What is western civilization?
Civilization defined
A population that shares a single intellectual framework, often held together by some combination of shared religious beliefs, economic necessity, and political organization
A complex culture in which large numbers of human beings share a variety of common elements
What is western about western civilization?
Geographically western?
Civilization of western Europe?
Complication #1
Where is the line between East/West Europe
Certainly includes London, Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam
What about Prague, Istanbul, Warsaw, St. Petersburg?
Complication #2
WC originated with peoples of the east Mediterranean/Middle East
Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Hebrews, Greeks
Not Western geographically, but critical to development of WC
Complication #3
Global expansion of WC since Columbus
Values and ideas powerful forces elsewhere, including N. America, S. America, Australia
Native cultures have survived, but WC dominant
Today, WC irrefutably global
Attempt to define Western geographically does not work
Culturally Western?
Precise cultural traits of Western Civ?
Actually, inconsistent in its values
Credited with concepts of individual rights, personal freedom, yet often embraced serfdom, slavery
Often promotes diversity, intellectual freedom, but episodes of repression vs. nonconformists
Modern west- representative government and democracy, fairly recent development
Mostly governed by monarchies, but also brutal 20th-century dictatorships
Consistent parts of western value system
Monotheistic religion
Yet, religious division part of its history, religious diversity part of its recent past, present
Rational thought
Philosophy, science
Often leading to conflict between religions, faith/human reason
Scientific knowledge leading to new technologies
West shaping much of the rest of the world
Working definition of western
The core society that evolved in Europe and whose cultural roots extend back at least into the Greco-Roman world
Interacts with neighbors
Does not exist in isolation today
Thirty Years War
1618-1648
Background
Last of the religious wars
Religious conflict
Militant Calvinism vs Militant Catholicism
Secular nationalist concerns also important
Tensions in the holy roman empire
Peace of Augsburg- 1555
Ended religious warfare between German Catholics, Lutherans
“cuius region, euis religio” (“whose rule, his religion”)
Princes chose whether areas Protestant or Catholic
Solution ignored Calvinist and Radical movements
Religious tensions persisted
Lutherans, Catholics vied for control of provinces
Calvinist ruler of Palatinate (N. of Bavaria) formed the Protestant Union
League of German Protestant states
Allied with England, France, Netherlands against Spain (1609)
Duke Maximilian (Bavaria) reacted, formed Catholic League
The Bohemian Phase (1618-1621)
Bohemian nobles accepted Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand as King (1617)
Previous Habsburg emperor promised toleration for Protestants
But, devout Catholic Ferdinand had two goals
Strengthen royal power
Re-Catholicize Bohemia (Czech Republic)
Defenestration of Prague (1618)
Calvin nobles rebelled, threw two Habsburg governors, secretary out window of royal castle in Prague; fell in a pile of manure and lived
Franco-Swedish Phase (1635-1648)
Prot. Princes raised new armies
By 1635, Ferdinand had to make peace with them:
Suspended Edict of Restitution
Granted amnesty to all but Fredrick and some
Peace negotiations finally began (1643)
Peace of Westphalia officially ended the war (1648)
Yet, France and Spain fought for 11 more years
Their conflict ended with peace of the Pyrenees (1659)
Outcomes
Peace of Westphalia (1648)
Diplomacy
Most widespread, devastating warfare in European history
Most diplomats: settlement must be very broad in scope
A landmark in international relations
Delegations from all parties involved took part
Series of broad treaties
Dealt with nearly every