Thirty Years' War · 1643-1648

The Peace of Westphalia

Envoys from across Europe spend years negotiating in two towns in Westphalia. Students map the peace that ended the Thirty Years' War, recognised two independent states and changed the rules of the empire, and discuss why it became so famous.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1648 to AD 1650
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Envoys from across Europe spend years negotiating in two towns in Westphalia. Students map the peace that ended the Thirty Years' War, recognised two independent states and changed the rules of the empire, and discuss why it became so famous.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why the peace talks were held in two towns, Münster and Osnabrück.
  • Name three changes the Peace of Westphalia made to the map of Europe.
  • Explain the idea of state sovereignty and why historians debate its link to 1648.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1648

Two towns, one peace

Open the map in 1648 and turn on Historical Events. Find the Peace of Westphalia marker at Münster. Then find Osnabrück about 50 km to the north-east. Why might Catholic and Protestant envoys meet in different towns?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1650

Winners at the edges

Compare the map in 1600 and 1650. Look at Sweden on the southern Baltic coast. Which lands has it gained? Then find Alsace on the upper Rhine, which went mostly to France.

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1650

Independent at last

Stay in 1650 and find the Swiss Confederation and the Dutch Republic. In 1648 both were recognised as fully independent of the empire. Where are they on the empire's borders?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did it take years to agree on peace, while the fighting went on?
  2. The peace gave Calvinists the same rights as Lutherans and Catholics. Why was that important?
  3. France and Sweden, two outside powers, gained the most. Why could they demand so much?
  4. Many say Westphalia created the rule that states should not interfere in each other's affairs. Why do some historians doubt this?
  5. Millions of people died in the war. What lessons might rulers have drawn in 1648?
4

Game round

10 min

Play a round of Rule History as Tokugawa Ieyasu, whose shogunate kept Japan at peace for more than 250 years. Discuss: compare a peace imposed by one strong ruler with a peace negotiated by many states, as at Westphalia. Which lasts longer, and why?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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