Political situation in Europe in the first half of the XVII century

The Peace of Westphalia put down the Counter Reformation in Germany and instituted the final religious arrangement the German states had been crying for. It renewed the terms of the Peace of Augsburg, namely that each state of the Empire received the liberty to be either Lutheran or Catholic as it chose; no individual freedom of religion was permitted. If a ruler or a free city decided for Lutheranism, then all persons had to be Lutheran. Similarly in Catholic states all had to be Catholic. In addition to re-instituting the Peace of Augsburg in its traditional form, the Peace of Westphalia included Calvinism to Lutheranism and Catholicism as an acceptable faith. On the controversial issue of church territories secularized after 1552 the Protestants won a complete victory. With the advent of the Peace of Westphalia, the squabbling between Protestants and Catholics was finally put an end to.

Introduction
3

1.
Peace of Westphalia


Locations. Delegations
6

The Peace of Westphalia — A Turning Point in Europe
13

2.
Political situation in Europe in the first half of the XVII century.


2.1. The Seventeenth Century; Early modern
17

2.2. Principles of the state system
22


Conclusion


Bibliography


Appendixes