The Eighty Years' War

Examples of The Eighty Years' War in the following topics:

• The Peace of Westphalia and Sovereignty

  • The treaties ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the independence of the Dutch Republic.
  • Two destructive wars were the major triggers behind signing the eventual Peace of Westphalia: the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic.
  • The Thirty Years' War was a series of wars in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648.
  • The Eighty Years' War or Dutch War of Independence (1568–1648) was a revolt of the Seventeen Provinces against the political and religious hegemony of Philip II of Spain, the sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands.
  • After a 12-year truce, hostilities broke out again around 1619, which coincided with the Thirty Years' War.

• The Role of Flanders

  • During the Middle Ages, the trading towns of Ghent, Bruges, and Ypres made Flanders one of the richest and most urban areas in Europe.
  • After the Siege of Antwerp (1584-1585), which ended the Eighty Years War, the Southern Provinces of the Netherlands (known as Flanders), remained under Spanish rule and were separated from the independent Northern Netherlands (known as the Dutch Republic).
  • The late 16th century saw the end of late Renaissance and Mannerist styles in the Flanders region, and the beginning of the age of Rubens.
  • Brussels, the capital of Flanders, was also important, as it was the location of the court.
  • Many artists fled the religious wars, moving from Flanders to the Dutch Republic.

• The Peace of Westphalia

  • The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster that ended the Thirty Years' War.
  • Over a four-year period, the warring parties of the Thirty Years' War (the Holy Roman Empire, France, and Sweden) were actively negotiating at Osnabrück and Münster in Westphalia.
  • These treaties ended both the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the independence of the Dutch Republic.
  • France came out of the war in a far better position than any of the other participants.
  • The treaty did not entirely end conflicts arising out of the Thirty Years' War.

• A Global War

  • The Seven Years' War was a world war fought between 1754 and 1763, the main conflict occurring in the seven-year period from 1756 to 1763.
  • Because of its span and global impact, some historians have argued that the Seven Years' War was the first world war (it took place almost 160 years before World War I).
  • However, this label has also been given to various earlier conflicts, including the Eighty Years' War, the Thirty Years' War, the War of the Spanish Succession and the War of the Austrian Succession, and to later conflicts, including the Napoleonic Wars.
  • The Seven Years' War influenced many major events later around the globe.
  • Assess the claim that the Seven Years' War was the first world war

• Spain in the Revolutionary War

  • Spain covertly supported the thirteen Colonies throughout the Revolutionary War, beginning in 1776.
  • The Spanish viewed the Revolution as a crucial opportunity to weaken the British Empire, which had caused Spain substantial losses during the Seven Years' War.
  • In April 1779, the Spanish joined France in the war, with the Treaty of Aranjuez.
  • In return, the Spanish agreed to join the American War of Independence.
  • Minorca surrendered the following year, and was restored to Spain after the war, nearly eighty years after it was first captured by the British.

• The American Military Forces

  • In 1776, Congress passed the "Eighty-eight Battalion Resolve", ordering each state to contribute regiments in proportion to their population.
  • Congress’ hesitance to establish a standing army resulted in short, one-year enlistment periods in the beginning of the war.
  • In 1777, enlistment terms were extended to three years or "the length of the war".
  • In the later years of the war (1781-1782), Congress was bankrupt and it was difficult to replace the soldiers whose three-year terms had expired.
  • Following the war, Congress dissolved the navy due to lack of funds.

• Conclusion: The Fight for Independence

  • In July, the colonists proposed the Olive Branch Petition to reconcile with Britain and avert war.
  • Declining enrollment, however, led to longer enlistment periods later in the war, and in 1776, Congress passed the “Eighty-eight Battalion Resolve”, ordering each state to contribute regiments in propertion to their population.
  • Additionally, many British officers did not support the war and declined to take command in the conflict.
  • With the crippling surrender at Yorktown, the British war effort ground to a halt.
  • Summarize the general arc of the war and the reasons for colonial victory.

• Optional Collaborative Classroom Activity

  • On the average, a certain computer part lasts 10 years.
  • What is the probability that a computer part lasts more than 7 years?
  • Let x = the amount of time (in years) a computer part lasts.
  • On the average, 1 computer part lasts 10 years.
  • Eighty percent of the computer parts last at most 16.1 years.

• Britain's Strategy

  • The European Theater of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war, with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945.
  • The Eastern Front was by far the largest and bloodiest theater of World War II.
  • Through this period, and until the German invasion of the USSR in June 1941, there was no possibility of Britain winning the war alone, and so British Grand Strategy aimed to bring the USA into the war on the allied side.
  • Nearly eighty percent of the bombarding and transporting warships were from the Royal Navy.
  • However, following three years of fighting, Axis forces were defeated in North Africa and their interference in the Middle East was halted.

• The Panic of 1819

  • The new nation had previously faced an economic depression following the War of Independence in the late 1780s and 1790s, but nothing as severe.
  • The first major economic crisis after the War of 1812 was due, in large measure, to factors in the larger Atlantic economy.
  • During the war, the Bank of the United States had suspended payments in specie.
  • The Land Law of 1820 lowered the price of land to $1.25 per acre and allowed small parcels of eighty acres to be sold.
  • The act also extended the credit period to eight years.