Important Treaties

The Peace of Augsburg

The Peace of Augsburg

Ended the religious civil war between Roman Catholics and Lutherans in the German states, granting each German prince the right to determine the religion of his state.

The Council of Trent

Reformed Catholic Church discipline, reaffirmed church doctrine, preserved the papacy as the center of Christianity, and confirmed all seven existing sacraments.

The Edict of Nantes

Issued by Henry IV of France, granted religious toleration to French Protestants (Huguenots), and marked the first formal recognition of coexistence of two religions in a country.

The Peace of Westphalia

Ended the Thirty Years' War, recognized Calvinism as a legally permissible faith, and acknowledged the independence of the United Provinces of the Netherlands.

The Peace of Utrecht

Ended Louis XIV's dominance efforts, granted territories to various nations, and gave England the asiento to supply African slaves to Spanish America.

The Pragmatic Sanction

Guaranteed the succession of Habsburg emperor Charles VI's eldest daughter, Maria Theresa, to the throne and the indivisibility of the Habsburg lands.

The Congress of Vienna

Created a balance of power, restored the Bourbons to the French throne, and united Belgium with the Netherlands.

The Berlin Conference

Established rules for dividing Africa among European powers, declared the Congo Free State, and governed the race for African colonies.

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Ended Bolshevik Russia's participation in WWI, negotiated by Vladimir Lenin, and nullified after Germany's defeat.

The Treaty of Versailles

Forced Germany to sign a war-guilt clause, changed the map of Europe, and created the League of Nations.

The Locarno Pact

Recorded an agreement between France and Germany to respect mutual frontiers, reducing tensions among European powers.

The Kellogg-Briand Pact

Outlawed war as an instrument of national policy, violated during the 1930s.

The Munich Conference

Ceded the Sudetenland to Adolf Hitler, discredited the British policy of appeasement.

The Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact

Created a nonaggression agreement between Hitler and Stalin, dividing eastern Europe into German and Soviet zones.

The North Atlantic Pact

Established NATO to coordinate defense, implementing Truman's policy of containing the Soviet Union.

The Treaty of Rome

Created the European Economic Community (EEC), marking the beginning of European economic integration.

The Helsinki Accords

Ratified European territorial boundaries, established "Helsinki watch committees" to monitor human rights, and marked the high point of Cold War detente.

The Maastricht Treaty

Created the European Union (EU) and a central bank for the EU, forming the world's largest single economic market.