While Matthias was secretly encouraging what in
modern times and republican parlance is called a filibustering
expedition, for the sake of annexing Transylvania to the area of
Hungary, a new object of ambition, and one still more alluring, opened
before him.
The Protestants in Bohemia were quite excited when they heard of the
great privileges which their brethren in Hungary, and in the Austrian
provinces had extorted from Matthias. This rendered them more restless
under the intolerable burdens imposed upon them. Soon after the armies
of Matthias had withdrawn from Bohemia, Rhodolph, according to his
promise, summoned a diet to deliberate upon the state of affairs. The
Protestants, who despised Rhodolph, attended the diet, resolved to
demand reform, and, if necessary, to seek it by force of arms. They at
once assumed a bold front, and refused to discuss any civil affairs
whatever, until the freedom of religious worship, which they had enjoyed
under Maximilian, was restored to them. But Rhodolph, infatuated, and
under the baleful influence of the Jesuits, refused to listen to their
appeal.
Matthias, informed of this state of affairs, saw that there was a fine
opportunity for him to place himself at the head of the Protestants, who
constituted not only a majority in Bohemia, but were also a majority in
the diet.
Pages:
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322