Attempt to Suppress the Protestants. --Treachery of Maurice of Saxony. --Defeat and Capture of the Elector, John Frederick. --Philip of Hesse Imprisoned. --Tyranny of Charles V. --The Augsburg Interim. --Maurice of Saxony turns against Charles V. --The Treaty of Passau. --War with France. --The Religious Peace of Augsburg. --The Jesuits. --Abdication of Charles V. --Ferdinand of Austria becomes Emperor. --End of the Council of Trent. --Protestantism in Germany. --Weakness of the Empire. --Loss of the Baltic Provinces. --Maximilian II. Emperor. --His Tolerance. --The Last Private Feud. --Revolt of the Netherlands. --Death of Maximilian II. --Rudolf II.'s Character. --Persecution of Protestants. --Condition of Germany at the End of the 16th Century. [Sidenote: 1546. HOSTILITIES TO THE PROTESTANTS.] The woes which the German Electors brought upon the country, when they gave the crown to a Spaniard because he was a Hapsburg, were only commencing when Luther died. Charles V. had just enough German blood in him to enable him to deceive the German people; he had no interest in them further than the power they gave to his personal rule; he used Germany to build up the strength of Spain, and then trampled it under his feet. The Council of Trent, which was composed almost entirely of Spanish and Italian prelates, followed the instructions of the Pope and declared that the traditions of the Roman Church were of equal authority with the Bible. This made a reconciliation with the Protestants impossible, which was just what the Pope desired: his plan was to put them down by main force. In fact, if the spirit of the Protestant faith had not already entered into the lives of the mass of the people, the Reformation might have been lost through the hesitation of some princes and the treachery of another. The Schmalkalden League was at this time weakened by personal quarrels among its members; yet it was still able to raise an army of 40,000 men, which was placed under the command of Sebastian Schertlin. Charles V. had a very small force with him at Ratisbon; the troops he had summoned from Flanders and Italy had not arrived; and an energetic movement by the Protestants could not have failed to be successful. [Sidenote: 1547.]