Download In this Guide, we, Fabio Chigi (Asaf Kaya) and Alvise

It is January, 1648, and we are in the middle of our negotiations. Fortunately, perhaps with
reluctance, we have found a common place of negotiations in Maastricht. The city has declared
its neutrality, with approval of the Dutch Republic, and will not be attacked by any party for the
duration of our negotiations. This should facilitate our negotiations, as we do not have to
communicate between two cities, as we did in the previous years between Munster and
Osnabrück. Below an image of Maastricht from 1645.
In this Guide, we, Fabio Chigi (Asaf Kaya) and Alvise Contarini (Sten Ritterfeld), have
written up the happenings of the war up until now, and what lead up to this conflict.
The Congress of Munster and Osnabrück was held to end both the Thirty Years’ War (16181648) and the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648). The Thirty Years’ War was a bloody war that
was fought between the Holy Roman Empire (HRE), France, Denmark and Sweden. The
Eighty Years’ War was fought between The Republic of the United Netherlands (hereinafter
The Republic) and Spain. As stated above, we have changed the location of our negotiations
to Maastricht, and it is January, 1648.
The Thirty Years’ War has been one of the bloodiest religious wars in European history so
far, and the peace conference was organized not because one party surrendered and the other
won, but because all parties had exhausted their resources, and fighting the war any longer
was without any purpose.
We will first discuss what triggered the Thirty Years’ War, what its causes are and a short
account of the most important events of the war. Then, we will do the same for the Eighty
Year’s War, and a short overview of what the conference should achieve.
The Trigger of the Thirty Years’ War
The conflict started around 30 years ago, with the Defenestration of Prague in May, 1618. The
King of Bohemia and from 1619 onward the emperor of the HRE, Ferdinand II, wanted to
curtail the rights of Protestants and close their churches, whereas his predecessors, Rudolf II
and Matthias, had widened their rights. The Protestants answered by throwing two imperial
governors and their secretary out of the window of the Bohemian chancery in Prague. This
dramatic act was seen as an act of war against the emperor, and turned out to be the trigger of
the conflict we are trying to solve now.
The Thirty Years’ War
The re-imposition of Catholicism: Counter-Reformation
To explain why the re-imposition was such a big problem, the background and origins of this
problem need to be explored first.
Differences in religious beliefs have been an age-old cause of friction in Europe, which
caused several conflicts. One decisive contribution in this struggle was Martin Luther’s
Ninety-Five Theses, in which he protested against certain practices of the Catholic Church.
This was the start of the (Protestant) Reformation, as Lutheranism - Luther’s ideas about
Christianity - spread through Europe, already in the 1520s to Sweden, and then in the 1530s to
Denmark. As Luther was German, his ideas spread as well in the northern parts of the HRE.
In 1530, the Lutheran ideas were laid down in the Augsburg Confession.
Obviously, the HRE and the Roman Catholic Church were not happy with Luther, and in the
Edict of Wörms of 1521, they declared it forbidden to have or distribute Luther’s work and
banned Luther.
In 1546-47, princes in the Northern HRE, united in the Smalkaldic League, and the emperor
of the HRE got into conflict – the Schmalkaldic War. This bloody, but short, war, which the
emperor Charles V won, led nonetheless to some recognition of Lutheranism in 1548 with the
Augsburg Interim. The interim was, as its name suggests, only to last for a short time. The
Protestants were not happy with this, and in renewed conflict got a victory in battle against the
emperor in 1552. This finally led to the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, in which the important
cuius regio, eius religio principle was introduced. This means that the religion of the ruler is
the official religion of the region he rules, and that supposedly his subjects will also follow.
This was considered freedom of religion, even though the choice was only between
Catholicism and Lutheranism. Other beliefs, such as Calvinism, were still banned.
