Although the Kingdom of Bohemia, both of the Lusatias, the Margraviate of Moravia, and Silesia were all under Habsburg rule, they followed different paths of development.

[1] In contrast, the Bohemian Kingdom had entrenched estates that were ready to defend what they considered their rights and liberties.

[1] By several adroit political maneuvers, Ferdinand was able to establish hereditary succession to the Bohemian crown for the Habsburgs.

[1] The estates' inability to establish the principle of electing or even confirming a monarch made their position considerably weaker.

[1] From 1599 to 1711, Moravia (a Land of the Bohemian Crown) was frequently subjected to raids by the Ottoman Empire and its vassals (especially the Tatars and Transylvania).

[2] Discord between Habsburgs and Czechs and between Catholics and the followers of the reformed creeds erupted again into an open clash in the early seventeenth century.

[1] Violation of promises contained in the Letter of Majesty regarding royal and church domains and Matthias's reliance on a council composed of ardent Catholics further increased tensions.

[3] On November 8, 1620, the Czech estates confronted the imperial forces in the Battle of White Mountain near Prague and were decisively defeated.

[1] The Czech defeat at the Battle of White Mountain was followed by measures that effectively secured Habsburg authority and the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church.

[1] Prince Bethlen Gabor's Hungarian forces, reinforced by Turkish mercenaries, fought against the emperor and periodically devastated Slovakia and Moravia.

[1] In 1648 the Treaty of Westphalia confirmed the incorporation of the Bohemian Kingdom into the Habsburg imperial system, which established its seat in Vienna.

[citation needed] Czechs call the following period, from 1620/1648 till the late 18th century, the "Dark Age".

[citation needed] It is characterized by devastation by foreign troops; Germanization; and economic and political decline.