The Catholic princes and representatives
met at Frankfort and elected Ferdinand Emperor of Germany. He at
once entered into a strict agreement with Maximilian of Bavaria to
crush Protestantism throughout Germany. The Bohemians, however, in
concert with Bethlem Gabor, king of Hungary, again besieged Vienna;
but as the winter set in they were obliged to retire. From that
moment the Protestant cause was lost; Saxony and Hesse-Darmstadt
left the Union and joined Ferdinand. Denmark, which had promised
its assistance to the Protestants, was persuaded to remain quiet.
Sweden was engaged in a war with the Poles.
"The Protestant army was assembled at Ulm; the army of the League,
under the order of Maximilian of Bavaria, was at Donauworth.
Maximilian worked upon the fears of the Protestant princes, who,
frightened at the contest they had undertaken, agreed to a peace,
by which they bound themselves to offer no aid to Frederick V.
"The Imperial forces then marched to Bohemia and attacked Frederick's
army outside Prague, and in less than an hour completely defeated
it. Frederick escaped with his family to Holland. Ferdinand then
took steps to carry out his oath. The religious freedom granted by
Mathias was abolished. In Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and Austria
proper. Many of the promoters of the rebellion were punished in
life and property. The year following all members of the Calvinistic
sect were forced to leave their country, a few months afterwards
the Lutherans were also expelled, and in 1627 the exercise of all
religious forms except those of the Catholic Church was forbidden;
200 of the noble, and 30,000 of the wealthier and industrial classes,
were driven into exile; and lands and property to the amount of
5,000,000 or 6,000,000 pounds were confiscated.
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