As the years went along, everything was relatively peaceful in the HRE. However, at the turn
of the century, things changed. Then Emperor Rudolf II was rivaled by his brother Matthias,
who won more and more support in different parts of the empire. The Bohemian cities made
clever use of this politically bad situation for Rudolf II, and pledged their allegiance to him if
he would sign the Letter of Majesty in 1609. This Letter ensured religious freedom and
allowed the Bohemians to build more Protestant churches. However, in 1612, Rudolf II died,
and Matthias succeeded him. The Bohemians supported him, in the hope that he would be
grateful and follow the line of his brother. However, he did not care about the Letter, and
cancelled the construction of certain Protestant churches. In 1617, Ferdinand II became the
king of Bohemia. He was a strong catholic, and started destroying Protestant churches in his
efforts to bring Catholicism back, part of the so-called Counter-Reformation. This move led to
the protest in Prague and the Defenestration in 1618, as the Bohemians argued that he did not
respect the Letter of Majesty.
Events of the war
1. Bohemian War
In 1619, Ferdinand II managed to follow-up Matthias, who died in that year, as Emperor of
the HRE. This gave him more power to act against the protestors. And he did: in 1620, at the
Battle of White Mountain, the Imperial troops defeated the resistance put up by the
Bohemians.
2. Danish-Lower-Saxon War (1625-1629)
After this battle, it seemed that the fight was fought and the war was over. However,
Ferdinand expanded the Counter-Reformation, and tilted the confessional-political balance
between North and South. This led to more conflict initiated by the Danish King, Christian
IV, who marched with an allegiance of northern German princes against the Emperor.
Ferdinand II could, again, defend himself by employing Commander Wallenstein. The Danish
King was crushed, and large parts of the northern HRE were occupied. In the Peace of Lübeck
of 1629, it was agreed that Denmark would keep itself out of any future German matters.
3. Swedish Episode (1630-1635)
The Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus intervened in 1630, because he got concerned about
the expanding power of the HRE and wanted to secure some economic advantages around the
Baltic Sea. France co-financed Sweden in this endeavor. Because of more mobile forces
during battle, Gustavus had a decisive strategical advantage over his enemies, and won a large
amount of battles. However, in 1632, he could not win against Commander Wallenstein, and
was killed. Wallenstein was killed himself in 1634. In 1635, all Swedish resistance was
defeated, and the Peace of Prague ended the conflict within the HRE. German princes were no
longer allowed to create alliances among each other, and within the HRE one unified army
was called into existence.
French and Continued Swedish Episode (1635-1648)
There were no religious reasons for a French intervention as France was Roman Catholic just
like the HRE and Spain. However, there was a political rivalry between the powers.
According to the French, the HRE gained too much power with the Peace of Prague, and so
they led the intervention that the Swedes started. The roles were reversed: this time, Sweden
co-financed France, while France sent the troops.
France declared war against Spain in 1635, and against the HRE in 1636. Spain and the HRE
fought against France, however France had support from certain German princes, Dutch
troops fighting their Spanish king, and the Swedes that were left.
In the meantime, Ferdinand II died in 1637, and his son Ferdinand III succeeded him. He was
in favor of negotiating a peace rather than continuing the fighting.
In 1640, Spain was faced with problems at home when the Portuguese and the Catalonians
revolted. These groups were actively aided by France. This front at home severely weakened
the Spanish.
In 1643, the French won a decisive victory at Rocroi against the Spanish forces in Flanders.
They continued to win against the Spanish in Flanders, and no end to that conflict is in sight.
However, the French suffered a smashing defeat at Tuttlingen, in the southern HRE, as they
were hit by a surprise attack. Additionally, due to internal problems (the Fronde) the French
could not continue a war as they lacked troops at home.
The Swedes won against the HRE in the year before, 1642. They remained successful in the
following years, and made it to Vienna in 1645. However, they could not take the city and had
to withdraw.
The years following, there were still many battles between the five parties at the negotiations
– France, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the HRE – which were meant to make them
gain more bargaining power in the negotiations. One example is the Battle of Treibl last year,
fought between the Swedes and Emperor Ferdinand, and lost by the Swedes. Fortunately,
there have been efforts in the past few years towards ending these bloody conflicts.
