[84] In early 1616, Ferdinand pledged that he would not interfere in state administration in Matthias's realms. A period of minor operations followed. Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor (1619–1637), King of Bohemia (1617–1619, 1620–1637), and King of Hungary and Croatia (1618–1637). The war left the Holy Roman Empire devastated, its cities in ruins, and its population took a century to recover. [1] Charles II, who was the youngest son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, had inherited the Inner Austrian provinces—Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Gorizia, Fiume, Trieste and parts of Istria and Friuli—from his father in 1564. [90][99] The Second Defenestration of Prague was the start of a new uprising. [98][90] The Protestants principally blamed two of the four Catholic royal governors, Jaroslav Bořita of Martinice and Vilém Slavata of Chlum, for the violent acts. [45] In 1600, he sent an envoy to the Uskoks, whom the Uskoks murdered. His parents were devout Catholics, and, in 1590, they sent him to study at the Jesuits' college in Ingolstadt, because they wanted to isolate him from the Lutheran nobles. Ferdinand II, by the grace of God elected Holy Roman Emperor, forever August, King in Germany, King of Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Rama, Serbia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Cumania, Bulgaria, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Margrave of Moravia, Duke of Luxemburg, of the Higher and Lower Silesia, of Württemberg and Teck, Prince of Swabia, Count of Habsburg, Tyrol, Kyburg and Goritia, Marquess of the Holy Roman Empire, Burgovia, the Higher and Lower Lusace, Lord of the Marquisate of Slavonia, of Port Naon and Salines, etc. [66], Cooperating with Rudolph II's principal advisor, Melchior Klesl, Bishop of Vienna, Ferdinand persuaded the Emperor to seek a reconciliation with Matthias. [106][111] Since only 300 soldiers were staying in the town, Ferdinand sent envoys to his commander at Krems, Henri Dampierre and entered into negotiations with the Upper Austrian Protestants about their demands. [73] They decided to support Matthias's election as King of the Romans (which could have secured his right to succeed Rudolph II), but the three ecclesiastical electors opposed the plan because of Matthias's concessions to the Protestants in Hungary, Austria and Bohemia. In the wake of these Catholic military successes, in 1629 Ferdinand issued the Edict of Restitution, by which all the lands stripped from Catholics after the Peace of Passau of 1552 would be returned. Juli 1578 in Graz; † 15. Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor. In order to muster an imperial army to continue the war, he applied to Albrecht von Wallenstein, one of the richest men in Bohemia: the latter accepted on condition that he could keep total control over the direction of the war, as well as over the booties taken during the operations. [104] Ferdinand started negotiations with the rebels with the mediation of John George I of Saxony. [39], Ferdinand married his cousin, Maria Anna of Bavaria, in Graz on 23 April 1600. [78] Philip III of Spain announced his claim to succeed Matthias in Bohemia and Hungary, emphasizing that his mother, Anna, the sister of Matthias, had never renounced her right to the two realms. After his victory over the Swedes (September 1634) at Nördlingen, Ferdinand reached a compromise with the Protestant princes in the Peace of Prague (1635) and, in 1636, succeeded in having his son Ferdinand elected king of the Romans (successor-designate to the emperor). [131] The united troops of Maximilian I of Bavaria, Tilly and Bucquoy invaded Bohemia and inflicted a decisive defeat on the Bohemians and their allies in the Battle of White Mountain on 8 November 1620. [22][24] He named his mother regent and left Graz on 22 April 1598. [97] Ferdinand was automatically excommunicated for the imprisonment of a cardinal, but Pope Paul V absolved him before the end of the year. Later generations are included although Austrian titles of nobility were abolished in 1919. In return he promised in a secret treaty (1617) to cede to them Alsace and the imperial fiefs in Italy. [90][91] Ferdinand promised to respect the Letter of Majesty—a royal diploma that guaranteed religious freedom in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown—only after consulting with the local Jesuits. [167] Bethlen promised to launch a new military campaign against Royal Hungary and Richelieu agreed to send a subsidy to him. Ferdinand succeeded Matthias as Holy Roman Emperor in 1619. [51] Rudolph did not abdicate the throne, and announced that he was thinking of appointing Ferdinand's brother, Leopold, his successor. Deutsch: Ferdinand II. [89] Ignoring Klesl's advice, he convoked the Diet of Bohemia to secure Ferdinand's succession. Letter signed : Vienna, to an unnamed person (perhaps the Grandduchess) at the court of Tuscany, 1631 Dec. 3. Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, 1578-1637. [11] Maria and William V tried to secure the regency for her, but Rudolph II, who was the head of the Habsburg family, appointed his own brothers—first Ernest in 1592, and then in 1593, Maximilian III—to the post. Additionally, Ferdinand as an absolutist monarch infringed several historical privileges of the nobles. Ferdinand also served as his brother's deputy in the Holy Roman Empire during his brother's many absences, and in 1531 was elected King of the Romans, making … [77] Matthias made Ferdinand the governor of Lower and Upper Austria and appointed him as his representative in Hungary, but Klesl became his most influential advisor. In 1600, Ferdinand married Maria Anna of Bavaria (1574–1616), daughter of Duke William V of Bavaria. Ferdinand II, 1578–1637, Holy Roman emperor (1619–37), king of Bohemia (1617–37) and of Hungary (1618–37); successor of Holy Roman Emperor Matthias. [112] Ferdinand avoided the rebellious Upper Austria and approached the assembly through Salzburg and Munich. [61][62], Ferdinand's appointment as the Emperor's deputy to the Diet implied that Rudolph regarded Ferdinand—the only Habsburg who had already fathered children—as his successor. [43][44], The Uskoks—irregular soldiers of mixed origin along the northeastern coast of the Adriatic Sea—made several attacks against the Venetian ships, claiming that the Venetians cooperated with the Ottomans. Perhaps because of Wallenstein's ambiguous conduct, he was assassinated in 1634. [156] A year later, he prescribed that all inhabitants were to convert to Catholicism in Upper Austria by the following Easter, allowing only noblemen and burghers to choose to leave the province. [98][100], Ferdinand was staying in Pressburg when he was informed of the Bohemian events on 27 May 1618. Until then the war largely had been confined to Germany, but Swedish and, later on, French intervention turned it into a European conflict. [58] Ferdinand urged both parties to respect the Religious Peace, but without much success. Ferdinand was installed as the actual ruler of the Inner Austrian provinces in 1596 and 1597. 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