Origins and Members
The League was officially established on 27 February 1531, by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, and John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, the two most powerful Protestant rulers at the time. It originated as a defensive religious alliance, with the members pledging to defend each other should their territories be attacked by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor.
The League quickly became more of a territorial political movement, as breaking from the Catholic Church offered significant economic advantages. In December, 1535, the league admitted anyone who would subscribe to the Augsburg Confession, thus Anhalt, Württemberg, Pomerania, as well as the free imperial cities of Augsburg, Hanover, Frankfurt am Main, and Kempten joined the alliance.
In 1535 Francis I of France joined the League against the Habsburgs, but later retracted due to religious conflicts from within. Suleiman the Magnificent had intervened diplomatically in favour of the rapprochement, and is known to have sent at least one letter to the Protestant princes of Germany to encourage them to ally with Francis I against Charles V.
In 1538, the Schmalkaldic League allied with newly reformed Denmark. In 1539 the League acquired Brandenburg, which was under the leadership of Joachim II Hector. In 1545 the League gained the allegiance of the Electorate of the Palatinate, under the control of Elector Frederick III. In 1544 Denmark and the Holy Roman Empire signed the Treaty of Speyer, which stated that during the reign of Christian III of Denmark Denmark would maintain a peaceful foreign policy towards the Holy Roman Empire.
Read more about this topic: Schmalkaldic League
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