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{{short description|1648 peace treaties ending the Thirty Years' War and Eighty Years' War}}
[[Image:The Ratification of the Treaty of Münster (Gerard Terborch 1648).jpg|thumb|300px|''The Ratification of the Treaty of Münster''<br> by [[Gerard Terborch]] (1648)]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}


{{Infobox Treaty
[[Image:Helst, Peace of Münster.jpg|thumb|300px|''Banquet of the Amsterdam Civic Guard in Celebration of the Peace of Münster''<br> by [[Bartholomeus van der Helst]], 1648]]
|name = Peace of Westphalia
|long_name = Treaties of Osnabrück and Münster
|image = Münster, Historisches Rathaus -- 2014 -- 6855.jpg
|image_width = 200px
|image_alt = Münster, Historisches Rathaus -- 2014 -- 6855.jpg
|caption = The historic town hall of Münster where the treaty was signed
|type = [[Peace treaty]]
*End of the Thirty Years' War
|date_drafted = 1646–1648
|date_signed = 24 October 1648
|location_signed = [[Osnabrück]] and [[Münster]], [[Westphalia]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
|parties = 109
|languages=[[Latin]]}}


The '''Peace of Westphalia''', also known as the '''Treaties of Münster and Osnabrück''', refers to the series of treaties that ended the [[Thirty Years' War]] and officially recognized the [[Dutch Republic]] and [[Swiss Confederation]]. The [[Spain|Spanish]] treaty which ended the [[Eighty Years War]] was signed on [[January 30]], [[1648]]. The treaty signed [[October 24]], [[1648]] was between the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Ferdinand III]], the other [[Holy Roman Empire|German]] princes, representatives from the [[Dutch republic]], [[France]], and [[Sweden]]. The [[Treaty of the Pyrenees]], signed in [[1659]], ending the war between France and Spain, is also often considered part of the treaty. It is often used by historians to mark the beginning of the [[modern era]].
The '''Peace of Westphalia''' ({{langx|de|Westfälischer Friede}}, {{IPA|de|vɛstˈfɛːlɪʃɐ ˈfʁiːdə|pron|De-Westfälischer Friede.ogg}}) is the collective name for two [[Peace treaty|peace treaties]] signed in October 1648 in the [[Westphalia]]n cities of [[Osnabrück]] and [[Münster]]. They ended the [[Thirty Years' War]] (1618–1648) and brought peace to the [[Holy Roman Empire]], closing a calamitous period of European history that killed approximately eight million people. [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand III]], the kingdoms of [[Kingdom of France|France]] and [[Kingdom of Sweden (800–1521)|Sweden]], and their respective allies among the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, participated in the treaties.<ref name="Clodfelter, Micheal 2017 p. 40">Clodfelter, Micheal (2017). ''Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015.'' McFarland. p. 40. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-7470-7}}.</ref>


The negotiation process was lengthy and complex. Talks took place in two cities, because each side wanted to meet on territory under its own control. A total of 109 delegations arrived to represent the belligerent states, but not all delegations were present at the same time. Two treaties were signed to end the war in the Empire: the [[Treaty of Münster (October 1648)|Treaty of Münster]] and the Treaty of Osnabrück.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APW Einführung|url=http://www.pax-westphalica.de/apw-svg/apw_einfuehrung.html|access-date=2020-11-02|website=www.pax-westphalica.de|archive-date=23 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023000258/http://pax-westphalica.de/apw-svg/apw_einfuehrung.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Peace of Westphalia {{!}} Definition, Map, Results, & Significance|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Peace-of-Westphalia|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=6 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806020431/https://www.britannica.com/event/Peace-of-Westphalia|url-status=live}}</ref> These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, with the [[Habsburgs]] (rulers of Austria and Spain) and their Catholic allies on one side, battling the Protestant powers (Sweden and certain Holy Roman principalities) allied with France (though Catholic, strongly anti-Habsburg under King [[Louis XIV]]).
== Locations ==
The peace negotiations occurred in the cities of [[Münster]] and [[Osnabrück]]. These two cities lie about 50 km apart in the present day German states of [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] and [[Lower Saxony]]. [[Sweden]] favored Münster and Osnabrück as sites whereas the French proposed [[Hamburg]] and [[Cologne]]. The negotiations required two locations as the [[Protestant]] and [[Catholic]] leaders refused to actually meet each other. The Catholics used Münster, while the Protestants used Osnabrück.


Several scholars of [[international relations]] have identified the Peace of Westphalia as the origin of principles crucial to modern international relations,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Patton |first=Steven |title=The Peace of Westphalia and it Affects on International Relations, Diplomacy and Foreign Policy |url=https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1146&context=the_histories |date=2019 |access-date=2021-01-19 |publisher=The Histories |volume=10 |issue=1 |language=en |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204195519/https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1146&context=the_histories |url-status=live }}</ref> collectively known as [[Westphalian sovereignty]]. However, some historians have argued against this, suggesting that such views emerged during the nineteenth and twentieth century in relation to concerns about sovereignty during that time.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3078632|jstor=3078632|title=Sovereignty, International Relations, and the Westphalian Myth|last1=Osiander|first1=Andreas|journal=International Organization|year=2001|volume=55|issue=2|pages=251–287|doi=10.1162/00208180151140577|s2cid=145407931|access-date=21 August 2021|archive-date=21 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821173134/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3078632|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Principles of Westphalia ==


== Background ==
The Treaty of Westphalia incorporated four basic principles:


Europe had been battered by both the Thirty Years' War and the overlapping [[Eighty Years' War]] (begun c. 1568), exacting a heavy toll in money and lives. The Eighty Years' War was a prolonged struggle for the independence of the Protestant-majority [[Dutch Republic]] (the modern Netherlands), supported by Protestant-majority England, against Catholic-dominated Spain and Portugal. The Thirty Years' War was the most deadly of the [[European wars of religion]], centred on the Holy Roman Empire. The war, which developed into four phases, included a large number of domestic and foreign players, siding either with the [[Catholic League (German)|Catholic League]] or the [[Protestant Union]] (later [[Heilbronn League]]). The [[Peace of Prague (1635)]] ended most religious aspects of the war, and the [[French–Habsburg rivalry]] took over prominence. With between 4.5 million and 8 million dead in the Thirty Years' War alone, and decades of constant warfare, the need for peace became increasingly clear.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Elliott |first1=J.H. |title=Spain, Europe & the Wider World, 1500–1800 |date=2009 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0300145373 |page=29}}</ref>
1--The principle of the sovereignty of nation-states and the concomitant fundamental right of political self-determination; 2--the principle of (legal) equality between nation-states; 3--the principle of internationally binding treaties between states; and, 4--the principle of non-intervention of one state in the internal affairs of other states.


