Final answer:
The Thirty Years' War concluded with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, establishing the principle of state sovereignty, weakening the Holy Roman Empire, and marking the rise of France as a dominant European power.
Step-by-step explanation:
Results of the Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, which spanned from 1618 to 1648, was a series of conflicts fought primarily in Central Europe and involved many of the great European powers of the time. The war started as a struggle between Catholic and Protestant states but developed into a more general conflict involving political power and territory. The culmination of the war was the Peace of Westphalia, which profoundly shaped the political landscape of Europe.
The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 resulted in several critical outcomes for Europe. It effectively ended the religious wars between the Catholic and Protestant states, cementing the principle of state sovereignty and establishing a new system of political order in central Europe independent of the Holy Roman Empire's rule. It acknowledged the independence of over three hundred principalities and cities, thereby weakening the imperial authority of the Holy Roman Emperor and significantly limiting the empire's influence. France, endorsing the German Protestants, emerged as the dominant power in Western Europe, gaining various territories. The pathway for the rise of nation-states in Europe was set, contributing to the decline of the idea of a unified Christendom. While the Peace of Westphalia brought an end to the widespread military conflict, it also left the German lands devastated, both economically and demographically.
Furthermore, the Treaty of Westphalia had lasting impacts on international law and the concept of national sovereignty, which continued to influence the structure of modern states and international diplomacy.