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==Background==
The Holy Roman Empire was a fragmented collection of largely independent states, of various sizes. The Holy Roman Emperor, who was a member of the House of Hapsburg directly ruled some of the lands but in the rest of the Empire he was only a ‘nominal head of state’<ref> Hale, JR, Reformation Europe (Pelican, London, 1998), p 134</ref>. The Hapsburg’s the hereditary rulers of Austria were elected Emperor by the major states in the Empire, as a result it was very de-centralized and a loose federation. It has often been likened to the modern European Union. In 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the Cathedral in Wittenbenberg. In these, he challenged the authority of the Pope and called for the reform of the Church based on the Bible. This initiated the Reformation in the Holy Roman Empire. The Catholic Church attempted to suppress Luther and he was forced to seek the protection of the ruler of Saxony. The message of Luther and his calls to reform the church was greeted enthusiastically in many parts of Germany. The elite and the urban middle class were tired of the corruption and worldliness of the Church. This led to the establishment of many break-away churches that refused to acknowledge the authority of the Pope. Many temporal rulers in Germany adopted Protestantism and secularized Church lands and established Protestant Churches in their land. In 1531, these Protestant rulers came together to form the Schmalkaldic League, which was a military and a political alliance and they worked together to ‘promote and expand Protestantism’<ref> Cameron, Euan. The European Reformation (Second ed.). (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 113</ref>. Charles V was the Holy Roman Emperor and a Catholic and he lost control of much of Germany to the League. He tried to enter negotiations with the Protestant League but these were unsuccessful. The supports of Luther know that Charles was too preoccupied with his wars in Italy and with the Ottoman’s to intervene. It was only after Charles V had defeated the French king could he turn his attention to affairs in Germany. He formed a League that aimed to destroy Protestantism and re-establish religious unity in the Empire. Charles and his army was successful and captured Saxony and won a great victory at the Battle of Milberg. Despite these defeats, the Protestants refused to come to terms and abandon their faith. Charles became aware that it would be impossible to destroy Protestantism. One of the members of his League defected to the Protectants and he helped them to win a minor victory. This persuaded the aged and infirm Charles of the futility of any further war. 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 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." In Diversity and Dissent: Negotiating Religious Difference in Central Europe, 1500-1800, edited by Louthan Howard, Cohen Gary B., and Szabo Franz A. J., 73-91. Berghahn Books, 2011 </ref>.
[[File: Lucas Cranach d.Ä. (Werkst.) - Porträt des Martin Luther (Lutherhaus Wittenberg).jpg|200px|thumb|left|Portrait of Martin Luther]]
==The Treaty==
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. Imperial Spain 1469–1716. 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 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. A History of Modern Germany, The Reformation (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 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 in many areas. 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.
== Religious tensions==
