The Wars of Religion France

The Reformation Spreads  Since Martin Luther’s first conflict with the Catholic Church came on October 31 st, 1517 (posted Ninety- Five These) many others were affected by this attack.  By 1530 people in many areas throughout Europe let the struggle to establish new reformed churches.

The Wars of Religion - France  Battles between Catholics and Protestant reformers raged in many countries of Europe for over a century.  Why? In France a series of 3 weak monarchs between 1559 and 1589, left the country vulnerable  Many nobles adopted Calvinism as a symbol of their independence from the king  It was assumed that peaceful coexistence between people of different faiths was impossible and the Reformation in France ultimately led to a return to the feudal conditions

 This lead to many violent clashes.  The Huguenots (Protestant Frenchmen) at thier highest were around 2 million out of a total population of 18 million.  Systemic violence started in 1562 with thousands of Huguenots being killed and driven out of towns and villages. The largest was in 1572 in Paris when upwards of 100,000 Huguenots were killed over a weekend.

Peace at last  Religious violence came to an end in 1598 Henry IV of Navarre. He wanted to unite France and chose to sacrifice religious principles out of political necessity  He converted to Catholicism He was claimed to have said; “Paris is well worth a mass.”

Unification  Having converted to Catholicism, Henry began to build peace between the catholic and protestant nobles and consolidate his power. He defeated his rivals the Guises Peace between protestant and Catholic until 1685 when the Edict of Nantes stripped the Huguenots of all their rights.  Thousands fled to England, Scandinavia, Prussia, and the New World.