought many people from Europe to America to survive

6 of those survivors who were protestants from Zurich Switzerland came to Philadelphia through London to Colonize to Philadelphia around 1725 were my ancestors on my father's side. My great Grandfather was a Captain in the Civil War for Kansas in the Northern Army by the way. So, my people on my father's side have been in the U.S. since around 1725 and I likely had relatives who fought in the Revolutionary war too.

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The European Wars of Religion (16th-17th centuries) were a series of devastating conflicts, primarily between Catholics and Protestants, sparked by the Protestant Reformation, involving major powers like France (Huguenots vs. Catholics) and the Holy Roman Empire (Thirty Years' War), ultimately shifting power, ending the idea of a unified Catholic Europe, and establishing the modern system of sovereign states, largely concluded by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. 

Key Conflicts & Events:

• French Wars of Religion (1562–1598): A series of civil wars between French Catholics and Calvinist Protestants (Huguenots), marked by massacres like the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, ending with the Edict of Nantes granting Huguenots rights.
• Dutch Revolt (Eighty Years' War, 1568–1648): Calvinist Dutch provinces fought for independence from Catholic Spain, a prolonged struggle for religious and political freedom.
• Thirty Years' War (1618–1648): The most destructive, starting as a religious conflict in the Holy Roman Empire but evolving into a political struggle for European dominance, involving most major powers. 

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Causes & Motivations:

• Religious Division: The spread of Reformation ideas challenged Catholic dominance.
• Political Ambition: Rulers used religion to consolidate power or gain territory.
• Habsburg Power: Spain and the Holy Roman Emperors (Habsburgs) sought to maintain Catholic supremacy, clashing with Protestant princes and France. 

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Outcomes:

• Peace of Westphalia (1648): Ended the Thirty Years' War, recognizing Calvinism alongside Catholicism and Lutheranism, and establishing the principle of state sovereignty.
• End of Universal Catholicism: Permanently weakened the idea of a single Catholic European empire.
• Rise of Sovereign States: Laid the foundation for the modern international system of independent nations.
• France's Ascendancy: France emerged as the dominant European power, while Spain's influence waned. 

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• European Wars of Religion | Research Starters - EBSCO

  The European Wars of Religion were a series of conflicts between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that were primarily drive...

  

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