# Canonical recap data for Peace of Westphalia Ends European Wars (1648)
# Source: https://recap.at/1648/peace-westphalia
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: peace-westphalia
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1648/peace-westphalia"
title: Peace of Westphalia Ends European Wars
aliases:
- Treaty of Westphalia
- Peace of Münster and Osnabrück
- Treaty of Münster
- Treaty of Osnabrück
subtitle: The treaties that concluded the Thirty Years' War established the principle of sovereign nation-states and reshaped European political order.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1648-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1648
decade: 1640
country:
name: Germany
slug: germany
summaryShort: Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups.
summaryLong: Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups.
lede: In 1648, negotiators from across Europe gathered in the German towns of Münster and Osnabrück to end the Thirty Years' War, a religious and political conflict that had devastated the continent. The resulting Peace of Westphalia established a new model for international relations based on sovereign nation-states rather than religious or imperial authority, fundamentally reshaping the political map of Europe.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Peace_dove_%283329620077%29.jpg/1280px-Peace_dove_%283329620077%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Peace"
importance: 89
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Duration of conflict
  value: 30 years (1618–1648)
- label: Primary negotiation locations
  value: Münster and Osnabrück, German territories
- label: Year signed
  value: "1648"
- label: Major signatories
  value: France, Sweden, Spain, Holy Roman Empire, Dutch Republic, and hundreds of German principalities
- label: Estimated conflict deaths
  value: Between 4 and 8 million people
- label: Number of treaties
  value: Two main treaties (Münster and Osnabrück)
- label: Territory gained by France
  value: Alsace and parts of Lorraine
- label: Territory gained by Sweden
  value: Western Pomerania, Bremen, and Verden
timeline:
- date: 1618-05-23
  title: Thirty Years' War begins
  description: The Defenestration of Prague sparks religious and political conflict across the Holy Roman Empire.
- date: 1643-05-19
  title: Battle of Rocroi
  description: French forces defeat Spanish army, marking a shift in military dominance and beginning the end of Spanish hegemony.
- date: 1645-01-01
  title: Peace negotiations commence
  description: Formal talks begin in Münster and Osnabrück to negotiate an end to the Thirty Years' War.
- date: 1648-01-30
  title: Treaty of Münster signed
  description: Spain and the Dutch Republic sign a separate peace, ending the Eighty Years' War.
- date: 1648-10-24
  title: Peace of Westphalia formally concluded
  description: Treaties signed in Münster and Osnabrück officially end the Thirty Years' War; the date marks the beginning of the modern nation-state system.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace"
  title: Peace
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Westphalia marked the end of the Thirty Years' War and introduced the concept of sovereign nation-states as the organizing principle for international politics. The settlement weakened the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy's political influence while strengthening France and Sweden, a power shift that defined European geopolitics for centuries. It established precedents for diplomatic negotiation and territorial settlement that became the foundation of modern international law.
categories:
- war
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- treaty_signing
- peace_accord
- diplomatic_summit
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- governance
- transformation
impactRadius: civilizational
velocity: gradual
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: transition
metaDescription: The 1648 Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War and created the modern nation-state system.
wikidataQid: Q454
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260605191257/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-05
  label: Peace
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace"