==Locations==
That is why the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) is so crucial


Peace negotiations between France and the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] [[Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor]] began in [[Cologne]] in 1636. These negotiations were initially blocked by [[Cardinal Richelieu]] of France, who insisted on the inclusion of all his allies, whether fully sovereign countries or states within the [[Holy Roman Empire]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Westphalia: The Last Christian Peace|first=Derek|last=Croxton|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kFlVmAEACAAJ|publisher=Palgrave|date=2013|isbn=978-1-137-33332-2|access-date=12 November 2015|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116145846/https://books.google.com/books?id=kFlVmAEACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2020}} In [[Hamburg]], Sweden, France, and the Holy Roman Empire negotiated a preliminary peace in December 1641.<ref name="Wilson632">{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Peter H. |year=2009 |title=Europe's Tragedy: A History of the Thirty Years War |publisher=Allen Lane |isbn=978-0-7139-9592-3|pages=632 }}</ref> They declared that the preparations of Cologne and the Treaty of Hamburg were preliminaries of an overall peace agreement.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}
== Results ==
[[Image:Europe map 1648.PNG|thumb|300px|Europe after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648]]
The results of the treaty were wide ranging. Among other things, the [[Netherlands]] now officially gained independence from Spain, ending the [[Eighty Years' War]], and [[Sweden]] gained [[Swedish Pomerania|Pomerania]], [[Wismar]], [[Bremen-Verden|Bremen and Verden]]. The power of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] was broken, and 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 [[Power (international)|power]]s arose from this peace: [[Sweden]], the [[Dutch Republic]] and [[France]]. However Sweden's time as a Great Power was to be short lived.


[[File:EinzugdesGesandten AdriaenPauw.jpg|thumb|Dutch envoy [[Adriaan Pauw]] enters Münster around 1646 for the peace negotiations.]]
The majority of the treaty's terms can be attributed to the work of Cardinal [[Jules Cardinal Mazarin|Mazarin]], who was the [[de facto]] leader of France at the time. France came out of the war in a far better position than any other Power and was able to dictate much of the treaty.


The main peace negotiations took place in [[Westphalia]], in the neighbouring cities of [[Münster]] and [[Osnabrück]]. Both cities were maintained as neutral and demilitarized zones for the negotiations.<ref name="Wilson632"/>
Another important result of the treaty was that 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.


In Münster, negotiations took place between the Holy Roman Empire and France, as well as between the [[Dutch Republic]] and Spain who on 30 January 1648 signed a [[Peace of Münster|peace treaty]] ending the Eighty Years' War<ref>{{cite web| url = https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1002389| title = Private Property in the Dutch-Spanish Peace Treaty of Münster (30 January 1648)| date = 23 July 2007| ssrn = 1002389| last1 = Lesaffer| first1 = Randall| doi = 10.2139/ssrn.1002389| access-date = 25 July 2020| archive-date = 28 March 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200328192357/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1002389| url-status = live}}</ref> that was not part of the Peace of Westphalia.<ref>[[Konrad Repgen]], 'Negotiating the Peace of Westphalia: A Survey with an Examination of the Major Problems', In: ''1648: War and Peace in Europe'': 3 vols. (Catalogue of the 26th exhibition of the Council of Europe, on the Peace of Westphalia), Klaus Bußmann and Heinz Schilling (eds.) on behalf of the Veranstaltungsgesellschaft 350 Jahre Westfälischer Friede, Münster and Osnabrück: no publ., 1998, 'Essay Volume 1: Politics, Religion, Law and Society', pp. 355–72, here pp. 355 seq.</ref> Münster had been, since its re-Catholicism in 1535, a strictly mono-denominational community. It housed the Chapter of the [[Bishopric of Münster|Prince-Bishopric of Münster]]. Only [[Catholicism|Roman Catholic]] worship was permitted, while [[Calvinism]] and [[Lutheranism]] were prohibited.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}
=== Tenets ===
The major tenets of the Peace of Westphalia were:
* All parties would now recognize the [[Peace of Augsburg]] of 1555, by which each prince would have the right to determine the religion of his own state, the options being Lutheranism or Catholicism (the principle of ''[[cuius regio, eius religio]]'').
* There were also territorial adjustments:
** France got the bishoprics of [[bishopric of Metz|Metz]], [[bishopric of Toul|Toul]], [[bishopric of Verdun|Verdun]], the [[Habsburg]]ian parts of [[Alsace]], and the cities of the [[Décapole]] (but not [[Strasbourg]], the [[Bishopric of Strasbourg]], or [[Mulhouse]]). It also acquired a vote in the German [[Reichstag (institution)|Reichstag]].
** Sweden got [[Swedish Pomerania|Western Pomerania]] and the bishoprics of [[Archbishopric of Bremen|Bremen]] and [[Bishopric of Cammin|Stettin]]. It won control of the mouth of the [[Oder]], [[Elbe]], and [[Weser]] Rivers, and also acquired a vote in the German Reichstag.
** [[Bavaria]] acquired a vote in the Imperial [[Prince-elector|Council of Electors]] (which elected the Holy Roman Emperor).
** [[Brandenburg]] (later Prussia) received [[Pomerelia]] (Eastern Pomerania), and the bishoprics of [[Archbishopric of Magdeburg|Magdeburg]] and [[Bishopric of Halberstadt|Halberstadt]], whose first secular governor was the Elector of Brandenburg's representative, Joachim Friedrich [[von Blumenthal]].
** [[Switzerland]] was recognized as a fully independent nation.
** The [[Dutch Republic|Republic of the Seven United Netherlands]] (Protestant Netherlands) was officially recognized as an independent nation (before its rebellion a century earlier, it had been a possession of the [[Habsburg|Habsburg family]] and thus of Spain).
** The various independent [[:Category:States of the Holy Roman Empire|German states]] (about 360) were given the right to exercise their own foreign policy, but they could not wage war against the Holy Roman Emperor. The Empire as a whole still could wage wars and sign treaties.
** The election of Roman emperors ''vivente imperatore'' (election of next emperor before the death of the one who actually rules) was banned.
** The [[Palatinate]] (Pfalzgraviate of the Rhine) was divided between the re-established [[Karl I Ludwig, Elector Palatine|Elector Palatine Charles Louis]] (son and heir of [[Frederick V, Elector Palatine|Frederick V]]) and [[Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria|Elector-Duke Maximilian of Bavaria]] (and thus between the Protestants and the Catholics). Charles Louis obtained the western part, near the Rhine (including the later [[Rhenish Palatinate]] and the area around [[Heidelberg]]), and Maximilian kept the [[Upper Palatinate]] (in present northern [[Bavaria]]).


