Consequences of War and the Holy Roman Empire. In particular, the war represented a continuation and extension of Habsburg and Bourbon rivalry as well as French and Habsburg animosity. As depicted in Consequences of War, the fighting led to the destruction of large areas of Europe as well as outbreaks of both pestilence and famine. Much of the fighting took place in the German states which suffered significant depopulation as a result. The Thirty Years' War ended in 1648 with the treaties of Osnabruck and Munster as well as the Peace of Westphalia. Peter Paul Rubens was not only a virtuosic painter but
Peace of Westphalia Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia () was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster, largely ending the European wars of religion. The treaties of Westphalia brought to a close a calamitous period of European history which caused the deaths of approximately eight million people. Scholars have identified Westphalia as the beginning of the modern international system, based on the concept of Westphalian sovereignty. The negotiation process was lengthy and complex. Talks took place in two different cities, as each side wanted to meet on territory under