East Frisia at the time of the Thirty Years War
During the Thirty Years War there were no military conflicts between the main opponents in East Frisia . The county itself remained neutral in this European conflict. However, troops of the war opponents repeatedly used it as a resting room, whereby the inhabitants were exploited through contributions and billeting. From 1622 to 1624 troops of the Protestant military leader Ernst von Mansfeld , from 1627 to 1631 Catholic troops of Tilly's League Army and finally from 1637 to 1651 Hessian troops occupied the country.
The neighboring Netherlands exerted political, cultural and economic influence on the county of East Frisia even before the war. During the war, they stationed troops in central and strategically important locations, including in the fortress Leerort near Leer and in Emden.
Even after the Peace of Westphalia was concluded , foreign troops remained in a largely depopulated country until 1651. Only relatively strongly fortified places such as Emden were able to evade the occupiers' access and thus preserve their economic infrastructure, albeit with immense losses.
As a result of the war, the estates were able to achieve extensive autonomy from the sovereign . It was the estates and not the count who negotiated a withdrawal with Ernst von Mansfeld and then signed this contract as a representative of East Frisia. The East Frisian landscape , which today is dedicated to cultural maintenance, goes back to the representation of the stands .
Estates and denominational politics before the war
The county of East Friesland was deeply divided at the beginning of the 17th century. The counts acted clumsily and were faced with strong classes , within which the city of Emden acted largely independently. Since the Osterhusischen accord of 1611, the estates also had sovereignty in legislation, tax collection and jurisdiction.
Emden and the estates were strengthened by the Netherlands, which treated the country as a vassal state and as a strategically located refuge. Dutch troops moved there as early as 1568 when they were pursued by Spanish troops in the beginning of the Eighty Years' War . After the Battle of Jemgum , the Spaniards then marched through the Rheiderland for three days, pillaging, pillaging and raping .
The Augsburg Religious Peace of 1555 determined that the sovereign was allowed to choose the religion of the inhabitants. The East Frisian rulers were too weak to enforce this provision. So there was still a Calvinist West and a Lutheran East. The Emden Concordat of 1599 finally sealed the coexistence of denominations. At the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss 1803, East Friesland was the only Reichsland besides the bishopric of Osnabrück in which two denominations were permitted. There were no longer any Catholic churches in East Frisia, and hardly any Catholic Christians.
Contrary to what is customary in Lutheranism, the sovereigns could not even elect the pastors; According to the Emden Concordat, this was the right of the communities themselves. The church leadership exercised by the sovereign was limited to a minimum. The concordat provided that both denominations should occupy a consistory (as the highest church leadership). However, this was not set up in Aurich until 1643 and only exercised actual power from 1744 (when East Frisia came to Prussia).
Occupation by Protestant troops under Ernst von Mansfeld (1622–1624)
prehistory
In the Thirty Years War, the Protestant Union and the Catholic League faced each other. One of the general leaders of the Protestants was Ernst von Mansfeld . He was in the service of the Union from 1611 and moved to Bohemia in 1618 to support the Protestant estates, where he stayed until May 1621. He then served the outlawed Count Palatine Friedrich (the expelled winter king of Bohemia) as a military leader in the battle for the Palatinate ancestral lands . Severe defeats forced Mansfeld to withdraw gradually, and in July 1622 he and the mercenary army were dismissed by the Count Palatine after he had agreed an armistice with the Emperor. As early as 1621 he had connections with the States General and won their financial help for the maintenance of his army; In 1622 he was finally in Dutch service for a few months.
In search of winter quarters, the Mansfeld troops were led to East Frisia by their former employers in November 1622, after they had left the Dutch service . The Netherlands was able to justify the transfer of troops as a positive reaction to requests from the Emden Council for support and protection against the Count. In fact, the States General had been in the War of Independence with Spain since 1568 . Although an armistice had been in effect since 1609, the fighting flared up again from 1621. East Frisia was drawn into the pull of European disputes. For the Dutch, the region was protected from access by the Spaniards and Mansfeld's troops were available to deploy them in an emergency without having to burden their own area with billeting and supplies.
