le traité de Westphalie, concludcd at Miinster and

Osnabrlick, put an end to the Thirty Years' War. The concessions already made to the Protestants were confirmed, and the independence of the United Provinces

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was recognized by Spain, and that of Switzerland by the Empire.

23. 3. Charles-Quint: Charles V., born at Ghent in 1500, became king of Spain in 1516, and was elected emperor of Germany in 1519. He was the grandson of the Emperor MaximiUan and of Mary, daughter of Charles the Bold, and the vast territories which he liad inherited from them inspired hini witli the désire for universal domination ; but he was opposed by Francis I., Solyman IL, and the Protestant princes of Germany, and was unable to realize his ambitions projects. He resigned the impérial dignity in 1555, and retired to the monastery of Yuste, in Estremadura, where he died in 1558.