The Eighty Years’ War
The Eighty Years’ War can be explained in shorter time than the Thirty Years’ War, even if
its name does not suggest so. The conflict was between Spain and the Dutch Republic, and
started in 1568, and will hopefully find an end at these current negotiations.
The Dutch lands had been ruled by the Habsburgs since the end of the 15th Century. The lands
came under their rule by marriage. Charles V, the emperor of the HRE, handed over the reign
of the Netherlands to his son Philips II in 1555. However, his son stayed in Spain, because he
liked Spain better and also ruled over some lands there. Therefore, he named Margaret of
Parma, his half-sister, as governor of the Netherlands in 1559. And that is around the time
when the conflict started.
Trigger of the War
Dutch noblemen wanted to expand their power as much as they could under the Spanish
reign. Much like the German princes, they had subjects that did not always follow the Roman
Catholic religion. As we explored above, the Reformation started already before 1559, and the
Dutch already experienced this split between churches early. Calvin’s influence was much
larger in the Netherlands than Luther’s, and therefore the Peace of Augsburg was of little use.
Dutch Protestants had to meet in secret, and often would not meet at all, because the death
sentence was imposed on this. Many people were prosecuted for having the “wrong” religion,
and the (Spanish) inquisition was cruel. Nonetheless, Protestantism grew.
The noblemen therefore asked, or begged, Margaret of Parma in 1566 to relieve the
prosecution. She agreed, and this was interpreted much wider than she intended. The
Protestants came back, met much more, and this only encouraged the resentment of the
Spanish King and of his Catholic religion. The pinnacle of this disapproval was reached in
August, with the Beeldenstorm, the “Statue Storm,” Protestants stormed Catholic churches
and destroyed statues, broke windows, stripped off the gold and paintings. The Catholic
churches were too richly decorated, which in the Protestants’ view was not in accordance with
Christianity.
Another grudge the Dutch held against the Spanish were the high taxes raised to finance their
wars, which was perceived as unfair by the Dutch.
The Events of the Eighty Years’ War
Alva becomes Governor (1567) and the founding of the Republic (1588)
Philips II did not tolerate this, figured that Margaret was incompetent, and replaced her in
1567 with his infamous Commander Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Grand Duke of Alba,
known in the Netherlands as the Iron Duke (or simply Alva). He suppressed the revolt firmly,
which only led to an increase in the revolt against the Spanish reign.
In the following years, not much changed. The Northern Netherlands were mostly Protestant,
the Southern Netherlands mostly Catholic. This meant that the southern provinces were
leaning towards the Spanish, and the northern provinces wanted sovereignty. In the 1580s, the
northern provinces swore off the king, founded a sort of Parliament (the Staten-Generaal
(States-General)), and declared in 1588 that their sovereignty did not stem from some King,
but from the States of the Republic. The Republic was fully named The Republic of the Seven
United Netherlands.
Expansion of the Republic (1588-1598) and the Truce (1609-1621)
The Spanish had little resistance against the Dutch in those years, because their focus was on
a war with France during that time. This gave the Republic the chance to expand its power. It
conquered many cities in the Netherlands. The most important Commander on the Dutch side
was Maurice of Orange, son of the important nobleman William of Orange, who was killed in
1584.
From 1598 to 1609, when the Spanish and French had made peace, the war was on again.
However, neither the Dutch nor the Spanish could get the upper hand, and in 1609 they
agreed to a truce of 12 years. Maurice died in 1625, and was succeeded by his brother
Frederick Henry, who was not less successful.
The years following the Truce (1621-now)
The years after the Truce were much like the years before it: neither the Spanish nor the
Dutch gained much ground. In 1634, the Dutch made an agreement with France to split up the
Southern Netherlands, which were still in Spanish hands. As described above, the French
were successful in fighting the Spanish in that area. The Dutch were too, and together with the
problems the Spanish had at home, the fight was over.
