What did the Peace of Augsburg accomplish?

The Peace of Augsburg, signed in 1555, was a treaty between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes in the Holy Roman Empire. The Peace of Augsburg marked a significant turning point in the Reformation and the religious history of Europe by addressing the growing religious conflict between Roman Catholics and Protestants within the empire.

Its main accomplishment was the establishment of the principle "cuius regio, eius religio," which means "whose realm, his religion." According to this principle, the religion of the ruler of a region (Catholic or Lutheran) would determine the religion of the region's inhabitants. If the ruler was Catholic, then Catholicism would be the official religion, and similarly, if a ruler was Lutheran, then Lutheranism would be the religion of his realm. This agreement allowed for the legal coexistence of Lutheranism and Catholicism within the Holy Roman Empire, giving rulers the right to choose the religion of their territory.

The treaty also allowed for some degree of religious freedom, as subjects who did not wish to conform to the religion of their ruler were granted the right to emigrate to a region where their faith was practiced. However, this right was fairly limited and did not apply to all groups; for example, Calvinists and other religious minorities were not included in the protections of the Peace of Augsburg.

The Peace of Augsburg helped to end the religious wars between Catholics and Lutherans within the empire at the time, although it laid the groundwork for further religious conflicts in the future, including the Thirty Years' War which would erupt in 1618.