Title: 
Headings: 
The
 
Political
 
Impact
 
of
 
the
 
Reformation
 

Content: Luther’s
 
calls
 
for
 
reform
 
had
 
wide-ranging
 
and
 
sometimes
 
unintended
 
consequences,
 
however,
 
and
 
these
 
consequences
 
were
 
not
 
always
 
in
 
the
 
realm
 
of
 
politics. In
 
particular,
 
Luther’s
 
teachings
 
were
 
used
 
as
 
part
 
of
 
the
 
justification
 
for
 
the
 
German
 
Peasants’
 
Revolt,
 
which
 
was
 
the
 
largest
 
popular
 
uprising
 
before
 
the
 
French
 
Revolution
 
in
 
1789. The
 
revolt
 
took
 
place
 
in
 
southern
 
and
 
central
 
Germany
 
from
 
February
 
to
 
May
 
1525. By
 
April
 
1525,
 
there
 
were
 
over
 
300,000
 
peasants
 
in
 
arms. In
 
the
 
end,
 
however,
 
the
 
peasants
 
were
 
doomed
 
to
 
failure. They
 
were
 
not
 
militarily
 
adept
 
like
 
their
 
opponents. Many
 
of
 
the
 
peasants
 
fought
 
with
 
swords
 
against
 
trained
 
soldiers
 
who
 
had
 
horses
 
and
 
guns. They
 
were
 
therefore
 
easily
 
crushed
 
by
 
a
 
fairly
 
small
 
army
 
of
 
princes,
 
who
 
had
 
more
 
money
 
and
 
experience; at
 
the
 
Battle
 
of
 
Frankenhausen,
 
for
 
instance,
 
several
 
thousand
 
peasants
 
were
 
killed
 
by
 
a
 
superior
 
noble
 
army. Despite
 
the
 
peasants’
 
defeat,
 
however,
 
the
 
size
 
of
 
their
 
uprising
 
shocked
 
many
 
European
 
observers
 
of
 
Luther’s
 
message
 
and
 
strengthened
 
the
 
reaction
 
to
 
it.