Historical Committee - Peace of Westphalia
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Often called by historians “The Peace of Exhaustion”, The Treaty of Westphalia from 1648 brought an end to the Thirty Years War, defined the principles of sovereignty and equality in Europe, becoming the constitution of the new system of states in the region.
Being the only historical committee of this conference, The Peace of Westphalia distinguishes itself from the others through the fact that it deals with events that have already occurred and circumstances that you are already familiar with. However, the purpose of this simulation is not to interpret these events as they happened, but to try and rewrite history keeping in mind the status quo and the geopolitical situation of that time.
The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster by the Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand III of the House of Habsburg, the Kingdoms of Spain, France, Sweden, the Dutch Republic, the Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, and sovereigns of the free imperial cities. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the independence of the Dutch Republic. This peace marked, as well, the end of the Holy Roman Empire as an effective institution in 1806 and the formation of the new political and religious condition in Central Europe.
The end of the Thirty Years War produced a number of dramatic consequences and altered Western Europe in significant religious, political, and social ways. In a general way, the post-war period produced the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the subsequent fall of the Hapsburg powers. The later divisions that occurred made Europe more like it is now with the Catholic areas in the south and the Lutherans farther north and more importantly, it took the central power from the Catholic Church. The war also had a large impact on society as it decimated a large portion of the German population, destroyed crops, aided in the spread of disease and obliterated the German economy from the small to large scale. The average people living in Europe during this time were perhaps the most affected by the war. The armies were huge and in order to fund them, states had to raise taxes. In addition, many of the mercenaries went through villages and towns taking all they could from already destitute towns and this, coupled with the increasing demands of the state, planted the seed of anger toward governments that would later emerge throughout the Enlightenment and future rebellions.
This event is the first and one of the most important attempts to reconstruct the European states-system through diplomatic means and it remains a point of reference even for modern political scientist and statesmen.
Laura Condrut
My name is Laura Condrut and I will be one of the chairpersons of the Historical Committee. I studied Political Sciences at the Bucharest University because of my passion for politics and my desire to understand the way a state functions. Three years later I understood, however, that it was not enough for me to simply study politics and that I wanted to be involved in it as much as I could. And so I joined the National Liberal Party a year ago and now I study Public Administration in the hope that one day I’ll be able to put my knowledge and my effort into making this country a more civilized and democratic society.
I feel very lucky to be able to chair this particular committee, because I will get the opportunity to experience with you the uniqueness and theatrical-like approach of this very special council which will take us all back in time to the Westphalia Treaty. It’s almost like embarking on a journey on the time machine with you-the delegates- as main characters. I’m sure this will be a memorable experience and one that will make you want to participate at a lot more MUNs in the years to come. It will be my pleasure to guide you throughout this conference and I look forward to meeting you all in March.
Alex Manole
My name is Alex Manole, I have finished law school 2 years ago and gave my master thesis last year. Now I am working as a lawyer.
The MUN „virus” I have catch it at BISMUN 2009. Since then I have participated to BISMUN 2010 and 2011. Thessimun 2009, BonnIMUN 2010, SOFIMUN 2010. At these I were both a delegate and chair.
Kind Regards,
Alex Manole
