The Protagonists of the Thirty Years’ War: A Slightly Different Preview of Künker’s Auction 410

The Protestant Empire

Of course, the Protestant administrators were not willing to do that. Who would voluntarily give up land, power and money? Since 1555, many rich abbeys, monasteries and bishoprics had come under Protestant control. We will only mention Bremen and Magdeburg at this point. We must keep in mind that this was not just about the administrators at the very top. There were many more or less well-paid positions associated to every institution, from the cathedral chapter to the sexton. And, of course, in many cases the sovereign decided to secularize the entire estate in order to salvage his finances. The return of all church property would have effectively resulted in the financial ruin of the Protestant princes.

The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend – France

There was probably no one who gave as much financial support to the enemies of the Habsburgs as France. And that should not be a surprise. The Habsburgs were perceived as France’s arch-enemies who threatened to encircle the whole country. They ruled beyond the Pyrenees, across the Rhine, in the north over Flanders and had thwarted the fine plans of Francis I in Italy. Cardinal Richelieu and his successor Mazarin – who had taken over the role as foreign policy-makers from the French kings – therefore systematically supported the Protestant Union. Their pragmatic strategy turned out to be a success: after the Thirty Years’ War, France replaced Habsburg Spain as the leading power in Europe.

The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend – England

Charles I would have liked to do something similar. The Habsburgs were the fiercest competitors of his expanding commercial empire. In addition, the Winter King was his son-in-law. If the Holy Roman Empire had come under his family’s control, this would have meant a significant increase in power!

Unfortunately, Charles I had much less money than the French king. His predecessor had left him with huge debts. Charles I tried to reorganize his state budget by dipping into the wealth of the bourgeoisie, but the estates did not approve at all. He had no choice but to make peace with France and Spain, abandoning his son-in-law. England thus withdrew from them Thirty Years’ War. This did not help Charles I. The dispute over money culminated in the English Civil War, and this coin is from the first year of this very conflict. Ultimately, Charles’ reckless spending cost him his head when he was beheaded on 30 January 1649.

The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend – the Netherlands

Needless to say, the Netherlands supported anything that would prevent the Spanish Habsburgs from sending troops against their own army. Once again, this player was also less concerned with religion and freedom than with land, power and money. The latter was particularly important to the Netherlands: After all, it was an emerging trading nation, whose ships carried spices, slaves and exotic luxury goods, making enormous profits.

The Spanish Habsburgs were its rivals. And the Netherlands wanted to hurt its rivals. For this purpose, the Dutch turned to privateering. They issued letters of marque that “commissioned” private individuals to attack enemy ships. When the Dutch West India Company attacked the Spanish treasure fleet in 1628, it was considered a great success. This success is depicted on this medal. During the attack, treasure worth 12 million guldens was seized and later distributed among the shareholders. Those who had invested in the Dutch West India Company received 50% of their investment as a dividend that year. The United Provinces, who were also shareholders, used the profits to finance the taking of Hertogenbosch.

Despite all the treasure from the New World, the Dutch financial policy was superior to Spanish strategies. This meant that there was more money for the army. And therefore, the Netherlands was also among the winners of the Thirty Years’ War. As a result, Spain had to recognize its independence.

Those Who Jumped on the Bandwagon – Denmark

Whenever a war causes chaos and turmoil, there is always a chance of winning land, power and money. That is also was Danish King Christian IV thought when he had himself be elected Circle Colonel of the Lower Saxon Circle. As a champion of Protestantism, he hoped to reap rich rewards for Denmark. However, he did not manage to raise enough money to pay for his army. This resulted in a crushing defeat. His only luck was that there was already someone waiting in the wings, eager to take his place. That is why the supporters of the Emperor granted him favorable peace terms. Christian withdrew from the Thirty Years’ War in 1629, having neither won nor lost anything.