Sweden preferred to negotiate with the Holy Roman Empire in Osnabrück, which was controlled by Protestant forces. Osnabrück was a bi-denominational Lutheran and Catholic city, with two Lutheran churches and two Catholic churches. The city council was exclusively Lutheran, and the [[Burgher (title)|burghers]] mostly so, but the city also housed the Catholic Chapter of the [[Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück]] and had many other Catholic inhabitants. Osnabrück had been subjugated by troops of the [[Catholic League (German)|Catholic League]] from 1628 to 1633 and was then taken by Lutheran Sweden.<ref name="The Thirty Years War, Complete">{{cite web|last1=Schiller|first1=Frederick|title=The Thirty Years War, Complete|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/6775/6775-h/6775-h.htm#link2H_4_0008}}</ref>
== Significance ==
It is often said that the Peace of Westphalia initiated modern [[diplomacy]], as it marked the beginning of the modern system of [[nation-state]]s (or "Westphalian states"). This interpretation comes from the treaty's role as the first acknowledgment of each country's [[sovereignty]]. Subsequent European wars were not about issues of [[religion]], but rather revolved around issues of state. This allowed Catholic and Protestant powers to ally, leading to a number of major realignments. It also cemented Germany's internal divisions, preventing it from uniting into one nation-state. It is the Peace of Westphalia that is most often pointed to as the foundation for studying [[international relations]].


==Delegations==
=== Modern views ===
In [[1998]] on a Symposium on the Political Relevance of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, then&ndash;[[NATO]] Secretary General [[Javier Solana]] said that "humanity and democracy [were] two principles essentially irrelevant to the original Westphalian order" and levied a criticism that "the Westphalian system had its limits. For one, the principle of sovereignty it relied on also produced the basis for rivalry, not community of states; exclusion, not integration." [http://www.nato.int/docu/speech/1998/s981112a.htm]


[[File:Sebastian Dadler Original Medal N.D. (1648), Christina of Sweden, Peace of Westphalia. Obverse.jpg|thumb|[[:de:Sebastian Dadler|Sebastian Dadler]] undated [[medal]] (1648), [[Christina of Sweden]], portrait with feathered helmet right. Obverse]]
In [[2000]], then&ndash;[[Germany|German]] Foreign Minister [[Joschka Fischer]] referred to the Peace of Westphalia in his Humboldt Speech, which argued that the system of European politics set up by Westphalia was obsolete: "The core of the concept of Europe after [[1945]] was and still is a rejection of the European balance-of-power principle and the hegemonic ambitions of individual states that had emerged following the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, a rejection which took the form of closer meshing of vital interests and the transfer of nation-state sovereign rights to supranational European institutions." [http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/www/en/eu_politik/ausgabe_archiv?suche=1&archiv_id=1027&bereich_id=4&type_id=3]
[[File:Sebastian Dadler Original Medal N.D. (1648), Christina of Sweden, Peace of Westphalia. Reverse.jpg|thumb|The reverse of this medal: Christina of Sweden as [[Minerva]] holding an olive branch in her left arm and grasping the [[Tree of the knowledge of good and evil|tree of knowledge]] with her right hand.]]
[[File:Fredsfördraget i Osnabrück 24 oktober 1648 - Westfaliska freden.tif|thumb|Peace treaty of Osnabrück, October 24, 1648]]


The peace negotiations had no exact beginning or end, because the 109 delegations never met in a plenary session. Instead, various delegations arrived between 1643 and 1646 and left between 1647 and 1649. The largest number of diplomats were present between January 1646 and July 1647.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cobban |first=Helena |date=8 May 2021 |title=1648: Peace of Westphalia sets inter-state rules for >370 years |url=https://justworldnews.org/2021/05/08/1648-peace-of-westphalia-sets-inter-state-rules-for-370-years-etc/ |access-date=26 October 2022 |website=Just World News |archive-date=26 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026180711/https://justworldnews.org/2021/05/08/1648-peace-of-westphalia-sets-inter-state-rules-for-370-years-etc/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In the aftermath of the [[11 March 2004 Madrid attacks]], Lewis ‘Atiyyatullah, who claims to represent the terrorist network [[al-Qaeda]], declared that "the international system built-up by the West since the Treaty of Westphalia will collapse; and a new international system will rise under the leadership of a mighty Islamic state". [http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=5420]


Delegations had been sent by 16 European states, 66 [[Imperial Estate|Imperial States]] representing the interests of 140 Imperial States, and 27 interest groups representing 38 groups.<ref>Konrad Repgen, "Negotiating the Peace of Westphalia: A Survey with an Examination of the Major Problems", In: ''1648: War and Peace in Europe'': 3 vols. (Catalogue of the 26th exhibition of the Council of Europe, on the Peace of Westphalia), Klaus Bußmann and Heinz Schilling (eds.) on behalf of the Veranstaltungsgesellschaft 350 Jahre Westfälischer Friede, Münster and Osnabrück: no publ., 1998, 'Essay Volume 1: Politics, Religion, Law and Society', pp. 355–372, here p. 356.</ref>
Also, it is often claimed that [[globalization]] is bringing an [[evolution]] of the international system past the sovereign Westphalian state.
* The French delegation was headed by [[Henri II d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville]] and further comprised the diplomats [[Claude d'Avaux]] and [[Abel Servien]].
* The Swedish delegation was headed by [[Johan Oxenstierna|Count Johan Oxenstierna]] and was assisted by [[Johan Adler Salvius|Baron Johan Adler Salvius]].
* The Imperial delegation was headed by [[Count Maximilian von Trautmansdorff]]. His aides were:
** In Münster, [[Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar]] and Isaak Volmar.
** In Osnabrück, [[Johann Maximilian von Lamberg]] and {{lang|de|[[Reichshofrat]]}} Johann Krane.
* [[Philip IV of Spain]] was represented by two delegations:
** The Spanish delegation was headed by [[Gaspar de Bracamonte y Guzmán]], and notably included the diplomats and writers [[Diego de Saavedra Fajardo]], and [[Bernardino de Rebolledo]].
** The [[Franche-Comté]] and the [[Spanish Netherlands]] were represented by [[Joseph de Bergaigne]] (who died before peace was concluded) and [[Antoine Brun]].
* The [[papal nuncio]] in [[Cologne]], [[Pope Alexander VII|Fabio Chigi]], and the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] envoy, [[Alvise Contarini (diplomat)|Alvise Contarini]], acted as mediators.
* Various [[Imperial State]]s of the Holy Roman Empire also sent delegations, among these [[:de:Johann Ernst Pistoris|Johann Ernst Pistoris]] represented the [[Electorate of Saxony]], [[:de:Johann VIII. (Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein)|Johann VIII. zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Wittgenstein]] the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]], and [[:de:Georg Christoph von Haslang|Georg Christoph von Haslang]] the [[Electorate of Bavaria]]. Important protestant envoys were [[:de:Wolfgang Conrad von Thumbshirn|Wolfgang Conrad von Thumbshirn]] for [[Saxe-Altenburg]] and [[:de:Jakob Lampadius|Jakob Lampadius]] for [[Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Brunswick-Lüneburg]]. The catholic estates were divided between those willing to compromise like [[Electorate of Mainz|Mainz]] represented by [[Hugo Eberhard Kratz von Scharfenstein]], and catholic hardliner like [[Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg]] for the [[Electorate of Cologne]].
* The [[Dutch Republic]] sent a delegation of six, including two delegates from the province of Holland, including [[Adriaan Pauw]], and [[Willem Ripperda]] from the province of Overijssel;<ref>{{cite book|title=Mazarin's Quest: The Congress of Westphalia and the Coming of the Fronde|first=Paul|last=Sonnino|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eu8Lb7ZuayEC&q=Clant+Ripperda+Pauw&pg=PA119|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-674-04386-2|access-date=18 November 2020|archive-date=16 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116145851/https://books.google.com/books?id=eu8Lb7ZuayEC&q=Clant+Ripperda+Pauw&pg=PA119|url-status=live}}</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2020}} two provinces were absent.
* The [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Swiss Confederacy]] was represented by [[Johann Rudolf Wettstein]].


