War of the Jülich Succession

The War of the Jülich Succession was a war of succession in the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. It lasted between 10 June 1609 and 24 October 1610, resumed in May 1614 and finally ended on 13 October 1614. The first round of the conflict pitted Catholic Archduke Leopold V against the combined forces of the Protestant Johann Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg and Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg, ending in the former's military defeat. The representatives of Brandenburg and Neuburg later entered into a direct conflict after their religious conversion to Calvinism and Catholicism respectively. The conflict was further complicated by the involvement of Spain and the Netherlands making it part of the Eighty Years' War, as well as the European wars of religion. It was finally settled by the Treaty of Xanten, whose provisions favoured Spain.

Background


By the early 17th century, the rapid spread of the Lutheran and Calvinist doctrines after the Protestant Reformation was met by a period of Roman Catholic resurgence, known as the Counter-Reformation. Such interdenominational conflicts such as the Cologne War and the Strasbourg Bishops' War prompted creation of the Catholic League and the Protestant Union, with the intention of safeguarding the interests of the Holy Roman Empire's Catholic and Protestant nobility, respectively. The aforementioned alliances entered their first conflict in 1609, when a succession crisis in the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg sparked the War of the Jülich Succession. The territories in question covered an area of 14,000 km² and had both geopolitical importance from their proximity to the Spanish Road and a booming economy, which was fueled by refugees fleeing the lands that were being ravaged by the Eighty Years' War. The immediate cause of war was the death of John William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg on 25 March 1609, who was affected by serious mental illness, and left no heirs to succeed him.

Part of the succession dispute came from laws that had been established by William the Rich, Duke of Julich-Cleves-Berg. William had established two major laws, the Privilegium Unionis and Priviligium Successionis, the privileges of Union and Succession respectively. The Privilegium Unionis had declared that the Duchies of Julich, Cleves, and Berg, which had recently been united in 1521, would continue to be inherited as one, rather than be divided. The Priviligium Successionis declared that in the case of the extinction of the male line (which is what happened when John William died), the duchies would pass to a female line. However, the nature of this female succession was not clear, in that it was not obvious whether or not the duchies should pass through the eldest female, the eldest living female, or the eldest male descendent of a female.

Emperor Rudolf II had claims to the duchies stemming from intermarriage. However, he was unable to declare his intentions openly without compromising his perceived neutrality. A total of six other claimants appeared, with rulers of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and Duchy of Palatinate-Neuburg having the only credible claims through their relationship to John William's sisters. However, the nature of the claims were different. Johann Sigismund of Brandenburg claimed the duchies through his wife, a granddaughter of William the Rich, and the most senior female descendent of William the Rich. However, Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg, held a claim through his mother, a direct daughter of William, hence he was the most senior male descendent. The most direct challenge to the claims of the Hohenzollern (Brandenburg) and Wittelsbach (Neuburg) claims was the Electorate of Saxony. The Saxons had gained the rights to inherit Julich and Berg in the late 1400s via imperial privilege. In addition to this, the Saxons also had engaged in royal marriage with Julich-Cleves-Berg on occasion. However, the Saxon claims were not necessarily as strong as the claims of Brandenburg and Neuburg, as the aforementioned Privilegium Unionis and Priviligium Successionis seemingly contradicted them. Nonetheless, Saxony was one of the most powerful states in the Empire and held the favor of the Emperor.

Road to War
Neuburg was a relatively young state, established during the War of the Landshut Succession, and it was also not very wealthy. In its short existence, the state had benefited greatly from Imperial privileges. By the 17th century, the Duchy had managed to recover from economic hardships, but it was still small and weak, surrounded by stronger powers like Bavaria and the Rhenish Palatinate. Thus, acquiring the Julich succession was a major goal of Neuburg. Not only would it provide more land for Neuburg, but the territories in question were rich and could help the economy of Neuburg as well. As Neuburg had relied on the Emperor in the past, despite their Lutheran religious status, Wolfgang Wilhelm had personally travelled to Prague to gain Imperial support. Neuburg also attempted to contact France and England. However, all of this failed.

