War of the Jülich Succession
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The War of the Jülich Succession was a
war of succession A war of succession is a war prompted by a succession crisis in which two or more individuals claim the Order of succession, right of successor to a demise of the Crown, deceased or deposition (politics), deposed monarch. The rivals are typic ...
in the
United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg The so-called United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire between 1521 and 1666, formed from the personal union of the duchies of Jülich, Cleves and Berg. The name was resurrected after the Congress of Vienn ...
. It lasted between 10 June 1609 and 24 October 1610, resumed in May 1614 and finally ended on 13 October 1614. The first round of the conflict pitted Catholic Archduke Leopold V against the combined forces of the Protestant
Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out o ...
and
Palatinate-Neuburg Palatinate-Neuburg (german: Herzogtum Pfalz-Neuburg) was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1505 by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau. Its area was about 2,750 km², with a population of ...
, ending in the former's military defeat. The representatives of the Brandenburg and Neuburg later entered into a direct conflict after their religious conversion to Calvinism and Catholicism respectively. The conflict was further complicated by the involvement of Spain and the Netherlands making it part of the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
, as well as the
European wars of religion The European wars of religion were a series of wars waged in Europe during the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries. Fought after the Protestant Reformation began in 1517, the wars disrupted the religious and political order in the Catholic Chu ...
. It was finally settled by the
Treaty of Xanten The Treaty of Xanten (german: Vertrag von Xanten, links=no) was signed in the Lower Rhine town of Xanten on 12 November 1614 between Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg and John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, with representatives from E ...
, whose provisions favoured Spain.


Background

The rapid spread of the
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
and
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
doctrines after the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
was met by a period of
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
resurgence, known as the
Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...
. Such interdenominational conflicts as the Cologne War and the
Strasbourg Bishops' War The Strasbourg Bishops' War (German: ''Bischöflicher Krieg'' or ''Straßburger Kapitelstreit'';Gerhard Taddey: ''Straßburger Kapitelstreit''. In: Gerhard Taddey (ed.): ''Lexikon der deutschen Geschichte. Personen, Ereignisse, Institutionen. Von ...
prompted creation of the Catholic League and the
Protestant Union The Protestant Union (german: Protestantische Union), also known as the Evangelical Union, Union of Auhausen, German Union or the Protestant Action Party, was a coalition of Protestant German states. It was formed on 14 May 1608 by Frederick I ...
, with the intention of safeguarding the interests of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
's Catholic and Protestant nobility, respectively. The aforementioned alliances entered their first conflict in 1609, when a succession crisis in the
United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg The so-called United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire between 1521 and 1666, formed from the personal union of the duchies of Jülich, Cleves and Berg. The name was resurrected after the Congress of Vienn ...
sparked the War of the Jülich Succession. The territories in question covered an area of 14,000 km² and had both geopolitical importance from their proximity to the
Spanish Road The Spanish Road (Spanish: ''Camino Español'', German: ''Spanische Straße'') was a military road and trade route in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, linking the Duchy of Milan, the Franche-Comté and the Spanish Netherlands, ...
and a booming economy, which was fuelled by refugees fleeing the lands that were being ravaged by the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
. Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, who was affected by a serious
mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
, died on 25 March 1609 and left no heirs to succeed him. Emperor
Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Hous ...
had claims to the duchies stemming from intermarriage. However, he was unable to declare his intentions openly without compromising his perceived neutrality. A total of six other claimants appeared, with rulers of the
Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out o ...
and Duchy of Palatinate-Neuburg having the only credible claims through their marriage to Johann Wilhelm's aunts. On 2 April, a regency was established, including the duke's wife, Antoinette of Lorraine; the privy councilors; and an imperial commissioner. On 24 May, Rudolf II announced that the
Aulic Council The Aulic Council ( la, Consilium Aulicum, german: Reichshofrat, literally meaning Court Council of the Empire) was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the Imperial Chamber Court. It had not only concurrent juri ...
was to provide a definite verdict within four weeks.