==Treaties==
The [[adjective]] "Westphalian" has become popular in [[critical theory]] literature, particularly [[Critical international relations theory#Feminism|feminist international relations]], because of its perceived [[portmanteau]] of "[[Western world|West]]" and "[[phallus]]".


Two separate treaties constituted the peace settlement:
==Trivia==
* The Treaty of Münster (''Instrumentum Pacis Monasteriensis'', IPM),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/finde/langDatensatz.php?urlID=741&url_tabelle=tab_quelle|title=Digital modern German text Treaty of Münster|publisher=lwl.org|date=25 March 2014|access-date=25 July 2010|archive-date=25 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325061444/http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/finde/langDatensatz.php?urlID=741&url_tabelle=tab_quelle|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[[:s:de:Westfälischer Friede – Vertrag von Münster|Westfälischer Friede – Vertrag von Münster]] – Original German text Treaty of Münster digitised on German Wikisource</ref> between the Holy Roman Emperor and France, along with their respective allies
* The Treaty of Osnabrück (''Instrumentum Pacis Osnabrugensis'', IPO),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/finde/langDatensatz.php?urlID=740&url_tabelle=tab_quelle |title=Digital modern German text Treaty of Osnabrück |publisher=lwl.org |access-date=13 May 2017 |date=25 March 2014 |archive-date=31 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131085219/http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/finde/langDatensatz.php?urlID=740&url_tabelle=tab_quelle |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[[:s:de:Westfälischer Friede – Vertrag von Osnabrück|Westfälischer Friede – Vertrag von Osnabrück]] – Original German text Treaty of Osnabrück digitised on German Wikisource</ref> between the Holy Roman Emperor and Sweden, along with their respective allies


==Results==
Many German voices in the subsequent centuries, including [[Adolf Hitler]]'s, harshly criticized the Treaty of Westphalia for having cemented Germany's internal divisions for over 200 years (in Austria's case to this day, with the brief exception of the [[Anschluss]]). These divisions were blamed for having hampered Germany's unitary development and preventing it from achieving a colonial empire rivaling that of France or Britain.

[[Communism]] also predicted the ultimate demise of the Westphalian system, with an [[Proletarian internationalism|international workers' union]] replacing the formerly to-be-defunct nation-state system.
===Internal political boundaries===

The power asserted by [[Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand III]] was stripped from him and returned to the rulers of the [[Imperial State]]s. The rulers of the [[Imperial State]]s could again choose their own official religions. [[Catholics]] and [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]] were redefined as equal before the law, and [[Calvinism]] was given legal recognition as an official religion.<ref name="IPM">Treaty of Münster 1648</ref><!--Section 28--><ref name="Harvard">{{cite web|author1=Barro, R. J.|author2=McCleary, R. M.|name-list-style=amp|title=Which Countries have State Religions?|page=5|url=http://economics.uchicago.edu/download/state_religion_03-03.pdf|publisher=[[University of Chicago]]|access-date=7 November 2006|archive-date=30 August 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830180138/http://economics.uchicago.edu/download/state_religion_03-03.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The independence of the Dutch Republic, which practiced religious toleration, also provided a safe haven for European Jews.<ref>{{cite news|title=This day, Mary 15, in Jewish history|url=http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/cjnconnect/blogs/article_057a78b4-3f44-5375-a20d-a850a62b2194.html|newspaper=Cleveland Jewish News|access-date=18 May 2014|archive-date=19 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519165352/http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/cjnconnect/blogs/article_057a78b4-3f44-5375-a20d-a850a62b2194.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Holy See]] was very displeased at the settlement, with Pope [[Innocent X]] calling it "null, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, inane, empty of meaning and effect for all time" in the [[papal brief]] ''Zelo Domus Dei''.<ref>The [[incipit]] of this brief, meaning "Zeal of the house of God", quotes from [[Psalms|Psalm]] 69:9: "For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me."</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=World religions and democracy|author1=Larry Jay Diamond |author2=Marc F. Plattner |author3=Philip J. Costopoulo |year=2005|page=103}}</ref>

===Tenets===

The main tenets of the Peace of Westphalia were:

* All parties would recognise the [[Peace of Augsburg]] of 1555, in which each prince had the right to determine the religion of his own state (the principle of ''[[cuius regio, eius religio]]''). However, the ''ius reformandi'' was removed: Subjects were no longer forced to follow the conversion of their ruler. Rulers were allowed to choose between Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism.<ref name="IPM"/><ref name="Excerpts">{{cite web |title=The Peace of Westphalia |url=https://pages.uoregon.edu/dluebke/301ModernEurope/Treaty%20of%20Westphalia%20%5BExcerpts%5D.pdf |website=University of Oregon |access-date=6 October 2021 |archive-date=17 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617200242/https://pages.uoregon.edu/dluebke/301ModernEurope/Treaty%20of%20Westphalia%20%5BExcerpts%5D.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 1 January 1624 was defined as the normative date for determining the dominant religion of a state. All ecclesiastical property was to be restored to the condition of 1624. Christians living in principalities where their denomination was ''not'' the established church were guaranteed the right to practice their faith in private, as well as in public during allotted hours.<ref name="Excerpts"/>
* France and Sweden were recognised as [[Guarantor of the imperial constitution|guarantors of the imperial constitution]] with a right to intercede.<ref>Mary Fulbrook ''A Concise History of Germany'', 2nd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2004), p. 60.</ref>