The Calvinist Electorate of Brandenburg was also interested in the Julich territories, but unlike Neuburg would not be able to count on Imperial support. Brandenburg had challenged the Emperor recently during the Strasbourg affair, so tensions between the two parties were still high. Brandenburg's acquisition of Prussia, outside of the authority of the Emperor, meant that Brandenburg was willing to contest the Julich succession even without Imperial support. Brandenburg quickly sought allies, particularly amongst major protestant powers both foreign and in the Empire. Though they had failed to acquire support from Denmark-Norway, negotiations with the Dutch Republic had been successful. Emboldened by these alliances, Brandenburg was unwilling to accept a compromise deal from Neuburg, instead claiming the entirety of the duchies for themselves.

Despite the matter being a contest for a relatively small amount of land, the succession quickly grew to be an international issue. The Dutch Republic, fiercely anti-Habsburg, did not a pro-Habsburg figure to inherit the duchies. Hence, the Dutch had been eager to form an alliance with the likeminded Electorate of Brandenburg, who was also anti-Habsburg. France also had interests in the region. Henry IV of France, like the Dutch, was opposed to a pro-Habsburg ruler in the Julich-Cleves-Berg. Despite being a Catholic, Henry IV wanted to ensure that a protestant would inherit the duchies, but he didn't necessarily care who. As such, he contacted Landgrave Maurice of Hesse-Kassel, explaining that a united protestant cause was required to keep the Habsburgs away.

Maurice agreed, but despite his efforts, it was impossible to have Brandenburg and Neuburg agree on a settlement, as both parties believed their claim was best. When the ailing John William finally died, both Neuburg and Brandenburg rushed to claim the duchies. However, the privy council that had governed Julich-Cleves-Berg through John William's madness refused to accept either of them, and continued to rule on their own by establishing a regency council, which included the late duke's wife, Antonia of Lorraine and an imperial commissioner sent by Emperor Rudolf II. On 24 May, Rudolf II, who had the authority to dictate a final settlement, announced that the Aulic Council was to provide a definite verdict within four weeks.

Brandenburg and Neuburg, who viewed the regency as a direct attempt at undermining their claims, finally agreed to a provisional settlement, with mediation from Maurice of Hesse-Kassel. On 10 June 1609, they signed the Treaty of Dortmund (1609) and rejected all other claimants, establishing a provisional government together with the local estates. Wolfgang Wilhelm and Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach and uncle of Johann Sigismund, entered the duchy in defiance to the acting regency and the Emperor, along with their troops. Though initially hesitant and urged by Imperial agents to wait for a decision from Emperor Rudolf, by 22 July, most of the estates had sworn fealty to their new rulers. This move was very controversial amongst neighboring powers. Archduke Albert VII, Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, did not view the Treaty of Dortmund with favor, as he was a supporter of the Emperor. King Henry of France on the other hand was very pleased with the settlement, as the protestants had joined forces to prevent a pro-Habsburg seizure of the duchies, just like he had hoped.

Emperor Rudolf hurriedly intervened. He demanded the annulment of the Dortmund agreement and sent another Imperial Commissioner, Archduke Leopold V to take charge. Johann von Rauschenberg, the administrator of the city of Julich, had not yet sworn fealty to Neuburg or Brandenburg, and held the fortress city in the name of the Emperor. The city was then transferred to Archduke Leopold. The Habsburg’s seemingly militant intervention was not appreciated by France, the Dutch Republic, or the German claimants, and war was inevitable.

Conflict
In January 1610, Henry IV of France signed a draft military pact with the Protestant Union and dispatched 22,000 men under Marshal de La Chatre to north–eastern France. Soon, but Julich found itself besieged by an army three times his size, as fighting spread to Aachen and Düren. The struggle between the Catholic and Protestant princes brought fears of a larger religious war. The Protestant Union mobilized 5,000 men, and Leopold recruited 1,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry in the Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg. His Habsburg relatives and the rest of the Catholic League refused to support Leopold openly and gathered troops only for their own protection. On 13 March 1610, Protestant Count Otto von Solms–Braunfels invaded Strasbourg with 2,000 troops. The Catholics simply retreated into walled towns such as Saverne and waited until the ill–disciplined invaders ran out of money and retreated. A meeting was set in Prague on 1 May 1610 to broker a settlement. Rudolf's initial decision to enfeoff the entire duchy to Christian II, Elector of Saxony, was rejected by a number of moderate princes, which led to the postponement of negotiations until August.

