We will be comparing / contrasting the articles by Gutman and Sutherland with each other as well as with Asch and Hughes. Bring all these sources with you to class.
I will begin the class by summarizing the articles by Gutman and Sutherland. Then we will break up into groups to consider the questions below which are all closely related. Prepare for class by considering the questions as you do the assigned reading.
1. Do you think the Thirty Years War is a myth? Why would Sutherland claim this? (NB: Look up "factitious" in the dictionary.)
2. Supposing we may speak of the Thirty Years War in some sense, what was it about (and what was it not about)? Would our four authors answer this question in the same way or differently?
3. Was the Thirty Years War inevitable? Recall our discussion on 21 September about the feasibility of the Peace of Augsburg.
4. Why did the war not end in 1620? Did its continuation represent a new element in the nature of the war?
5. Consider the different approaches of Asch, Gutman, and Sutherland to the problem of origins, as conceptually distinct from but nonetheless supporting their interpretations of the origins. How would you characterize and distinguish the approaches? Pay attention to the way in which the authors structure their analysis, to the information they provide, and to the sources they use.
6. Are the approaches and interpretations in any way compatible?
Some background information relevant to the articles:
The Peace of Cateau-Cambresis (3 April 1559), concluded between Henry II of France and Philip II of Spain, brought to a close the wars between the Habsburgs and France. France gave up its claims on Italy, where the Spanish Habsburgs were the master of the peninsula. Philip renounced claims on French. Burgundy. By separate treaty Calais was returned to France. Now the two most powerful monarchies in Europe could divert their attention from international rivalry to the suppression of heresy at home.
The Treaty of Vervins (1598) helped to end the French Wars of Religion. Spain, which had supported the Catholic League against Henry of Bourbon (who became Henry IV in 1594) agreed to withdraw troops from France. France regained control of Calais, Amiens, and the three bishoprics of Verdun, Toul and Metz. These bishoprics technically belonged to the Holy Roman Empire, but France had exercised a protectorate over them since 1552.
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