Billing of the troops
The relocation of the Mansfeld Army proceeded quickly and without unanimous resistance from East Frisia. The most important count's castles were quickly occupied. On November 3, 1621, his troops occupied Meppen to secure supplies across the Ems. From here he quickly conquered the Rheiderland with Leer . He collected 6,000 thalers in contributions. The chronically understaffed fortresses Stickhausen , Greetsiel and Friedeburg surrendered without a fight. Colonel Joachim von Carpzov was billeted in Jemgum . The powerless Count Enno III. abandoned his residence to Aurich and withdrew to Esens , where he lived like a prisoner because Ernst von Mansfeld's troops followed him and arrested him. In the process, they captured 300,000 Reichstaler wrapped in barrels. According to the provisions of the Berumer Settlement, these were intended as compensation for the transfer of Harlingerland , which initially did not belong to East Frisia, by the Counts of Rietberg .
In the following years, East Frisia suffered great hardship. The foreign troops subsisted on the land and were strengthened by recruitment. Only the city of Emden, protected by the recently completed Emder Wall , was able to oppose Mansfeld. When he occupied some villages in the area, the Emder asked in vain for help from the States General.
However, the city was well armed and able to build adequate defenses. The fortress builder Johann von Falkenburg brought the city up to date with the latest defense technology from 1606 to 1616. So she could put her surroundings under water, which she did for the demonstration. They also tore down the suburb of Barenburg to have a clear field of fire. Mansfeld then failed to attack the city.
Ernst von Mansfeld's plans for East Frisia
He first took up quarters in Greetsiel. From here he negotiated first with Spain and later with Denmark. He also tried to get a legitimate position in the high nobility of East Frisia. He asked Count Enno III. for the hand of his daughter Christine Sophia, who however refused.
At the end of November 1622, Mansfeld proposed a firm alliance with the Netherlands to the city of Emden and the knighthood. He envisaged the position of governor , who should be responsible for the organization of national defense . His plans also envisaged that the Münster offices of Cloppenburg , Meppen , Vechta and Wildeshausen would be attached to the county. The count's central authority was to be limited to its traditional income with the exception of the monastery property - which, along with other taxes, were intended to finance national defense. Mansfeld clearly showed his interest in being recognized as the real master of the country. The estates refused his request and subsequently looked for ways and means to free themselves from the foreign troops and to get them to withdraw. The States General, however, addressed by the East Frisians as Mansfeld's most influential helper, reacted coolly. Mansfeld remained in the country in 1623.
In the meantime, the army of the imperial general Tilly was advancing towards East Frisia from the south to prevent the region from becoming a fortress. This threatened to turn the country into a theater of war. At the beginning of September Tilly was south of Oldenburg , but refrained from an offensive against Mansfeld because the risk of an attack on the country was too high for him. The geest area in the interior of East Frisia was difficult to access due to the numerous moors. The highways of the Middle Ages bypassed the area, and even today the railway lines run along the Geestrand.
Open arguments and negotiations about the withdrawal
The region was emaciated by the 17-month occupation. Cold, hunger and epidemics added to these stresses. The plague had spread in East Friesland since the summer of 1623. For example, the royal seat of Aurich lost 800 inhabitants during this period due to the plague. Even the city of Emden, although spared the plague, began to feel the strain more. More and more refugees from the county thronged its walls; the city began to suffer from the economic decline of the hinterland. Gradually, until the hostile confrontation, she began to offer resistance against Mansfeld. When Mansfeld had his artillery and other war material transported from Leer to Greetsiel after the withdrawal of Tilly's troops in autumn 1623, the Emdern succeeded in intercepting this ship and capturing the entire cargo. In addition, the city tried to cut off Mansfeld the sea route. The consequences of this blockade were devastating for East Frisia. The county, which was already hard hit economically, was plundered by the famine-ridden troops. How severely these burdens hit the population can be seen in a chronicle: “Feasting, pounding farmers, ravaging women was their daily trade. In the meantime, scorching and burning ran under… ”. The population reacted to the brutal attacks with defensive and revenge actions. Gradually, conditions in the region began to develop into an open state of war. For the States General as the alleged protecting power, the conditions in East Frisia were soon no longer tenable and so they, who had brought the troops into the country in the first place, mediated between Mansfeld and the East Frisian Estates, which, significantly, in place of the Count, negotiated the terms of the withdrawal led. Mansfeld, who had robbed himself of his base through the devastation of East Frisia, asked for 300,000 guilders. It was not possible to raise this amount in the country. Finally, the Dutch offered to advance this sum to the stands. On January 12, 1624 Mansfeld signed the withdrawal contract and dismissed his mercenary troops near Stickhausen.
