Prince uprising
A prince uprising , also prince war or prince conspiracy , is a revolt of Protestant princes led by Moritz von Sachsen against Emperor Charles V in 1552.
Causes and goals of the prince uprising
In Reich 's dissatisfaction grew with the decisions of the Augsburg Diet of 1548, the so-called armed men Reichstag , and in the north, the Protestant princes joined secretly in the Treaty of Torgau on May 22, 1551 to an alliance together. Among them were Duke Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg , Albrecht von Brandenburg , Landgrave Wilhelm von Hessen and Margrave Albrecht II Alcibiades von Brandenburg-Kulmbach . They wanted to defend “ German liberty ”, that is, the freedom of the imperial princes, and Protestantism . They also planned to liberate Landgrave Philip of Hesse , who had been appointed by the emperor in 1547. After initial contact with King Henry II , France declared war on the emperor in the autumn of 1551 and advanced as far as the Rhine. In the Treaty of Chambord of January 1552, France also promised aid and arms aid for the princes, for this purpose they wanted to leave the border bishoprics of Metz , Toul and Verdun , known as the Trois-Évêchés , to the French king .
Role of the Elector Moritz of Saxony
Moritz von Sachsen played a key role . Magdeburg , which refused to bow to the Augsburg Interim , should be punished. Moritz led troops against Magdeburg on behalf of the emperor, but allied himself with the city and the emperor's opponents. France declared war in the autumn of 1551 and advanced as far as the Rhine . The troops of the allied princes quickly conquered the southern German towns still loyal to the emperor and advanced to Tyrol in March 1552 . The Catholic imperial estates were emphatically neutral in this conflict; strengthening imperial power was not in their interest. The Kaiser, who narrowly escaped capture in Innsbruck , fled to Villach to collect new troops. Meanwhile his brother Ferdinand was negotiating with Moritz von Sachsen and the Protestant princes.
Consequences of the prince uprising
In Passau , both parties signed the Passau Treaty in August 1552 . The rebellious princes gave up their alliance with France and the imperials released their prisoners. A compromise formula was reached on the question of faith, which was also to become the basis of the Augsburg Religious Peace of 1555.
The Second Margrave War in Franconia developed directly from the prince uprising in 1552 and lasted another three years before Margrave Albrecht II Alcibiades of Brandenburg-Kulmbach had stopped his armed conflicts against the Catholic Hochstifte.
The Trois-Évêchés Metz, Toul and Verdun remained de facto with France, although attempts at reconquest by the imperial side continued here as part of the Italian Wars until 1556. De jure , however, they only passed into French possession in 1648.
literature
- Martina Fuchs / Robert Rebitsch (eds.): Emperor and Elector - Aspects of the prince uprising in 1552. Aschendorf Verlag, Münster 2010; ISBN 978-3-402-13991-2 .
- Robert Rebitsch : Tyrol, Charles V and the prince uprising of 1552. Verlag Dr. Kovač, Hamburg 2000; ISBN 3-8300-0246-7 .
- Kerstin Schäfer: The prince uprising against Charles V in 1552. Origin, course and result - from the Schmalkaldic War to the Passau Treaty. Driesen Verlag, Taunusstein 2009; ISBN 978-3-86866-110-1 .