===Territorial adjustments===
[[File:Holy Roman Empire 1648.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|The [[Holy Roman Empire]] in 1648]]
* France retained the bishoprics of [[Prince-Bishopric of Metz|Metz]], [[Prince-Bishopric of Toul|Toul]] and [[Prince-Bishopric of Verdun|Verdun]] near [[Duchy of Lorraine|Lorraine]], received the cities of the [[Décapole]] in Alsace (except for [[Strasbourg]], the [[Bishopric of Strasbourg]], and [[Mulhouse]]) and the city of [[Pinerolo|Pignerol]] near the Spanish [[Duchy of Milan]].
* Sweden received an [[indemnity]] of five million [[thaler]]s, which it used primarily to pay its troops.<ref>{{cite book|title=Der Westfälische Frieden von 1648: Wende in der Geschichte des Ostseeraums|editor-first=Hans-Joachim|editor-last=Hacker|publisher=Kovač|year=2001|isbn=3-8300-0500-8|first=Klaus-R|last=Böhme|chapter=Die sicherheitspolitische Lage Schwedens nach dem Westfälischen Frieden|language=de|page=35 }}</ref> Sweden further received [[Western Pomerania]] (thenceforth [[Swedish Pomerania]]), [[Wismar]], and the Prince-Bishoprics of [[Archbishopric of Bremen|Bremen]] and [[Prince-Bishopric of Verden|Verden]] as hereditary fiefs, thus gaining a seat and vote in the [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Diet]] of the Holy Roman Empire as well as in the [[Upper Saxon Circle|Upper Saxon]], [[Lower Saxon Circle|Lower Saxon]] and [[Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle|Westphalian]] circle diets (''[[Kreistag]]e'').{{sfnp|Böhme|2001|p=36}} However, the wording of the treaties was ambiguous:
:*To escape incorporation into Swedish Bremen-Verden, the city of Bremen had claimed [[Imperial immediacy]]. The emperor had granted this request and separated the city from the surrounding Bishopric of Bremen. Sweden launched the [[Swedish Wars on Bremen|Swedish-Bremen wars]] in 1653/54 in a failed attempt to take the city.{{sfnp|Böhme|2001|p=37}}
:*The treaty did not decide the Swedish-[[Electorate of Brandenburg|Brandenburgian]] border in the [[Duchy of Pomerania]]. At Osnabrück, both Sweden and Brandenburg had claimed the whole duchy, which had been [[Treaty of Stettin (1630)|under Swedish control since 1630]] despite [[Treaty of Grimnitz|legal claims of Brandenburgian succession]]. While the parties [[Treaty of Stettin (1653)|settled for a border in 1653]], the [[Brandenburg-Pomeranian conflict|underlying conflict continued]].{{sfnp|Böhme|2001|p=38}}
:*The treaty ruled that the [[Dukes of Mecklenburg]], owing their re-investiture to the Swedes, cede [[Wismar]] and the Mecklenburgian port tolls. While Sweden understood this to include the tolls of all Mecklenburgian ports, the Mecklenburgian dukes as well as the emperor understood this to refer to Wismar only.{{sfnp|Böhme|2001|p=38}}
:*[[Wildeshausen]], a petty exclave of Bremen-Verden and fragile basis for Sweden's seat in the Westphalian circle diet, was also claimed by the [[Bishopric of Münster]].{{sfnp|Böhme|2001|p=38}}
* [[Bavaria]] retained the [[Electoral Palatinate|Palatinate]]'s vote in the [[Electoral College (Holy Roman Empire)|Electoral College]] of the Holy Roman Empire, which it was granted by the imperial ban on the Elector Palatine Frederick V in 1623. The [[Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine|Prince Palatine]], Frederick's son, was given a ''new'', eighth electoral vote.<ref>{{Citation |last=Whaley |first=Joachim |title=Germany and the Holy Roman Empire in 1500 |date=2011-11-24 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198731016.003.0002 |work=Germany and the Holy Roman Empire Volume I: Maximilian I to the Peace of Westphalia, 1493–1648 |pages=623–624 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198731016.003.0002 |isbn=978-0-19-873101-6 |access-date=2022-04-28 |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116145853/https://academic.oup.com/book/12604/chapter-abstract/162495174?redirectedFrom=fulltext |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The Palatinate was divided between the re-established [[Karl I Ludwig, Elector Palatine|Elector Palatine Charles Louis]] (son and heir of [[Frederick V, Elector Palatine|Frederick V]]) and [[Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria|Elector-Duke Maximilian of Bavaria]], and thus between the [[Protestant]]s and [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholics]]. Charles Louis obtained the [[Lower Palatinate]], along the Rhine, while Maximilian kept the [[Upper Palatinate]], to the north of Bavaria.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Palatinate {{!}} Germany, Definition, Map, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Palatinate |access-date=2024-07-15 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Brandenburg-Prussia]] received [[Farther Pomerania]], and the Bishoprics of [[Archbishopric of Magdeburg|Magdeburg]], [[Bishopric of Halberstadt|Halberstadt]], [[Bishopric of Kammin|Kammin]], and [[Bishopric of Minden|Minden]].
* The [[Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück]] would alternate between Catholic and Lutheran bishops, with the Protestant bishops chosen from the [[Cadet (genealogy)|cadets]] of the [[House of Hanover|House of Brunswick-Lüneburg]].
* The [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Swiss Confederacy]] attained legal independence from the [[Holy Roman Empire]], although it had been de facto independent since the [[Treaty of Basel (1499)]].
* Barriers to trade and commerce erected during the war were abolished, and "a degree" of free navigation was guaranteed on the [[Rhine]].<ref name="Gross">{{cite journal|last=Gross|first=Leo|year=1948|title=The Peace of Westphalia, 1648–1948|journal=[[American Journal of International Law]]|volume=42|issue=1|pages=20–41 [p. 25]|doi=10.2307/2193560 |jstor=2193560|s2cid=246010450}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Alegoría de la Paz de Westfalia, por Jacob Jordaens.jpg|thumb|''Allegory of the Peace of Westphalia'', by [[Jacob Jordaens]]]]

