How wars ended
Peace was negotiated, not found
Wars rarely end by themselves. They end when people sit down together and agree on rules meant to hold afterwards
Key points at a glance
- Wars rarely end by themselves. The nine settlements in this series, from 1555 to 1998, were negotiated, set by the victors or mediated from outside.
- A ceasefire ends the fighting. Only the peace treaty turns the war into peace in law and settles what is to apply afterwards.
- How long a peace held varies widely: Brest-Litovsk was void after eight months, the Peace of Augsburg kept religious war out of the Empire for 63 years.
- Every entry follows the same five questions: what the peace was, who negotiated, what was agreed, how long it held and what follows from it.
25 September 1555
Peace of Augsburg
An imperial law lets two confessions exist side by side in the Empire.
24 October 1648
Peace of Westphalia
Two treaties from Münster and Osnabrück end the Thirty Years’ War.
9 June 1815
Congress of Vienna
The Final Act reorders Europe after the wars against France.
28 June 1919
Treaty of Versailles
The victors set the terms, and the German Empire signs in the Hall of Mirrors.
17 September 1978
Camp David
Egypt and Israel sign two framework agreements after thirteen days.
10 April 1998
Good Friday Agreement
Two governments and eight parties end the Northern Ireland conflict.
- Augsburg 1555: Schmalkaldic War1546 to 1547
- Westphalia 1648: Thirty Years’ War30 years
- Tilsit 1807: War of the Fourth Coalitionunder 1 year
- Vienna 1815: coalition wars against France23 years
- Brest-Litovsk 1918: Eastern Front3.5 years
- Versailles 1919: First World Warjust over 4 years
- Camp David 1978: state of war since 194831 years
- Dayton 1995: Bosnian War3.5 years
- Good Friday 1998: Northern Ireland conflict30 years
Law
- In this series
- Peace of Augsburg 1555
- Who sat at the table
- Emperor and Imperial Estates at the Imperial Diet
- What came of it
- An imperial law, not a treaty between two parties
Congress
- In this series
- Peace of Westphalia 1648, Congress of Vienna 1815
- Who sat at the table
- Many powers at once, plus envoys of smaller states
- What came of it
- An order for a whole continent
Treaty of the victors
- In this series
- Tilsit 1807, Brest-Litovsk 1918, Versailles 1919
- Who sat at the table
- The victors, the defeated barely or not at all
- What came of it
- Treaties with territorial losses for the defeated
Mediated agreement
- In this series
- Camp David 1978, Dayton 1995, Good Friday Agreement 1998
- Who sat at the table
- The parties to the conflict and an outside mediator
- What came of it
- Framework agreements, confirmed by treaties or referendums
All settlements at a glance
| Settlement | Period | Place | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Peace of Augsburg | February to September 1555 | Augsburg | An imperial law of 25 September 1555 recognising the Confessio Augustana alongside the old church |
| The Peace of Westphalia | 1644 to 1648 | Münster and Osnabrück | Two peace instruments of 24 October 1648, the Instrumentum Pacis Osnabrugense and the Instrumentum Pacis Monasteriense |
| The Peace of Tilsit | July 1807 | Tilsit on the Memel | Two treaties, with Russia on 7 and with Prussia on 9 July 1807, taking about half of Prussian territory |
| The Congress of Vienna | October 1814 to June 1815 | Vienna | A reordering of the continent and the German Confederation, set down in the Final Act of 9 June 1815 |
| The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk | December 1917 to November 1918 | Brest-Litovsk, today Brest | A separate peace of 3 March 1918, made void by the armistice of 11 November 1918 |
| The Treaty of Versailles | January 1919 to January 1920 | Paris and Versailles | A treaty of 440 articles, signed 28 June 1919, in force from 10 January 1920, with the Covenant of the League of Nations as its Part I |
| The Camp David Accords | September 1978 to March 1979 | Camp David, Maryland, and Washington | Two frameworks of 17 September 1978, out of which came the peace treaty of 26 March 1979 |
| The Dayton Agreement | November to December 1995 | Dayton, Ohio, and Paris | A framework agreement with eleven annexes, initialled on 21 November 1995 and signed on 14 December 1995 in Paris |
| The Good Friday Agreement | June 1996 to May 1998 | Belfast | An agreement of 10 April 1998, confirmed by referendums in Northern Ireland and in Ireland on 22 May 1998 |
This series works through peace settlements that changed Europe and the world. Each one follows the same five questions: what it was, who negotiated, what was agreed, how long it held and what there is to learn from it.
The settlements
February to September 1555
The Peace of Augsburg
When the dispute over faith could not be decided, the parties agreed to stop fighting it out. That makeshift held for more than sixty years
Read1644 to 1648
The Peace of Westphalia
Envoys negotiated in two cities for five years while the war went on. What came out of it is still treated as a model for talks between enemies
ReadJuly 1807
The Peace of Tilsit
Prussia lost half its state and kept its existence only because a third party at the table wanted it kept
ReadOctober 1814 to June 1815
The Congress of Vienna
After more than twenty years of war, the European powers negotiated a new order in Vienna. What came out of it held longer than anything before it
ReadDecember 1917 to November 1918
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
In March 1918 the war on the eastern front ended with a treaty dictated by one side. Eight months later it was void
ReadJanuary 1919 to January 1920
The Treaty of Versailles
On 28 June 1919 the parties signed a treaty in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles that only one side had drafted. How long it could hold was decided by that
ReadSeptember 1978 to March 1979
The Camp David Accords
Thirteen days without an audience, a mediator who would not let the parties leave, and at the end the first peace between Israel and an Arab state
ReadNovember to December 1995
The Dayton Agreement
Three weeks sealed off on an air force base, and at the end not merely a ceasefire but the constitution of a state
ReadJune 1996 to May 1998
The Good Friday Agreement
After three decades of violence, two governments and eight parties agreed on an order that the public then voted on
Read
Frequently asked questions
How are wars ended?
The nine settlements in this series show four ways. Some wars ended at a congress where many powers negotiated at once, as in Münster and Osnabrück in 1648 and in Vienna in 1815. Others ended with a treaty whose terms the victors set, as at Tilsit in 1807, Brest-Litovsk in 1918 and Versailles in 1919.
Camp David, Dayton and the Good Friday Agreement came about with an outside mediator. The Peace of Augsburg of 1555, finally, was not a treaty between parties but an imperial law.
What is the difference between a ceasefire and a peace treaty?
A ceasefire ends the fighting, not the war. In international law it is a treaty under the law of war. The peace treaty, by contrast, turns the legal state of war into one of peace and settles what is to apply afterwards, such as borders, reparations or armaments.
When does a war end?
The fighting often ends long before the war does. In the First World War the guns fell silent with the armistice of 11 November 1918; the Treaty of Versailles was signed only on 28 June 1919 and came into force on 10 January 1920.
Nor does a treaty guarantee peace. Germany’s Federal Agency for Civic Education notes that it does not automatically mean things are actually peaceful: it must also be ensured that there is no longer any reason to wage war.
How long do peace treaties last?
For very different lengths of time. In this series the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was void after eight months and the Peace of Tilsit was finished after six years. The Peace of Augsburg kept religious war out of the Empire for 63 years. Every entry looks at this question in a chapter of its own.
From history to a mission of your own
Every one of these treaties was the work of people who thought it could be done. The same stance is what it takes on a small scale: in a neighbourhood, a school, a club.
Find your peace mission