The war began in Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic) when Protestant nobles, angry over the curtailing of their religious rights, tossed two Catholic royal officials out of a window in Prague Castle. Remarkably, they survived the 70-foot drop, but the act triggered a rebellion against the Holy Roman Empire. 2. From Religion to Politics
It established the "Westphalian System," the idea that a nation has exclusive rights over its own territory and domestic affairs (including religion). thirty-years-war
The Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus, the "Father of Modern Warfare," changed the tide. He integrated infantry, cavalry, and mobile artillery, securing a massive victory at Breitenfeld (1361) that saved the Protestant cause from total collapse. 5. The Legacy: Peace of Westphalia (1648) The war began in Bohemia (modern-day Czech Republic)