Western Civ

Frederick V's brief stint as the leader of the Protestant resistance comes to an end. 

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The Thirty Years War begins with the Bohemian revolt. That begins by a bunch of guys getting chucked out a window...

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The death of Emperor Rudolf in 1612 brought his brother Matthias to the throne. While this marked a period of recovery for the Habsburg dynasty, Matthias's position was precarious. He lacked the same authority as his brother and was already 55 years old, making his grip on power tenuous from the outset. The empire Matthias inherited was one riddled with internal divisions and vulnerabilities. The Turkish truce of 1606, though bringing much-needed peace, had ironically diminished the emperor's international standing. The Austrian Habsburgs' policy of neutrality in European conflicts further sidelined them in international affairs, further weakening the perception of imperial strength.

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The years leading up to the Thirty Years War saw the repeated failures of various institutions within the Holy Roman Empire.

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Western Civ Podcast

We have not covered Denmark or Sweden much since the Viking Age. Today that changes. Both kingdoms will play major roles in the Thirty Years War so today we break down how both look coming into that conflict.

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Spain was truly a world empire by the opening of the Thirty Years War in 1618. While it was not without weaknesses, it was perceived as being the most dominant European power of the early modern period. 

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Today I interview historian Josiah Osgood and we discuss his latest book: Lawless Republic: The Rise of Cicero and the Decline of Rome. 

In its final decades, the Roman Republic was engulfed by a crime wave. An epidemic of extortions, murders, and acts of insurrection tested the court system’s capacity to maintain order. As case after case filled the docket, an ambitious young lawyer named Cicero seized every opportunity to litigate, forging a reputation as a master debater with a bright future in politics. In Lawless Republic, historian Josiah Osgood recounts the legendary orator’s ascent and fall, and his pivotal role in the republic’s lurch toward autocracy. 
 
Cicero’s first appearance in the courts came shortly after the end of a brutal civil war. After leveraging his fame as a lawyer to become a consul, he ruthlessly crushed a coup by suppressing the liberties of Roman citizens. The premiere legal mind of Rome came to argue that the pursuit of a higher justice could sometimes justify sweeping the law aside, laying the groundwork for Roman history’s most famous act of political violence—the assassination of Julius Caesar.  

Lawless Republic vividly resurrects the spectacle of the courts in the time of Cicero and Caesar, showing how politics trumped the rule of law and sealed the fate of Rome.

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Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world. And yet, to Ukrainians, this attack was painfully familiar, the latest episode in a centuries-long Russian campaign to divide and oppress Ukraine.  
 
In Intent to Destroy, political scientist Eugene Finkel uncovers these deep roots of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Ukraine is a key borderland between Russia and the West, and, following the rise of Russian nationalism in the nineteenth century, dominating Ukraine became the cornerstone of Russian policy. Russia has long used genocidal tactics—killings, deportations, starvation, and cultural destruction—to successfully crush Ukrainian efforts to chart an independent path. As Finkel shows, today’s violence is simply a more extreme version of the Kremlin’s long-standing policy. But unlike in the past, the people of Ukraine—motivated by the rise of democracy in their nation—have overcome their deep internal divisions. For the first time, they have united in favor of independence from Russia. 
 
Whatever the outcome of the present war, Ukraine’s staunch resistance has permanently altered its relationship to Russia and the West. Intent to Destroy offers the vital context we need to truly understand Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.

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The Thirty Years War might not have happened had the Habsburg monarchy been stronger. But a series of internal and external conflicts beginning in the late sixteenth century begin to change that dynamic for the worse. 

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One simply cannot understand the Thirty Years War without first digesting the Austrian Habsburgs. Today, we tell that story.

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