In: Economics
In six sentences , What are the 2 significant consequences of the Treaty of Westphalia?
The Peace of Westphalia, signed in 1648, ended the Thirty and
Eighty Years Wars and created the framework for modem international
relations. The concepts of state sovereignty, mediation between
nations, and diplomacy all find their origins in the text of this
treaty written more than three hundred and fifty years ago. This
peace, which was actually made up of two different peace
conferences, was the first attempt at modem international diplomacy
and
formally solidified the beginnings of religious toleration from a
political perspective.
As a result of the Treaty of Westphalia, the Netherlands gained
independence from Spain, Sweden gained control of the Baltic and
France was acknowledged as the preeminent Western power. The power
of the Holy Roman Emperor was broken and the German states were
again able to determine the religion of their lands. The
Westphalian system still remains the model for international
politics around the world and the concept of state sovereignty,
solidified by the
peace, is still the basis for modem international treaties and
conventions.