Even though the Dutch were still winning a lot of battles, the war cost a lot of money, and
after 80 years, most people wanted peace. So, in 1646, the Republic sent representatives to the
peace negotiations. The Dutch were even recognized by the Spanish as a party in negotiations.
The prospect is now that the Dutch and Spanish can make peace. The position of France in
this regard should also be taken into account.
The Different Sides
Holy Roman Empire
Part of the Habsburg alliance. The Roman Empire was made up of several states, many of
them with a large degree of independence.
The major ones that held allegiance to the emperor were the Kingdom of Bohemia and
Archduchy of Austria.
The HRE was a fierce enemy of France, Sweden, the Dutch Republic and the protestant states
and cities.
Its Emperor’s vision, enforcing Catholicism throughout the Roman Empire, was the spark that
ignited the 30 Years’ War.
Count Maximilian von Trautmansdorff
An Austrian in origin, Count Maximilian was a loyal servant to Emperor Ferdinand II and his
son, the Roman successor.
He was the head of both delegations to Munster and to Osnabruk and was Aided by Johann
Ludwig.
Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar
Originally a Calvinist, Johann Ludwig was the Count of Nassau-Hadamar. After having
converted to Catholicism he began his ascendancy as a diplomat of the Roman Empire in the
serving of Ferdinand II. He was part of the delegation to the Westphalian negotiations.
France
Absent from the first stages of the war, France officially entered the 30 Years’ War in 1935.
Attacking both The Roman Empire and Spain, France hoped to use its military upper hand to
gain influence, territory and prestige.
France was aligned strongly with Sweden, and also supported the Portuguese and Catalan
insurgents.
Henri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville
Henri II, Prince of France, headed the delegation to the talks.
Claude d'Avaux
A seasoned diplomat, having served in missions to France’s allies such as Sweden and
Denmark
Abel Servien
Having received a second chance after a public probe earlier in his career, Servien re-entered
the political life following Cardinal de Richelieu's death.
Sweden
Sweden, backed up morally and financially by France, entered the war in 1630 with the hope
to regain protestant territory lost in the earlier years of the war. Eventually Sweden succeeded.
It became the torchbearer of the Protestant world, but on the other hand it suffered great losses
of life and property at the hands of the Spanish and the Roman Empire.
Count Johan Oxenstierna
Son of prominent and influential statesman Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna of Sweden, Johan
was an experienced diplomat. He received instructions directly from his father during his time
in the negotiations.
Baron Johan Adler Salvius
A delegate sent by her Majesty Queen Christina of Sweden, Johan tried to push Christina’s
plight- to end the war sooner rather than later.
Spain
Spain, part of the House of Habsburg dynasty, was an ally of the Holy Roman Empire. Spain
ruled an impressive amount of territory, from nowadays Spain to the Spanish Netherlands, to
the South of Italy and other parts of the world.
Spain was bolstered further into the war by the France as its offensive against the Holy
Roman Empire and Spain commenced.
Spain was not without its own challenges. Uprisings from home, namely the provinces of
Catalonia and Portugal, proved to be a great trouble for the Kingdom.
France, although Catholic as well, was the main adversary of Spain. Meddling in its affairs,
(supporting uprisings in Portugal and Catalonia) and fighting for the protestants in the Roman
Empire, France proved to be a vicious opponent.
Apart from France, Spain was also fighting an 80 years’ long war with the United Provinces,
which intertwined with the 30 Years’ War. The Dutch revolt was a war for independence by
Dutch Protestants against the Spanish rule. The Dutch Republic gained independence during
the early 1600’s, yet the Spanish refused to accept it and continued fighting them until the
days of the Congress of Westphalia.
Gaspar de Bracamonte y Guzmán
Spanish diplomat to the Congress. Represented the King of Spain, Charles IV.
Antoine Brun
Second Spanish emissary to the treaty negotiations. Representative of the King.
Old Swiss Confederacy
Neutral throughout the war, the Swiss have been a de jure part of the Holy Roman Empire for
decades, but de facto were an independent state. Housing both Protestant and Catholic
Cantons, the Swiss were not a uniform state. Their long wish to become independent has yet
to be achieved by the days of the Conference.
