Directory (Bohemia)
The Directory, which was installed by the oppositional Protestant estates after the fall of the Prague window, was the provisional government of the Kingdom of Bohemia from May 1618 until the conclusion of the Bohemian Confederation the following year . It represented one of the first systems of directorate in modern politics.
Immediately after the fall of the window, the Council of Defensors was converted into a directorate. This thirty-member estate government mobilized the Bohemian troops and prepared an "apology" with which the action of the rebels should be justified before the European public. The Directory put the blame for the events in Prague on the royal governors: They had violated the religious freedoms promised by Emperor Rudolf II's letter of majesty . One month after the start of activity, the new estate government elected Wenzel Wilhelm von Roupov as its leader, but could not make up his mind to dissolve the previous royal state offices and the Lieutenancy.
Immediately after the founding of the board of directors, Heinrich Matthias von Thurn was appointed commander-in-chief of the estate army. But soon the board of directors started negotiations with Georg Friedrich von Hohenlohe regarding participation in the army command . In view of the doubts about Thurn's leadership qualities, von Hohenlohe demanded supreme command of the estate army. The board of directors made no decision and so it happened that when the first serious fighting began in the summer, von Hohenlohe and von Thurn shared the supreme command and agreed on a change every two months.
In domestic affairs, too, the board acted indecisively and improvised day by day without a plan. It was not even possible to get the Moravian Protestants to side with the insurgents. The other Bohemian crown lands also initially refused recognition from the Prague Directory. The Lusatia in particular were not prepared to take military action against the emperor.
Composition of the Board of Directors
The Directory emerged from the protectors of Protestantism in Bohemia and was divided into various groups. The most important dividing line ran between those who demanded independence from the emperor for reasons of religious policy and the nationalist faction, which sought more independence for Bohemia. Known members were:
| Surname | was standing | Remarks | Another fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wenzel Wilhelm von Roupov (Director of the Directory) | Gentlemen's stand | fled in 1620 | |
| Count Joachim Andreas von Schlick | Gentlemen's stand | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain | |
| Václav Budovec z Budova | Gentlemen's stand | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain | |
| Wilhelm Popel von Lobkowitz | Gentlemen's stand | Death sentence not carried out | |
| Paul of Říčan | Gentlemen's stand | Death sentence not carried out | |
| Albrecht Jan Smiřický of Smiřice | Gentlemen's stand | died of pneumonia in 1618 | |
| Zdenek von Waldstein on Pirnitz | Gentlemen's stand | Chamberlain of the Winter King, possibly successor to Albrecht Jan
Smiřický |
Only sentenced to death in 1620,
later pardoned to life imprisonment |
| Bohuchwal Berka from Duba | Gentlemen's stand | fled in 1620 | |
| Count Johann Albin von Schlick | Gentlemen's stand | fled in 1620 | |
| Wilhelm Kinsky von Wchinitz and Tettau | Gentlemen's stand | was later replaced by his brother Racek | was not persecuted in 1620 |
| Peter III from Schwanberg | Gentlemen's stand | died in May 1620 | |
| Kaspar Cappleri de Sulewicz | Knight | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain | |
| Prokop Dwořecký von Olbramowitz | Knight | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain | |
| Friedrich von Bila | Knight | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain | |
| Heinrich Otto von Loß | Knight | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain | |
| Humprecht Czernin von Chudenitz | Knight | pardoned | |
| Peter Milner from Milhaus | Knight | ||
| Wenceslas Felix Pětipeský from Chyše and Egerberk | Knight | ||
| Ulrich Gersdorf | Knight | ||
| Christoph Vitzthum | Knight | ||
| Albrecht Pfefferkorn von Ottenbach | Knight | ||
| Martin Fruwein | Citizen, later knight | Old town, court judge of the royal cities | Suicide after capture in 1620 |
| Theodor Sixt von Ottesdorf | Citizen | Old town | |
| Daniel Skreta | Citizen | Old town | |
| Johann Oršinovský | Citizen | Old town | |
| Valentin Kochan von Prachow ( z Prachové ) | Citizen | Neustadt | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain |
| Tobias Šteffek | Citizen | Neustadt | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain |
| Wenceslaus Pisecký | Citizen | Neustadt | |
| Christoph Kober | Citizen | Lesser Town | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain |
| Johann Schultys | Citizen | Mayor of Kutná Hora | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain |
| Maximilian Hošťálek from Javořice | Citizen | Mayor of Saaz | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain |
| Benjamin Fruwein | Citizen | Secretary of the Board of Directors |
Further environment
Not directly involved in the directorate itself, there were supporters in various offices:
| Surname | was standing | function | Another fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heinrich Matthias von Thurn | Gentlemen's stand | First military leader | Diplomat and general in the Thirty Years War |
| Georg Friedrich von Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Weikersheim | Gentlemen's stand | Second military leader | pardoned |
| Leonhard Colonna von Fels | Gentlemen's stand | Third military leader | 1620 fatally injured in a battle near Sitzendorf |
| Christoph Harant von Polschitz and Weseritz | Gentlemen's stand | Privy Councilor, President of the Bohemian Chamber | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain |
| Georg Talmberg from Wlaschim | Gentlemen's stand | Highest Judge, Highest Chamberlain | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain |
| Diwisch Czernin von Chudenitz | Knight | Captain of Prague Castle | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain |
| Jan Jessenius | Citizen | Rector of Charles University in Prague | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain |
| Andreas Kocour | Citizen | Council on the Prague suburbs | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain |
| Johann Kutnauer | Citizen | Prague councilor | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain |
| Simon Sušický | Citizen | Prague councilor | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain |
| Nathanael Wodňanský | Citizen | Prague councilor | executed in 1620 after the Battle of White Mountain |
See also
Estates revolt in Bohemia (1618)
Web links
Josef Petráň: The beginning of the war in Bohemia.