Thirty Years War, 1618–1648

Abstract

Historians still debate what to call the conflict that convulsed Central Europe from 1618 to 1648. Although it is largely accepted that this is “The Thirty Years War,” and indeed some people called it that shortly after it was over, some historians use this phrase to denote other wars, beginning earlier or ending later. This Thirty Years War was one of the most destructive conflicts on earth. Although the fighting took place primarily in central Europe, this complex multifaceted struggle eventually sucked in people from Ireland to Muscovy west to east, and from Norway to Italy north to south. Compared to the population at the time, it may have been proportionally more deadly than any war in western or central Europe before or since. This is an excellent time for Thirty Years War research. Some tenacious misunderstandings about the way early-17th-century strategy and combat worked are being rooted out. Primary source research is being done. Sterile debates that occupied the entire 19th and early 20th centuries are now barely even remembered. A full bibliography would list hundreds of thousands of works over four hundred years; here are several.