Peace of Westphalia

A dear friend in Germany has sent the Editor a link to the City of Münster's excellent website on the 375th anniversary of the Treaty of Westphalia. Excerpts:

We are celebrating the "Miracle of Westphalia" -- the Peace of Westphalia, which was concluded in Münster and Osnabrück in 1648, now 375 years ago. In 1648, something was achieved whose world-historical significance we can only grasp in retrospect: Here, a foundation was laid for modern international law and for the emergence of a European peace order of equal states.

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The consequences of the Peace of Westphalia can still be seen in current times. Perhaps more interestingly are the issues that needed to be resolved beforehand. For example, the sheer size of the Peace Congress, as there had not been a similar size congress, as all actors wanted to be present. Münster and Osnabrück provide a stage for all of Europe, meaning that all eyes were on the Peace Congress that took place at these two cities.

A Peace congress of this magnitude also brought new questions along, such as; how to rank the participants, who among the emperor's war opponents should have protocol precedence at such a congress: The French king? Or the Swedish crown? How should a Catholic Spanish count speak to the heretical Calvinists of the Netherlands? And many others. The answers to such questions were not easy to find, but were at times amazingly creative.

This online presentation could not be more timely or more important.