|
Direct
Descendancy from George SPANGLER
Submitted By: June Bare
More
information can be found at
The
Spangler Web Site
George** SPENGLER
b. ca 1150, Poss, Wuerzburg,Bavaria-
d. 1190, Black Plague On Crusade To Antioch, Turkey [no known
ascendancy]
| George** SPENGLER
| b. Winsbach, Germany
| d. Winsbach, Germany
| & Unknown** REDTLINGER [no known ascendancy]
| m. ca 1290
| | Killian** SPENGLER
| | b. abt 1290, Kutzendorf, Germany
| | d. between 1323/1381, Kutzendorf, Germany
| | & Margaretha** GAUMY [no known ascendancy]
| | b. ca 1294, , "Of Elbersdorf," Hessia, North Prussia
| | m. 1309
| | | Killian** SPENGLER
| | | b. was living 1302
| | | & Unknown** VON ROSENBUSCH [no known ascendancy]
| | | | Peter** SPENGLER
| | | | b. ca 1335, Hessia, N. Prussia
| | | | d. Elbersdorf, Germany
| | | | & Catherina** VON DER ANSACH [no known ascendancy]
| | | | b. abt 1359, Winsbach, Bavaria
| | | | m. bef 1390
| | | | | Hans** SPENGLER
| | | | | b. ca 1390, Winsbach, Bavaria, Germany
| | | | | d. 1435, Germany
| | | | | & Christina** WESTENDORFF [no known ascendancy]
| | | | | b. Winsbach, Bavaria
| | | | | m. bef 1420
| | | | | | Hans or Urban** SPENGLER
| | | | | | b. Of Donauworth, Franken, Germany
| | | | | | d. 15 Dec 1527, Nuremburg, Bavaria, Germany
| | | | | | | George** SPENGLER
| | | | | | | b. Prob Nuremburg, Bavaria, Germany
| | | | | | | d. 1496
| | | | | | | & Agnes** ULMER [no known ascendancy]
| | | | | | | b. 1447
| | | | | | | d. 1505, Germany
| | | | | | | m. 1468
| | | | | | | | George** SPENGLER
| | | | | | | | b. 1480, Nurenberg, Bavaria, Germany
| | | | | | | | d. 1529, Nuremburg, Bavaria, Germany
| | | | | | | | & Juliana** TUCHERIN [dtr of unknown TUCHER,
TUCHERIN being the female form of surname]
| | | | | | | | b. ca 1495, Probably Nuremburg,Bavaria,Germany
| | | | | | | | d. 1522
| | | | | | | | m. 1516
| | | | | | | | | Frantz** SPENGLER
| | | | | | | | | b. 1517, Nuremburg,Bavaria,Germany
| | | | | | | | | d. 1565, Nuremburg, Bavaria, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | Lazarus** SPENGLER*
| | | | | | | | | | b. 1552, Nuremburg, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | d. 1618, Nuremberg, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | & Maria LOHSERIN [first wife, no known
ascendancy]
| | | | | | | | | | m. 1579
| | | | | | | | | | Lazarus** SPENGLER*
| | | | | | | | | | b. 1552, Nuremburg, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | d. 1618, Nuremberg, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | & Bertrand** GEROLDIN [2nd wife, [no
known ascendancy]]
| | | | | | | | | | b. ca 1572
| | | | | | | | | | d. 1604
| | | | | | | | | | m. 1593
| | | | | | | | | | | Hans**(AKA Hans George"Rudi" ) SPENGLER
| | | | | | | | | | | b. 1594, Nuremburg, Bavaria, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | d. 1685, Schoftland, Berne, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | | | | & Anna** GLUR [no known ascendancy]
| | | | | | | | | | | b. bef 1618
| | | | | | | | | | | m. 7 Mar 1617/18, Schoftland,
Berne,Switzerland
| | | | | | | | | | | | Jacob** SPENGLER
| | | | | | | | | | | | b. ca 1618, Switzerland/CHRISTENING: 16
Jul 1620, Schoftland, Aagau, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | | | | | d. ca 1664, Schoftland, Aagau, (Berne?)
