Thirty Years' War

The Thirty Years’ War was a conflict primarily fought in Central Europe from 1618 to 1648; estimates of total military and civilian deaths range from 4.5 to 8 million, mostly from disease or starvation. In some areas of Germany, it has been suggested up to 60% of the population died.Until the mid-20th century, it was seen as predominantly a German civil war and considered one of the European wars of religion. In 1938, CV Wedgwood argued it formed part of a wider European conflict, whose underlying cause was the ongoing contest between Austro-Spanish Habsburgs and French Bourbons. This view is now generally accepted by historians. Related conflicts include the Eighty Years War, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Franco-Spanish War, and Portuguese Restoration War.
The conflict can be split into two main parts. The first period from 1618 to 1635 was a struggle within the Holy Roman Empire, fought between Emperor Ferdinand II and his internal opponents, with external powers playing a supportive role. Despite the parties agreeing the Peace of Prague in 1635, fighting continued with Sweden and France on one side, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs on the other. This second phase ended with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia.