The Bohemian State During the Thirty Years War

The article describes the uprising of the Bohemian Protestant Estates (1618–1620) against the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand II. and the political developments in Bohemian lands up to the end of Thirty Years War in 1648. The aim of the article is to show the transformation of the Bohemian state from an estate monarchy into an absolute monarchy ruled by the Emperor-King. This process was possible due to the victory of Ferdinand II. over the rebellious Bohemian Protestant estates in the Battle at the White Mountain at the outskirts of Prague on 8 November 1620. After the suppression of the uprising the participants were severely punished, their property confiscated and the political significance of the estates severely curtailed. The victory of the army of Ferdinand II also meant a victory of Catholicism. Protestant nobles and burgers had to convert to Catholicism or to leave the country. In the classical Czech historical discourse the battle at the White Mountain is considered to be the end of the Bohemian independence. The article shows that in reality it was not exactly so: the royal absolutism imposed by Ferdinand II after White Mountain completely changed the political nature of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, but, on the other hand, the Habsburgs still ruled the country only as the kings of Bohemia, just like before 1618, e.g. before the estate uprising.

The article describes the uprising of the Bohemian Protestant Estates (1618–1620) against the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand II. and the political developments in Bohemian lands up to the end of Thirty Years War in 1648. The aim of the article is to show the transformation of the Bohemian state from an estate monarchy into an absolute monarchy ruled by the Emperor-King. This process was possible due to the victory of Ferdinand II. over the rebellious Bohemian Protestant estates in the Battle at the White Mountain at the outskirts of Prague on 8 November 1620. After the suppression of the uprising the participants were severely punished, their property confiscated and the political significance of the estates severely curtailed. The victory of the army of Ferdinand II also meant a victory of Catholicism. Protestant nobles and burgers had to convert to Catholicism or to leave the country. In the classical Czech historical discourse the battle at the White Mountain is considered to be the end of the Bohemian independence. The article shows that in reality it was not exactly so: the royal absolutism imposed by Ferdinand II after White Mountain completely changed the political nature of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, but, on the other hand, the Habsburgs still ruled the country only as the kings of Bohemia, just like before 1618, e.g. before the estate uprising.