The treaties did not entirely end conflicts arising out of the Thirty Years' War. Fighting continued between France and Spain until the [[Treaty of the Pyrenees]] in 1659. The [[Dutch-Portuguese War]] that had begun during the [[Iberian Union]] between Spain and [[Portugal]], as part of the Eighty Years' War, went on until 1663. Nevertheless, the Peace of Westphalia did settle many outstanding European issues of the time.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

===Westphalian sovereignty===
{{Main|Westphalian sovereignty}}

Some scholars of international relations have identified the Peace of Westphalia as the origin of principles crucial to modern [[international relations]], including the inviolability of borders and non-interference in the domestic affairs of sovereign states. This system became known in the literature as [[Westphalian sovereignty]].<ref name="kiss">{{cite book|author=Henry Kissinger|year=2014|title=World Order: Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course of History|chapter=Introduction and Chapter 1|publisher=[[Allen Lane]]|isbn=978-0-241-00426-5|author-link=Henry Kissinger}}</ref>{{page needed|date=October 2020}} Most modern historians have challenged the association of this system with the Peace of Westphalia, calling it the 'Westphalian myth'.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Osiander|first=Andreas|date=2001|title=Sovereignty, International Relations, and the Westphalian Myth|journal=International Organization|language=en|volume=55|issue=2|pages=251–287|doi=10.1162/00208180151140577|s2cid=145407931|issn=1531-5088}}</ref> They have challenged the view that the modern European states system originated with the Westphalian treaties. The treaties do not contain anything in their text about religious freedom, sovereignty, or balance of power that can be construed as international law principles. Constitutional arrangements of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] are the only context in which sovereignty and religious equality are mentioned in the text, but they are not new ideas in this context. While the treaties do not contain the basis for the modern laws of nations themselves, they do symbolize the end of a long period of [[religious war|religious conflict]] in Europe.<ref>{{cite book|author=Randall Lesaffer |year=2014|title=Peace Treaties and International Law in European History: From the Late Middle Ages to World War One |chapter=Peace treaties from Lodi to Westphalia |publisher=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-511-21603-9 |page=9}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Europe}}
* [[Adam Adami]]&mdash;German diplomat in the peace negotiations

* [[Swedish Empire|History of Sweden 1648-1700]]
* [[Thirty Years' War]]
* [[Eighty Years' War]]
* [[Eighty Years' War]]
* [[Freedom of religion]]
* [[Swedish Empire|History of Sweden, 1648–1700]]
* [[List of treaties]]
* [[Peace of Augsburg]]
* [[Peace of Münster]]
* [[Thirty Years' War]]
* [[Westphalian sovereignty]]
* [[Magna Carta]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Croxton, Derek, and Anuschka Tischer. ''The Peace of Westphalia: A Historical Dictionary'' (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002).
* {{cite journal | last1 = Croxton | first1 = Derek | year = 1999 | title = The Peace of Westphalia of 1648 and the Origins of Sovereignty | journal = International History Review | volume = 21 | issue = 3| pages = 569–591 | doi=10.1080/07075332.1999.9640869}}
* Mowat, R. B. ''History of European Diplomacy, 1451–1789'' (1928) pp 104–14 [https://www.questia.com/library/23721/a-history-of-european-diplomacy-1451-1789 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220134229/https://www.questia.com/library/23721/a-history-of-european-diplomacy-1451-1789 |date=20 December 2020 }}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Schmidt | first1 = Sebastian | year = 2011 | title = To Order the Minds of Scholars: The Discourse of the Peace of Westphalia in International Relations Literature1 | journal = International Studies Quarterly | volume = 55 | issue = 3| pages = 601–623 | doi=10.1111/j.1468-2478.2011.00667.x}} Historiography.


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://law-ref.org/WESTPHALIA/index.html Treaty text] - English translation, with keyword indexes
{{EB1911 Poster|Westphalia, Treaty of|Peace of Westphalia}}
*[http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/westphal.htm Treaty Text] Text of the Treaty of Westphalia, translated into English.

*[http://www.pax-westphalica.de Treaty texts] The texts of the Westphalian Treaties (IPO and IPM) and some translations (German, French, English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish).
* [http://www.pax-westphalica.de Texts of the Westphalian Treaties] {{in lang|de}} (full text in Latin, with translations to German, English, French, Italian, Swedish, and Spanish)
* [http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/ku.php?tab=que&ID=740 Treaty of Osnabrück (Instrumentum Pacis Osnabrugensis, IPO) in full text]
* [http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/ku.php?tab=que&ID=741 Treaty of Münster (Instrumentum Pacis Monasteriensis, IPM) in full text]
* [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/westphal.asp Peace Treaty of Münster] (full text, English translation) – [http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/ku.php?tab=que&ID=741 Peace Treaty of Münster] (full text, German translation)
* [http://www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Internet/ku.php?tab=que&ID=740 Peace Treaty of Osnabrück] (full text, German translation)
*[http://bss.sfsu.edu/jacksonc/germany_1648.htm High resolution map of Germany after the Treaty of Westphalia]

{{Thirty Years' War treaties}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Westphalia, Treaty Of}}
[[Category:Thirty Years' War]]
[[Category:Eighty Years' War]]
[[Category:Thirty Years' War treaties]]
[[Category:German treaties|Westphalia]]
[[Category:1648 treaties]]
[[Category:Peace treaties|Westphalia]]
[[Category:Peace treaties of Sweden]]
[[Category:Thirty Years' War]]<!-- Do not remove, forms a fundamental part of the topic, thus meriting inclusion into the main category as well as the subcategory. -->
[[Category:Swedish peace treaties|Westphalia]]
[[Category:French peace treaties|Westphalia]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Münster]]
[[Category:Treaties of Flanders]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Dutch Republic]]
[[Category:Peace treaties of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Peace treaties of Spain]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Swedish Empire]]
[[Category:Peace treaties of the Ancien Régime]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Spanish Empire]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Margraviate of Brandenburg]]
[[Category:1648 in the Dutch Republic|Peace of Westphalia]]
[[Category:1648 in France|Peace of Westphalia]]
[[Category:1648 in the Holy Roman Empire|Peace of Westphalia]]
[[Category:1648 in Sweden|Peace of Westphalia]]
[[Category:17th century in the Old Swiss Confederacy]]
[[Category:History of the Palatinate (region)]]
[[Category:17th-century diplomatic conferences]]
[[Category:Diplomatic conferences in Germany]]
[[Category:History of Münster|Peace of Westphalia]]
[[Category:Osnabrück|Peace of Westphalia]]
[[Category:1648 in Christianity|Peace of Westphalia]]
[[Category:Early modern history of Germany|Peace of Westphalia]]
[[Category:Christina, Queen of Sweden]]
[[Category:Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor]]


