Thirty Years' War

American  

noun

1. the war, often regarded as a series of wars (1618–48), in central Europe, initially involving a conflict between German Protestants and Catholics and later including political rivalries with France, Sweden, and Denmark opposing the Holy Roman Empire and Spain.

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Thirty Years' War British  

noun

1. a major conflict involving principally Austria, Denmark, France, Holland, the German states, Spain, and Sweden, that devastated central Europe, esp large areas of Germany (1618–48). It began as a war between Protestants and Catholics but was gradually transformed into a struggle to determine whether the German emperor could assert more than nominal authority over his princely vassals. The Peace of Westphalia gave the German states their sovereignty and the right of religious toleration and confirmed French ascendancy

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Thirty Years' War Cultural  

1. A war waged in the early seventeenth century that involved France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, and numerous states of Germany. The causes of the war were rooted in national rivalries and in conflict between Roman Catholics and Protestants. For all the bloodshed, there was no decisive winner or loser. The Peace of Westphalia, which ended the war in 1648, did affirm, however, that the German states could be Catholic or Protestant at the choice of their rulers.

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Example Sentences

In the Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648, many European countries clashed, while Britain and France waged the Seven Years' War, 1756-63, across significant parts of the globe.

From Salon

But was the original a treasured monument to the salvation of Prague following the last siege of the Thirty Years' War?

From BBC

Recognising what had happened to Europe, really from 1618 onwards, the time of the Thirty Years' War, it seemed to me obvious that we actually need some form of better coalition between European countries.

From BBC

The annual prize commemorates the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia, a series of treaties concluded and announced in Muenster town hall in 1648 that ended the Thirty Years' War and other conflicts.

From US News

The gloomiest prediction from commentators is that the region could be entering a version of the Thirty Years' War, which saw Catholic and Protestant states battle for supremacy in the 17th Century.

From BBC