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The History of the Thirty Years' War in Germany
The History of the Thirty Years' War in Germany Author:Friedrich Schiller, William Blaquiere Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: The viftory of Prague put Ferdinand in pofleffion of all his dominions, and even increafed his authority beyond that of his predeccflbrs. By it his defires were ... more »gratified beyond his mofl fanguine expectation. It was now in his power to difmifs his allies, and his army. At all events the war was at an end ; and, if juft and merciful, he would defift from oppreffion. The fate of Germany was now in his hands, and the hap- pinefs or mifery of many millions of people depended upon the meafures he would follow. But the intoxication of fuccefs never caufed more dreadful confc- quenccs. BOOK II. 1 HE refolution which Ferdinand now embraced changed both the direction and the fcene of the war. From a war in Bohemia, and the chaftifement of the rebels, its flames were foon extended to Germany, and fpeedily after to all Europe. It may not be improper, at this period, to take a view of the ftate of affairs in the Empire, and in the reft of Europe. The Catholics and Proteftants were fo divided in Germany, that each party required the clofeft union to maintain itfelf againft the other. Jf the Catholics were the more numerous party, and the moft favoured by the conftitution of the Empire, the Proteftants had the ad- vantage of pofleffing a more compact and populous territory, able princes, large armies, flourifhing free cities, together with the command of the fea, be- fides, at the worft extremity, being fecure of a ftrong fupport in the Catholic countries. Should the Catholics arm Spain and Italy in their favour, the Proteftants could call to their aid the republics of Holland and Venice, the northern powers, and the more formidable one of the Turks. Brandenburg, Saxony, and the Palatinate oppofed three Proteftant votes to three Catholic electorates, and the character of Emperor was...« less