El Congreso de Westfalia y la paz bilateral de Münster entre la Monarquía hispánica y las provincias unidas

Abstract

The Peace of Westphalia of 1648 is generally presented as the foundation of a system of international relations based on the principle of balance between fully sovereign states, independent from any form of supranational authority. According to this interpretative framework, the triumph of the modern nation-state and the formation of a series of check and balances designed to prevent the emergence of hegemonic powers in Europe germinated during the second half of the 17th century. With the creation of collective control mechanisms and the organisation of multilateral congresses that allegedly guaranteed international stability, religious and jurisdictional ties that bound states to superior entities, such as the Pope or the Emperor, were displaced by a univocal raison d'etat, without which rulers could not aspire to enjoy full sovereignty over their respective territories. Without questioning the farranging consequences of these treaties, and after examining in detail the diplomatic negotiations that led to the Peace of Münster between the Spanish Monarchy and the Dutch Republic, the first of the bilateral treaties signed in Westphalia, the present chapter argues that, even if the treaty brought about great changes, substantial continuities can also be attested, while paying attention to the background of the diplomatic negotiations. In order to achieve this, emphasis will be laid on such aspects as the growing importance of mercantile and colonial factors, the active role played by local agents in the drawing of new frontiers, and the increasingly secondary part played by religious matters.