The years 1625 to 1627
Although Mansfeld wanted to use the land as a base, he could not prevent the looting by his own troops. 90% of the population had fled from the vicinity of the camps, which was punished by burning down the empty houses. Soon only a fraction of the original houses existed in many places. The term Mansfelder became a popular name for gangs of murderers or robbers.
East Frisian society remained divided after the troops withdrew. The city of Emden refused to participate in the repayment of the 300,000 guilders that Mansfeld had demanded in the form of a contribution for his withdrawal.
In 1625 Enno III died. and his son Rudolf Christian became Count of East Friesland. During his reign, the acquisition of the Harlingerland by his father, Count Enno III. symbolically completed by introducing the six-field East Frisian coat of arms , which was valid until 1744, in 1626 . In the same year, the Dutch occupied part of East Frisia in order to build the border fortress Neuschanz here, the terrain of which they finally relinquished after the building was completed.
Billing of imperial troops (1627–1631)
1627 units of the army of Tilly moved into the county under Colonel Gallas . Once again, East Friesland was drawn into a maelstrom of external events. Since 1626/27 Tilly and Wallenstein led a campaign against King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway and his North German allies with great success .
East Frisia, although still neutral in this conflict, was again occupied by foreign troops who needed winter quarters. In addition, due to internal conflicts, it was unable to muster a national defense that could have opposed the troops. Emden, well protected by defenses, refused to raise a municipal contingent to secure the national borders. The count, on the other hand, could not be induced to raise his income from the Harlingerland and from the secularized monastery property for national defense. Again the land was used as a retreat for foreign troops.
Occupation and death of Count Rudolf Christian
In December 1627, three regiments of the Tilly Army under Colonel Count Gallas moved into East Friesland for winter quarters. He made Berum Castle his headquarters. General Johann Jakob von Bronckhorst-Batenburg took quarters in Jever, ten companies of cavalry were relocated to the Rheiderland and 600 men were stationed in Friedeburg . There were now troops all over the country - with the exception of Aurich (at the request of the Count) and Emden.
In March 1628, the estates and the imperial family met to negotiate the contributions. Everyone had to pay, only Emden refused - six municipal companies and the fortress gave the city sufficient security.
On April 15, 1628, the young Count of East Frisia, Rudolf Christian, went to Berum to negotiate with the imperial commanders about a moderation of the contributions. As usual, they ate and drank well. Following this feast, there was a duel with a Lieutenant Thomas Streif of the imperial troops, in the course of which the 26-year-old Count was fatally injured by a stab in the left eye. He died the following day. Since Rudolf Christian was childless, his brother Ulrich II succeeded him as Count of East Frisia.
In contrast to Mansfeld's troops, the imperial troops were at least more disciplined. The residence in Aurich was left to the count. The troops also lived from the country's contributions, but paid for their supplies. A considerable part of the money raised by the population flowed back into the country in this way.
Troop withdrawal
From 1630, the Swedish King Gustav II Adolf successfully intervened in the war on the Protestant side. In spring 1631 the troops gathered near Oldenburg and moved on April 9th to support the Magdeburg citizens in their fight against the siege by imperial troops in May. In September 1631 Gustav Adolf succeeded in the first battle at Breitenfeld, a victory against the imperial family, which could then be pushed back to Bavaria . The imperial troops were forced to leave East Frisia.
