54 The Origins of the Thirty Years War and the Revolt in Bohemia, 1618
From the outset the League was affected by ‘the severe internal ten-
sion’ arising from ‘the disparity between the elector of Mainz’s emphasis
on the interests of the Empire and support for the emperor on the one
hand, and Maximilian’s assertively confessional policy on the other’.^50
Thus at the first full meeting in February 1610 Mainz insisted that
approaches should be made to prospective Protestant members, par-
ticularly Saxony and Hessen-Darmstadt. Saxony responded positively,
perhaps because the elector was looking for support for his claim to
the Jülich inheritance, and at the beginning of 1611 he made a move
for membership. This did not meet with Maximilian’s approval, but as
it was widely supported by other members, including the ecclesiastical
electors, he had to give way, and the Saxon elector was invited to the
next League meeting. In the event, however, he came under Lutheran
pressure not to attend, and his application lapsed.^51
In the meantime the developing conflict over Cleves-Jülich, the par-
ticipation of the Union, and the potential threat to the Rhine electorates
put pressure on the League to respond. This provoked an early dis-
play of the internal differences, with Maximilian initially being strongly
opposed to any involvement, which he saw as the League being used
in Habsburg interests, whereas the ecclesiastical electors regarded it as a
matter of their own security, even arguing that this contingency was one
of their principal reasons for joining in the first place.^52 In any event it
was felt that nothing could be done without outside financial support,
leading to a long diplomatic effort to secure this from the pope and
from Spain. The former was unforthcoming, while the Spanish sought
to coerce Maximilian into not only accepting Habsburg participation in
the League, but also into sharing its direction with Archduke Leopold
and his brother Ferdinand, in response to which he instead resigned his
own position in May 1610. Eventually matters were patched up, and
with the promise of Spanish subsidies Maximilian resumed his post,
so that by the autumn of 1610 it was possible for the League to raise
an army with a nominal strength of 15,000 infantry and 4000 cavalry,
building on a core force which Maximilian had already recruited on his
own behalf.^53 By then, though, the conflict was almost over, and the
Union, divided internally and in severe financial difficulties, proposed a
settlement. This was agreed in late October 1610, although the League
decided to retain 15,000 men for three months as a precaution, and it
was left with a large debt, principally to Maximilian, who had financed
much of the recruitment.
This one warlike venture, albeit without action, had been a mod-
est success, but thereafter the internal tensions resurfaced. Although