Editing History of Austria (section)

== Austria and the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) ==

=== Ferdinand II (1619–1637) and Habsburg over-reach ===
When the ultra-pious and intransigent [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand II]] (1619–1637) was elected Emperor (as Ferdinand II) in 1619 to succeed his cousin Mathias, he embarked on an energetic attempt to re-Catholicize not only the Hereditary Provinces, but Bohemia and Habsburg Hungary as well as most of Protestant Europe within the Holy Roman Empire.

Outside his lands, Ferdinand II's reputation for strong headed uncompromising intolerance had triggered the religious [[Thirty Years' War]] in May 1618 in the polarizing first phase, known as the Revolt in Bohemia. Once the Bohemian Revolt had been put down in 1620, he embarked on a concerted effort to eliminate Protestantism in Bohemia and Austria, which was largely successful as was his efforts to reduce the power of the Diet. The religious suppression of the [[Counter-Reformation]] reached its height in 1627 with the Provincial Ordinance.{{Sfn|Ingrao|2000|p=35}}

After several initial reverses, Ferdinand II had become more accommodating but as the Catholics turned things around and began to enjoy a long string of successes at arms he set forth the [[Edict of Restitution]] in 1629 in an attempt to restore the ''status quo'' of 1555 ([[Peace of Augsburg]]), vastly complicating the politics of settlement negotiations and prolonging the rest of the war. Encouraged by the mid-war successes, Ferdinand II became even more forceful, leading to infamies by his armies such as the [[Frankenburg am Hausruck|Frankenburg Lottery]] (''Frankenburger Würfelspiel'') (1625), suppression of the consequent [[Peasants' War in Upper Austria|Peasants' Revolt]] of 1626, and the [[Sack of Magdeburg]] (1631){{Sfn|Kann|1980|pp=45–53}} Despite concluding the [[Peace of Prague (1635)]] with [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]], and hence the internal, or civil, war with the Protestants, the war would drag on due to the intervention of many foreign states.

=== Ferdinand III and the peace process (1637–1648) ===
By the time of Ferdinand II's death in 1637, the war was progressing disastrously for the Habsburgs, and his son [[Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand III]] (1637–1657) who had been one of his military commanders was faced with the task of salvaging the consequences of his father's extremism. Ferdinand III was far more pragmatic and had been considered the leader of the peace party at court and had helped negotiate the Peace of Prague in 1635. However, with continuing losses in the war he was forced to make peace in 1648 with the [[Peace of Westphalia]], concluding the war. One of his acts during the latter part of the war was to give further independence to the German states (''ius belli ac pacis''—rights in time of war and peace) which would gradually change the balance of power between emperor and states in favour of the latter.

=== Assessment ===
While its ultimate causes prove to be elusive, the war was to prove a roller-coaster as Habsburg over-reach led to it spreading from a domestic dispute to involve most of Europe, and which while at times appearing to aid the Habsburg goal of political hegemony and religious conformity, ultimately eluded them except in their own central territories.

The forced conversions or evictions carried out in the midst of the [[Thirty Years' War]], together with the later general success of the Protestants, had greatly negative consequences for Habsburg control of the Holy Roman Empire itself. Although territorial losses were relatively small for the Habsburgs, the Empire was greatly diminished, the power of the ruler reduced and the balance of power in Europe changed with new centres emerging on the empire's borders. The estates were now to function more like nation states.

While deprived of the goal of universal monarchy, the campaigns within the Habsburg hereditary lands were relatively successful in religiously purification, although Hungary was never successfully re-Catholicized. Only in Lower Austria, and only among the nobility, was Protestantism tolerated. Large numbers of people either emigrated or converted, while others compromised as crypto-Protestants, ensuing relative conformity. The crushing of the Bohemian Revolt also extinguished Czech culture and established German as the tool of Habsburg absolutism. The Austrian monarchs thereafter had much greater control within the hereditary power base, the dynastic absolutism grip was tightened and the power of the estates diminished. On the other hand, Austria suffered demographically and financially, therefore becoming less vigorous as a [[nation-state]].

The Baroque Austrian Monarchy was established. Despite the dichotomy between outward reality and inner conviction, the rest of the world saw Austria as the epitome of forcible conformity, and conflation of church and state.

=== Impact of war ===
In terms of human costs, the [[Thirty Years' war]]s many economic, social, and population dislocations caused by the hardline methods adopted by Ferdinand II's strict counter-reformation measures and almost continual employment of mercenary field armies contributed significantly to the loss of life and tragic depopulation of all [[list of the states of the Holy Roman Empire|the German states]], during a war which some estimates put the civilian loss of life as high as 50% overall. Studies mostly cite the causes of death due to starvation or as caused (ultimately by the lack-of-food induced) weakening of resistance to endemic diseases which repeatedly reached epidemic proportions among the general Central European population—the German states were the battle ground and staging areas for the largest mercenary armies theretofore, and the armies foraged among the many provinces stealing the food of those people forced onto the roads as refugees, or still on the lands, regardless of their faith and allegiances. Both townsmen and farmers were repeatedly ravaged and victimized by the armies on both sides leaving little for the populations already stressed by the refugees from the war or fleeing the Catholic counter-reformation repressions under Ferdinand's governance.{{Sfn|Ingrao|2000|pp=23–52}}

=== Dynastic succession and redivision of the lands ===
The Austrian lands finally came under one archduchy in 1620, but Ferdinand II quickly redivided them in 1623 in the Habsburg tradition by parcelling out "Upper Austria" (Further Austria and Tirol) to his younger brother [[Leopold V, Archduke of Austria|Leopold V]] (1623–1632) who was already governor there. Upper Austria would remain under Leopold's successors till 1665 when it reverted to the senior line under [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold I]].

Leopold V's son [[Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria|Ferdinand Charles]] succeeded him in Upper Austria in 1632. However he was only four at the time, leaving his mother [[Claudia de' Medici]] as regent till 1646.