In the end, to his unutterable chagrin, he was forced to raise
the siege and march away, leaving the valiant burghers lords of their
homes.
The war now seemingly came to its conclusion. The King of Denmark asked
for peace, which the emperor granted, and terms were signed at Luebeck on
May 12, 1629. The contest was, for the time being, at an end, for there
was no longer any one to oppose the emperor. For twelve years it had
continued, its ravages turning rich provinces into deserts, and making
beggars and fugitives of wealthy citizens. The opposition of the
Protestants was at an end, and there were but two disturbing elements of
the seemingly pacific situation.
One of these was the purpose which the Catholic party soon showed to
suppress Protestantism and bring what they considered the heretical
provinces again under the dominion of the pope. The other was the army
of Wallenstein, whose intolerable tyranny over friends and foes alike
had now passed the bounds of endurance. From all sides complaints
reached the emperor's ears, charges of pillage, burnings, outrages, and
shameful oppressions of every sort inflicted by the imperial troops upon
the inhabitants of the land.
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