Switzerland
| | | | | | | | | | | | & Maria** DIEB/DIESMANN [no known
ascendancy]
| | | | | | | | | | | | b. Schoftland,Aagau,Switzerland
| | | | | | | | | | | | d. 8 Feb 1689
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Hans Rudolf** SPENGLER* [to
second marriage]
| | | | | | | | | | | | | b. ca 1637, Schoftland, Cantan Berne,
Switz
| | | | | | | | | | | | | d. aft 1712, Weyler, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | & Judith HAEGIS [First wife, dtr of
Jacob HAEGIS, no more data on Jacob]
| | | | | | | | | | | | | b. ca 1658, ìOfî Beiassen (Biesassen),
Sinshein (Sinsheim)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | d. 8 Feb 1690, Weyler, Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | m. 16 Jul 1678, Sinshein
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Hans Kaspar**îCasperî SPENGLER
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | b. 20 Jan 1684, Weiler
Heidleberg,Baden,Germany (Weyler Under Steinsberg,
District Of Hilsbach, Lower Palatinate-Now In Baden)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | d. 1760, York Co., [Will probated in
York Co on 28 April 1760]
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | & Judith** ZIEGLER [adopted dtr of
Martin and Anna Catherina ZIEGLER
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | b. 2 May 1686, Weiler, Hilsbach,
Germany
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | d. aft 1730, York Co, PA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | m. 9 Feb 1712, Weiler, Germany
Hans Kaspar**Casperî SPENGLER
Birth: 20 Jan 1684, Weiler
Heidleberg,Baden,Germany (Weyler Under Steinsberg, District Of
Hilsbach, Lower Palatinate-Now In Baden)3,2
Death: 1760, York Co., [Will probated in York Co on 28 April
1760]
Burial:
Private Family Graveyard, 1 1/2 Miles East Of York, On His
Plantation -Family Plot,Heistand Station,East York,York Co.,PA
5
Alias: Casper Spangler in his will/Pioneer Spengler To
America,
His Brothers And Their Wives Followed 6,7
Occupation: Linen Weaver in Germany,
Head of his guild at Weyler
Father:
Hans Rudolf** SPENGLER (ca1637->1712)
Mother: Judith HAEGIS (ca1658-1690) [Daughter of Jacob HAEGIS,
no more data]
Immigration Data: From Rotterdam on the William and Sarah in
summer of 1727. Arrived Philadelphia in Sept of 1727. Master
William Hill.
Signer of the
Declaration of Allegiance on arrival
Will probated in York Co on 28 April 1760
Conditions of his forging into the wilderness
A Deed from Thomas Penn 1736 at present location of York, Penna
is mentioned.
LAND WARRANT ISSUED TO CASPER SPENGLER, 1738
Historical Context, the Cressap Invasion
Spouse: Judith** ZIEGLER
-
Birth: 2 May 1686,
Weiler, Hilsbach, Germany
-
Death: aft 1730,
York Co, PA5
-
Father: Martin**
ZIEGLER [Adoptive father; no more data]
-
Mother: Anna
Catherina** UNKNOWN [Adoptive mother; no more data]
Marr: 9
Feb 1712, Weiler, Germany
Children:
Born at Weiler, under Steinsberg, near
Sinsheim on the Elsenz, Rhenish Palatinate, Now in Baden. In Germany
he was head of his guild at Weyler. The craft guilds as well as others,
appointed a master and subordinate officers, made ordinances, including
provisions for religious observance, mutual help and burial, and
enforced regulations against fraudulent workmanship. The art of linen
weaving, with its inventions, combinations and embellishments, was then
classed among the fine arts, and men of birth and education were
accustomed to practice it. These guilds became of such importance, that
their law grew to be that of the commune or town, and the heads of which
were concerned in its government.
Caspar Spengler, as the head of his guild at
Weyler, was therefore, from the very nature of his position, an official
of weight,consideration and authority. Artisans were very much desired
by William Penn, whose cardinal principle, so strongly emphasized in
the settlement of Pennsylvania, was that the learning of a trade was the
fittest equipment for colonization.
