Question

Explain the causes and effects of the Thirty Years' War; and why no strong nations developed in central Europe.

Answer 1

The war initially started along religious lines, but soon expanded out to pull in anyone with an interest in expanding their fortunes by grabbing land or in destroying their enemies. The effects were devastating, especially within the Holy Roman Empire where much of the fighting started, with many areas losing nearly half of their population. Not only were many able bodied men killed depriving many areas of workers, but fields of corpses spread disease and pestilence.

One reason there weren't "strong nations" in central Europe were because of the huge number of independent states and nobles who ran things their own way than as a united group under a single flag. The Holy Roman Empire, for example, was more of an empire in name than in practice. Much of it was made up of largely independent areas lorded over by nobles that pursued many of their own interests.

It would also be part of the reason why Cardinal Richelieu in France sought to crush the power of the aristocracy and centralize power there. He saw what was happening elsewhere and knew from the start that to make France great, he needed to make the head of state as powerful.