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 THE ERA OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 275 were pouring into the Palatinate from the Spanish Nether- lands and Burgundy. Frederick himself had to take refuge in Holland. His territories were in the hands of his The War enemies, and shortly afterwards he was deprived breaks out. of the electoral dignity, which was transferred from the Palat- inate to Bavaria, whose King Maximilian was the ablest of all the Catholic princes and the most valuable of Ferdinand's supporters. Frederick's father-in-law, King James of England, refused to support him when he accepted the Crown of Bohemia, but was extremely anxious for the recovery of the Palatinate. This end, however, he hoped to achieve through the alliance of Spain and England, by marrying his son to the Princess of Spain ; an entirely futile hope, since Spain was still as zealous as ever for the destruction of Protestantism, and had everything to gain from the aggrandisement of the Austrian Hapsburg. Moreover, the English people did not care greatly about the Palatinate, but had a firm conviction that if any one ought to be attacked it was Spain, as the natural enemy of Protestantism and of England. On the other hand the Lutheran princes of Germany were now taking alarm at the rapid advance of the Hapsburg power, and the severe repression of Protestantism in the conquered territories. In France, after the death of Henry iv., the regency was reactionary and feeble. As the young King Louis grew up, he saw the need of strengthening the central govern- ment, which was threatened by the increasing independence of the nobles, while the public peace was endangered by the reviving friction between Catholics and Huguenots. Louis was no master of statecraft, but he had the invaluable quality in a king of bestowing his confidence where it was deserved. The minister to whom he trusted him- self was Cardinal Richelieu. Richelieu's policy was the policy of Henry iv. j a policy of religious toleration, of antagonism to the Hapsburgs, and of concentrating power in the hands of the Crown. Under his direction France now intervened. The intervention was brief, because there was a revolt on the part of the Huguenot nobles ; but it revived the activity of the Protestants, and encouraged the intervention of other powers.