Sailed from Rotterdam on the William and Sarah
in summer of 1727. Arrived Philadelphia in Sept of 1727. Master William
Hill. ìThe ship contained one hundred and nine male Palatines, above the
age of 16 years, who with their familes numbered about four hundred
persons... the male immigrants of the ship, above the age of sixteen,
appeared at the Court House in Philadelphia, September 21st, 1727,
before the board: Honorable Patrick Gordon, Esq., Lieut. Governor, James
Logan, Richard Hill and William Fishbourn, Esqs., and repeated and
subscribed the following
Declaration of Allegiance:
"We Subscribers, Natives and late Inhabitants of the Palatinate upon the
Rhine & Places adjacent, having transported ourselves and Families into
this Province Pennsylvania, a Colony subject to the Crown of Great
Britain, in hopes and Expectation of finding a Retreat & peaceable
settlement therein, Do Solemnly promise & Engage, that We will be
faithful & bear true Allegiance to his present MAJESTY KING GEORGE THE
SECOND, and his Successors Kings of Great Britain, and will be faithful
to the Proprietor of this Province; And that we will demean ourselves
peaceably to all His said Majesties Subjects, and strictly observe &
conform to the laws of England and this Province, to the utmost of our
power and the best of our understanding."
Casper, within two years after his arrival
plunged into the wilderness and became one of the very earliest
permanent settlers west of the Susquehanna, the first authorized
settlement being made here in 1729. Lancaster counties, to go directly
to their contemplated places of settlement west of the Susquehanna. They
brought with them their iron-bound chests, one generally for each
family, and in them were found homespun and the most important household
utensils. One or two covered wagons, sometimes their own, frequently the
property of settlers in eastern counties of kindred nationality, were
invoked to haul their wives, children and possessions to the locality
selected for their future homes. In these wagons were stored household
effects and some of the most essential but rude implements of husbandry,
such as the wooden plow, the scythe, the hoe and sickle. The strongest
and sturdiest went ahead, and with axes cleared away in the uninhabited
sections the impeding obstructions, such as fallen trees and hanging
vines, and made passable the streams necessary to cross. The deep
morasses and savannas traversed are now embraced among the most fertile
and productive farms in this Commonwealth.
Caspar Spengler located with the "Permission
of the State Proprietaries of the Province," and in virtue of the right
of "Squatter Sovereignty" seven hundred and eleven acres of lime-stone
land about one and a half miles east of that portion of the banks of
the"Katores" on which York-Town was thirteen years later laid out. The
plantation began at the northern range of hills and extended across what
was later designated as the "Great Road leading from York-Town to
Lancaster." It embraced the present magnificent Kohr, Schotzberger,
Weidman, Matthews, and Keesey (lower portion) and several other farms. A
deed for 385 acres thereof was executed by Thomas Penn to Caspar
Spengler, October 30, 1736, the main consideration being settlement and
improvements. Bernhard Spengler, a son of Caspar, December 1st, 1767,
acquired the warrant and title to the northern section of 326 1/2
acres.The southern portion, bisected by the "Great Road," was conducted
by Caspar in conjunction with his youngest son, Philip Caspar Spengler.
Shortly after the above occupation and
settlement, Caspar located a tract of land of seven hundred and
nineteen acres, seven miles west of the Codorus Creek, "near the Little
Conewago Creek on the Conogocheague Road" (now the York and Gettysburg
Turnpike,) on which he placed his sons, Jonas and Rudolph. A
warrant for the same was issued October 16, 1738, to Caspar, who
assigned his interest therein to his said two sons, and to whom patents
were subsequently granted. The particulars attending this pre-emption
will be found in subsequent pages. Caspar Spengler and his associate
settlers were subjected to great inconveniences during the first decade
of their settlement for want of suitable houses, mills and many family
necessities.î12
LAND WARRANT ISSUED TO CASPER SPENGLER, 1738, BY THE PROPRIETARIES,
FOR THE LANDS SUBSEQUENTLY PATENTED
TO JONAS SPENGLER'S HEIRS AND RUDOLPH SPENGLER.
"PENNSYLVANIA, SS.:
"WHEREAS--Casper Spingler of the County of Lancaster requested that we
would grant him to take up six hundred acres of land situate on the
Conogocheague Road, about one mile from Little Conewago Creek, in the
said County of Lancaster, for which he agrees to pay for our use the sum
of Fifteen Pounds Ten Shillings current money of this Province for every
hundred acres, and the yearly Quit Rent of one Half Penny Sterling for
every acre thereof; These are therefore to authorize and require thee to
survey or cause to be surveyed unto the said Casper Spingler, at the
place aforesaid, according to the Method of Townships appointed, the
said quantity of six hundred acres if not already surveyed or
appropriated, and make return thereof to the Secretary's Office in order
for further confirmation; for which this shall be thy sufficient
warrant; which survey in case the said Casper Spingler fulfill the above
agreement within six months from the date hereof shall be valid
otherwise void.
