Politics and religion were very closely entwined in the Dutch Revolts and Thirty Years’ War. Although these wars may have seemed to be based on religious conflicts, they were rooted in a power struggle in Europe. In the Dutch Revolts Philip II sought to get the Netherlands in his realm of control. The Thirty Years’ War began as a predominantly religious war, but became a power struggle between the Habsburg Empire and the rest of Europe.
The Thirty Years’ War was split into four periods. The first period was the Bohemian Period. The people of Bohemia were afraid that they were going to lose their religious rights when Ferdinand was elected the King of Bohemia. Ferdinand, having been educated by the Jesuits, was very Catholic and wanted religious uniformity in his lands. In 1618 his representatives were thrown out of a window into a pile of horse manure triggering the Thirty Years’ War. This act of defiance, led by a group of nobles with the nerve to convict three of his representatives and hold a trial, became known as the Defenestration of Prague. Bohemia was in open revolt and had foreign allies. The Danish, Swedish and French became involved, marking the last three periods. The Habsburg Empire seemed to suffer unrecoverable setbacks. The Protestant cause seemed to move toward a quick overall victory.
The Dutch Revolt was in response to the Habsburg Empire trying to meddle in Dutch affairs. In an effort to build a stable and trustworthy government of the Netherlands, Philip [Catholic] appointed Margaret of Parma as governor of the Netherlands [Protestant]. In 1558 the provinces started to contradict Philip's requests, by objecting to his tax proposals and demanding the withdrawal of Spanish troops. Petitions to King Philip by the high nobility went unanswered. Some of the most influential nobles withdrew from the Council of State until Philip recalled Granvelle. In 1564, Philip decided that sterner oppression would be the only answer to the growing power...