NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________

netw rksConflict and Absolutism in Europe

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Political Boundaries: Lines on a Map

The Peace of Westphalia was the name given to a number of treaties that ended the Thirty Years War. For four years, the countries involved debated and argued, even as some of their military forces continued to fight. Much of the debate had to do with religious boundaries, as the Holy Roman Empire and Protestant countries tried to define their territories. The other major focus of debate concerned political boundaries. Political boundaries are borders between countries that are defined by people on a map to mark state territory.

Although the borders between countries are often defined by natural landforms, such as rivers or mountains, very often borders on a map are decided through political struggle. Political geography deals in part with how relationships between countries, territories, and governments literally shape the world. Political geography is also a study of the spatial outcome of political processes and the ways in which political processes are affected by spatial structure. The clearest changes that came out of the Peace of Westphalia were the borders of most of Europe’s countries.

During the Thirty Years’ War, lands had been won and lost by a number of countries, so much of the dispute was over who was to retain what land. Sweden and France, for example, wanted to go back to borders that had existed in 1618. But other countries had gained lands during the war and wanted to keep them.

In the end, Sweden, France, and their allies got most of what they wanted. One map shows the political boundaries agreed to by the Peace of Westphalia, and the other map shows national borders today. Four years of political struggle resulted in a Europe that looked very much like the one we know today.

Geography and History Activity

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Europe after the Peace of Westphalia, 1648

Caption: Europe After the Peace of Westphalia

NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________

netw rksConflict and Absolutism in Europe

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Understanding Concepts

1. Describing How did the Thirty Years’ War and resulting peace talks affect the political geography of Europe?

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2. Explaining Explain the concept of political geography. How can you see signs of political geography on a map?

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Directions: Answer the questions below in the space provided.

Geography and History Activity Cont.

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Caption: Modern Europe

NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________

netw rksConflict and Absolutism in Europe

Copyrig

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The M

cGraw

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pan

ies, Inc. Perm

ission is g

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to rep

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use.

3. Making Inferences What boundaries on the two maps are not likely to change due to political influence? Why?

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Applying Concepts

4. Graphic Organizer Complete the chain-of-events graphic organizer below to show how the Thirty Years War’ and the Peace of Westphalia affected countries’ boundaries in 1648 and today.

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Countries disputed over land won and lost during the Thirty Years’ War.

Current European borders are similar to those from 1648.

5. Drawing Conclusions If the Holy Roman Empire had won the Thirty Years War, what might Europe look like today?

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6. Making Connections Compare two political maps of the United States, one from before the Louisiana Purchase and one from today. How have the boundaries of the country changed? How are these changes examples of political geography?

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Geography and History Activity Cont.