My blog yesterday led me to one of the great but complicated moments in history - the Peace of Westphalia. This moment occurred in the middle of a time period when change was everywhere - the 1600s. The race to colonize played a major role in European relations leading up to this time. Jamestown was founded in the New World, the Native Americans were feeling the threats of the coming of the White Man, Africans were also feeling the heat of this race to expand with dramatic increases of slave taking among their people, the Ottoman and Persian Empires were developing their strongholds on the Middle East as art and cultures from all over the world began to open up along the trade routes from Europe to the East, the Romanov house was taking hold in Russia, the Dutch were sending explorers far and wide to places like Indonesia, China and Japan whose governments were undergoing their own power struggles over dynastic families and the spread of Christianity by Europeans (often by force), Australia was "discovered", and South American natives were being decimated by the exposure and conquest of the Spanish. It is no wonder that with the world finally becoming global during this age, that power struggles would abound.
The Peace of Westphalia was signed in 1648 as a result of the 3o Year's War in two stages (one portion in Osnabrück and the other in nearby Münster.) The two treaties effectively ended the great power of the Holy Roman Empire. Now wait, is this the same Rome as in the Fall of Rome? Not really. The Fall of Rome happened more than a 1000 years earlier and was in some part due to the spread of Christianity. Ironically, now Rome was powerful again, by way of the Pope and the Catholic Church, and it was the Pope who decided who was a valid ruler. It is for this reason that the leaders of all the central European regions from the 10th century onward were called Holy Roman Emperors.
So what exactly did the signing of this treaty do? Well, first you need to know who was involved: the kings and queens of Spain, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, the Holy Roman Emperor (Ferdinand III) as well as representatives of the Republican Imperial States of the Holy Roman Empire. In total, there were about 140 Imperial States and 27 interest groups in attendance. Each of these groups of people agreed that the states and countries involved had the right to govern themselves,
decide their own religion as a state and to manage their own foreign policy. For the day, this was quite a different way of operating and was a basic stripping of power of the Holy Roman Emperor. Of these changes, the most important was the religious independence. Catholics and Lutherans were finally seen as equals and Calvinists were officially recognized. Each state could then decide which version of Christianity would be the legal religion of the state. For you and me, who live in the US, this seems strange that the people would be happy with this agreement. For us, we decide on an individual level, but during that time, if the ruler was Catholic, so were all the people. Up till then, all the people of the entire Holy Roman Empire had to be Catholic, and the others were not permitted to follow their beliefs. Now at least, there was a chance that the state ruler might follow beliefs that matched those of the people. Of course some people were suddenly having to change to match the new government.Additional changes in how governments operated were that states would be identified as equals and no other state could mettle in their affairs - and this was huge. Other changes involved the adjustment of borders, the
establishment of some independent cities, and free trade agreements allowing travel up and down the Rhine River. In the end, though, the most lasting change was how Europe operated within itself. With the spread of colonization, these changes began to be followed in the new governments as well.Today, the term Westphalian Sovereignty is used to describe how these changes shaped the world. Some believe the international system of states, multinational corporations, and multinational organizations would not be possible today had the Peace of Westphalia not come to pass. It is often looked upon as the catalyst that allows the international relations and cooperation among countries that we take for granted today to exist.
So what happened in the 30 Year's War that would permit such dramatic changes? How was this war different than previous wars in the region? We'll find out more tomorrow. Stay tuned ...
The word for today is treaty: der Staatsvertrag (shtahts fare trahg).
Bis Morgen,
Frau Spitzer
