The 1648 Treaty That Ended the Thirty Years War, Recognised the Independent Dutch and Swiss Republics, and Created the Modern State-Sovereignty System
The Peace of Westphalia of 24 October 1648 was actually two treaties signed at the cities of Münster and Osnabrück. They ended the Thirty Years War in the Holy Roman Empire, formally recognised the independent Dutch Republic and Swiss Confederacy, and established the principle of state sovereignty over religious choice that conventional international-law historiography treats as the foundation of the modern state system.
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