Those Who Jumped on the Bandwagon – Sweden

Things turned out completely different for his successor Gustav II Adolf, King of Sweden. He stylized himself as the protagonist of Protestantism, although – once he was finished with them – most Protestants would have preferred if he had never intervened on their behalf. After all, the Swedish army did not live from French subsidies but from the land they passed through. Everyone, whether defeated enemy or honored ally, had to sacrifice their wealth to finance Gustav Adolf’s triumph.

In contrast to his army, the Swedish king still enjoys a good reputation today. This is due to his truly excellent propaganda strategies, which included minting coins such as this one.

It is an off-metal strike in gold of 10 ducats minted from the dies of the Purim taler. Gustav Adolf invoked a story from the Old Testament: By celebrating Purim, the Jewish people commemorated the fact that they had been saved from annihilation. In the same way – according to the message of the coin – Gustav Adolf’s victory at Breitenfeld prevented the annihilation of the Protestants. This is utter nonsense. Gustav Adolf had only prevented Protestant princes from having to return the territories that they had confiscated in violation of the terms of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg.

Even though Gustav Adolf paid with his life for his commitment, the Swedes were among the great winners of the Thirty Years’ War. They got what everyone wanted: land, power and money. By the end of the war, they were the dominant power in northern Europe.

Those Who Jumped on the Bandwagon – Wallenstein

It was not only states and kings who tried to gain land, power and money by intervening in the Thirty Years’ War. Private entrepreneurs and military leaders also took advantage of the situation. The entrepreneur Albrecht von Wallenstein is probably the best-known winner of the war, and his comet-like rise was just as fascinating as his sudden death.

Albrecht von Wallenstein’s way of thinking seemed to be much too modern for his age. First, he made a fortune as part of a group that contributed to the debasement of coinage during the financial crisis called “Kipper und Wipper”; then he acquired large estates for little money that the emperor had seized from his political enemies. He organized these estates in an extremely efficient way, enabling him to finance a major army with the surplus. This army could have made him the most influential man in Europe had he not been assassinated. Nobody attempted to continue his efforts. The Emperor confiscated his property and left only a few small parts of his fortune to his heirs.

Those Who Jumped on the Bandwagon – Heinrich Schlick

The case of Heinrich Schlick zu Bassano und Weißkirchen was quite different. He made a career working for the emperor. He was considered a trustworthy military commander, which is why Ferdinand II gave him a large part of the possessions he had taken from the Protestant branch of the Counts of Schlick. This branch had supported the Winter King during the Bohemian Revolt. Heinrich von Schlick converted to Catholicism in 1622 and became president of the imperial war council in 1632. He therefore had a decisive impact on the outcome of the Thirty Years’ War. He left his fortune and his influence to his descendants, who were to become one of the leading dynasties in Bohemia.

The Losers

After so many winners, we will now turn our attention to the losers – and there were many more of them, although they did not make it onto coins. The losers of the war were all those who had earned their living in an honest way: citizens, farmers, craftsmen and merchants. A terribly large number of them were looted, robbed, tortured and murdered. Their daughters and wives suffered brutal rape, starvation and disease. If you want to get an idea, read The Adventures of Simplicius Simplicissimus. But be careful! You will need strong nerves if you have a vivid imagination. Let us just say that the war claimed between 3.5 and 6.5 million civilian lives.

Besides unprotected farms, it was the once-rich trading towns that suffered the most. Take Augsburg as an example. Before the Thirty Years’ War, the city had been one of the richest trading centers in Europe. After the Thirty Years’ War, it was ruined. More than half of its households no longer existed. Augsburg never recovered. To this day, it is overshadowed by the Bavarian residence in Munich.

These were just some of many spectacular coins and medals in Künker’s auction 410. Do not miss out on carefully studying the catalog! And for all those who want to get their hands on a future standard reference on coins and medals of the Thirty Years’ War: contact Künker’s customer service at Nobbenburger Straße 4a, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany; phone: +49 541 / 962020; fax: +49 541 / 9620222; or via e-mail.