Which 1648 peace settlement is commonly linked to the end of the Thirty Years’ War?

The Peace of Westphalia is the 1648 peace settlement commonly linked to the end of the Thirty Years’ War.

The settlement consisted mainly of the treaties of Münster and Osnabrück, negotiated in Westphalia, a region of the Holy Roman Empire. The agreements were signed in October 1648 and ended the long conflict that had devastated large parts of central Europe.

The treaties recognized important territorial and religious changes, including adjustments involving Sweden, France, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Dutch Republic. They also confirmed the political independence of the Netherlands and Switzerland from the empire.

Textbooks often describe Westphalia as establishing the modern principle of state sovereignty. Historians debate how completely that concept emerged in 1648, so the settlement is best understood as a major milestone rather than a single instant that created the modern international system.