Wallenstein, who backed Ferdinand in his cause, managed to raise 50,000 mercenaries. Though they were basically a private army to Wallenstein and loyal to no one else but him, they still fought for the Catholic cause. After numerous Protestant defeats made by Wallenstein, the war ended between the two countries with the Edict of Restitution. This edict returned all of the Roman Catholic lands that had been converted to Protestantism after 1555. This edict crippled the Protestant movement …show more content…
Calvinism, which was illegal throughout the Holy Roman Empire before and during the war, was now equal to that of Lutheran and Catholicism. The war produced a backlash all through Europe. Many people became disgusted that people were suffering in the name of a loving God, and so, religious persecution, which was once universally accepted, was now under critical scrutiny. On a long term scale, the Thirty Years’ War played a significant role in making the West more tolerant and gave everyone the freedom to choose what religion to follow without persecution by the state or its