Peace of Westphalia Signed
May 15, 1648
After four years of negotiation in two Westphalian towns, Catholic and Protestant Europe signed a treaty ending the Thirty Years' War and, by implication, the wars of religion. Sovereign states became the basic units of international relations, and rulers gained the right to determine their subjects' religion. Modernity had a birthday.
In context
Also in 1648 (4 other events on record)
- Ukrainian Cossack Uprising · Europe · War
- Fronde Begins · Europe · Politics
- Pride's Purge · Europe · Politics
- Taj Mahal Gardens Completed · South Asia · Culture
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Politics
Era
Renaissance (1501–1650), one of 715 events from that era on Saeculum.