Peace of Westphalia
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The Peace of Westphalia 1643-1648
The Peace of Westphalia is the collective name for two peace treaties signed on 24 October 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster, the Treaty of Münster and the Treaty of Osnabrück. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire, closing a disastrous period of European history. Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III, the kingdoms of France and Sweden, and their respective allies among the princes of the Holy Roman Empire, participated in the treaties.
The negotiation process was lengthy and complex. Talks took place in two cities, because each side wanted to meet on territory under its own control. For the negotiations, both cities were maintained as neutral and demilitarized zones for the negotiation. A total of 109 delegations arrived to represent the belligerent states, but not all delegations were present at the same time.
In Münster, negotiations took place between the Holy Roman Empire and France, as well as between the Dutch Republic and Spain who on 30 January 1648 signed a peace treaty ending the Eighty Years' War, that was not part of the Peace of Westphalia. Münster had been, since its re-Catholicism in 1535, a strictly mono-denominational community. It housed the Chapter of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster. Only Roman Catholic worship was permitted, while Calvinism and Lutheranism were prohibited.
Sweden preferred to negotiate with the Holy Roman Empire in Osnabrück, which was controlled by Protestant forces since 1633. Osnabrück was a bi-denominational Lutheran and Catholic city, with two Lutheran churches and two Catholic churches. The city council was exclusively Lutheran, and the burghers mostly so, but the city also housed the Catholic Chapter of the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück and had many other Catholic inhabitants. Osnabrück had been subjugated by troops of the Catholic League from 1628 to 1633 and was then taken by Gustaf (Gustavsson) af Vasaborg (1616-1653) on behalf of Lutheran Sweden.
Treaty Text
Instrumentum Pacis Osnabrugensis
The text of the Treaty of Osnabrück is available as a digital copy at the ULB Münster.[1] The text is also available at these two pages (in German language):
- Instrumentum Pacis Osnabrugensis, German language version at lwl.org
- Instrumentum Pacis Osnabrugensis, German language version at Wikisource.org.
Instrumentum Pacis Monasteriensi
The text of the Treaty of Münster available in German language:
- Instrumentum Pacis Monasteriensi, German language version at lwl.org
- Westfälischer_Friede_–_Vertrag_von_Münster, German language version at Wikisource.org.
Envoys
The following sections and tables highlight the sending countries with their sovereigns as well as their envoys that participated in the negotiations on their behalf. The negotiators included both the envoys of sovereigns (i.e. imperial envoys and the Spanish, French, Swedish and Dutch envoys), as well as the envoys of the German electors.
THE FOLLOWING SUB-SECTIONS ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION - PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD OR AMEND
Imperial Envoys
| Sending State | Head of State | Envoy | Comments |
| Holy Roman Empire | Emperor Ferdinand III. Habsburg (1608-1657) | Johann Maximilian (Trauttmannsdorff) von Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg (1584-1650) | Chief envoy of the Emperor. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1645-1647 |
| Isaak Volmar (1582-1662) | Imperial chief envoy. Trauttmansdorff's successor. In Münster, 1643-1649 | ||
| Johann Ludwig (von Nassau-Dillenburg) von Nassau-Hadamar (1590-1635) | Imperial envoy. In Münster, 1643-1648 | ||
| Johann Maximilian von Lamberg (1608-1682) | Imperial headmaster envoy. In Osnabrück, 1644-1649 | ||
| Johann Baptist (Krane) von Krane (abt.1595-1673) | Imperial envoy. In Osnabrück, 1643-1648 |
Spanish Envoys
| Sending State | Head of State | Envoy | Comments |
| Kingdom of Spain | King Felipe Domingo Víctor de la Cruz (Habsburg) de España (1605-1665) | Gaspar de Bracamonte y Guzmán (abt. 1596–1676) | Spanish Principal Envoy. In Münster 1645-1648 |
