|
|
Due to spam and off-topic content, these forums are being phased out and replaced with new great books forums. Please join us!
Posted by Test on October 15, 1999 at 01:27:15:
Hi Everyone!!
After reading some of the posts below concerning atrocities committed in the name of religion (all religions inclusive), I am going to doent during future posts using sources that will honestly reveal the effects of religious warfare. Each of you do have access to a computer; by that, with each post there will be at least one URL that supports the basic premise concerning the actual number of deaths involved for the event then considered. Earlier, Bryan posted some facts, which I do not consider as being totally honest; moreover, they were watered down considerably especially concerning "Christian Atrocities." I will attempt to keep required reading to a minimum whereas nobody gets overly tired of learning truly what religions have wrought on the human race in the names of their deities.
The first war of note is the 30 Year war that engulfed Europe 1618 through 1648. I am not going to make one comment off the cuff concerning that war, but conservative estimates place the number of people that died because of that war at 15% to 20% of all of Europe, to a high estimate of reducing the overall population of Europe or the Holy Roman Empire from 21,000,000 to 13,500,00 people. Yes, the 30-Year War was a religious induced, caused, and fought war. Please follow the links and study the facts as presented, which do include the quotes as pasted below the URLs.
30 Year War
"The real losers in the 30-year war were the German people. Over 300,000 had been killed in battle. Millions of civilians had died of malnutrition and disease, and wandering, undisciplined troops had robbed, burned, and looted almost at will. Most authorities believe that the population of the Empire dropped from about 21,000,000 to 13,500,000 between 1618 and 1648. Even if they exaggerate, the Thirty Years War remains one of the most terrible in history."
“The Peace of Westphalia, signed at Münster on October 24, 1648, fundamentally influenced the subsequent history of Europe. In addition to establishing Switzerland and the Dutch Republic (the Netherlands) as independent states, the treaty gravely weakened the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburgs, ensured the emergence of France as the chief power on the Continent, and disastrously retarded the political unification of Germany.
The economic, social, and cultural consequences of the war were vast, with Germany the principal victim. Modern estimates suggest that the total population of the Holy Roman Empire fell by between 15 and 20 percent. Villages, as opposed to fortified towns, suffered the most. Except in port cities such as Hamburg and Bremen, economic activity went into decline all across Germany. Uncertainty, fear, disruption, and brutality marked everyday life and remained a memory in German consciousness for centuries.”