Prisoner of war the custody of a person, then the responsibility was on the individual. The freeing of prisoners was highly recommended as a charitable act. The 1648 Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years' War, established the rule that prisoners of war should be released without ransom at the end of hostilities and that they should be allowed to return to their homelands. There also evolved the right of "parole", French for "discourse", in which a captured officer surrendered his sword and gave his word as a gentleman in exchange for privileges. If he swore not to escape, he could gain
Treaty of Turin (1696) The war was formally ended by the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick which incorporated the Treaty of Turin. By splitting the Allies, Savoy's defection enabled Louis to obtain better terms at Ryswick than he might otherwise have done, for a relatively minor cost. France relinquished Pinerolo but Savoy's territories in Transalpine France were almost impossible to defend and were occupied by France again from 1704 to 1714. Victor Amadeus achieved his primary goals of recovering Pinerolo and Casale, while his daughter's marriage enhanced Savoy's position on the European stage. The cost was a devastated and impoverished country and "...a reputation for...cynical