Latest / The History of Germany: Kingdoms, War, and Rebuilding Europe — Fexingo History / The Peace of Prague: How a Treaty Split Germany
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about the Peace of Westphalia, how it ended the Thirty Years' War and redrew the map of Europe. But there's a treaty that happens thirteen years earlier that I think is just as important, and it's the one that actually splits the war in half. I'm talking about the Peace of Prague, signed in 1635. Luna: Prague? I don't think I've ever heard of that one. Lucas: Most people haven't, honestly. It's one of those treaties that's overshadowed because Westphalia came later and did the big reset. But the Peace of Prague is the moment when the Holy Roman Empire essentially falls apart as a unified political entity. It's when Emperor Ferdinand II cuts a deal with the Protestant princes of Saxony and Brandenburg, and in doing so, he abandons the Catholic hardliners and the whole imperial ideal. Lucas: To back up a bit: the war starts in 1618 with the Defenestration of Prague, then goes through the Bohemian phase, the Danish phase, and then the Swedish phase. By 1634, the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus is dead, killed at the Battle of Lützen. His chancellor Oxenstierna is trying to hold the Protestant coalition together, but he's fighting on multiple fronts. And Ferdinand II sees his chance to peel off the moderate German princes. Luna: So he's basically trying to divide and conquer, but with a peace treaty instead of an army. Lucas: Exactly. And the main person he's trying to win over is Johann Georg I, the Elector of Saxony. Johann Georg is a Lutheran, but he's also terrified of the Swedes and the radical Protestants. He's been sitting on the fence for years, and Ferdinand's gamble is that if he can get Saxony to switch sides, others will follow. Lucas: The negotiations take place in Prague, and the architect on the imperial side is Maximilian von Trauttmansdorff, a seasoned diplomat who's been working behind the scenes for years. The treaty is actually quite generous to the Lutherans. It suspends the Edict of Restitution, which had been the big imperial attempt to recover Catholic church lands. It also grants Saxony permanent possession of Lusatia, which is a region that had been pawned earlier. In exchange, Johann Georg agrees to join forces with the emperor against the Swedes. Luna: Wait, so the Protestants end up fighting on the side of the Catholic emperor? That seems like a complete reversal. Lucas: It is, and it's not just Saxony. The treaty is signed in May 1635, and it includes a general amnesty for most of the Protestant princes. Brandenburg, led by the Great Elector's father, George William, also comes on board. Even the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. The idea is to create a new imperial army that would include both Catholics and Protestants, and together they'd expel the Swedes from German soil. Luna: Hmm, so it's like a 'united front' but with the emperor as the boss. Lucas: Yeah, but the problem is that the treaty is a mess of compromises, and it satisfies almost no one. The Catholic princes, especially the ecclesiastical electors, feel betrayed because they lose the Edict of Restitution. The Calvinists are left out entirely, because Ferdinand refuses to include them in the amnesty. And the Swedes, well, they're not even a party to the negotiations, so they just keep fighting. Lucas: And that's the key point. The Peace of Prague is meant to be a comprehensive peace that would end the war, but it ends up just shifting the alliances. Now you have the emperor and the Saxon army fighting against the Swedes and the French, because France, under Richelieu, has decided to intervene directly on the side of the Protestants. So the war becomes even more international. Luna: So it's a peace that actually makes the war worse. Lucas: In a way, yes. It doesn't end the fighting, it just changes the dynamics. And it also has a huge impact on the constitutional structure of the empire. The treaty basically acknowledges that the emperor can't enforce his will on the princes, and that each prince has the right to make their own foreign policy, as long as it doesn't directly harm the empire. That's a huge step toward the fragmentation of Germany. Lucas: It's also the moment when the imperial title starts to lose its real power. After Prague, the emperor is no longer the unquestioned leader of Christendom. He's just another player in the European power game. And that's something that's never really undone, even by Westphalia. Luna: I guess that's why the Peace of Prague