A second Protestant invasion, this time consisting of 9,800 troops and artillery, succeeded in seizing Dachstein, Mutzig and Molsheim, but it too was brought to halt after the local population had refused to supply it food. In the meantime, Leopold had fled Jülich and left 1,500 troops inside. Their fate was sealed as the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic finally intervened in support of the Protestants and aimed to antagonize Spain by putting further pressure on the Spanish Road. The Dutch intercepted a relief party heading from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and bolstered the besiegers into a combined total of 25,200 troops. On 1 September, the garrison surrendered in return for free passage into Upper Alsace. On 24 October, the Protestant Union and the Catholic League agreed to withdraw their forces and to disband them until the end of the year. The war severely depleted the coffers of all the involved parties, leading to increased taxes, which in turn triggered the Rappenkrieg. Wolfgang Wilhelm and Joachim Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (relative of Johann Sigismund) took over the duchy by military might without having been able to secure official recognition. In 1611, Protestantism spread to the villages of Stolberg and Weiden, in the vicinity of Aachen. In response, the city council of Aachen imposed a fine on those inhabitants who attended Protestant services. Five citizens were detained for ignoring the town's decree and were banished as they refused to pay the fine. That caused a riot against the council on 5 July. The Catholic councilors were expelled, and many Catholic buildings were sacked. The rebels assaulted the church and the College of the Jesuits, smashed the altars and images and held a mock mass by being dressed in confiscated priestly garments. A new Protestant council was established and appealed for support to the Possessors. In 1612, Rudolf ordered the Possessors to reinstate Catholicism in the city of Aachen under the menace of a ban. The city's Protestants, however, ignored the command and seriously wounded an Imperial commissary sent to implement the Emperor's edict.

Upon Rudolf's death, Emperor Matthias confirmed Saxony's rights to the fief, which rekindled the dispute. Furthermore, the conversions of Ernst and Wolfgang Wilhelm to Calvinism and Catholicism respectively completely restructured their past alliances. Brandenburg and Neuburg officials ceased communicating with each other by early 1614. In May 1614, 300 Dutch troops ejected the Neuburg garrison from Jülich, in an attempt by the Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt to prevent a Brandenburg plot against the former. Wolfgang Wilhelm interpreted it as a declaration of war, raised 900 troops and took Düsseldorf. The new Brandenburg possessor, George William, was indeed plotting a coup, but his financial dependence on the Dutch prevented him from fulfilling his plans. Another misunderstanding took place when Spain and Albert VII, Archduke of Austria, interpreted the Dutch military buildup as a violation of the Twelve Years' Truce and mobilised 13,300 infantry and 1,300 cavalry under Spanish General Ambrogio Spinola.

On 20 February 1614, Emperor Matthias ordered the restoration of the Catholic rule in Aachen. Fearing an attack, the city council requested the aid of the Elector of Brandenburg, who sent several hundred soldiers under General Georg von Pulitz to reinforce the local militia. On 24 August, Spinola besieged Aachen under the premise of imposing a two-year-old imperial edict issued by Rudolf. After several days of negotiations, the garrison was allowed to leave, together with Protestant clerics and noncitizens. The old city council was reinstated, and the participants of the 1611 riots were punished. From Aachen, Spinola pressed on towards Düren, Neuss, Wesel and Mülheim, which he captured with Wolfgang Wilhelm's help. The Dutch occupied the Duchy of Mark and the rest of Cleves and also reinforced Jülich.

Aftermath
On 13 October 1614, Spinola and Maurice of Nassau initiated peace negotiations under French and English mediation. The conflict ended with the signing of the Treaty of Xanten on 12 November. The territories of Jülich-Berg and Ravenstein went to Wolfgang Wilhelm of Neuburg, and Cleves-Mark and Ravensberg went to George William. Spain gained a total of 62 towns including three crossings of the Rhine (Wesel, Orsoy and Rheinberg), which significantly enhanced its position in North–western Europe. The Dutch retained their garrisons at Jülich and Pfaffenmütze but were now outflanked or even isolated, which put them in an unfavorable position when the Twelve Years' Truce expired in April 1621.