Chapter 4, Post-Reformation, Great Courage and Great Awakening Summary and Analysis

Following the Reformation, religious persecution continued long into the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. But much religious growth and change occurred during this time. The first figure reviewed by the author is Gustavus Adolphus, who lived from 1594 to 1632. In the 1620s, the Catholic Emperor of Germany, Ferdinand, began to wage war to root Protestantism out of Europe. He crushed Protestants in Bohemia and Norway until the Protestant King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus decided to fight back. Under his command, the Swedish army won victory after victory. Due to atrocities committed by the Catholic troops, thousands of Germans arose to fight with the Swedes. During an important battle, Adolphus was separated from his men. When Imperial troops found him they wounded him and when the Swedish army heard they defeated the...