The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ended the Thirty Years' War and established new principles in Europe. It recognized the sovereignty of over 300 German states and disallowed papal interference in German religious affairs. It upheld the Peace of Augsburg and added Calvinism to tolerated religions in Germany. The treaty fragmented the Holy Roman Empire and weakened Habsburg influence while strengthening France as the dominant power in Europe. It established the principles of state sovereignty and non-intervention that formed the basis of the modern international system.

1. Peace of Westphalia:
1648

2. Introduction
 HRE is a mix of Czech, Bohemian,
French and German (Majority), evenly
split between Protestant and Catholic
 Isolationist perspectives of Lutheran
states led to cultural decline
 suspicious of the outside world and
suffered from cultural isolation
 Universities attracted fewer students as
intellectual energies were spent
defending dogmas
 Witch burning
 Commercial activity is in decline
 Banking and financial interests were
shifting west

4. Background of the Thirty Years’ War
 HRE Role
 Peace of Augsburg (1555) provided
that each state could prescribe the
religion of its subjects
 leads to the development of two
opposing forces

Lutheran states are making gains by
converting leaders

Catholics states are supported by
Spain

5.  Spain’s Role
 wanted Nether
back or at least
to end Dutch
trade in Indies
 wished to
consolidate
Habsburg
position in
Germany and in
Swiss cantons
Background of the Thirty
Years’ War
Philip III (1598-

6.  French Role
 Spain’s moves aroused
France
 Idea of a stronger
power in Germany also
aroused French

intent and
preventing a strong
Hapsburg state from
emerging in the HRE
Background of the Thirty
Years’ War
Louis XIII (1610-

7.  Complexity of the Thirty Years’ War
 Fought over religion, constitutional issues,
centralization v independence of German
states
 Between the French and Hapsburgs, Spain
and Dutch
 Fought mostly on German soil
 Divided into 4 or 5 phases

Bohemian (1618-1625)

Danish (1625-1629)

Swedish(1630-1635)
Background of the Thirty
Years’ War

8. Why another War?
 Peace of Augsburg – solved nothing
 granted rights to Lutherans, but other Protestant religions left
out
 an issue for Palatinate Elector = Calvinist
 War between emperor and princes
 “Protestant Union”(1608) and a “Catholic
League”(1609) determined to hold the other at bay

PU supported by Dutch, English & Henry IV of France

CL founded in Bavaria & backed by Spain
 Austrian Habsburgs would like a strong central
government (nation-state); must push out
Protestantism

9. Why another War?
 War between emperor and princes
 It seems the “emperor” isn’t really an
emperor (i.e. no power!), HRE too divided
 Instead we have a “Protestant
Union”(1608) and a “Catholic
League”(1609) determined to hold the
other at bay

PU supported by Dutch, English & Henry IV of France

CL founded in Bavaria & backed by Spain
 Austrian Habsburgs would like a strong
central government (nation-state); must
push out Protestantism

11. Habsburg Family Tree – Part II
Maximilian I
(1493-1519)
Philip___________La Loca
Charles V (Sp/HRE) Ferdinand I
(1516-1556) (1556-1564) HRE
Philip II (Sp)
(1556-1598) Maximilian II Charles of Styria
Philip III (Sp) (1564-1576)
(1598-1621) Rudolf II Matthias Ferdinand II
(1576-1612) (1612-1619) (1619-1637)
RII & M = kings of Hungary, Bohemia/ FII = king of Bohemia

12. Phase I:
Bohemian Phase 1618-1625
 HRE – Matthias (Ferdinand’s grdson) dying,
successor to Empire
 Logical choice: cousin, Ferdinand II
 BUT electors are mainly Protestant and
Ferdinand is Catholic
 Ferdinand ALSO king of Bohemia!
 Bohemians (Czechs / Germans) – together
with Slovaks = mainly Protestant vs. Catholic
king

13. Bohemia revolts
 Defenestration of Prague: Mathias’ reps
thrown out the window (land on dung)
 Mathias send in troops to restore order & is
deposed
 Mathias dies & Ferdinand II should reign
 Bohemians elect “Frederick of the Palatinate”
 So War: Ferdinand and Catholic League vs.
Frederick and Protestant Union
 Ferdinand crowned as HRE and defeats
Frederick at Battle of White Mountain 1620

14. Outcomes of Phase I
 Spain dig-in in Rhineland; prepare to take on
French and Dutch
 Ferdinand II gets elected king of Bohemia &
confiscates 50% of nobles’ estates
 some goes to churches, monasteries & orders
 some goes to mercenaries = new aristocracy
 Jesuits re-Catholicize Bohemia
 missions, schools, court proceedings, executions
 Protestantism expunged in Austria
 Protestant Union dissolved in 1621

15. Phase II:
Danish Phase 1625-1630
Danish Lutherans vs. Habsburg power!
 Denmark’s King Christian IV (a.k.a. Duke of
Holstein) vs. Ferdinand II
 religious as well as political agenda
 some Dutch, English, French backing
 Ferdinand wins under gen. Wallenstein who
plunders Germany and Danes (Spanish cousins of
HRE help)
 Wallenstein actually reaches Baltic & Danish Pen.

