Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor

Ferdinand II
Emperor Ferdinand II (by Georg Pachmann, c. 1635)
Holy Roman Emperor King in Germany
Reign	28 August 1619 – 15 February 1637
Coronation	9 September 1619, Frankfurt
Predecessor	Matthias
Successor	Ferdinand III
Archduke of Austria
Reign	9 October 1619 – 15 February 1637
Predecessor	Matthias
Successor	Ferdinand III
King of Hungary and Croatia
Reign	1 July 1618 – 15 February 1637
Coronation	1 July 1618, Pressburg
Predecessor	Matthias
Successor	Ferdinand III
King of Bohemia
Reign	5 June 1617 – 15 February 1637
Coronation	29 June 1617, Prague
Predecessor	Matthias
Successor	Ferdinand III
Born	9 July 1578 Graz, Austria
Died	15 February 1637 (aged 58) Vienna, Austria
Burial	Mausoleum in Graz, Austria (body) Augustinian Church, Austria (heart)
Spouse	Maria Anna of Bavaria Eleonor Gonzaga
Issue	Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor Maria Anna, Electress of Bavaria Cecilia Renata, Queen of Poland Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria
House	House of Habsburg
Father	Charles II, Archduke of Austria
Mother	Maria Anna of Bavaria
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor (1619–1637), King of Bohemia (1617–1619, 1620–1637), and King of Hungary (1618–1625). His acts started the Thirty Years' War. Ferdinand's aim, as a zealous Catholic, was to restore Catholicism as the only religion in the Empire and to suppress Protestantism.

He was born at Graz, the son of Charles II, Archduke of Austria, and Maria Anna of Bavaria. He was educated by the Jesuits and later attended the University of Ingolstadt. After completing his studies in 1595, he acceded to his hereditary lands (where his older cousin, Archduke Maximilian III of Austria, had acted as regent between 1593 and 1595) and made a pilgrimage to Loreto and Rome. Shortly afterwards, he began the suppression of Protestantism in his territories.

With the Oñate treaty, Ferdinand obtained the support of the Spanish Habsburgs in the succession of his childless cousin Matthias, in exchange for concessions in Alsace and Italy. In 1617, he was elected King of Bohemia by the Bohemian diet, in 1618, King of Hungary by the Hungarian estates, and in 1619, Holy Roman Emperor.

His devout Catholicism and negative regard of Protestantism caused immediate turmoil in his non-Catholic subjects, especially in Bohemia. He did not wish to uphold the religious liberties granted by the Letter of Majesty conceded, signed by the previous emperor, Rudolph II, which had guaranteed the freedom of religion to the nobles and the inhabitants of the cities. Additionally, Ferdinand was an absolutist monarch and infringed several historical privileges of the nobles. Given the relatively great number of Protestants in the kingdom, including some of the nobles, the king's unpopularity soon caused the Bohemian Revolt. The Second Defenestration of Prague of 22 May 1618 is considered the first step of the Thirty Years' War.