"Given under my hand and the lesser seal of
our Province at Philadelphia, this 16th day of October, 1738. "THOS.
PENN. [SEAL.] "TO BENJAMIN EASTBURN, Surveyor General."
Burial and Will Abstract:
Caspar Spengler died in the year 1760, aged 76
years, and was buried in the private family graveyard, about
eighty feet square, on his plantation one and a half miles east of York
adjoining the "Great Road to Lancaster." This burial ground was
substantially enclosed, and had a fenced roadway thereto seventeen feet
wide from the "Great Road" for mourning trains to pass over to perform
the last rites of sepulture. In it were also interred his wife Judith,
his sons Bernhard, Philip Caspar and other members and descendants of
the family, as well as the remains of a few immediate neighbors.
Gravestones with the usual mortuary inscriptions marked this last
resting place, so that subsequent generations could not err in locating
their dust.
Fifty years ago these memorial tablets were still standing. Today not a
vestige remains. Upon the decay of the fenced enclosure, the vandal
farmers--tenants of the successors to the title of the land surrounding
the graveyard--began to encroach upon it, reducing it finally to one
half its original area; the fenced roadway greed appropriated, and the
destruction was completed."
Caspar Spengler's will
was duly probated in the Register's Office in
York, April 28th, 1760. His wife Judith and all his children, except
Mary, wife of Col. Michael Swoope, survived him. "
SPANGLER, Casper. Will Abstract
Township: Omitted.
April 27, 1759 April 28, 1760
Executors: Michael Bard, Barnet and Judith Spangler.
Wife: Judith Spangler.
Children: Judith m. Henry Baker, Philip and Barnet.
Rudolf SPENGLER 5
Birth: 1 Mar 1721/22, Weyler, Heidelberg, Bayern Germany 5
Death: 1782, York Co, PA 5
Burial: Pigeon Hill Ch, Paradise Twn., PA 5
Father:
Hans Kaspar**îCasperî SPENGLER
Mother:
Judith** ZIEGLER
Spouse: Barbara 5
Children:
Rudolph was born March 1, 1721, at Weyler,
under Steinsberg, on the Elsenz, in the Rhenish Palatinate, now in
Baden, and came with his father and mother and brothers Jonas and
Bernhard and sister Anna Maria, to America in 1727. He was naturalized
September 24, 1762. His brother Jonas and he, prior to 1738, were
located by their father on 719 acres of land near the Little Conewago
Creek, on the "Conococheague Road," afterwards in Paradise township,
(now Jackson), seven miles West of York, subsequently known as the
Spangler Valley. Every acre of this tract forty years ago was occupied
and owned by Spanglers. (ed note: entry dated 1898) On an accurate
survey made of the same in 1765 in pursuance of a second warrant issued
by the Surveyor General in 1763, this tract measured seven hundred and
nineteen acres and allowance, of which 363 acres and 154 perches,
western portion, were patented to Rudolph Spengler, in trust for the
wife and children of Jonas, then deceased. A copy of the original
warrant of October 16th, 1738, issued by Thomas Penn, and on file in the
interior department at Harrisburg, will be found under the title of
Rudolph Spengler, (Son of Caspar). ì19î Thomas Penn, and
Richard Penn, through John Penn, true and Absolute Proprietors and
Governors in Chief of the Province of Pennsylvania, dated the 14th day
of October, 1767, the 7th year of the Reign of King George the Third
over Great Britain, etc., and the 50th year of the said Proprietors'
Government. .....The deed is endorsed, "Patent Rudolph Spengler,
Spenglesberg, York county." This 356 tract was bounded by lands of Jacob
Wiest, John Myers, Philip Crist, John Appleman, and the said heirs of
Jonas Spengler, deceased. The consideration for this patent to Rudolph
was the payment of 50 pounds, 8 shillings lawful money of Pennsylvania,
and the yearly Quit Rent of one half penny sterling for every acre
thereof, if the same thereof is coin current according as the exchange
shall be between said Province and the City of London. ì30
ìThis entire tract was then a dense forest, and as late as 1769 only 15
acres of the tract was in grain. His widow was then assessed 3 horses, 2
cows and 2 sheep. The large springs upon it were favorite places for the
wigwams of the Indians, and around one of which, as late as thirty years
ago, arrow heads and tomahawks were annually ploughed up in great
abundance. The grant was in "free and common socage by fealty in lieu of
all other services, and included all the Mines, Minerals, Quarries,
