The Peace of Westphalia Ends the Wars of Religion
Two treaties let each state pick its own faith and close the era of religious war in Europe
Quick facts
- Treaties
- Osnabruck (with Sweden), Munster (with France)
- Date
- 24 October 1648
- Legacy concept
- Westphalian sovereignty
What happened
After thirty years of war that had devastated the German lands, negotiators concluded two treaties, signed together on 24 October 1648 and known jointly as the Peace of Westphalia: the Treaty of Osnabruck ended the war with Sweden, and the Treaty of Munster ended the war with France, while also formally ending the separate Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic. The settlement let each state within the Holy Roman Empire pursue its own domestic and foreign policy, and it extended legal protection to Lutheran, Calvinist, and Catholic worship, no longer strictly requiring subjects to follow their ruler's religion as earlier settlements had.
Why it matters
Westphalia closed the era in which large-scale wars were fought explicitly over which Christian confession would prevail in Europe, and its recognition that states, regardless of size, could set their own policy gave rise to the concept of state sovereignty that still underpins international relations today. The Reformation's original questions about doctrine and authority did not disappear, but after 1648 they stopped being settled primarily by army.
How we know
Both treaties survive as official diplomatic documents, still studied by historians and international-relations scholars; the World History Encyclopedia's article on the Peace documents both treaties' provisions and the resulting principle of state sovereignty.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Peace of Westphalia · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- World History Encyclopedia. Peace of Westphalia · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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