Possessions of the Emperor.--Power of the Protestants of Bohemia.--General Spirit of Insurrection.--Anxiety of Ferdinand.-- Insurrection led by Count Thurn.--Unpopularity of the Emperor.-- Affecting Declaration of the Emperor.--Insurrection in Vienna.--The Arrival of Succor.--Ferdinand seeks the imperial Throne.--Repudiated by Bohemia.--The Palatinate.--Frederic offered the Crown of Bohemia.-- Frederic crowned.--Revolt in Hungary.--Desperate Condition of the Emperor.--Catholic League.--The Calvinists and the Puritans.--Duplicity of the Emperor.--Foreign Combinations.--Truce between the Catholics and the Protestants.--The Attack upon Bohemia.--Battle of the White Mountain.
Ferdinand, who now ascended the throne by right of the coronation he had already received, was in the prime of life, being but forty-one years of age, and was in possession of a rare accumulation of dignities. He was Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, Duke of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, and held joint possession, with his two brothers, of the spacious territory of the Tyrol. Thus all these wide-spread and powerful territories, with different languages, different laws, and diverse manners and customs, were united under the Austrian monarchy, which was now undeniably one of the leading powers of Europe. In addition to all these titles and possessions, he was a prominent candidate for the imperial crown of Germany. To secure this additional dignity he could rely upon his own family influence, which was very powerful, and also upon the aid of the Spanish monarchy. When we contemplate his accession in this light, he appears as one of the most powerful monarchs who ever ascended a throne.
But there is another side to the picture. The spirit of rebellion against his authority had spread through nearly all his territories, and he had neither State nor kingdom where his power seemed stable. In whatever direction he turned his eyes, he saw either the gleam of hostile arms or the people in a tumult just ready to combine against him.
The Protestants of Bohemia had much to encourage them. All the kingdom, excepting one fortress, was in their possession. All the Protestants of the German empire had espoused their cause. The Silesians, Lusatians and Moravians were in open revolt. The Hungarian Protestants, animated by the success of the Bohemians, were eager to follow their example and throw off the yoke of Ferdinand. With iron tyranny he had silenced every Protestant voice in the Styrian provinces, and had crushed every semblance of religious liberty. But the successful example of the Bohemians had roused the Styrians, and they also were on the eve of making a bold move in defense of their rights. Even in Austria itself, and beneath the very shadow of the palaces of Vienna, conspiracies were rife, and insurrection was only checked by the presence of the army which had been driven out of Bohemia.