The Peace of Westphalia was the name given to a set of treaties negotiated in the German cities of Osnabruck and Munster that ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire and, through the Treaty of Munster between Spain and the Dutch, the Eighty Years' War. The settlement confirmed Dutch independence, gave France and Sweden territory and influence in the empire, and allowed the German princes a degree of autonomy in their own lands, including the right to determine the confession of their territories within limits. Calvinism was recognised alongside Catholicism and Lutheranism. Later writers saw the agreements as the origin of the modern system of sovereign states, though many historians now regard that view as an overstatement. War between France and Spain continued until 1659.
Before and after
- from 29 April 1648 to 16 May 1648Battle of Zhovti Vody
- from 1 May 1648 to 27 September 1669Siege of Candia
- 26 May 1648Battle of Korsuń
- from 12 July 1648 to 15 August 1648Recapture of Angola
- 24 October 1648Peace of Westphalia
- 1650Founding of Dartmouth
- 11 February 1650Death of René Descartes
- 14 November 1650Birth of William III of England
- from 28 June 1651 to 30 June 1651Battle of Berestechko
More in Wars, politics & history
- 25 September 1555Peace of Augsburg
- from 1568 to 1918Russo-Turkish Wars
- 1 July 1569Union of Lublin
- 26 January 1699Treaty of Karlowitz
- 22 February 1732Birth of George Washington
- from 10 October 1733 to 3 October 1735War of the Polish Succession
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.