16. Results of Phase II
 Germany is completely engulfed by the
Counter Reformation
 Palatinate, northern Lutheran states,
Bohemia & Austria = re-Catholicized
 1629 HRE issues “Edict of Restitution”: All
Catholic states pre Peace of Augsburg
(1555) are restored as Catholic

18. Results of Phase II
 Terror sweeps Germany, France, Denmark &
Sweden
 Germans fear for Protestantism
 as do Danish, who are also dealing with
Wallenstein
 French (Richelieu) dealing with internal conflicts,
can’t take Ferdinand II alone, so...
 engage Swedes, by ending their conflict with
Poland and paying them 1 million livre/year for
40,000 troops (Dutch pay 50,000 florins a month)

19. Phase III:
Swedish 1630-1635
 Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus: great ruler
 united Sweden
 conducted overseas operations
 increased land holdings bu acquiring areas of
Poland & Russia
 creates Europes most modern army
 1630 lands in Germany to take over fight for
Protestantism
 in the meantime...Richelieu has turned Catholic
states against FII (fear of centralization)

20. Phase III – Swedish
1630-1635
 Glorious Victories (military backing from
Saxony)
 1631 Breitenfeld
 1632 Lützen (GA dies in battle)
 Oxenstierna (GA’s Chancellor) picks up fight
 penetrates Bohemia as far south as the Danube
 Internal Discord
 Wallenstein upset with power of Spanish and
gives up fight; begins private peace talks with
Swedes & Saxons; assassinated by one of his
own

21. Phase III – Swedish
1630-1635
 Internal Discord (con’t.)
 Saxons (ind. of Swedes) enter into talks w/
Emperor
 1635 Peace of Prague: annuls Edict of
Restitution, many other German states
sign treaty & pull support of Swedes

Swedes left isolated in Germany

French/Spanish not ready to give

22. Phase IV: French-Swedish /
International Phase 1635-1648
 Richelieu not happy the Habsburgs won
again … so … he declares war on Spain
(Habsburg – Philip IV – helping HRE)!
 Portugal & Catalonia declare independence from
Sp.
 Netherlands, Savoy also enter on Swedish
side!
 Battles go both ways, Richelieu, Ferdinand II,
Louis XIII, Wallenstein all die early 1640’s
 Germany grows to resent this foreign invasion
 Exhaustion – and Peace of Westphalia 1648

23. The Peace of Westphalia (1648)
 The 30 Years’ War officially ended in 1648 with the Peace of
Westphalia
 The treaties recognized the sovereignty of the 300+ German
princes
 The treaties disallowed papal meddling in German religious
affairs
 The treaties upheld the Peace of Augsburg, added Calvinism to
the list of religions allowed in German states and nullified the
Edict of Restitution

24. Immediate Results of the
30 Years’ War
 After the Peace in 1648, the northern states in
Germany remained primarily Protestant while the
southern states in Germany remained primarily
Catholic
 The United Provinces and Switzerland won
recognition as independent states
 German princes won the right to form alliances and
sign treaties as long as they didn’t declare war on
the Holy Roman Empire
 Sweden won cash and land in the Baltic region
 France won the region of Alsace

25. Political Fallout from the 30 Years’
War
 Because Spain lost territory and France gained
territory, France stood alone as the most powerful
nation on the continent
 France also benefited from the fragmentation of the
Holy Roman Empire and the weakening of the
Habsburg family influence

26. Peace of Westphalia,
1648
 The Peace of Westphalia is said to have
ended attempts at the imposition of any
supranational authority on European states.
 ...the major European powers agreed to abide
by the principle of territorial integrity.

27. WESTPHALIAN SYSTEM
 The principle of the sovereignty of states
 The principle of (legal) equality
between states
 The principle of non-intervention of one
state in the internal affairs of another state

28.  Political Provisions:
 Each Ger. prince became free from any kind of
control by the HR Emperor.
 The United Provinces [Dutch Neths.] became
officially independent  so. part remained a Sp.
possession.
 Fr. rcvd. most of the Ger-speaking province of
Alsace.
 Sweden  got lands in No. Ger. on the Baltic &
Black Sea coasts.
 Switzerland became totally independent of the
HR Emperor  Swiss Confederation.
 Sweden won a voice in the Diet of the HR Emp.
 Brandenburg got important terrs. on No. Sea &
in central Germany.
The Peace of Westphalia (1648)

29.  Religious Provisions:
 Calvinists would have the same privileges
as the Lutherans had in the Peace of
Augsburg.
 The ruler of each state could determine
its official religion, BUT [except in the
hereditary lands of the Habsburgs], he
must permit freedom of private worship.
The Peace of Westphalia (1648)