Conflict

Brandenburg and Neuburg viewed the regency as a direct attempt at annexing the duchy. On 10 June 1609, they signed the , rejecting all other claimants and establishing a provisional government together with the local estates. Their troops entered the duchy in defiance to the acting regency and the Emperor. In January 1610,
Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...
signed a draft military pact with the Protestant Union and dispatched 22,000 men under Marshal de La Chatre to north–eastern France. A comparable number of troops was dispatched by the Dutch towards Schenkenschanz in an apparent show of force towards Spain. Archduke Leopold V sought to raise his profile in the ongoing power struggle between the Emperor and Archduke Matthias by convincing the former to annul the Treaty of Dortmund and appoint him as the imperial to commissioner. Leopold triumphantly entered Jülich, but he soon found himself
besieged Besieged may refer to: * the state of being under siege * ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci {{disambiguation ...
by an army three times his size, as fighting spread to
Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
and Düren. The struggle between the Catholic royal family and the Protestant princes brought fears of a larger
religious war A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...
. The Protestant Union mobilized 5,000 men, and Leopold recruited 1,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry in the
Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg The Prince-Bishopric of Strasburg (german: Fürstbistum Straßburg; gsw-FR, Fìrschtbischofsìtz Strossburi(g)) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the 13th century until 1803. During the late 17th century, most of ...
. His
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
relatives and the rest of the Catholic League refused to support Leopold openly and gathered troops only for their own protection. On 13 March 1610, Protestant Count
Otto von Solms–Braunfels Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded f ...
invaded Strasbourg with 2,000 troops. The Catholics simply retreated into walled towns such as
Saverne Saverne (french: Saverne, ; Alsatian: ; german: Zabern ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km (2 ...
and waitef until the ill–disciplined invaders ran out of money and retreated. A meeting was set in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
on 1 May 1610 to broker a settlement. Rudolf's initial decision to ''
enfeoff In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...
'' the entire duchy to
Christian II, Elector of Saxony Christian II of Saxony (23 September 1583 – 23 June 1611) was Elector of Saxony from 1591 to 1611. He was born in Dresden, the eldest son of Christian I of Saxony and Sophie of Brandenburg. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wet ...
, was rejected by a number of moderate princes, which led to the postponement of negotiations until August. A second Protestant invasion, this time consisting of 9,800 troops and artillery, succeeded in seizing
Dachstein Hoher Dachstein () is a strongly karstic mountain in central Austria and the second-highest mountain in the Northern Limestone Alps. It is situated at the border of Upper Austria and Styria, and is the highest point in each of those states. Pa ...
,
Mutzig Mutzig ( or ; german: Mützig) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est, in north-eastern France. The commune of Mutzig is located at the entrance of the Bruche river valley, on the Route des Vins d'Alsace. History Evidences of h ...
and
Molsheim Molsheim () is a commune and a subprefecture in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.
, but it too was brought to halt after the local population had refused to supply it food. In the meantime, Leopold had fled Jülich and left 1,500 troops inside. Their fate was sealed as the
Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
and the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
finally intervened in support of the Protestants and aimed to antagonise Spain by putting further pressure on the Spanish Road. The Dutch intercepted a relief party heading from the
Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince, ...
and bolstered the besiegers into a combined total of 25,200 troops. On 1 September, the garrison surrendered in return for free passage into upper
Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
. On 24 October, the Protestant Union and the Catholic League agreed to withdraw their forces and to disband them until the end of the year. The war severely depleted the coffers of all the involved parties, leading to increased taxes, which in turn triggered the 1612 Tirol Peasant Revolt. Possessors
Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg Wolfgang Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg (4 November 1578 in Neuburg an der Donau – 14 September 1653 in Düsseldorf) was a German Prince. He was Count palatine of Neuburg and Duke of Jülich and Berg. Life Wolfgang Wilhelm's parents were Ph ...
and
Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (22 June 1583, in Cölln an der Spree – 7 March 1625, in Ansbach) was a German nobleman. He ruled as margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1603 to 1625, succeeding his cousin George Frederick an ...
took over the duchy by military might without having been able to secure official recognition. In 1611, Protestantism spread to the villages of Stolberg and Weiden, in the vicinity of Aachen. In response, the city council of Aachen imposed a fine on those inhabitants who attended Protestant services. Five citizens were detained for ignoring the town's decree banished and were as they refused to pay the fine. That caused a riot against the council on 5 July. The Catholic councillors were expelled, and many Catholic buildings were sacked. The rebels assaulted the church and the College of the
Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
, smashed the altars and images and held a mock mass by being dressed in confiscated priestly garments. A new Protestant council was established and appealed for support to the Possessors. In 1612, Rudolf ordered the Possessors to reinstate Catholicism in the city of Aachen under the menace of a ban. The city's Protestants, however, ignored the command and seriously wounded an Imperial commissary sent to implement the Emperor's edict. Upon Rudolf's death, Emperor Matthias confirmed Saxony's rights to the fief, which rekindled the dispute. Furthermore, the conversions of Ernst and Wolfgang Wilhelm to Calvinism and Catholicism respectively completely restructured their past alliances. Brandenburg and Neuburg officials ceased communicating with each other by early 1614. In May 1614, 300 Dutch troops ejected the Neuburg garrison from Jülich, in an attempt by the Dutch statesman
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt Johan van Oldenbarnevelt (), Heer van Berkel en Rodenrijs (1600), Gunterstein (1611) and Bakkum (1613) (14 September 1547 – 13 May 1619) was a Dutch statesman and revolutionary who played an important role in the Dutch struggle for indepen ...
to prevent a Brandenburg plot against the former. Wolfgang Wilhelm interpreted it as a declaration of war, raised 900 troops and took
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
. The new Brandenburg possessor, George William, was indeed plotting a coup, but his financial dependence on the Dutch prevented him from fulfilling his plans. Another misunderstanding took place when Spain and
Albert VII, Archduke of Austria Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...
, interpreted the Dutch military buildup as a violation of the
Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like France began treating the Republic as a soverei ...
and mobilised 13,300 infantry and 1,300 cavalry under Spanish General
Ambrogio Spinola Ambrogio Spinola Doria, 1st Marquess of Los Balbases and 1st Duke of Sesto (1569-25 September 1630) was an Italian ''condottiero'' and nobleman of the Republic of Genoa, who served as a Spanish general and won a number of important battles. He i ...
. On 20 February 1614, Emperor Matthias ordered the restoration of the Catholic rule in Aachen. Fearing an attack, the city council requested the aid of the Elector of Brandenburg, who sent several hundred soldiers under General Georg von Pulitz to reinforce the local militia. On 24 August, Spinola besieged Aachen under the premise of imposing a two-year-old imperial edict issued by Rudolf. After several days of negotiations, the garrison was allowed to leave, together with Protestant clerics and noncitizens. The old city council was reinstated, and the participants of the 1611 riots were punished. From Aachen, Spinola pressed on towards Düren,
Neuss Neuss (; spelled ''Neuß'' until 1968; li, Nüss ; la, Novaesium) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It ...
,
Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...
and
Mülheim Mülheim, officially Mülheim an der Ruhr () and also described as ''"City on the River"'', is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen. It is home to many compa ...
, which he captured with Wolfgang Wilhelm's help. The Dutch occupied the duchy of Mark and the rest of Cleves and also reinforced Jülich.