[[hu:Harmincéves háború#A vesztfáliai béke]]
[[ca:Pau de Westfàlia]]
[[da:Westfalske fred]]
[[de:Westfälischer Friede]]
[[es:Paz de Westfalia]]
[[eo:Vestfalia Paco]]
[[fr:Traités de Westphalie]]
[[ko:베스트팔렌 조약]]
[[it:Pace di Westfalia]]
[[he:שלום וסטפליה]]
[[nl:Vrede van Westfalen]]
[[ja:ヴェストファーレン条約]]
[[no:Freden i Westfalen]]
[[pl:Pokój westfalski 1648]]
[[pt:Paz de Vestfália]]
[[sv:Westfaliska freden]]
[[zh:威斯特法倫和約]]

Latest revision as of 16:42, 8 December 2024

Peace of Westphalia
Treaties of Osnabrück and Münster
Münster, Historisches Rathaus -- 2014 -- 6855.jpg
The historic town hall of Münster where the treaty was signed
TypePeace treaty
  • End of the Thirty Years' War
Drafted1646–1648
Signed24 October 1648
LocationOsnabrück and Münster, Westphalia, Holy Roman Empire
Parties109
LanguagesLatin

The Peace of Westphalia (German: Westfälischer Friede, pronounced [vɛstˈfɛːlɪʃɐ ˈfʁiːdə] ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire, closing a calamitous period of European history that killed approximately eight million people. Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III, the kingdoms of France and Sweden, and their respective allies among the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, participated in the treaties.[1]

The negotiation process was lengthy and complex. Talks took place in two cities, because each side wanted to meet on territory under its own control. A total of 109 delegations arrived to represent the belligerent states, but not all delegations were present at the same time. Two treaties were signed to end the war in the Empire: the Treaty of Münster and the Treaty of Osnabrück.[2][3] These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, with the Habsburgs (rulers of Austria and Spain) and their Catholic allies on one side, battling the Protestant powers (Sweden and certain Holy Roman principalities) allied with France (though Catholic, strongly anti-Habsburg under King Louis XIV).

Several scholars of international relations have identified the Peace of Westphalia as the origin of principles crucial to modern international relations,[4] collectively known as Westphalian sovereignty. However, some historians have argued against this, suggesting that such views emerged during the nineteenth and twentieth century in relation to concerns about sovereignty during that time.[5]

Background

[edit]

Europe had been battered by both the Thirty Years' War and the overlapping Eighty Years' War (begun c. 1568), exacting a heavy toll in money and lives. The Eighty Years' War was a prolonged struggle for the independence of the Protestant-majority Dutch Republic (the modern Netherlands), supported by Protestant-majority England, against Catholic-dominated Spain and Portugal. The Thirty Years' War was the most deadly of the European wars of religion, centred on the Holy Roman Empire. The war, which developed into four phases, included a large number of domestic and foreign players, siding either with the Catholic League or the Protestant Union (later Heilbronn League). The Peace of Prague (1635) ended most religious aspects of the war, and the French–Habsburg rivalry took over prominence. With between 4.5 million and 8 million dead in the Thirty Years' War alone, and decades of constant warfare, the need for peace became increasingly clear.[6]

Locations

[edit]

Peace negotiations between France and the Habsburg Emperor began in Cologne in 1636. These negotiations were initially blocked by Cardinal Richelieu of France, who insisted on the inclusion of all his allies, whether fully sovereign countries or states within the Holy Roman Empire.[7][page needed] In Hamburg, Sweden, France, and the Holy Roman Empire negotiated a preliminary peace in December 1641.[8] They declared that the preparations of Cologne and the Treaty of Hamburg were preliminaries of an overall peace agreement.[citation needed]

Dutch envoy Adriaan Pauw enters Münster around 1646 for the peace negotiations.

The main peace negotiations took place in Westphalia, in the neighbouring cities of Münster and Osnabrück. Both cities were maintained as neutral and demilitarized zones for the negotiations.[8]

In Münster, negotiations took place between the Holy Roman Empire and France, as well as between the Dutch Republic and Spain who on 30 January 1648 signed a peace treaty ending the Eighty Years' War[9] that was not part of the Peace of Westphalia.[10] Münster had been, since its re-Catholicism in 1535, a strictly mono-denominational community. It housed the Chapter of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster. Only Roman Catholic worship was permitted, while Calvinism and Lutheranism were prohibited.[citation needed]

Sweden preferred to negotiate with the Holy Roman Empire in Osnabrück, which was controlled by Protestant forces. Osnabrück was a bi-denominational Lutheran and Catholic city, with two Lutheran churches and two Catholic churches. The city council was exclusively Lutheran, and the burghers mostly so, but the city also housed the Catholic Chapter of the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück and had many other Catholic inhabitants. Osnabrück had been subjugated by troops of the Catholic League from 1628 to 1633 and was then taken by Lutheran Sweden.[11]

Delegations

[edit]
Sebastian Dadler undated medal (1648), Christina of Sweden, portrait with feathered helmet right. Obverse
The reverse of this medal: Christina of Sweden as Minerva holding an olive branch in her left arm and grasping the tree of knowledge with her right hand.
Peace treaty of Osnabrück, October 24, 1648

The peace negotiations had no exact beginning or end, because the 109 delegations never met in a plenary session. Instead, various delegations arrived between 1643 and 1646 and left between 1647 and 1649. The largest number of diplomats were present between January 1646 and July 1647.[12]

Delegations had been sent by 16 European states, 66 Imperial States representing the interests of 140 Imperial States, and 27 interest groups representing 38 groups.[13]

Treaties

[edit]

Two separate treaties constituted the peace settlement:

  • The Treaty of Münster (Instrumentum Pacis Monasteriensis, IPM),[15][16] between the Holy Roman Emperor and France, along with their respective allies
  • The Treaty of Osnabrück (Instrumentum Pacis Osnabrugensis, IPO),[17][18] between the Holy Roman Emperor and Sweden, along with their respective allies

Results

[edit]

Internal political boundaries

[edit]

The power asserted by Ferdinand III was stripped from him and returned to the rulers of the Imperial States. The rulers of the Imperial States could again choose their own official religions. Catholics and Lutherans were redefined as equal before the law, and Calvinism was given legal recognition as an official religion.[19][20] The independence of the Dutch Republic, which practiced religious toleration, also provided a safe haven for European Jews.[21]

The Holy See was very displeased at the settlement, with Pope Innocent X calling it "null, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, inane, empty of meaning and effect for all time" in the papal brief Zelo Domus Dei.[22][23]

Tenets

[edit]

The main tenets of the Peace of Westphalia were:

