The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two Peace treaty, 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, 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 these treaties.Clodfelter, Micheal (2017). ''Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015.'' McFarland. p. 40. . 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. 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). Joachim Whaley, a leading English-language historian of the Holy Roman Empire, mentions that later commentators such as Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Leibniz, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, Kant, and Friedrich Schiller, Schiller eulogized the Peace of Westphalia as the first step towards a universal peace, but he points out that "their projections for the future should not be mistaken for descriptions of reality". Several scholars of international relations have identified the Peace of Westphalia as the origin of principles crucial to modern international relations, collectively known as Westphalian sovereignty. However historians have argued against this, suggesting that such views emerged during the nineteenth and twentieth century in relation to the later concerns about sovereignty of this subsequent period.

Background

Europe had been battered by both the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War, 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.

Locations

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. In Hamburg, Sweden, France, and the Holy Roman Empire negotiated a preliminary peace in December 1641. They declared that the preparations of Cologne and the Treaty of Hamburg were preliminaries of an overall peace agreement. EinzugdesGesandten AdriaenPauw

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. 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 that was not part of the Peace of Westphalia. Münster had been, since its re-Catholicisation 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. Sweden preferred to negotiate with the Holy Roman Empire in Osnabrück, which was controlled by Protestant forces. Osnabrück was a bidenominational 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.

Delegations

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. 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. * The French delegation was headed by Henri II d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville, Henri II d'Orléans, duc de 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 ''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 States of the Holy Roman Empire also sent delegations. * Brandenburg sent several representatives, including Volmar. * 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; two provinces were absent. * The Early modern Switzerland, Swiss Confederacy was represented by Johann Rudolf Wettstein.

Treaties

Two separate treaties constituted the peace settlement: * The Treaty of Münster (''Instrumentum Pacis Monasteriensis'', IPM), between the Holy Roman Emperor and France, along with their respective allies * The Treaty of Osnabrück (''Instrumentum Pacis Osnabrugensis'', IPO), between the Holy Roman Emperor and Sweden, along with their respective allies.

Results

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 States. The rulers of the Imperial States could again choose their own official religions. Catholics and Protestants were redefined as equal before the law, and Calvinism was given legal recognition as an official religion.Treaty of Münster 1648 The independence of the Dutch Republic, which practiced religious toleration, also provided a safe haven for European Jews. 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 bull, bull ''Zelo Domus Dei''.

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, or Calvinism. * 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. * France and Sweden were recognised as Guarantor of the imperial constitution, guarantors of the imperial constitution with a right to intercede.

Territorial adjustments

* France retained the Bishoprics of Bishopric of Metz, Metz, Bishopric of Toul, Toul and 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 thalers, which it used primarily to pay its troops. 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 (''Kreistage''). 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. :*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. :*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. :*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. * 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. * 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 Protestants 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. * 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 succession to the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, Jülich-Cleves-Berg, whose last duke had died in 1609, was clarified. Jülich, Berg (state), Berg, and Ravenstein, Netherlands, Ravenstein were given to the Palatinate-Neuburg, Count Palatine of Neuburg, while Duchy of Cleves, Cleves, County of Mark, Mark, and County of Ravensberg, Ravensberg went to Brandenburg. * 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. * Barriers to trade and commerce erected during the war were abolished, and "a degree" of free navigation was guaranteed on the Rhine.

Legacy

Alegoría de la Paz de Westfalia, por 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.

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. Most modern historians have challenged the association of this system with the Peace of Westphalia, calling it the 'Westphalian Myth.' 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.

References

External links

Texts of the Westphalian Treaties
(full text in Latin, with translations to German, English, French, Italian, Swedish, and Spanish)
Peace Treaty of Münster
(full text, English translation) �
Peace Treaty of Münster
(full text, German translation)
Peace Treaty of Osnabrück
(full text, German translation) {{DEFAULTSORT:Westphalia, Treaty Of Thirty Years' War treaties 1648 treaties Peace treaties of Sweden Thirty Years' War Treaties of the Holy Roman Empire Treaties of Flanders Treaties of the Dutch Republic Peace treaties of the Netherlands Peace treaties of Spain Treaties of the Swedish Empire Peace treaties of the Ancien Régime Treaties of the Spanish Empire Treaties of the Margraviate of Brandenburg 1648 in the Dutch Republic, Peace of Westphalia 1648 in France, Peace of Westphalia 1648 in the Holy Roman Empire, Peace of Westphalia 1648 in Sweden, Peace of Westphalia 17th century in the Old Swiss Confederacy History of the Palatinate (region) 17th-century diplomatic conferences Diplomatic conferences in Germany History of Münster, Peace of Westphalia Osnabrück, Peace of Westphalia 1648 in Christianity, Peace of Westphalia Early Modern history of Germany, Peace of Westphalia Christina, Queen of Sweden Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor hu:Harmincéves háború#A vesztfáliai béke