Marshes, Savannahs, Swamps, Cripples, Woods, Underwoods, Trees, Timbers,
Ways, Waters, Watercourses, Liberties, Profits, Commodities, Advantages,
Hereditaments, and Appurtenances, whatsoever thereto belonging. Three
full and clear fifths parts of all the Royal Mines, free from all
deductions and reprisals, for digging and refining the same and also one
fifth part of the ore of all other mines delivered at the Pitts Mouth
only excepted and hereby reserved." 22
ìIn 1769 Rudolph was assessed 15 acres of grain, 3 horses, 3 cows and 2
sheep. He, by articles of agreement dated April 12, 1781, sold the 356
acres of land to Henry Spengler and Bernhard Spengler, his sons, for 480
pounds, reserving fifty acres thereof for his own use during his
life. After Rudolph's death, his widow, Barbara, and his children
executed deeds dated March 13, 1787, to said Henry and Bernhard for said
land; the land conveyed to Henry being bounded by lands of Philip Crist,
and contained 180 acres, and allowance of six per cent. of roads, etc.,
and the consideration paid being 225 pounds sterling. Upon the death of
Henry, two of his sons, John and Rudolph, acquired the title to the same
by purchase. On April 15, 1833, John and Rudolph by deed made a division
of this land, the portion taken by Rudolph measuring 101 acres and 61
perches. This tract in Jackson township, (formerly Paradise) was
purchased by David Myers in 1857, from the administrators of Rudolph
Spengler, deceased; and is now owned by Jonas Myers, heir of David
Myers, deceased (ed. Note: Text written 1898) The large spring on this
tract was, during the Indian occupation, the camping ground of the red
man. Tomahawks by the score and arrow-heads by the hundred were found
around it forty years ago, upon the forests being felled and the soil
turned up by the plough. Rudolph Spengler died about 1782 and his
remains were interred in the Pigeon Hill churchyard. Letters of
administration on his personal estate were granted November 9, 1784, to
Philip Jacob and his wife Barbara (late the widow of the said Rudolph
Spengler,) and George Kann, one of his sons-in-law. The administration
account was stated by the distinguished Revolutionary Soldier,
Congressman and Lawyer, Col. Thomas Hartley,1 and filed in
the Register's office of York county, Pa., November 27, 1789.
BUILD UP TO THE EMMIGRATION.
17th Century: A Backdrop
The 17th Century was full of wars.
"There
were wars of conquest and liberation, civil wars and (so-called) wars of
religion which dramatically changed the relationships between countries.
These wars produced the decline of Spain, which was replaced by France
as the major continental power. Sweden emerged as the great power of the
Baltic region. Two revolutions in England produced a unique form of
government, and the creation of the United Provinces introduced into
Europe an energetic and powerful center of trade as well as a major
cultural center."
? (lost footnote)
The Habsburgs, masters of alliance formation through marriage, treaty,
threat and at times force, were building up their power, and in 1619
Ferdinand II Habsburg would be crowned Holy Roman Emperor. He was
devoutly Catholic, and his ascension followed a period of protestant HRE
monarchs. Religious doctrine was not always an assurance of national
alliances, as evidenced in the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) in
which foreign Catholic states took active part against the powerful
Catholic Habsburgs, fearing domination by the Hapsburg kings. Much of
the conflict in Europe of this century was territorial and economic in
nature (no great leap in logic) and not limited by religious doctrine or
affiliation.
To Recap:
In this period of history, the Germany we know was in fact part of The
Holy Roman Empire and extended from the Mediterranean to the North Sea,
composed of independent city-states each able to leverage taxes, have
there own armies, make their own money, enforce their own borders, and
so a loose collection forming the whole. 10 Its main component was
Germany and German speaking territory. The Germanic area of Central
Europe in the year 1700 was a patchwork of some three hundred loosely
organized sovereign territories wherein the delusionary concept of the
divine right of kings was accepted, rulers reigned supreme within their
own borders, and an emperor prevailed overall. The Empire was further
structured into nine districts which were under jurisdiction of
governors or "electors" who chose the emperor.
