Editing Peace of Westphalia (section)

== Background ==

Europe had been battered by both the Thirty Years' War and the overlapping [[Eighty Years' War]] (begun c. 1568), exacting a heavy toll in money and lives. The Eighty Years' War was a prolonged struggle for the independence of the Protestant-majority [[Dutch Republic]] (the modern Netherlands), supported by Protestant-majority England, against Catholic-dominated Spain and Portugal. The Thirty Years' War was the most deadly of the [[European wars of religion]], centered on the Holy Roman Empire. The war, which developed into four phases, included a large number of domestic and foreign players, siding either with the [[Catholic League (German)|Catholic League]] or the [[Protestant Union]] (later [[Heilbronn League]]). The [[Peace of Prague (1635)]] ended most religious aspects of the war, and the [[French–Habsburg rivalry]] took over prominence. With between 4.5 million and 8 million dead in the Thirty Years' War alone, and decades of constant warfare, the need for peace became increasingly clear.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Elliott |first1=J.H. |title=Spain, Europe & the Wider World, 1500–1800 |date=2009 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0300145373 |page=29}}</ref>