Which treaty settlement ended the Thirty Years' War in 1648?

The Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years’ War in 1648. It refers chiefly to the treaties of Münster and Osnabrück, which concluded the long conflict in the Holy Roman Empire and also ended the Eighty Years’ War between Spain and the Dutch Republic.

The Thirty Years’ War began in 1618, initially as a conflict involving religious and political divisions within the Holy Roman Empire. It expanded into a wider European struggle involving powers such as Sweden, France, Spain, and the Habsburg monarchy. Negotiations took several years and were conducted in separate cities because Catholic and Protestant delegations used different venues.

The settlement recognised important territorial and religious changes, including gains for Sweden and France and the independence of the Dutch Republic and Swiss Confederacy. The phrase “Westphalian sovereignty” is often linked to the treaties, although modern scholars debate how directly the modern state system can be attributed to them.