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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Peace of Westphalia.Peace of Westphalia, (1648) European settlements that ended the Thirty Years’ War, negotiated in the Westphalian towns of Münster and Osnabrück. The deliberations began in 1644 and ended in 1648 with two assemblies that produced the treaty between Spain and the Dutch (signed January 30) and another between Emperor Ferdinand III, the other German princes, France, and Sweden (signed October 24). Territorial changes gave Sweden control of the Baltic Sea, ensured France a firm frontier west of the Rhine River, and provided their allies with additional lands. Independence was confirmed for the United Provinces of the Netherlands and for the Swiss Confederation. The treaties also confirmed the Peace of Augsburg and extended the religious toleration of Lutherans to include toleration of the Reformed (Calvinist) Church. The Holy Roman Empire was forced to recognize its German princes as absolute sovereigns in their own dominions, which greatly weakened its central authority.
Palatinate, in German history, the lands of the count palatine, a title held by a leading secular prince of the Holy Roman Empire. Geographically, the Palatinate was divided between two small territorial clusters: the Rhenish, or Lower, Palatinate and the Upper Palatinate. The Rhenish Palatinate
Calvinism , the theology advanced by John Calvin, a Protestant reformer in the 16th century, and its development by his followers. The term also refers to doctrines and practices derived from the works of Calvin and his followers that are characteristic of the Reformed churches. The Calvinist form
Alsace, historical region and former région of France, incorporated since January 2016 into the région of Grand Est. As an administrative entity, it encompassed the départements of Haut-Rhin (“Upper Rhine”) and Bas-Rhin (“Lower Rhine”) and was bounded by the régions of Lorraine to the west and
Bremen, city and Land (state), northwestern Germany. An enclave within the state of Lower Saxony, the state of Bremen comprises the German cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven. Bremen, the capital, is situated on the Weser River some 43 miles (70 km) from the North Sea. It is one of the largest ports
