Effects case study 1 — effects of the Thirty Years' War
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Flip to reveal answersWhen and what was the Peace of Westphalia?
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Question
When and what was the Peace of Westphalia?
Answer
The 1648 settlement that ended the Thirty Years' War and created the modern sovereign-state order.
Question
What is the 'sovereign-state order'?
Answer
The system of independent states, each supreme within its own borders, with no outside power able to overrule the ruler.
Question
What was the religious settlement at Westphalia?
Answer
Calvinism was added to the recognised faiths alongside Catholicism and Lutheranism, with limited toleration for minorities.
Question
What happened to Habsburg power after the war?
Answer
The emperor lost real control over the German princes, leaving the Holy Roman Empire a loose, weak association of states.
Question
Which country became the dominant continental power?
Answer
France — it had helped defeat the Habsburgs and now faced no rival of equal strength in central Europe.
Question
What happened to Spain as a result of the war?
Answer
It was exhausted, kept fighting France to 1659, and ceased to be Europe's leading power.
Question
What territory did Sweden and France gain?
Answer
Sweden gained Baltic lands in northern Germany; France gained Alsace, pushing its frontier towards the Rhine.
Question
Which two states had their independence formally recognised at Westphalia?
Answer
The Dutch Republic (from Spain) and the Swiss Confederation (from the Holy Roman Empire).
Question
What were the economic and social effects on Germany?
Answer
Ruined farmland and towns, disrupted trade, crushing taxes, fleeing refugees and widespread lawlessness.
Question
What was the demographic effect of the war?
Answer
Severe population loss — estimates of up to a quarter to a third in the worst-hit German regions.
Question
What actually killed most people in the war?
Answer
Famine and disease (plague and typhus) spread by marching armies — not battle itself.
Question
Remember the five effects with 'PRESD'.
Answer
Political, Religious, Economic, Social, Demographic — one heading per essay paragraph.
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Full study notes for Effects case study 1 — effects of the Thirty Years' War
Topic 11.3 hub
Effects of conflicts
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