Catholic League

(noun)

A major participant in the French Wars of Religion. Formed by Henry I, Duke of Guise, in 1576. It intended the eradication of Protestants—also known as Calvinists or Huguenots—out of Catholic France during the Protestant Reformation, as well as the replacement of King Henry III. Pope Sixtus V, Philip II of Spain, and the Jesuits were all supporters of this Catholic party.

Related Terms

Examples of Catholic League in the following topics:

  • The French Wars of Religion

    • Henry of Lorraine, Duke of Guise, leader of the Catholic League, funded and supported by Philip II of Spain.
    • For the first part of the war, the royalists and the Catholic League were uneasy allies against their common enemy, the Huguenots.
    • The Catholic League had put its preachers to good use.
    • Open war erupted between the royalists and the Catholic League.
    • Fighting continued between Henry IV and the Catholic League for almost a decade.

  • Swedish Intervention

    • The Swedish Intervention in the Thirty Years' War was a major turning point of the war, where King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden ordered a full-scale invasion of the Catholic states.
    • From 1630 to 1634, Swedish-led armies drove the Catholic forces back, regaining much of the lost Protestant territory.
    • After dismissing Wallenstein in 1630, from fear he was planning a revolt, Ferdinand II became dependent on the Catholic League.
    • At the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631), Gustavus Adolphus's forces defeated the Catholic League led by Tilly.
    • The upper hand had now switched from the Catholic League to the Protestant Union, led by Sweden.

  • Danish Intervention

    • After the Bohemian Revolt was suppressed by Ferdinand II, the Danish King Christian IV, fearing that recent Catholic successes threatened his sovereignty as a Protestant nation, led troops against Ferdinand.
    • After the Defenestration of Prague and the ensuing Bohemian Revolt, the Protestants warred with the Catholic League until the former were firmly defeated at the Battle of Stadtlohn in 1623.
    • Denmark had feared that the recent Catholic successes threatened its sovereignty as a Protestant nation.
    • Thus, in the following two years, the Catholic powers subjugated more land.
    • At this point, the Catholic League persuaded Ferdinand II to take back the Lutheran holdings that were, according to the Peace of Augsburg, rightfully the possession of the Catholic Church.

  • Philip II and the Spanish Armada

    • During his reign, Spain reached the height of its influence and power and remained firmly Roman Catholic.
    • Philip's foreign policies were determined by a combination of Catholic fervor and dynastic objectives.
    • Philip financed the Catholic League during the French Wars of Religion (primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants known as Huguenots).
    • Weary of war, most French Catholics switched to his side against the hardline core of the Catholic League, who were portrayed by Henry's propagandists as puppets of a foreign monarch, Philip.
    • By the end of 1594 certain League members were still working against Henry across the country, but all relied on the support of Spain.

  • Elizabeth I and English Patriotism

    • In 1558, Elizabeth succeeded her Roman Catholic half-sister Mary.
    • She and her advisers recognized the threat of a Catholic crusade against England.
    • In December 1584, an alliance between Philip II and the French Catholic League undermined the ability of Henry III of France to counter Spanish domination of the Netherlands.
    • It also extended Spanish influence along the channel coast of France, where the Catholic League was strong, and exposed England to invasion.
    • In 1583, Humphrey Gilbert sailed to Newfoundland, taking possession of the harbor of St John's together with all land within two hundred leagues to the north and south of it.

  • The League of Nations

    • The league was the brainchild of U.S.
    • Representation at the league was often a problem.
    • Among the American public, Irish-Catholics and German-Americans were intensely opposed to the treaty, claiming it favored the British.
    • Harding, continued American opposition to the League of Nations.
    • The league cannot be labeled a failure, however, as it laid the groundwork for the United Nations, which replaced the League of Nations after World War II and inherited a number of agencies and organizations founded by the league.

  • The Nativist Response to Immigration

    • The Immigration Restriction League was founded in 1894 by people who opposed the influx of "undesirable immigrants" that were coming from southern and eastern Europe.
    • The League was founded in Boston and had branches in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.
    • The League also had political allies that used their power in Congress to gain support for the League's intentions.
    • The American Party often is associated with xenophobia and anti-Catholic sentiments.
    • Catholic and Lutheran Germans rallied to defeat the incumbent Republican governor, William D.

  • Wilson's Loss at Home

    • Despite Wilson's efforts, the Treaty of Versailles (and membership in the League of Nations) was never ratified by Congress.
    • They wanted a treaty with reservations, especially on Article X, which involved the power of the League of Nations to make war without a vote by the U.S.
    • Among the American public as a whole, the Irish Catholics and the German Americans were intensely opposed to the Treaty, saying it favored the British.
    • A poll of historians in 2006 cited Wilson's failure to compromise with the Republicans on U.S. entry into the League as one of the 10 largest errors on the part of an American president.
    • Harding, continued American opposition to the League of Nations, Congress passed the Knox–Porter Resolution, bringing a formal end to hostilities between the U.S. and the Central Powers.

  • The League of Nations

  • Postwar Politics and the Election of 1920

    • Internationally, politicians were arguing over peace treaties and the question of America's entry into the League of Nations, which produced an isolationist reaction.
    • The Irish Catholic and German communities were outraged at Wilson's foreign policy, and his political position was critically weakened after he suffered a severe stroke in 1919 that rendered him unable to speak on his own behalf.
    • Wilson had hoped for a "solemn referendum" on the League of Nations, but did not get one.
    • Harding waffled on the League, thereby keeping Republican "irreconcilables" in line.
    • He went to the White House to seek Wilson's blessing and apparently endorsed the League, but—upon discovering its unpopularity among Democrats—revised his position to one that would accept the League only with reservations, particularly on Article Ten, which would require the United States to participate in any war declared by the League.