Peace Of Münster
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The Peace of Münster, signed on 30 January 1648, was a
treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...
between
Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...
and the Lords States General of the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
. Negotiated in parallel to, but not part of, the
Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...
, under its terms
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
formally recognised the independent
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
, and ended the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
.


Negotiations

Negotiations between began in 1641 in the town of
Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
, in the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. With the initiation of Spanish-Dutch peace talks, Dutch trade with the
Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
and the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
began to flourish. Dutch merchants, benefiting from both the availability of relatively cheap shipping and the cessation of hostilities, soon dominated the markets that had been previously dominated by English traders. Dutch merchants would also benefit from the foreign upheavals of the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
and gain on English trade in their American colonies. While Spain did not recognise the Dutch Republic, it agreed that the Lords States General of the United Netherlands was 'sovereign' and could participate in the peace talks. On the Dutch side this was a result of the immense political pressure from the entire ''Bicker-De Graeff Clan''.Amsterdam: a brief life of the city. By Geert Mak, Harvill Press (1999), p. 123
/ref> Their leaders Andries and Cornelis Bicker,Andries and Cornelis Bicker at ''Letterkundig woordenboek voor Noord en Zuid''
/ref>
Cornelis Cornelis is a Dutch language, Dutch form of the male given name Cornelius (name), Cornelius. Some common shortened versions of Cornelis in Dutch are Cees, Cor, Corné, Corneel, Crelis, Kees (given name), Kees, Neel and Nelis. Cornelis (Kees) an ...
and Andries de Graeff from Amsterdam as well as Jacob de Witt from Dordrecht vehemently pushed for this peace. In January 1646, eight Dutch representatives arrived in Münster to begin negotiations; these included two delegates from
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
with one each from the other six provinces. The Spanish envoys were Gaspar de Bracamonte, 3rd Count of Peñaranda and Antoine Brun, who were given wide negotiating authority by
Philip IV of Spain Philip IV (, ; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the ...
. On 30 January 1646, Adriaan Pauw and Johan de Knuyt, representing Holland and Zeeland, reached an armistice for twenty years and recognition of
State sovereignty A sovereign state is a state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may also refer to a constituent country, or a ...
. On 8 January 1647, a provisional peace agreement was reached, recognizing the status quo in the East and West Indies, as well as the patents of the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...
and the West India Company. In March 1647, Frederick Henry of Orange died. Bicker, Adriaan Pauw and the inner power circle of the States of Holland advocated a drastic reduction in Dutch forces. In July 1647, the Spanish government made a proposal aimed at making Amsterdam the staple market for Spanish silver. In October the States General decided to authorize the admiralties to issue passports for the export of silver imported from Spain. Andries Bicker was involved in the request. He provided ships to transport Spanish silver from Cadiz to the
Spanish Netherlands The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
. The States General sent eight delegates from several of the provinces as none trusted the others to represent them adequately. They were Willem Ripperda (Overijssel), Frans van Donia (Friesland), Adriaen Clant tot Stedum (Groningen), Adriaan Pauw and Jan van Mathenesse (Holland), Barthold van Gent (Gelderland), Johan de Knuyt (Zeeland) and Godert van Reede (Utrecht). The negotiations were held in what is now the Haus der Niederlande in Münster.


Outcome

On 30 January 1648, the parties reached agreement and the text sent to the Hague and Madrid for approval. As an immediate consequence of the signing of the treaty, on 4 February the ambassadors of both countries agreed to and signed on to a particular item on the navigation and trade between the two states, her colonies and dominions. The treaty was ratified by king Philip IV in Madrid on 1 March, and by the Assembly of the States General in the Hague on 18 April and solemnly published and announced in the town hall of Münster on 15 May 1648. The delegate of Zeeland refused to attend, and the delegate of Utrecht suffered a possibly diplomatic illness. The States General narrowly approved the Treaty on 5 June 1648. The text was adopted in four copies, two in French and two in Dutch. The Utrecht delegate Nederhorst initially refused to put down his signature and seal, but after being forced to do so by his province, he put them on 30 April (although they no longer fit neatly on the document). On 15 May 1648, the peace was definitively signed and solemnly ratified with an oath by Dutch and Spanish envoys, while a huge crowd was spectating the proceedings from the sidelines. Despite achieving independence, there was considerable opposition to the Treaty within the States General since it allowed Spain to retain the Southern Provinces and permitted religious toleration for Catholics. Support from the powerful province of Holland meant it was narrowly approved but these differences resulted in political conflict.


Contents

During the peace talks, negotiators representing the Republic and Spain reached an agreement relatively quickly. The text of the
Twelve Years' Truce The Twelve Years' Truce was a ceasefire during the Eighty Years' War between Habsburg Spain, Spain and the Dutch Republic, agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609 and ended on 9 April 1621. While European powers like Kingdom of France, France began tre ...
was taken as the foundation, and this made it much easier to formulate the peace treaty, because many articles could be copied without many changes. If one compares the texts of the Twelve Years' Truce of 1609 to the Peace of Münster of 1648, the articles that correspond in whole or in part are as follows:: The States-General of the Dutch Republic were formally recognised by Spain as a sovereign entity. This important concession by Spain was therefore the first point. Spain stopped regarding the Republic's inhabitants as rebellious Spanish subjects (which it had done for nearly a century). Peace seemed near. France, with which the Republic had agreed to come to a joint treaty with Spain, hindered progress by constantly coming up with new demands. The States then decided to conclude a separate peace with Spain without France.


Copies

In the Netherlands, the
National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...
in The Hague keeps two copies of the Peace of Münster, a Dutch-language one ("NL-HaNA 1.01.02 12588.55B"), and a Francophone version ("NL-HaNA 1.01.02 12588.55C"). Both versions are provided by the Spanish side with French-language ratifications, both signed by King Philip IV – one in Spanish with ''Yo el Rey'' ("I the King"), the other in French with ''Philippe'' ("Philip") – and both bearing his seal in solid gold. They are on display in the archive's exhibition room. The Archivo General de Simancas in Spain preserves the other Dutch-language copy ("ES.47161.AGS//EST,LEG,2943,27") and the other French-language copy ("ES.47161.AGS//EST,LEG,2943,28").


See also

* Act of Abjuration *
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
ended with
Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...
, consisting of the Treaty of Münster and the Treaty of Osnabrück


Notes


References


Bibliography

* Boer, H. W. J. de, H. Bruch en H. Krol (red.) ''Adriaan Pauw (1585–1653); staatsman en ambachtsheer''. Heemstede, VOHB, 1985 * (in cooperation with H.L.Ph. Leeuwenberg and H.B. van der Weel) * * * Manzano Baena, Laura (Winter 2007), "Negotiating Sovereignty: The Peace Treaty of Münster, 1648", ''History of Political Thought'', Volume 28, Number 4, pp. 617–641. . * * Poelhekke, J. J. ''De vrede van Munster''. 's-Gravenhage, Martinus Nijhoff, 1948.


External links


Scans from the National Archives (The Hague) of the Dutch-language version (12588.55B) of the Peace of Münster

Scans from the National Archives (The Hague) of the French-language version (12588.55C) of the Peace of Münster

Printed Latin and German translations of the original text of the Peace of Münster (30 January 1648)

Tratado de Münster (1648) en español
– Modern Spanish version {{DEFAULTSORT:Peace of Munster 1648 in the Holy Roman Empire Treaties of the Dutch Republic Peace treaties of Spain 1648 in the Dutch Republic 1648 treaties 1648 in Spain History of Münster Eighty Years' War (1621–1648) 1648 in Europe Dutch Republic–Spain relations Thirty Years' War treaties