Peace of Münster Peace of Münster The Peace of Münster was a treaty between the Lords States General of the United Netherlands and the Spanish Crown, the terms of which were agreed on 30 January 1648. The Treaty is a key event in Dutch history marking formal recognition of the independent Dutch Republic and formed part of the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War. The Dutch Revolt or the Eighty Years' War of 1568–1648 is the name given to the struggle by the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands for independence from the Spanish Empire. It
European wars of religion wars continued to be waged in the post-Westphalian period until the 1710s, and collective memory of the wars lasted even longer. The European wars of religion are also known as the Wars of the Reformation (and Counter-Reformation). The wars were closely connected to the theological disputes within Western Christendom, which erupted after the publication of Martin Luther's "Ninety-five Theses" in 1517. The Protestant Reformation led to a schism within the Catholic Church, as Protestant churches and rulers no longer recognised the authority of the papacy. Although most of the wars ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, religious conflicts