Wedgwood, CV The Thirty Years' War. London: Lowe & Brydone Ltd, 1938. Print. It is difficult to determine when the Thirty Years' War actually began. Ultimately, the culmination of events led to tension between the countries of the Ottoman Empire. Before the war began on May 23, 1618, Europe was in a state of religious, political, and imperial turmoil. Lutherans, Catholics, and Calvinists were all competing for religious dominance. Political leaders tried to defend their religion in elections. There was much controversy regarding the new kings of Bohemia and the political tensions between the Bourbons and the Habsburgs. War was inevitable. Although the Thirty Years' War is considered a religious war, it will eventually become a dynastic power conflict. According to The Thirty Years' War, the war began when Ferdinand called a meeting between the princes. Frederick of Bohemia had argued that his crown had not been taken from Emperor Ferdinand, but from Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. This argument was based on the premise that Bohemia was separate from the Ottoman Empire, ensuring that Ferdinand could not prevail over Frederick, even as emperor. By doing so, it would not break the Imperial peace, but simply instigate a war between two separate entities (not a civil war). Four months later, Ferdinand called a meeting in Mühlhausen in which all the Catholic representatives of the Empire participated. At this meeting, Ferdinand declared tolerance of all religions in the Upper Saxony Circle. The decision was then made to make Bohemia part of the Ottoman Empire. In fact, Frederick was considered a traitor because his country was... middle of paper... a gigantic war that would drain your resources. I think Wedgwood's purpose in writing this book is to analyze the actions of rulers of the Ottoman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. The central theme of this book is based on politics. Discusses the qualifications of rulers. Talk about how suited they were to their position. I also think he meant to write it to highlight the mistakes made by these rulers that we are unable to see. For example, he talks about how Ferdinand was supposed to pit two opposing sides against each other as a distraction so he could declare Maximilian the new elector in Frederick's place. We all know that history repeats itself, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. Without being educated and informed about the mistakes made in the past, we can cause a catastrophic event like this German tragedy.