The years 1631 to 1637
Even after the withdrawal of the imperial troops it was not possible to settle the internal contradictions in favor of an effective national defense. Both the count and the estates refused funds to finance troops for fear of strengthening the opposing side. The city of Emden stayed out of this dispute and continued to rely on its strong defenses and the garrison financed by the count and estates, which it used exclusively for its own purposes.
In the meantime, the moors began to be colonized by fen cultures based on the Dutch model. The founding of the Fehne was caused by the rise in the price of peat as a fuel, which began in the Thirty Years War, and the disturbed peat deliveries from Oldambt in the Netherlands and Saterland. In order to compensate for this and to supply the city of Emden with peat from the East Frisian central moor, Emden merchants founded the first fen settlement in East Frisia, (West) Großefehn , in 1633 , which is now part of the largest fen complex in East Frisia. First of all, the construction of a canal to drain the moorland was started in order to subsequently settle colonists in the pitted areas along the canal and thus to supply the cities of Emden, Leer and Weener with fuel.
Occupation by troops of the anti-imperial alliance (1637–1650)
Invasion of Hessian regiments in autumn 1637
1637 Hessian troops marched into East Friesland under the command of Landgrave Wilhelm V. Wilhelm had allied himself with the Swedish King Gustav Adolf and at his side booked large land gains for himself. When Gustav Adolf fell in the Battle of Lützen in 1632 , the political coalition in which Hessen-Kassel was so strengthened collapsed and the Catholic League regained its strength. As a result, imperial troops began a punitive action against Hessen-Kassel. Wilhelm managed to flee with his family and most of his troops. He served his 7,000-strong army unit in the French-Swedish alliance against Habsburg, supported by the Netherlands. In return, the Netherlands offered him East Frisia as a regeneration area and as a strategically favorable region for future operations in secret negotiations. The Netherlands was primarily concerned with protecting the Rhine and its trade routes. East Frisian interests were ignored and the country was presented with a fait accompli. On August 12, Wilhelm announced his intention to take quarters to the East Frisian estates . Immediately afterwards his army began to move down the Ems to East Friesland. Count Ulrich II tried to react with quickly gathered forces, but their resistance was quickly broken.
After tough negotiations, the parties agreed on a contract on September 23 in Leerort . The quartering of about 2,500 men in East Friesland was to last initially for only six months and 12,000 the country monthly Reichstaler pay contribution. The city of Emden, which still saw itself protected behind its bulwarks, was excluded from these measures.
Occupation and Resistance
A few days after the conclusion of this contract, on October 1, 1637, the Landgrave of Hesse died in Leer after a brief illness. His widow Amalie Elisabeth stayed with the troops in East Friesland, well beyond the agreed period of six months. In addition, she increased the contribution to 15,000 Reichstaler per month. The East Frisians could not do anything about it. The city of Emden alone had obtained more favorable conditions in a special contract with the Hessians and thus shifted the burden of billeting. All requests from the count, the estates and finally also the States General to remove the Hessian troops were unsuccessful. Supported by her allies France and Sweden, Amalie Elisabeth pushed the withdrawal further and further. She also argued that East Frisia was too weakly armed to withstand a renewed attack by imperial troops.
The troops, supported by French funds and also secured by East Frisian contributions, initially behaved disciplined. A large part of the contributions flowed back into the country as payment of the pension. Nevertheless, the stresses caused by the occupation predominated and resistance slowly formed, especially after heavy storm surges led to further losses. However, the circumstances made a joint approach impossible, so that Ulrich II, based on the consent of the Lutheran offices and cities, recruited 2,000 soldiers, also to prove that his country was armed against the invasion of imperial troops, if the Hessians deduct. For this purpose he took on several companies of Dutch troops.
