Peace of Westphalia

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The Peace of Westphalia, also known as the treaties of Münster and Osnabrück respectively, refer to the series of treaties that ended the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War. The peace negotiations were held after initial talks held in the cities of Münster and Osnabrück. The two locations were needed as the Protestant and Catholic leaders refused to meet each other face to face. The Thirty Years' War lasted from 1618-48 and was a general European war fought mainly in Germany - Bavaria was at one time overrun by Protestant enemies. The treaty was signed October 24 1648, and meant an end to the long conflict between Catholic and Protestant forces.
The majority of the treaty can be attributed to the work of Cardinal Mazarin who was de facto leader of France at the time. France came out of the war in a far better position than any otherPower and was able to dictate much of the treaty.
It is often said that the Peace of Westphalia initiated the modern fashion of diplomacy as it marked the beginning of the modern system of nation-states. Subsequent wars were not about reasons of religion, but rather focused on reasons of state. This allowed Catholic and Protestant Powers to ally, leading to a number of major realignments.
Another important result of the treaty was it laid rest to the idea of the Holy Roman Empire having secular dominion over the entire Christian world. The nation-state would be the highest level of government, subservient to no others. Thus the political settlements of the peace were to the disadvantage of Germany as well as the Hapsburgs.
The general results of the war may be said to have been a tremendous decrease in German population; devastation of German agriculture; ruin of German commerce and industry; the breakup of the Holy Roman Empire, which was a mere shell in the succeeding centuries; and the decline of Hapsburg greatness. The Netherlands gained independence from Spain, ending the Eighty Years' War, and Sweden gained Pomerania, Wismar and Bremen-Verden.
With the power of the Holy Roman Emperor broken, the rulers of the German states were again able to determine the religion of their lands. The treaty also gave Calvinists legal recognition. Three new great Powers arose from this peace: Sweden, the United Netherlands and France. Sweden's time as a Great Power was to be short lived, however.
The war ended the era of conflicts inspired by religious passion, and the Peace of Westphalia was an important step toward religious toleration. The incredible sufferings of the German peasantry were remembered for centuries.

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	Return to Bavaria

	The Peace of Westphalia, also known as the treaties of Münster and Osnabrück respectively, refer to the series of treaties that ended the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War. The peace negotiations were held after initial talks held in the cities of Münster and Osnabrück. The two locations were needed as the Protestant and Catholic leaders refused to meet each other face to face. The Thirty Years' War lasted from 1618-48 and was a general European war fought mainly in Germany - Bavaria was at one time overrun by Protestant enemies. The treaty was signed October 24 1648, and meant an end to the long conflict between Catholic and Protestant forces. The majority of the treaty can be attributed to the work of Cardinal Mazarin who was de facto leader of France at the time. France came out of the war in a far better position than any otherPower and was able to dictate much of the treaty. It is often said that the Peace of Westphalia initiated the modern fashion of diplomacy as it marked the beginning of the modern system of nation-states. Subsequent wars were not about reasons of religion, but rather focused on reasons of state. This allowed Catholic and Protestant Powers to ally, leading to a number of major realignments. Another important result of the treaty was it laid rest to the idea of the Holy Roman Empire having secular dominion over the entire Christian world. The nation-state would be the highest level of government, subservient to no others. Thus the political settlements of the peace were to the disadvantage of Germany as well as the Hapsburgs. The general results of the war may be said to have been a tremendous decrease in German population; devastation of German agriculture; ruin of German commerce and industry; the breakup of the Holy Roman Empire, which was a mere shell in the succeeding centuries; and the decline of Hapsburg greatness. The Netherlands gained independence from Spain, ending the Eighty Years' War, and Sweden gained Pomerania, Wismar and Bremen-Verden. With the power of the Holy Roman Emperor broken, the rulers of the German states were again able to determine the religion of their lands. The treaty also gave Calvinists legal recognition. Three new great Powers arose from this peace: Sweden, the United Netherlands and France. Sweden's time as a Great Power was to be short lived, however. The war ended the era of conflicts inspired by religious passion, and the Peace of Westphalia was an important step toward religious toleration. The incredible sufferings of the German peasantry were remembered for centuries.

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