Four-hundred years ago, Europe was in a bloody sectarian war among Christians. During this period known as the “30 Year Wars,” 8 million people died in Europe. Although the it was fundamentally a Protestant-Catholic conflict, the reason most countries under the Holy Roman Empire became sides and took part in this war was political. For instance, France supported the Protestant despite being Catholic. This is why the 30 Year Wars was really Europe's civil war. Hence when the war was over, the empire was divided into mini states and the center was so weakened that it could now become powerful again.