Everything about Treaty Of Munster totally explained
The term
Peace of Westphalia refers to the two
peace treaties of
Osnabrück and
Münster, signed on
May 15 and
October 24 of
1648 respectively, which ended both the
Thirty Years' War in
Germany and the
Eighty Years' War between
Spain and the
Netherlands. The treaties involved the
Holy Roman Emperor,
Ferdinand III (
Habsburg), the Kingdoms of Spain,
France and
Sweden, the
Dutch Republic and their respective allies among the
princes of the
Holy Roman Empire.
The
Peace of Westphalia resulted from the first modern
diplomatic congress and initiated a new order in central Europe based on the concept of national
sovereignty. Until 1806, the regulations became part of the constitutional laws of the Holy Roman Empire. The
Treaty of the Pyrenees, signed in
1659, ended the
war between France and Spain and is often considered part of the overall accord.
Locations
The peace negotiations were held in the cities of
Münster and
Osnabrück, which lie about 50 km apart from each other, in the present day German states of
North Rhine-Westphalia and
Lower Saxony.
Sweden favored Osnabrück due to its Protestant background, and France chose Münster due to its Catholic background. These two locations were required because the
Protestant and
Catholic leaders refused to meet. The Catholics used Münster, while the Protestants used Osnabrück.
Delegations
The French delegation was headed by
Henri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville and further comprised the diplomats Claude d'Avaux and
Abel Servien. The Swedes
plenipotentiaries sent
Johan Oxenstierna, the son of chancellor
Axel Oxenstierna, and Johann Adler Salvius. The head of the delegation of the Holy Roman Empire for both cities was
Count Maximilian von Trautmansdorff; in Münster, his aides were
Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar and Isaak Volmar (a lawyer); in Osnabrück, his team comprised
Johann Maximilian von Lamberg and
Reichshofrat Johann Krane, a lawyer. The Spanish delegation was headed by
Gaspar de Bracamonte y Guzmán. The
nuntius of
Cologne,
Fabio Chigi, and the
Venetian envoy
Alvise Contarini acted as mediators. Various
Imperial States of the Holy Roman Empire also sent delegations. The
Republic of the Seven United Netherlands sent a delegation of eight, and
Johann Rudolf Wettstein, the mayor of
Basel, represented the
Old Swiss Confederacy.
Spain was ignored and insulted by lack of invitation.
Results
Internal political boundaries
The power taken by
Ferdinand III in contravention of the Holy Roman Empire's constitution was stripped and returned to the rulers of the
German states. This rectification allowed the rulers of the
German states to independently decide their religious worship. [See
cuius regio, eius religio, below] Protestants and Catholics were redefined as equal before the law, and Calvinism was given legal recognition.
Tenets
The main 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 Catholicism, Lutheranism, and now Calvinism (the principle of cuius regio, eius religio).
There were also territorial adjustments:
The independence of the Dutch Republic, Switzerland, Savoy, Milan, Genoa, Mantua, Tuscany, Lucca, Modena and Parma from the Empire was formally recognised, as these regions had been de facto independent of the Emperors since the late 15th century.
The majority of the Peace's terms can be attributed to the work of Cardinal Mazarin, the de facto leader of France at the time (the King, Louis XIV, was still a child). Not surprisingly, France came out of the war in a far better position than any of the other participants. France won control of the Bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun near Lorraine, and the cities of the Décapole in Alsace (but not Strasbourg, the Bishopric of Strasbourg, or Mülhausen).
Sweden received an indemnity, as well as control of Western Pomerania and the Prince-Bishoprics of Bremen and Verden. It thus won control of the mouth of the Oder, Elbe, and Weser Rivers, and acquired three voices in the Council of Princes of the German Reichstag.
Bavaria retained the Palatinate's vote in the Imperial Council of Electors (which elected the Holy Roman Emperor), which it had been granted by the ban on the Elector Palatine Frederick V in 1623. The Prince Palatine, Frederick's son, was given a new, eighth electoral vote.
The Palatinate was divided between the re-established Elector Palatine Charles Louis (son and heir of Frederick V) and Elector-Duke Maximilian of Bavaria, and thus between the Protestants and Catholics. Charles Louis obtained the Lower Palatinate, along the Rhine, while Maximilian kept the Upper Palatinate, to the north of Bavaria.
Brandenburg-Prussia (later Prussia) received Farther Pomerania, and the Bishoprics of Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Kammin, and Minden.
The succession to the Dukes of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, who had died out in 1609, was clarified. Jülich, Berg, and Ravenstein were given to the Count Palatine of Neuburg, while Cleves, Mark, and Ravensberg went to Brandenburg.
It was agreed that the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück would alternate between Protestant and Catholic holders, with the Protestant bishops chosen from cadets of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
The independence of the city of Bremen was clarified.
Barriers to trade and commerce erected during the war were abolished, and 'a degree' of free navigation was guaranteed on the Rhine. Further Information
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