Treaty of Stettin (1653) Treaty of Stettin (1653) The Treaty of Stettin () of 4 May 1653 settled a dispute between Brandenburg and Sweden, who both claimed succession in the Duchy of Pomerania after the extinction of the local House of Pomerania during the Thirty Years' War. Brandenburg's claims were based on the Treaty of Grimnitz (1529), while Sweden's claims were based on the Treaty of Stettin (1630). The parties had agreed on a partition of the Swedish-held duchy in the Peace of Westphalia (1648), and with the Treaty of Stettin determined the actual border between the partitions. Western Pomerania became Swedish Pomerania, Farther
Piracy in the Caribbean of the Americas all beckoned to those eager to make their fortunes and a large assortment of Frenchmen and Englishmen began new colonial ventures during the early 17th century, both in North America, which lay basically empty of European settlement north of Mexico, and in the Caribbean, where Spain remained the dominant power until late in the century. As for the Dutch Netherlands, after decades of rebellion against Spain fueled by both Dutch nationalism and their staunch Protestantism, independence had been gained in all but name (and that too would eventually come with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648). The