| Joseph Bergaigne (1588–1647) | Plenipotentiary of the Spanish King. In Münster, 1645-1647 | ||
| Antoine Brun (1599–1654) | Spanish Plenipotentiary for Burgundy. In Münster, 1643-1648 |
French Envoys
| Sending State | Head of State | Envoy | Comments |
| Kingdom of France | King Louis Dieudonné (Bourbon) de France (1638-1715) | Henri II. d’Orléans-Longueville (1595–1663) | Envoy Extraordinary of the French King. In Münster 1645-1648 |
| Claude de Mesmes (1595–1650) | Envoy of the French King. In Münster, 1644-1648 | ||
| Abel Servien (1593–1659) | Envoy of the French King. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1644-1646, 1647-1648 |
Swedish Envoys
| Sending State | Head of State | Envoy | Comments |
| Kingdom of Sweden | Queen Kristina Vasa (1626-1689) | Johan Axelsson (abt.1612-1657) | Swedish Principal Envoy. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1643-1648 |
| Johan Adler Salvius (1590–1652) | Plenipotentiary of the Swedish Queen in Münster and Osnabrück, 1643-1650 | ||
| Schering Rosenhane (1609–1663) | Resident of the Queen. In Münster, 1644-1647 |
Dutch Envoys
| Sending State | Head of State | Envoy | Comments |
| Republic of the Seven United Netherlands | Frederik Hendrik van Oranje-Nassau (1584-1647), after 1647 Willem (Oranje-Nassau) van Oranje-Nassau (1626-1650) | Barthold van Gent (–1650) | Envoy of the Province of Gelderland. Spokesman of the Dutch legation. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1646-1648 |
| Adriaan Clant (abt.1599-1665) | Envoy of the Province of Groningen. In Münster and Osnabrück in 1646, 1647, 1648 | ||
| Frans van Donia (abt. 1580–1651) | Envoy of the Province of Frisia. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1646, 1647, 1648 | ||
| Johan de Knuyt (1587–1654) | Envoy of the Province of Zeeland. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1646-1647 | ||
| Johan van Mathenesse (1596–1653) | Envoy of the Province of Holland and West Frisia. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1646, 1647-1648 | ||
| Adriaen Pauw (1622-1697) | Envoy of the Province of Holland and West Frisia. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1646-1647, 1648 | ||
| Godart van Reede (1588–1648) | Envoy of the Province of Utrecht. In Münster, 1646, 1647, 1648 | ||
| Willem Ripperda (1600–1669) | Envoy of the Province of Overijssel. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1646, 1647, 1648 |
Electorates' Envoys
| Sending State | Head of State | Envoy | Comments |
| Electorate of Bavaria | Elector Maximilian (Wittelsbach) von Bayern (1573-1651) | Georg Christoph von Haslang (1602–1684) | Headmaster envoy of the Bavarian Elector. In Münster from 1645 |
| Electorate of Brandenburg | Elector Friedrich Wilhelm (Hohenzollern) von Brandenburg (1620-1688) | Johann (Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein) Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein (1601-1657) | Headmaster envoy of the Elector of Brandenburg. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1645-1648 |
| Matthaeus von Wesenbeck (1600–1659) | Envoy of the Elector of Brandenburg. In Osnabrück, 1645-1648 | ||
| Electorate of Cologne | Elector Ferdinand von Bayern (1577–1650) | Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg (1593-1661) | Chief Envoy of the Electorate of Cologne. In Münster and Osnabrück, from 1643. Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück |
| Electorate of Mainz | Elector Anselm Casimir Wambolt von Umstadt (1579–1647); from 1647: Johann Philipp von Schönborn (1605–1673) | Hugo Everhard Cratz von Scharfenstein (1595–1663) | Chief envoy of the Electorate of Mainz. In Münster and Osnabrück 1645-1647 |
| Nikolaus Georg von Reigersberg (1595–1663) | Secondary envoy of the Electorate of Mainz in Münster, 1645-1648 | ||
| Electorate of Saxony | Elector Johann Georg I. (Wettin) von Sachsen (1585-1656) | Johann Ernst (Pistoris) Pistoris von Seußlitz und Hirschstein (1605-1680) | Head Envoy of the Electorate of Saxony. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1646–1647 |
| Electorate of Trier | Elector Philipp Christoph von Sötern (1567–1652) | Hugo Friedrich von Eltz (1597–1658) | Envoy of the Electorate of Trier |
Other State Envoys
