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The modern idea of a state, with involatile borders and exclusive sovereignty on its land, people and agents abroad, is popularly traced back to the Peace of We
by wongarsu 4y ago
The modern idea of a state, with involatile borders and exclusive sovereignty on its land, people and agents abroad, is popularly traced back to the Peace of Westphalia [1]. At least as much as such an idea can be traced to any singular event.
It also caused the end of theocracy in Europe. And of course the massive population declines (over 50% in some regions) lead to all sorts of social changes. Without all of this, the Age of Enlightenment, which was just starting in the final years of the Thirty Year's War, might have played out differently across Europe.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westphalian_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westphalian_system
- bitL 4y agoTheocracy ended with the acceptance that most people will end up eternally damned as there can't be two competing religions holding the complete truth and European population was quickly fractured into "us vs heretics" depending on the side one was on, whereas before everybody was part of the same church. That weakened religion and allowed rationalist thought to emerge.
- AlbertCory 4y agoCorrect, sir, you win full marks for the Westphalian system! One can argue about how things would have happened anyway, or were happening already, but the Treaty was where it all got formalized and agreed to.
- usrusr 4y agoThanks, no idea how I confused the peace resolutions of Augsburg and Westphalia. Massive misconception considering that Augsburg was the century before, setting up the status quo that led to the war. And I did not even go blindly by memory, but apparently I found a path of selectively reading up that made it possible to somehow miss what should have been obvious.