  • All parties would recognise the Peace of Augsburg of 1555, in which each prince had the right to determine the religion of his own state (the principle of cuius regio, eius religio). However, the ius reformandi was removed: Subjects were no longer forced to follow the conversion of their ruler. Rulers were allowed to choose between Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Calvinism.[19][24]
  • 1 January 1624 was defined as the normative date for determining the dominant religion of a state. All ecclesiastical property was to be restored to the condition of 1624. Christians living in principalities where their denomination was not the established church were guaranteed the right to practice their faith in private, as well as in public during allotted hours.[24]
  • France and Sweden were recognised as guarantors of the imperial constitution with a right to intercede.[25]

Territorial adjustments

[edit]
The Holy Roman Empire in 1648

Legacy

[edit]
Allegory of the Peace of Westphalia, by Jacob Jordaens

The treaties did not entirely end conflicts arising out of the Thirty Years' War. Fighting continued between France and Spain until the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. The Dutch-Portuguese War that had begun during the Iberian Union between Spain and Portugal, as part of the Eighty Years' War, went on until 1663. Nevertheless, the Peace of Westphalia did settle many outstanding European issues of the time.[citation needed]

Westphalian sovereignty

[edit]

Some scholars of international relations have identified the Peace of Westphalia as the origin of principles crucial to modern international relations, including the inviolability of borders and non-interference in the domestic affairs of sovereign states. This system became known in the literature as Westphalian sovereignty.[33][page needed] Most modern historians have challenged the association of this system with the Peace of Westphalia, calling it the 'Westphalian myth'.[34] They have challenged the view that the modern European states system originated with the Westphalian treaties. The treaties do not contain anything in their text about religious freedom, sovereignty, or balance of power that can be construed as international law principles. Constitutional arrangements of the Holy Roman Empire are the only context in which sovereignty and religious equality are mentioned in the text, but they are not new ideas in this context. While the treaties do not contain the basis for the modern laws of nations themselves, they do symbolize the end of a long period of religious conflict in Europe.[35]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Clodfelter, Micheal (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015. McFarland. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-7864-7470-7.
  2. ^ "APW Einführung". www.pax-westphalica.de. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Peace of Westphalia | Definition, Map, Results, & Significance". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  4. ^ Patton, Steven (2019). "The Peace of Westphalia and it Affects on International Relations, Diplomacy and Foreign Policy". The Histories. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  5. ^ Osiander, Andreas (2001). "Sovereignty, International Relations, and the Westphalian Myth". International Organization. 55 (2): 251–287. doi:10.1162/00208180151140577. JSTOR 3078632. S2CID 145407931. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  6. ^ Elliott, J.H. (2009). Spain, Europe & the Wider World, 1500–1800. Yale University Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0300145373.
  7. ^ Croxton, Derek (2013). Westphalia: The Last Christian Peace. Palgrave. ISBN 978-1-137-33332-2. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  8. ^ a b Wilson, Peter H. (2009). Europe's Tragedy: A History of the Thirty Years War. Allen Lane. p. 632. ISBN 978-0-7139-9592-3.
  9. ^ Lesaffer, Randall (23 July 2007). "Private Property in the Dutch-Spanish Peace Treaty of Münster (30 January 1648)". doi:10.2139/ssrn.1002389. SSRN 1002389. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  10. ^ Konrad Repgen, 'Negotiating the Peace of Westphalia: A Survey with an Examination of the Major Problems', In: 1648: War and Peace in Europe: 3 vols. (Catalogue of the 26th exhibition of the Council of Europe, on the Peace of Westphalia), Klaus Bußmann and Heinz Schilling (eds.) on behalf of the Veranstaltungsgesellschaft 350 Jahre Westfälischer Friede, Münster and Osnabrück: no publ., 1998, 'Essay Volume 1: Politics, Religion, Law and Society', pp. 355–72, here pp. 355 seq.
  11. ^ Schiller, Frederick. "The Thirty Years War, Complete".
  12. ^ Cobban, Helena (8 May 2021). "1648: Peace of Westphalia sets inter-state rules for >370 years". Just World News. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  13. ^ Konrad Repgen, "Negotiating the Peace of Westphalia: A Survey with an Examination of the Major Problems", In: 1648: War and Peace in Europe: 3 vols. (Catalogue of the 26th exhibition of the Council of Europe, on the Peace of Westphalia), Klaus Bußmann and Heinz Schilling (eds.) on behalf of the Veranstaltungsgesellschaft 350 Jahre Westfälischer Friede, Münster and Osnabrück: no publ., 1998, 'Essay Volume 1: Politics, Religion, Law and Society', pp. 355–372, here p. 356.
  14. ^ Sonnino, Paul (2009). Mazarin's Quest: The Congress of Westphalia and the Coming of the Fronde. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-04386-2. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  15. ^ "Digital modern German text Treaty of Münster". lwl.org. 25 March 2014. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
  16. ^ Westfälischer Friede – Vertrag von Münster – Original German text Treaty of Münster digitised on German Wikisource
  17. ^ "Digital modern German text Treaty of Osnabrück". lwl.org. 25 March 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  18. ^ Westfälischer Friede – Vertrag von Osnabrück – Original German text Treaty of Osnabrück digitised on German Wikisource
  19. ^ a b Treaty of Münster 1648
  20. ^ Barro, R. J. & McCleary, R. M. "Which Countries have State Religions?" (PDF). University of Chicago. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2006.
  21. ^ "This day, Mary 15, in Jewish history". Cleveland Jewish News. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
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  25. ^ Mary Fulbrook A Concise History of Germany, 2nd ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2004), p. 60.
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  27. ^ Böhme (2001), p. 36.
  28. ^ Böhme (2001), p. 37.
  29. ^ a b c Böhme (2001), p. 38.
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  32. ^ Gross, Leo (1948). "The Peace of Westphalia, 1648–1948". American Journal of International Law. 42 (1): 20–41 [p. 25]. doi:10.2307/2193560. JSTOR 2193560. S2CID 246010450.
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Further reading

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  • Croxton, Derek, and Anuschka Tischer. The Peace of Westphalia: A Historical Dictionary (Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002).
  • Croxton, Derek (1999). "The Peace of Westphalia of 1648 and the Origins of Sovereignty". International History Review. 21 (3): 569–591. doi:10.1080/07075332.1999.9640869.
  • Mowat, R. B. History of European Diplomacy, 1451–1789 (1928) pp 104–14 online Archived 20 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  • Schmidt, Sebastian (2011). "To Order the Minds of Scholars: The Discourse of the Peace of Westphalia in International Relations Literature1". International Studies Quarterly. 55 (3): 601–623. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2478.2011.00667.x. Historiography.
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