In what year did the Treaty of Westphalia formally end the Thirty Years' War?

In what year did the Treaty of Westphalia formally end the Thirty Years' War?

• A. 1648
• B. 1620
• C. 1555
• D. 1517

Answer: (A)

1648 marks the end of the Thirty Years' War through the Peace of Westphalia, agreements signed in Münster and Osnabrück that brought the fighting to a formal conclusion. This year is important not only because the war ended, but because these treaties established lasting norms for international relations, including state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs. The conflict began in 1618 as a religious and political struggle within the Holy Roman Empire and devastated central Europe for decades. The other dates reference earlier or separate events: 1555 is the Peace of Augsburg, 1517 is Martin Luther's act that sparked the Reformation, and 1620 represents an early pivotal moment in the war but not its conclusion.

1648 marks the end of the Thirty Years' War through the Peace of Westphalia, agreements signed in Münster and Osnabrück that brought the fighting to a formal conclusion. This year is important not only because the war ended, but because these treaties established lasting norms for international relations, including state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs. The conflict began in 1618 as a religious and political struggle within the Holy Roman Empire and devastated central Europe for decades. The other dates reference earlier or separate events: 1555 is the Peace of Augsburg, 1517 is Martin Luther's act that sparked the Reformation, and 1620 represents an early pivotal moment in the war but not its conclusion.