Chapter 54: The Peace of Prague and Braganza’s Banner
The Battle of Jankau together with the capitulation of Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria sealed Vienna’s fate as it became clear that any further fighting would only delay the inevitable. The zealous Emperor Ferdinand II von Habsburg displayed his intent to fight on but was ultimately persuaded by his son Ferdinand Ernst to enter peace negotiations with the Protestant coalition. Negotiators from both sides met in Prague, similar to how Bavaria and Sweden had gathered in Munich, with the noticeable physical absence of the French as mediators at Prague. However, through their communications with Saxony and Brandenburg-Prussia, Cardinal Richelieu would significantly influence talks in Prague.
In Prague itself, Gustavus Adolphus’ wish for a modified imperial structure with guaranteed protections for German Protestants and his own territorial ambitions to the north [1] became the foundation of what would eventually become the Peace of Prague. The full reinstatement of the Peace of Augsburg and the revocation of the 1629 Edict of Restitution was immediately agreed to, with rulers able to choose between Catholicism, Lutheranism, or Calvinism. The ius reformandi clause would also be repealed, permitting subjects to follow any denomination regardless of their ruler’s region in a limited fashion. On territorial matters, the division of the duchy of Julich-Cleves-Berg between Brandenburg and the Count Palatine of Neuberg. Additionally, the Protestant side successfully pushed for the detachment of Silesia from the Bohemian Crown, establishing independent Lutheran-majority duchies in Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia, with John Christian ruling the former and his younger brother George Rudolf ruling the latter. Saxony also permanently gained Upper and Lower Lusatia from Bohemia, which it had occupied in 1623 during the Bohemian Revolt. Pomerania, however, would see a divide between the Swedish and the German Protestants. Gustavus Adolphus sought to annex all of Pomerania in addition to Bremen, Wismar, and Verden into Sweden. However, Cardinal Richelieu, concerned about Sweden’s seemingly unchecked rise to power, worked behind the scenes and encouraged Saxony to back Brandenburg’s claim on Eastern Pomerania. The Swedish subsequently conceded, although this little dispute nevertheless created long-term friction between Sweden and the German Protestant powers and weakened the prospects of a long-term Franco-Swedish alliance. Meanwhile, in Munich, Maximilian I of Bavaria agreed to give up the entire Palatinate, with the late Frederick V’s son Prince Charles Louis becoming its new elector [2]. Finally, Ferdinand II agreed to stay out of Spain’s wars with the Netherlands and France despite the Dutch remaining a part of the HRE. The collective treaties in Munich and Prague were finalized and agreed to by all parties on June 24th, 1634, becoming known as the Peace of Prague with France and Sweden acting as its guarantors and ending what would become referred to by future historians as the Imperial Liberties’ War [3].
HRE, 1635 (New Silesian duchies borders in black)
[4]
Amidst the conclusion of the war, the conflict between the Iberian Union and the Franco-Dutch coalition continued. In Lorraine and Franche-Comte, French armies were repulsed by the armies of Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, and the Duke of Leganes, sent southwards by the Cardinal-Infante. The French would be unable to invest more sources on these fronts as in the spring of 1634, Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand decided to launch an offensive towards Paris despite the wishes of his brother the king and the Count-Duke of Olivares to focus on the Netherlands. He gathered an army of 25,000 at Mons before crossing the frontier and quickly taking the strategic fortresses of Le Catelet and La Capelle. Ferdinand marched across the Somme and all the way to Corbie, another strategic fortress he would subsequently capture. Louis XIII, who had returned to Paris in the face of this invasion, recalled Henri, the Prince of Conde, from Franche-Comte and began to gather a new army to counter the Army of Flanders. News of this was enough for Ferdinand, already feeling pressure from Madrid to finish off the Dutch, to retreat back to Cambrai. Although the French ultimately recovered most Spanish gains in northern France, Ferdinand’s offensive weakened French strength on other fronts for an entire year.
Spanish success prevented the Spanish Road from being broken and critically preserved the supply line between the Duchy of Milan and the Spanish Netherlands. This would allow the Spanish Crown to subsequently send more troops from the Iberian Peninsula and Italy up north. In response to French setbacks in Lorraine and Franche-Comte, Cardinal Richelieu persuaded the Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeo I, to launch an offensive into Milan in the summer of 1634 in order to cut off the Low Countries completely from Naples. Charles de Crequy and a French army of 7,500 would be sent to Savoy to bolster the Savoyard duke’s army of 10,000, the combined army subsequently beginning their offensive in May. The Franco-Savoyard force would cross the Ticino River and meet a Spanish army of 18,000 led by the Duke of Feria at Tornavento, an area between the towns of Oleggio and Lonate Pozzolo. The battle commenced on July 22nd, lasting several days and to be defined by the Spanish phrase, “sin arbol, y con falta de agua” (treeless, and lacking water), describing the hot, humid heathland the clash took place at. Ultimately, rounds of cavalry charges, infantry sorties, and trench warfare, concluded in a stalemate that saw the retreat of both the Spanish and the Franco-Savoyard armies from Tornavento.
Sketch of the 1634 Battle of Tornavento
Both sides were evenly matched by this point and any little variable could change the wartime balance of power. It would turn out that events to the far east would tip the scales, for by now news of the Iberian defeat against the Dutch-Japanese alliance had reached Europe. While the news flared the emotions of the Army of Flanders and intensified their hatred towards the Dutch Republic, anti-Madrid riots would break out in Lisbon and many Portuguese nobles and burghers were distraught and enraged at what they saw as Madrid’s failure. No longer trusting the fate of Portugal and its colonial empire in the hands of the Spanish Habsburgs, a group of them, known to history as the “Forty Conspirators” , decided to take back their kingdom. On April 1st, 1635, they coordinated the assassination of the Secretary of State of Portugal, Filipe de Mesquita, and acclaimed John, the Duke of Braganza and a male-line descendant of King John I of Portugal through the latter’s illegitimate son Afonso, as John IV, the new king of Portugal. This coup immediately received the support of the people, and with this event the Portuguese Restoration War had started. Spain now contended with a new front within its own borders.
The Acclamation of the King John IV, painted by Veloso Salgado in 1908
[1]: Based on what Gustavus Adolphus proposed to the Catholic League in 1632 IOTL and ITTL.
[2]: Bavaria does not become an electorate ITTL.
[3]: Official name of the Thirty Years War ITTL.
[4]: Two other differences I would like to point out is that ITTL, the Swiss Confederation and the Dutch Republic remain part of the HRE despite what you see on the map.