Religious Conflict
Inside Germany: The Reformation/ the Counter Reformation
At the time of the 30 Years War (began 1618), about half of Germany’s
states were Protestant and half Catholic, with Lutheranism the only
state recognized Protestant faith, having received sanction in the 1550s
with the Signing of the Treaty of Augsburg. This acceptance of state
sanctioned churches outside of Catholicism was hard won with each new
group and the process spanned decades while religious unrest spanned
centuries. In Germany, the recognition and protection of the first
Protestants, the Lutherans, was gained by the Treaty of Augsburg
mentioned above, the very need for which tells something of the discord
with which the Empire was dealing as a result of the Reformation and the
Catholic response to it. Catholicism had to wrangle with the general
complaints of the non catholic populace regarding the Catholic Church
(which is how the protest-ants gained their name with the advent of
Luther) and then, almost right away, the Catholics and the then nascent
Protestants had to deal with a splintering, advancing Protestant
theology, each sect more revolutionary than that before it. Lutherans
were recognized in the Treaty of Augsburg (granting the individual
German City-States the right to choose their own religion- note that
Luther lived 1483-1546) , but Calvinists were not (Calvin lived
1509-1564) . Basically in the signing of the treaty ending the 30 Years
war (the Treaty of Westphalia-1648) , the Treaty of Augsburg (almost 100
years earlier) was reaffirmed, and the only change in the regard
currently under discussion was that Calvinism was recognized. What it
meant to be recognized as a state sanctioned church is that a Lord of
the city states could practice his preferred religion without fear of
sanction against him, as long as it was a State sanctioned alternative
to Catholicism, and this privilege extended to his populace. Those not
practicing the religion of the Lord often suffered as a result no matter
what his religion. Although initially the only alternative to
Catholicism that enjoyed state sanction was Lutheranism, followed by a
third state sanctioned religion with Calvinism nearly 100 years later,
other Protestant doctrines were practiced and the state sanctioning of
the three religions mentioned caused all three to oppress the newer
sects, just as the Lutherans joined strenuously with the Catholics in
trying to eradicate Calvinism. Germany was splintered religiously as
well as politically, and as the Holy Roman Emperors themselves
converted, or a new Emperor acceded claiming a different church than his
predecessor, the effect was felt throughout the empire and the
commoner’s right to practice his religion (read here, not in secrecy, in
a church, with the right to burial within the religion and overseen by
a church leader and with the right to marriage within the chosen
doctrine as legally binding, without fear of retribution or persecution,
imprisonment and/or confiscation of property and in deference to the
individual’s own conscience only) was entirely dependant on the leaning
of his Lord’s (mortal, not divine) own practice.
"In accord with
the principle of cuius regio, eiuus religio most of the
population changed its faith five times in the 16th century. Catholic
doctrine, supported by Elector Louis V (d. 1544), was followed by the
Lutheran under Frederick II (d. 1556) and Otto Henry (d. 1559), the
Reformed under Frederick III (d. 1576), again the Lutheran under Louis
VI (d. 1583), and finally the Reformed under John Kasimir (d. 1592).
These ecclesiastical changes were one of the factors which made it
possible for Anabaptism (Mennonites and Amish) to enter the Palatinate
early and to develop-in spite of much resistance-to considerable
strength. (In regards to the Electoral Palatinate itself, it )
"It
had become Lutheran in 1556, and then Reformed in 1560. From 1576 to
1583 a new elector reintroduced Lutheranism, only to have this faith
replaced by the Reformed until 1620. During the Thirty Years' War, the
Spanish and Bavarian Catholics were twice dominant, but the treaties of
Westphalia placed a Reformed Elector on the throne. After each change,
the new party attempted to repress completely the other faiths. In other
words, within the space of one hundred fifty years the official religion
(in the Electoral Palatinate) had been changed eight times."
"The
new Big Three ecclesiastical bodies (Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed)
forthrightly denied all other religious groups the right to exist within
the Empire, and the citizens of each local district were forced to join
whichever church was recognized by the local nobility, an administrative
carry-over from the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. It is not
over-simplification to frame the position of the Big Three churches to
all other groups as: 'Convert, leave, or die.'
" |
