Margraviate of Brandenburg fief of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, to which the electors paid homage. The electors of Brandenburg spent the next two centuries attempting to gain lands to unite their separate territories (the Mark Brandenburg, the territories in the Rhineland and Westphalia, and Ducal Prussia) to form one geographically contiguous domain. In the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years' War in 1648, Brandenburg-Prussia acquired Farther Pomerania and made it the Province of Pomerania by the Treaty of Stettin (1653). In the second half of the 17th century, Frederick William, the "Great Elector", developed Brandenburg-Prussia into a major power. The state constructed Brandenburg's
Treaty of Compiègne (1624) Treaty of Compiègne (1624) The Treaty of Compiègne of 10 June 1624 was a peace treaty between France and the Netherlands. It allowed France to subsidize the Dutch war effort against Spain in the Dutch War of Independence (1568–1648) after the end of the Twelve Years' Truce. France offered an immediate loan of 480,000 thalers, to be followed by more instalments over a period of three years in which the Dutch would continue the fight against Spain. This move was part of the general effort of France to undermine the Habsburg Empire. It led to the revival of a Franco-Dutch