Aftermath

On 13 October 1614, Spinola and
Maurice of Nassau Maurice of Orange ( nl, Maurits van Oranje; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death in 1625. Before he became Prince o ...
initiated peace negotiations under French and English mediation. The conflict ended with the signing of the
Treaty of Xanten The Treaty of Xanten (german: Vertrag von Xanten, links=no) was signed in the Lower Rhine town of Xanten on 12 November 1614 between Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg and John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, with representatives from E ...
on 12 November. The territories of Jülich-Berg and
Ravenstein Ravenstein may refer to: Places *Ravenstein, Germany in the district Neckar-Odenwald, Baden-Württemberg *Ravenstein, Netherlands in Oss, North Brabant *Ravenstein railway station Films Ravenstein a 2020 British Horror film People with the su ...
went to Wolfgang Wilhelm of Neuburg, and
Cleves-Mark The Duchy of Cleves (german: Herzogtum Kleve; nl, Hertogdom Kleef) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged from the medieval . It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and ...
and Ravensberg went to George William. Spain gained a total of 62 towns including three crossings across the
Rhine River ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...
(Wesel,
Orsoy Orsoy, till 1974 an independent town in the district of Moers, is today a municipal district of the Lower Rhine town of Rheinberg on the Rhine. The word Orsoy, pronounced ''Oschau'' means "horse pasture" (Rossaue). Orsoy itself was in the Middle A ...
and
Rheinberg Rheinberg () is a town in the Wesel (district), district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhine, approx. north of Moers and south of Wesel. It comprises the municipal districts of Rheinberg, B ...
), which significantly enhancing its position in North–western Europe. The Dutch retained their garrisons at Jülich and Pfaffenmütze but were now outflanked or even isolated, which put them in an unfavourable position when the Twelve Years' Truce expired in April 1621.


See also

*
War of the Mantuan Succession The War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–1631) was a related conflict of the Thirty Years' War, caused by the death in December 1627 of Vincenzo II, last male heir in the direct line of the House of Gonzaga and ruler of the duchies of Mantua ...
* Siege of Jülich (1621–22)


Notes


References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:War of the Julich Succession Julich Succession Wars involving Spain Wars involving France Wars involving the Dutch Republic Duchy of Jülich Julich Conflicts in 1609 Conflicts in 1610 Conflicts in 1614 1609 in Europe 1610 in Europe 1614 in Europe Eighty Years' War County of Mark