Consequences of the Schmalkaldic War (1546–1547) for the modification of the tax system in the 16th century Kingdom of Bohemia
Consequences of the Schmalkaldic War (1546–1547) for the modification of the tax system in the 16th century Kingdom of Bohemia

Summary/Abstract: In the middle of the 16th century, the historical development of Central Europe was heavily influenced by the power struggle between the House of Habsburg and the Protestant opposition in the Holy Roman Empire (1546–1555), shaping the religious, political, economic and cultural direction for the next seven decades. The first part of this conflict (the so-called Schmalkaldic War of 1546–1547) also affected the development of the tax system in the Kingdom of Bohemia. The sanctions had immediate consequences for a part of the Bohemian Estates in 1547; on top of that, there was a change in the fiscal policy strategy, introduced under the reign of King Ferdinand I (1526–1564). The political agreement between King Ferdinand I and the aristocratic part of the Estates’ opposition was clearly aimed against the cities. The newly introduced tax system clearly favoured manor farms at the expense of urban economy. It also put aristocrats owning vast estates with numerous subjects and a small proportion of farm production at a major disadvantage. Despite a few minor modifications, this basic tax structure remained unchanged for several decades. Its unbalanced proportional set-up led to long-term indebtedness of royal cities and large aristocratic domains and the growing importance of creditors whose profits defied the tax system. Accompanied by a rapid increase of the sovereign debt at a time when the Imperial Court resided in Prague (1583–1611), these discrepancies resulted in a collapse of the tax system and rejection of foreign royal debts secured by future revenues from the Bohemian Kingdom in 1615. In the same year, the Bohemian Estates’ opposition took over the administration of all royal revenues in Bohemia (including the revenues from state-owned estates) as well as tax collection. The royal treasure received virtually no money from the Kingdom of Bohemia until all the royal debts were paid (planned for 1615–1620). This fundamental change in the tax system was one of the principal economic causes of the subsequent military measures adopted to solve the power crisis in Bohemia between 1618 and 1620.

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