The League of Esmalcalda was a league of Protestant princes of the Sacrum Germanic Roman Empire that was created in century XVI to defend its territories and to fight against the emperor and king Carlos V, defender of the catholicism before the Lutheran Reformation. It takes its name from the city of Esmalcalda (Schmalkalden), in Thuringia (Germany).
The league was created by Philip I of Hesse and John Frederick, Elector of Saxony and Esmalcalda in 1531 and joined by the territories of Anhalt, Bremen, Brunswick-Lüneburg, Magdeburg, Mansfeld, Strasbourg and Ulm. The original members were added Constance, Reutlingen, Memmingen, Lindau, Biberach an der Riss, Isny im Allgäu and Lübeck. 10 000 infantry and 2,000 knights were used for defensive purposes. In 1532 he allied with France and in 1538 with Denmark. Although the League did not directly declare war on the emperor, its support and follow-up of the Lutheran Reformation and the confiscation of lands to the Church and the expulsions of Catholic Bishops and Princes caused that Charles V decided to confront the League. The Smalcalda War and the Peace of Augsburg Main article: War of Esmalcalda In 1544, Charles V arrives at peace with France and it ally itself with the emperor, who next to Pope Paul III began to accumulate troops in 1546. The different princes members of the League had serious disputes between them, which facilitated the campaign for the Catholic coalition. The troops of Carlos V defeated those of the League in the battle of Mühlberg the 24 of April of 1547. Main article: Peace of Augsburg
However, the Protestant princes continued their struggle, creating new alliances against the emperor, until the Peace of Augsburg in 1555.
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