Peace of Westphalia

Peace of Westphalia Ratification
The Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War, however, it also resulted in profound political changes in Europe and dramatically influenced the future international relations between independent states not only in Europe but worldwide.

Table of Contents

Quick Facts

The Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War (1618 – 1648).

The Peace of Westphalia consisted from two peace treaties - the Treaty of Münster and the Treaty of Osnabrück which were signed simultaneously in the Westphalian towns of Münster and Osnabrück on October 24, 1648.

The peace treaty reaffirmed the principle "cuius regio, eius religio" (who rules the territory, determines religion) and recognized Calvinism.

France and Sweden extended their territory on the expense of the defeated Holy Roman Empire, while the Dutch Republic and Swiss Confederation were recognized as independent states.

The power of the Holy Roman Emperor was considerably limited, however, he retained his prestige as well as influence in the German states which were guaranteed sovereignty.

The Peace of Westphalia was the first modern diplomatic congress and introduced the concept of sovereignty, non-intervention in internal affairs of another country, territorial integrity and legal equality between the independent states.

The Treaty of Westphalia established a basis for the modern European state system, also known as the balance of power.

Signatories

The Peace of Westphalia, also known as the Treaty of Westphalia was a peace agreement which ended the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648) that was fought between the German Protestant princes and their allies Sweden, Denmark, France, England and the Dutch Republic against the Holy Roman Emperor, Spain and their Catholic allies. The peace treaty actually consisted from two peace agreements which were named after the two Wesphalian towns in which they were signed – the Treaty of Münster and the Treaty of Osnabrück. The first peace treaty was signed by Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, the Dutch Republic and France, while the Treaty of Osnabrück was signed by the Holy Roman Empire, the German Protestant princes and Sweden. The conflict between France and Spain, however, continued. The countries ended armed hostilities only with the Treaty of Pyrenees in 1659.

Negotiations

The Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand III (1637 – 1657) who succeeded his father Ferdinand II in 1637 shared his predecessor’s determination to restore Catholicism in the Holy Roman Empire. The tide of the war, however, turned disastrous for the Catholic side after his accession to the Imperial throne. Ferdinand III initially refused to negotiate with France, Sweden and their allies but by 1645, the Holy Roman Emperor was forced to enter negotiations with his enemies. The conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia, however, was delayed for another three years mainly due to the demands of the French chief minister, Cardinal Mazarin. France was winning the war and Mazarin was in no hurry. He even tried to prevent the Spanish-Dutch negotiations and according to some historians, he became more constructive in peace negotiations only after the outbreak of popular unrest in France in 1648. The French ally Sweden, on the other hand, was eager to end the war and thus the warring sides quickly reached a consensus about the clauses (128 in total) of the Peace of Westphalia that was signed simultaneously in Münster and Osnabrück on October 24, 1648.

Holy Roman Empire after the Peace of Westphalia

Although the Holy Roman Emperor was forced to accept the defeat, the terms of the Peace of Westphalia were not as unfavorable to him as they could have been. The power and authority of the Holy Roman Emperor were reduced dramatically but not to the extent as France and Sweden wanted, mainly due to the resistance of the German princes who preferred a weakened Holy Roman Emperor rather than French or Swedish dominance. With the Treaty of Westphalia, the German prices were granted sovereignty but most of the German states were too small and too weak to be able to function as independent states and depended on protection of the Holy Roman Emperor. In addition, some historians speculate that the limitation of the Emperor’s power to his hereditary lands later enabled the successor of Ferdinand III, Leopold I (1658 – 1705) to restore the Imperial authority in the German states because they no longer felt threatened by the Holy Roman Emperor and gladly sought his protection.

French Gains

France emerged as the dominant European power after the “last religious war” as the Thirty Years’ War is often referred to but it failed to achieve its main objectives – destroy the power of the Holy Roman Emperor and extend its territory on the expense of Spain. The latter concluded peace only with the Dutch Republic which was next to Switzerland granted independence, while Mazarin’s attempt to destroy the Imperial authority in the German states failed due to the above mentioned reasons. With the Treaty of Westphalia, however, France extended its territory to Habsburg possessions in Alsace and achieved recognition of its sovereignty over the bishoprics of Metz, Verdun and Toul, Pinerolo in Savoy and Breisach in Philippsburg.

Swedish Gains

The French ally, Sweden extended its territory as well with the Treaty of Westphalia and considering that Queen Christina wanted to reach a peace agreement as soon as possible, the outcome was quite favorable for her. Sweden acquired western Pomerania, Wismar, the archbishoprics of Bremen and Verden and the islands of Rügen and Usedom. However, it failed to achieve the guarantee for religious toleration within the Emperor’s hereditary lands including Bohemia because the Holy Roman Emperor, aware that the French will not support Sweden on the issue successfully rejected the Swedish demands. At the same time, the French decided to strengthen Brandenburg in order to prevent an eventual Swedish dominance in north Europe and thus Sweden was forced to partition Pomerania with the Elector of Brandenburg who received the eastern part of the duchy.

Religious Question

The Peace of Westphalia also dealt with the religious question which was the main cause of one of the most devastating military conflicts in history of Europe. It reaffirmed the principle “cuius regio, eius religio” (who rules the territory, determines religion) and officially recognized Calvinism. The terms of the Peace of Westphalia regarding religious question, however, did not guarantee religious freedom and enabled the Holy Roman Emperor to crush Protestantism in his hereditary lands. Nevertheless, the Peace of Westphalia brought an end to religious wars in Europe although there were several armed conflicts due to religious disputes after the end of the Thirty Years’ War.

Significance

In addition to ending the religious warfare in Europe, the Peace of Westphalia also went into history for being the first modern diplomatic congress as well as for the use of international law to regulate relations between independent states and for the introduction of the concept of sovereignty, non-intervention in internal affairs of another country, territorial integrity and legal equality between the independent states. But it also created a basis for the modern European state system, also known as the balance of power which was one of the leading causes of a number of future wars including both World Wars. Despite that, the Peace of Westphalia is traditionally regarded as a success because it was the first pan-European attempt to reach a fair settlement for a number of disputes and a lasting peace rather than simply punishing the defeated side.