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Peace of Westphalia

Also known as Treaty of Westphalia

peace treaty ending the Thirty and Eighty Years' Wars

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The Peace of Westphalia was a peace treaty signed in 1648 that ended two major European wars: the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War. It is considered important because it established principles of state sovereignty and religious tolerance that shaped how European nations related to each other for centuries to come.

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Image: Westfaelischer Friede in Muenster (Gerard Terborch 1648).jpg

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Commons category: Peace of Westphalia
point in time: 1648-10-24

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Article

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. Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, the kingdoms of France and Sweden, and their respective allies among the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, participated in the treaties.

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).