is so important, even if it's forgotten. It's the beginning of the end of the old order. Lucas: Yeah, it really is. And you know, before we get deeper into the consequences, I want to take a quick pause. This kind of deep dive into treaties and wars is only possible because of the support of listeners like you. If you've been enjoying these conversations, a couple of dollars a month can really make a difference. It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, and it genuinely keeps the show going, ad-free and independent. Luna: Yeah, it's a small thing that adds up. I know I've said it before, but it's true. Lucas: Alright, so back to Prague. The treaty also has a personal side, because it's the final act in the drama of Wallenstein. Wallenstein, the imperial generalissimo, had been assassinated in 1634, just a year before. Ferdinand had ordered it because he suspected Wallenstein of plotting to switch sides. And the Peace of Prague is essentially Ferdinand's way of saying, 'I don't need a grand warlord anymore, I can make peace on my own terms.' Luna: So the treaty is also a kind of posthumous victory for Wallenstein, in a weird way? Because it gives the Protestants a lot of what they wanted. Lucas: That's an interesting way to put it. Wallenstein had always argued for a negotiated settlement, and he was willing to make deals with the Protestants. Ferdinand's solution is basically to adopt Wallenstein's policy but without Wallenstein. It's a bitter irony. Lucas: But the bigger picture is that the Peace of Prague sets the stage for the final phase of the war, which is the French phase. Richelieu is not going to accept a strong emperor, so he signs a treaty with the Swedes in 1638, the Treaty of Hamburg, and then declares war on Spain, which is allied with the emperor. From then on, the war is as much about Franco-Habsburg rivalry as it is about religion. Lucas: And the Peace of Prague also has a lasting effect on how Germany is governed. The treaty explicitly states that all princes can negotiate with foreign powers, as long as they don't form alliances against the emperor. That becomes a legal precedent that's later codified in the Peace of Westphalia, where it's called the jus foederis, the right to form alliances. So in a way, Prague is the foundation for the modern German federal system. Luna: So it kind of creates the space for the individual states to exist, even if it doesn't define them yet. Lucas: Right. It's a bridge between the old unitary empire and the fragmented confederation that would last until Bismarck. And it's also a lesson in how a peace treaty can be a tool for one side to try to reshape the balance of power, but end up creating more chaos than it resolves. Lucas: Let me give you a concrete example of how the treaty plays out in practice. After the Peace of Prague, the imperial army is supposed to be a joint force of Catholics and Protestants. But the Protestants are reluctant to fight their fellow Protestants, so the army ends up being mostly Catholic. And the Swedes, under the new commander Banér, are still a formidable force. In 1636, they win a major battle at Wittstock, defeating the combined imperial-Saxon army. So the peace doesn't even bring military stability. Luna: So Johann Georg, the Elector of Saxony, ends up losing on both fronts. He gets peace, but then he's immediately back at war. Lucas: And he's not the only one who regrets it. The treaty is so poorly constructed that it spawns a whole new round of conflicts. The Hessian War, the Swedish-French intervention, and eventually the war drags on for another thirteen years, until Westphalia in 1648. And by then, the population of Germany has been devastated, with some areas losing as much as sixty percent of their people. Lucas: So when we look at the Peace of Prague, it's not just a footnote. It's a pivotal moment that shows how hard it is to make peace when there are too many competing interests and no one is willing to give up their own advantage. Ferdinand wanted to restore his authority, Johann Georg wanted security, Richelieu wanted to humble the Habsburgs, and the Swedes wanted to stay in the war to get their payment. None of that was sustainable. Luna: It's like a tragic lesson in diplomacy. You try to make peace, but if you don't include everyone, it's not really peace. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the biggest takeaway from the Peace of Prague. It's a treaty that was designed to end a war, but it ended up prolonging it because it excluded too many key players. The lesson is that any lasting peace has to be built on inclusion and compromise, not on leaving people out.