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Article: Westphalia, Peace of (1648)
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- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
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WESTPHALIA, PEACE OF (1648)
WESTPHALIA, PEACE OF (1648).
The Treaties of M
ü
nster and Osnabr
ü
ck, which ended the Thirty Years' War, are known collectively as the Peace of Westphalia. The main obstacles to a general peace in Germany after 1635 were the ambitions of France and Sweden and changing military fortunes. Sweden wanted territorial and financial compensation while France, under the cardinals (Richelieu to 1642, Mazarin thereafter), envisaged something altogether more ambitious that involved a considerable reduction in both Spanish and Austrian Habsburg power. In addition, matters were complicated by the individual ambitions of various German princes and separate ...