The 17th Century Crisis: Crash Course European History #11

The 17th Century in Europe was pretty rough in a lot of ways. The Thirty Years War involved a lot of countries, and a lot of battles, and it was terrible for everyone involved, as wars have aa historical tendency to be. At the same time, disease and hunger were common, thanks in part to the climate change of the Little Ice Age. Get ready for some misery.

Sources
German History in Documents and Images: Volume 1. From the Reformation to the Thirty Years War, 1500-1648 A Local Apocalypse –The Sack of Magdeburg (1631).

Parker, Geoffrey. Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century. New Haven: Yale, 2013.


Wilson, Peter H. The Thirty Years War: A Sourcebook. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

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[unvergebeneid]

"Defenestration" is a word that always made me wonder why it exists. It's so oddly specific. Makes you wonder how often people used to throw others out of windows to merit inventing a word for it.

[MTBJJ]

Man crash course has always been like a safe form of entertainment ya know? Like the intro, everything, just makes me feel safe and comfortable, I listen to crash course while I’m studying related topics, just to get me in that fun learning mode. I used to listen to crash course to fall asleep cause it’s so consistent and informative while not being boring

[olin]

I like how this 13 minute video explained this better than the college board anointed 40 minute video.

[neemapaxima]

Sir Isaac Newtown was born during the Thirty Years' War.
It shows how nonlinear human progress can be.

[MoeSalamaIbrahim]

I was starting to feel bleak when John said "some good news is coming next week" and all of a sudden I got enormous goosebumps and teared of hope as if I had lived in the 17th Century. You rock, keep on making these videos forever.

[andreeat]

''Now, I know what you're thinking, this whole history business is just one crisis after another''
... *Human life is just one crisis after another.*

[matthewmcneany]

Imagine it, having an elite telling you that there's wealth pouring into your nation but yet you and many people you know are finding it harder and harder to pay for the basics of life.

[DietrichvonSachsen]

"Unlike the Hundred Years War, the Thirty Years War did last for 30 years."

While John isn't wrong, it is worth noting that, because of the international character of the Thirty Years War, that statement is only true when talking about the German states of the Holy Roman Empire. The war also included the Spanish and the Dutch fighting in the Eighty Years War, the Polish-Swedish War, and others beside.

Seriously, the history of the Thirty Years War is a cluster**** of epic proportions.

[threaruscamuwundra]

This is exactly a case like you mentioned in the dark ages episode of World History. For the Dutch, this is considered the golden century, far from a period of crisis.

[johgu]

The torching of Magdeburg led to the word "magdeburgisieren" which means to tptally destroy and plunder a city.

[adamhosek]

Fun fact - It was actually the Third Defenestration of Prague! The second one took place already in 1483, but it remains less famous, because the uprising it was part of was not very succesful.
Many minor errors, but the Thirty Years War is soooo complex and confusing, it would be impossible to cover it in less 14 minutes with no simplifications whatsoever. Good job! :)

[ab]

Me: Wow game of thrones is so violent!
30-years war: *hold my beer*

[abbyslgamer]

Please consider posting sources in the desc. Myself and I’m sure many others would appreciate it greatly

[halocemagnum]

“Three decades of war”

*begins rocking in Sabaton*

[RD-egdf]

At no point did anyone stop to think "Is this what Jesus would do?"

[davidbukowski]

Good video, but you definitely should have talked about places outside Central Europe. Cromwell was completely destroying Ireland, Poland had sacked Moscow, etc.

[TheBard]

Nice video, shame that you barely mention anything that happened in Eastern Europe. In 17th century both Russia and Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth went through destructive wars and civil wars. Moskov was sacked. And Wars in 17th century killed up to 30% of population of Polish Kingdom (more destructive than II World War), which lead directly to 3 partitions of PLC in 18 century.

[SystemBD]

The realistic human hands in the "though bubble" section fit surprisingly well. Like if Eldritch abominations were playing with the contenders of the war. Great stuff.

[filmscentre]

Hi Mr Green I have always been a fan of Crash Course! They are concise, informative, appropriately planned etc. I really hope you guys can start a Clash Course Geography because it will be beneficial to our lessons in school and a variety of other reasons. Thank you so much!

[thomasturner]

When starting a fire in a bakery causes the whole of London to burn down