The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, or disease, while parts of modern Germany reported population declines of over 50%. Related conflicts include the Eighty Years' War, the War of the Mantuan Succession, the Franco-Spanish War, the Torstenson War, the Dutch-Portuguese War and the Portuguese Restoration War.
The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601, to December 31, 1700 (MDCC).
1618 (MDCXVIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar, the 1618th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 618th year of the 2nd millennium, the 18th year of the 17th century, and the 9th year of the 1610s decade. As of the start of 1618, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.
Charles IX, also Carl, reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I and of his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King Eric XIV and of King John III, and the uncle of Sigismund, who became king both of Sweden and of Poland. By his father's will Charles received, by way of appanage, the Duchy of Södermanland, which included the provinces of Närke and Värmland; but he did not come into actual possession of them till after the fall of Eric and the succession to the throne of John in 1569.
John III was King of Sweden from 1569 until his death. He was the son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife Margaret Leijonhufvud. He was also, quite autonomously, the ruler of Finland, as Duke John from 1556 to 1563. In 1581 he assumed also the title Grand Prince of Finland. He attained the Swedish throne after a rebellion against his half-brother Eric XIV. He is mainly remembered for his attempts to close the gap between the newly established Lutheran Church of Sweden and the Catholic Church, as well as his conflict with and murder of his brother.
The Duchy of Prussia or Ducal Prussia was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until the Protestant Reformation in 1525.
Brandenburg-Prussia is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenzollern intermarried with the branch ruling the Duchy of Prussia, and secured succession upon the latter's extinction in the male line in 1618. Another consequence of intermarriage was the incorporation of the lower Rhenish principalities of Cleves, Mark and Ravensberg after the Treaty of Xanten in 1614.
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, or simply Poland–Lithuania, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch in real union, who was both King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. It was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th- to 17th-century Europe. At its largest territorial extent, in the early 17th century, the Commonwealth covered almost 1,000,000 km2 (400,000 sq mi) and as of 1618 sustained a multi-ethnic population of almost 12 million. Polish and Latin were the two co-official languages, and Roman Catholicism served as state religion.
Sochaczew is a town in central Poland, with 38,300 inhabitants (2004). In the Masovian Voivodeship, formerly in Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Sochaczew County.
The Polish Golden Age was the Renaissance period in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, roughly corresponding to the period of rule of the King Sigismund I the Old (1506–1548) and his son, Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellonian Dynasty monarchs, until his death in 1572. Some historians argue that the Polish Golden Age continued into the mid-17th century, when the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was ravaged by the Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648–57) and by the Swedish and Russian invasion. During its Golden Age, the Commonwealth became one of the largest kingdoms of Europe, stretching from modern Estonia in the north to Moldavia in the east and Bohemia in the west.
The Polish–Muscovite War of 1605–1618, also known as the Polish–Russian War, Polish Intervention in Russia or the Dimitriads, was a conflict fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia from 1605 to 1618.
The Treaty of Stuhmsdorf, or Sztumska Wieś, was a treaty signed on 12 September 1635 between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Swedish Empire in the village of Stuhmsdorf, Poland, just south of Stuhm (Sztum).
John of Sweden, Duke of Östergötland was a Swedish royal dynast. He was titular Duke of Finland 1590–1606 and reigning Duke of Östergötland 1606–18.
The Polish–Swedish War (1600–1629) was thrice interrupted by periods of truce and thus can be divided into:
Count Jindřich Matyáš of Thurn-Valsassina, was one of the leaders of the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against Emperor Ferdinand II. He took part in events that led to the Thirty Years' War, and after the war he became a military leader and diplomat in Swedish service, who eventually resided in Swedish Estonia.
The Polish–Swedish War (1617–1618) was a phase of the longer Polish–Swedish War (1600–1629). It continued the war of 1600–1611 and was an attempt by Sweden to take Polish pressure off Russia. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was then also fighting Tartars and the Ottoman Empire. Russia and Sweden were at that stage allied, prior to the Ingrian War, part of Russia's Time of Troubles. The 1617–1618 war's cause was a dispute over Livonia and Estonia, and a dispute between Sigismund III Vasa and Gustavus Adolphus over the Swedish throne.
The early modern era of Polish history follows the Late Middle Ages. Historians use the term early modern to refer to the period beginning in approximately 1500 AD and lasting until around 1800.
Michael I was Tsar of all Russia from 1613 until his death in 1645. He was elected by the Zemsky Sobor and was the first tsar of the House of Romanov, which succeeded the House of Rurik.