| Sending State | Head of State | Envoy | Comments |
| Principality Anhalt-Bernburg | Christian von Anhalt-Bernburg (1599-1656) | Georg Achatz Heher (1601–1667) | Envoy of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1645-1648 |
| Margraviate Baden-Durlach | Friedrich (Zähringen) von Baden-Durlach(1594-1659) | Johann Georg von Merckelbach (1609–1680) | Delegate of the Margrave of Baden-Durlach |
| Kingdom of Bohemia | King (and Emperor) Ferdinand (Hapsburg) Habsburg (1608-1657) | Ferdinand Ernst von Waldstein (1619–1657) | Imperial Plenipotentiary for Bohemia. In Münster and Osnabrück 1645-1647 |
| Margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach | Albert Brandenburg (1620-1667) | Johann Fromhold (1602–1653) | Secondary envoy of the Elector of Brandenburg for the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1645-1648 |
| Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg | Friedrich IV. von Braunschweig-Lüneburg (1574–1648) | Heinrich Langenbeck (1603–1669) | Headmaster commissioner of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In Osnabrück as of 1643 |
| Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | August II. von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1579–1666) | Chrysostomus Cöler (1607–1664) | Envoy of the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg to Wolfenbüttel. In Osnabrück as of 1646 |
| Duchy of Braunschweig-Calenberg | Christian Ludwig von Braunschweig-Calenberg (1622–1665) | Jakob Lampadius (1593–1649) | Envoy of the Duke of Brunswick-Calenberg. In Osnabrück 1644-1649 |
| Prince's Abbey Corvey | Arnold von Waldois | Adam Adami (1610–1663) | Envoy of the Corvey prince abbey and the Swabian prelates. In Münster and Osnabrück 1645-1648 |
| Duchy Württemberg | Eberhard III. von Württemberg (1614-1674) | Johann Konrad Varnbüler | |
| Andreas Burckhardt (1594-1651) | |||
| Landgraviate Hesse-Darmstadt | Georg (Hessen-Darmstadt) von Hessen-Darmstadt (abt.1605-abt.1661) | Johann Jakob Wolff von Todenwarth (1585–1657) | Envoy of the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and the City of Regensburg. In Münster and Osnabrück 1645-1649 |
| Landgraviate Hesse-Kassel | Amalia Elisabeth von Hanau-Münzenberg (1602-1651) | Reinhard Scheffer (1590–1656) | Envoy of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. In Osnabrück as of 1644 |
| Holy See | Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (Pope Innocent X) (abt.1574-1655) | Fabio Chigi (1599-1667) | Papal Nuncio. In Münster 1644-1649. Became Pope Alexander VII. in 1655. |
| Duchy of Mecklenburg-Güstrow | Gustav Adolf von Mecklenburg-Güstrow (1633–1695) | Abraham Keyser (1603–1652) | Envoy of the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Güstrow. In Osnabrück 1644-1649 |
| Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Adolf Friedrich (Mecklenburg-Schwerin) von Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1588-1658) | Abraham Keyser (1603–1652) | Envoy of the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Güstrow. In Osnabrück 1644-1649 |
| County of Oldenburg | Anton Günther (1583–1667) | Hermann Mylius von Gnadenfeld (1603–1657) | Envoy of the County of Oldenburg. In Osnabrück 1646-1648 |
| Duchy of Sachsen-Weimar | Wilhelm IV. von Sachsen-Weimar (1598–1662) | Georg Achatz Heher (1601–1667) | Envoy of the Dukes of Saxe-Gotha and Saxe-Weimar. In Münster and Osnabrück 1645-1648 |
| Duchy of Saxe-Gotha | Ernst (Sachsen-Weimar) Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg (1601-1675) | ||
| Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg and Coburg | Wolfgang Conrad von Thumbshirn (1604–1667) | Headmaster envoy of the Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and Coburg. In Osnabrück 1645-1649 | |
| August Carpzov (1612–1683) | Secondary envoy of the Duke of Saxe-Altenburg. In Osnabrück 1645-1649 | ||
| Confederation of Switzerland | - | Johann Rudolf Wettstein (1594-1666) | Envoy of the City of Basel and the Swiss Confederation. In Münster and Osnabrück, 1646-1647 |
| Republic of Venice | Francesco Molin (1575–1655) | Alvise Contarini (1597–1651) | Envoy of the Republic of Venice and mediator. In Münster, 1643-1649 |
Envoys of the Citites
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