Johann Rudolf Wettstein
Mayor of Basel since 1945, Wettstein was not invited to the conference. He showed up still,
to try and achieve Swiss independence through negotiations.
Republic of the Seven United Netherlands
The Dutch, fighting again for their independence for 80 years now, seek to formally be
recognized as an independent state. Strongly allied with the French, the Dutch were able to
fight off the Habsburgs, as the French conquered most of the South part of the Netherlands.
Adriaen Pauw
A noble Dutch aristocrat, Adriaen was “Prime minister” of the Republic of Netherlands in the
1630’s. He later became the ambassador of the Prince of Orange to the talks in Westphalia.
Other Representatives
Johann VIII. zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Wittgenstein
Brandenburg's interest throughout the war was to gain control of the area in between it and
Prussia. This was due to the fact Prussia and Brandenburg were under a Personal Union.
Furthermore, Pomerania and Poland were in the way.
Valentin Heider (Swabian Free Imperial Cities)
Representative of the Swabian Free Imperial cities, these cities were part of the Roman
Empire, and were subordinated directly under the Emperor, unlike other cities which were
under the control of a provincial prince. Valentin represented both Protestant and Catholic
cities that were part of Swabia.
Gerhard Coccejus (The Hansa - Bremen)
Bremen’s goal at the beginning of the war was to stay neutral and at peace. Yet Emperor
Ferdinand’s II desire to turn it to Catholicism made neutrality almost impossible. The city
joined forces with the Swedes who were Protestant as well, yet their true desire was to gain
more independence as a city in the Empire.
Franz Wilhelm von Wartenberg (Cologne) (Electoral Prince)
Franz Wilhelm was a staunch Catholic. During his time on the throne the Swedish conquered
Cologne and he had to flee. His goal was to return to his See and keep it Catholic.
Hugo Friedrich zu Eltz (Trier) (Electoral Prince)
Hugo was of Catholic denomination; he was sent to represent Trier in the negotiations. Trier
was conquered by the French, who were also Catholic, from the Roman Empire. Yet the Holy
Roman Empire did not give up and reconquered it.
Mediators
Fabio Chigi (Papal Nuncio)- Represented by chair Asaf Kaya
Fabio Chigi was emissary of Innocent X, the pope at the time. He has had experience working
as a Nuncio (diplomat, or ambassador of the Pope) before being sent to represent papal
interests at the peace summit.
Fabio must represent his master’s wishes exactly: The heretics are heretics and the rights of
the Catholic church must be upheld during the conference and forever.
Alvise Contarini (Venetian Envoy) Represented by chair Sten Ritterfeld
Alvise Contarini was sent by Venice, the Republic where he was born, to negotiate peace
between the parties involved in the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War. He was seen
as a neutral party by all sides, and so he enjoyed the confidence of all. He also served as an
intermediary between the Protestants and his colleague Fabio Chigi, because he did not want
to negotiate with them.
ROP additions and committee guidelines
Key points: We will have a moderated discussion, delegates may raise points to ask for open
discussion, to break up into groups, for a specific amount of time.
“Surprise” scenarios by the chairs are possible at any time.
The goal is not a re-enactment of the Westphalia conference, but a re-doing: what would you
have done differently? Or the same, if you were there?
Ask yourselves: how has the Westphalia peace changed Europe and history? How has it
changed international relations? These are the questions we want you to tackle in the
simulation.
Regarding the Treaty of Peace
As mediators of the negotiations, we would like to see the following elements in the Peace
Treaty, so we can achieve a long-lasting peace:
A declaration of peace;
Amnesty clauses (rights suspended by the war, restitution of conquests);
Clauses removing the causes of the war;
Redress grievances;
Prevent recurrence of a war;
Indemnity article (repair for injuries sustained and cost of war).
We hope for fruitful negotiations and a quick end to both conflicts. May God help us!