The Hessian troops now saw themselves threatened and built some entrenchments in the Rheiderland . In this heated atmosphere, the Hessian troops fought with the locals in armed skirmishes in the summer of 1644 , which ended in defeat for the East Frisians. Only the death of the Hessian commander-in-chief prevented the attack on the capital Aurich. With the mediation of the Dutch, a new contract was concluded on October 20, 1644. Accordingly, the Hessian troops should remain in East Frisia for the time being. In return, the count was allowed to maintain his own troops. This contract lasted until March 1645, but was subsequently extended from year to year because the Hessians did not think of withdrawing their troops.
Shortly afterwards the city of Emden protested with parts of the knighthood against the maintenance of such extensive armed forces by the count. He was forced to reduce his militia from 2,000 to 1,000. In return, the Hessians were supposed to withdraw, which did not happen.
Efforts to withdraw the Hessian troops and the time after the end of the war
Count Ulrich traveled to The Hague in the spring of 1646 to negotiate a connection with the states. However, everyone who took advantage of the situation, such as the Emden, the French or Swedes, offered resistance. So the count had to return in June 1646 without having achieved anything. Thereupon he sent his son Enno Ludwig from East Frisia on June 30, 1646 on a diplomatic mission. He complained personally to an agent of the emperor in Munster and then went to Vienna himself. This attempt to force the Hessian troops out of the country also failed.
In 1647 an imperial army of 6,000 men under General Lamboy advanced on East Friesland and the county threatened to become the scene of bloody clashes towards the end of the Thirty Years' War. The imperial family moved in the direction of Leer and plundered the Rheiderland. The ulterior motive was to drive out the Hessians and give the Spanish troops a base between Holland and Denmark. The Swedish General Königsmarck then gave up the siege of Paderborn and hurried to East Friesland together with the Hessian General Rabenhaupt . Lamboy withdrew when Swedish associations approached in support of the Hessians. Only around Jemgum - developed into a fortress by the Hessians - did a brief skirmish break out. On November 8, 1647, the crew received free retreat.
The Hessians remained in the country far beyond the Peace of Westphalia . They did not leave until August 1650. This had been arranged on the Nuremberg execution day . Landgravine Amelie Elisabeth was obliged to withdraw her troops first from the imperial city of Friedberg, then from Bocholt in the Münster monastery and finally from East Friesland.
Units in Dutch pay could not be included in the contract. They remained present in East Frisia and the Lower Rhine.
Consequences of war
Even if Ostfriesland was largely spared from major conflicts, the years of occupation largely ruined the country and left it even more divided than it was before foreign troops were billeted. The presence of external forces did not lead to a move closer together, but to a largely unauthorized action of the political actors. Graf and estates had their own institutions for regional development and collected their own taxes from the local residents. The region suffered from the economic and social devastation for a long time.
Above all, the contributions to the Hessian troops, which remained in East Friesland for three years after the end of the war, drained the country financially. In the final phase alone, the following sums were paid:
- 1646: 233,049 guilders
- 1647: 297,372 guilders
- 1648: 267,593 guilders
- 1649: 276,421 guilders
- 1650/51: 469,362 guilders
Since the sums were not available in the country, they had to be raised through long-term loans from the States General, so that, paradoxically, Ostfriesland became the debtor of the country that was largely responsible for accommodating foreign troops in the region. In addition, after the robbery of the 300,000 Reichstaler wrapped in barrels by Mansfeld troops, the Counts of East Frisia faced further demands from the House of Liechtenstein as the legal successors of the Counts of Rietberg. In 1663 they renewed the demands of the Berum Treaty. Since East Frisia, which had been raised to a principality since 1654 , could not pay under Prince Georg Christian , the Prince-Bishop of Münster was appointed debt collector. He invaded East Frisia. Only with the help of the States General and Duke Eberhard von Württemberg could the Münster troops be driven out, a compromise brokered and the sum raised by another 200,000 thalers raised.
Individual evidence
- ^ Harm Wiemann: Ostfriesland in the time of the 30 years war. Mobile, Aurich 1981 (talk on November 6, 1979).
