jan 1, 1555 - Peace of Augsburg

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After seeing the rise of Protestantism, Charles V, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, felt threatened and obligated to secure authority of the state and Catholicism. He engaged in a war against multiple German principalities and cities and initially started to win, but France and the Pope intervened to starve him and force him to sign the Peace of Augsburg, which gave religious freedom to states, allowing them to choose between Catholicism and Protestantism. This event marks the end of the hegemony on the Holy Roman Empire and the rise of religious diversity through multiple branches of Catholicism. Furthermore, this also marks a period of migration, as although states were allowed to choose what religion they were, people within those states could not (they were bound to the state religion). Thus, mass migration and refugees occurred between religious citizens seeking a state that matched their religion.

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