The Beginnings of Minority Protection in Europe

The Religious Peace of Augsburg was the result of conflicts of the previous decades that had been further inflamed by Martin Luther s theses which resulted in the splitting of the Catholic Church. New religious groups had formed across Europe and conflicts with the ruler of the territory were not uncommon. In 1555, the Holy Roman Emperor had to recognize the existence of two different religions within his empire Catholicism and Protestantism.  

The mistreatment of other religious groups eventually contributed to the religious reasons for the outbreak of the Thirty Years War. The 1648 Peace of Westphalia was composed of two treaties the Treaty of Munster and the Treaty 

Other religions such as Calvinists, Anabaptist or other reformists groups were not protected under the Peace of Augsburg. See 17, Peace of Augsburg (1555) http //www.lwl.org/westfaelische-geschichte/portal/Intemet/ku.php tab=que ID=739. Accessed 29 May 2010. 

The idea of minority protection continued to come up time and again, especially after the Napoleonic Wars. Throughout the nineteenth century, several treaties included provisions on minorities. The treaties did not include any provisions on how to enforce the new rules. The minorities in question remained dependent on the good will of their sovereigns. The big powers in Europe were not going to interfere with each others affairs— be it in the states themselves or their spheres of influences. 

Minority protection at that time was largely meant for the Jews and later Muslims in Christian dominated states in the Balkans. It was during the 30 years preceding World War I that minority protection not only for religious but also for other types of minorities slowly gained momentum. 

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