- ^ Alfred Rauhaus, working group of the local chronicles of the East Frisian landscape: The history of the Reformed in East Frisia (PDF; 65 kB).
- ↑ aurich.de: The Catholic Church .
- ^ Online archive of the Landeskirchlichen Archiv Hannover: Generalsuperintendentur Aurich ( Memento from June 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ).
- ↑ Heinrich Schmidt: Political History of East Friesland (= East Friesland in the protection of the dike. Volume 5). Rautenberg, Leer 1975, p. 272.
- ↑ a b c d Heinrich Schmidt: Political history of East Friesland (= East Friesland in the protection of the dike. Volume 5). Rautenberg, Leer 1975, p. 273.
- ↑ Enno III. in the Biographical Lexicon for East Frisia (PDF; 66 kB)
- ↑ a b c d Ernst von Mansfeld. (PDF; 61 kB). In: Biographical Lexicon for East Frisia.
- ^ Culture portal Weser-Ems: Ostfriesland .
- ↑ a b Eberhard Rack: Regional Studies Ostfriesland. Working group d. Sparkassen Ostfriesland, Norden 1974, without ISBN, p. 71.
- ↑ Hans Patze: History of Lower Saxony - Politics, Economy and Society from the Reformation to the beginning of the 19th century. Volume 3, ISBN 3-7752-5901-5 , p. 122.
- ^ Walter Deters: Biographisches Lexikon für Ostfriesland, Rudolf Christian (PDF; 47 kB) Ostfriesische Landschaft - corporation under public law. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ Karl-Ernst Behre, Hajo van Lengen : Ostfriesland. History and shape of a cultural landscape . Ed .: East Frisian Landscape. Aurich 1995, ISBN 3-925365-85-0 , p. 156 .
- ↑ a b Rudolf Christian (PDF).
- ^ Onno Klopp : History of East Frisia from 1570-1751. Hanover 1854-1858, p. 286.
- ↑ Northwest Germany excursion 2001 on Geografie.uni-stuttgart.de.
- ^ Siegfried Lüderitz: Westgroßefehn. In: Working group of the local chronicles of the East Frisian landscape. ostfriesenelandschaft.de (PDF).
- ^ A b Johannes Kretzschmar: Wilhelm V. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 43, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1898, pp. 39-54.
- ^ A b c d e Paul Wagner: Ulrich II. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 39, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1895, pp. 229-231.
- ^ Bernhard von Poten : Eberstein, Kaspar Graf von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 581 f.
- ^ Antje Oschmann: The Nuremberg Execution Day 1649–1650. The end of the Thirty Years War in Germany. Aschendorff, Münster 1991, ISBN 3-402-05636-4 .
- ^ Eckart Krömer, Heino Schmidt, Hajo van Lengen: Ostfriesland (= series of publications by the Lower Saxony State Center for Political Education. 5). Lower Saxony. State Center for Polit. Education, Hanover 1987.
literature
- Walter Deeters : East Frisia in the Thirty Years War . In: Emder yearbook for historical regional studies of East Frisia . tape 78 . East Frisian Landscape, 1999, ISSN 1434-4351 , p. 32-44 .
- Gerhard de Buhr: Count Mansfeld's marriage plan . In: Ostfriesische Landschaft in connection with the Heimatvereinen (Hrsg.): Ostfriesland. Magazine for culture, economy and transport . No. 2 , 1954, ISSN 0030-6479 , p. 31-35 .
- Wolfgang Brünink: The Count of Mansfeld in East Friesland (1622-1624) (= treatises and lectures on the history of East Friesland . Issue 34). East Frisian Landscape, Aurich 1957, p. 32-44 .
- Walter Barton: "The Manßfelder still ligt in OstFrißlandt". Testimonies from the press from 1622–1624 . In: Yearbook of the Society for Fine Arts and Patriotic Antiquities in Emden . tape 71 , 1991, ISSN 0341-969X , p. 23-62 .
