War Was Fought Mainly Over Term Paper

Continual mistrust and desire for maintaining political power played a large role in the Swedish intervention and the later Swedish-French intervention. France entered the war on the Protestant side, though it was mostly Catholic, as French leaders felt threatened by the Holy Roman Empire's size and strength.

Following the Battle of Rocroi in 1643, where the French beat the Spanish, negotiations began and resulted in the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia. Most notably, the Treaty maintained that states must not interfere in the internal affairs of other states. It also established standards for binding treaties between states, setting the standard for modern international affairs. Finally, the Treaty had numerous territory adjustments to stabilize Europe in the post-war periods. It is unlikely that the Thirty Years War could have been avoided, in that considerable tensions over religion had built to such a point that peaceful resolution was unlikely. Years of war, mistrust and struggle led the states involved to understand the greater need for sovereignty, independence and non-intervention in most international affairs.

References

Asch, R.G. (1997). The thirty years war: The Holy Roman Empire and Europe,…