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By the 1550s, Protestantism had been established too firmly within the Empire Central Europe to be ended by arms. Charles V wanted to secure the succession of his son to the throne of Spain and his nephew to the crown of the Holy Roman Emperor and this required peace. He decided to ‘come to terms with the Protestants and this led ‘first to an armistice and then to the Treaty of Augsburg.’ <ref>Von Friedeburg, Robert. "Cuius Regio, Eius Religio: The Ambivalent Meanings of State Building in Protestant Germany, 1555–1655." <i>In Diversity and Dissent: Negotiating Religious Difference in Central Europe, 1500-1800</i>, edited by Louthan Howard, Cohen Gary B., and Szabo Franz A. J., 73-91. Berghahn Books, 2011 </ref>
====The TreatyWhat did the Augsburg Settlement do?====The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement was signed in September 1555 by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Schmalkaldic League, signed on 25 September 1555 at the imperial city of Augsburg.<ref>Elliot, J.H. <i>Imperial Spain 1469–1716</i>. Penguin Books (New York: 2002), p. 208</ref> It officially ended the religious war and attempted to establish a religious settlement in the sprawling German lands.<ref> Hale, p. 134</ref> The principle of cuius regio, eius religio, was the most important aspect of the treaty. This principle states that the ruler of the realm decided the faith of the people.<ref>Von Friedneburg, p 76</ref> This was to ensure the internal unity of the states within the Holy Roman Empire. If a ruler was Catholic , then he could determine that all those who lived in his realm had to be Catholics. Those who did not accept the situation could migrate to a jurisdiction that was Protestant.
A Lutheran ruler had the same rights about the religion of his subjects as a Catholic. In the Holy Roman Empire, there were the many Ecclesiastical States, such as the city -state of Cologne.<ref>Hale, p. 117</ref> These were realms that were ruled by Catholic Bishops or Archbishops. If a prelate changed his faith to Protestantism , he was expected to resign and make way for another Catholic bishop.<ref>Holborn, Hajo. <i>A History of Modern Germany, The Reformation</i> (Princeton: Princeton University Press), p. 195</ref> Knights were also exempted from the requirement of religious uniformity , and they could still practice their faith even if it was at odds with that of their ruler. One of the most important critical aspects of the Treaty was that it only applied to Lutherans and Catholics. Rulers who followed Calvinism and the teachings of the Anabaptists were not recognized.
The rights of members of these churches were also not recognized by the Peace and they not accorded parity of esteem with Catholics and Protestants. The treaty sought to ensure a balance of power between Germanys’ Protestant and Catholics and in doing so to ensure peace and an end to sectarian strife. In the near term, it did manage to end the war , but the religious conflict was to persist persisted in many areassome parts of Germany. The Peace of Augsburg guaranteed that the House of Hapsburg would continue to be elected the Imperial ruler. However, the Emperor had little or no control of northern Germany , the heartland of Lutheranism.
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