00:00 In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia ended two major wars in Europe and established a new international order that still exists today.

02:05 In addition to the war between Spain and the lowland countries over religion, the Thirty-Years War involved an alliance of kingdoms and realms spanning from Hungary to Sweden to the Netherlands and France, resulting in the deaths of as many as 8 million people and the devastation of 30% of the population of Germany.

03:45 The Peace of Westphalia, consisting of three separate treaties, ended the 80 years war between Spain and the Dutch Republic, as well as the 30 years war, and is considered a first step towards universal peace and the creation of the modern notion of the nation-state.

05:26 The Peace of Westphalia established the idea of countries with borders and the sovereignty of each country to govern itself without interference from other countries or supernational institutions.

07:17 The idea of Westphalian sovereignty, which established the concept of countries with borders and the ability to govern themselves without interference, was initially opposed by Pope Innocent X but ultimately led to the decline of the papacy as a political force and changed the nature of how states interacted with each other.

09:04 The concept of Westphalian sovereignty has shaped the modern world, with former colonies seeking equality and countries organizing their international relations based on this framework, as seen in the United Nations Charter, although some countries are more equal than others in the Security Council, and while there have been attempts to move beyond Westphalian sovereignty, it still largely governs international relations today.

10:48 The Peace of Westphalia was developed in 1648 to stop one of the worst wars in history at that time.