Thirty Years War

A war between Ferdinand II and the Protestant Princes of Germany, which broke out on the acce ion of Ferdinand to the Austrian throne in 1619. The Protestant Princes had elected to the Imperial Throne Frederic V, the Elector Palatine, and took up arms in his support. Sweden under Gustavus Adolphus, and later France, were drawn into the conflict, and the war did not terminate till 1648, when Ferdinand III signed the Treaty of Westphalia.