Religious or Huguenot wars in France (1562-1598) - between the Catholics, who made up the majority of the population, and the Protestant minority, who professed Calvinism and called themselves Huguenots. The Synod of the Presbyterian Church (Huguenots) was established in France in 1559. It gained many followers among all classes of the population.
First Religious War (1562-1563)
The royal authority tried to restore Catholicism throughout the state, but in the first war of 1562-1563. she failed to crush the Huguenots.
The Huguenots had many wealthy merchants and bankers who were able to recruit large detachments of professional soldiers from among the Swiss co-religionists. The Huguenots were supported by aristocrats, in particular, Prince Louis de Condé, Admiral Gaspard de Coligny and King Henry of Navarre.
The radical Catholic party was led by the family of the Dukes of Lorraine de Guise, who sought to both completely expel the Huguenots from France and limit the monarch's power. There was also a party of "politicians" or moderate Catholics. They wanted to keep Catholicism as the dominant religion and to give the Huguenots freedom of religion. On some occasions they sided with the Huguenots against the Guesses.
1563 - Duke Francois de Guise was able to win at Drois, but was soon killed by an assassin sent by the Huguenots.
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Second (1567-1568) and third (1568-1570) war
The Huguenot army won victories in the wars of 1567–1568 and 1568–1570. These wars were distinguished by incredible cruelty on both sides. Prisoners were usually not taken, but at times even slaughtered entire villages if their inhabitants adhered to a different religion.
Fourth Civil War (1572-1573)
The fourth war began in 1572 after the Catholics staged on August 24, 1572, on the day of St. Bartholomew (St. Bartholomew's Night), the massacre of the Huguenots who had gathered in Paris for the wedding of King Henry of Navarre and Princess Margaret of Valois. More than 9 thousand people were killed, including Coligny and many other Huguenot leaders. 1573 - an armistice was reached.
Fifth War (1574-1576)
However, in 1574 hostilities flared up again after the death of Charles IX and the return of his brother Henry III to France from Poland, but did not bring decisive victory to either side.
1576 - A royal edict was issued, which proclaimed freedom of religion throughout France, with the exception of Paris.
Sixth war (1576-1577)
In the course of a new war in 1577, inspired by the Catholic League created by Giza, the edict was confirmed, but King Henry III was unable to enforce it.
St. Bartholomew's night in Paris
Seventh Religious War in France (1579-1580)
A key figure in this war was the king's brother, François of Anjou, who, supported by William of Orange, proclaimed himself Count of Flanders and Duke of Brabant and intervened in the revolutionary uprising of the Dutch Protestants against the Spanish crown on the side of the former. Meanwhile, the young Prince Heinrich Condé took possession of La Ferre in Picardy. The fighting officially ended the peace in Flais (1580), this war had no special consequences.
"War of the Three Henrys" (1584-1589)
However, in 1585, when Henry of Navarre claimed the French crown, the bloody War of three Henrys began - Henry III, Henry of Navarre and Henry, third Duke of Guise.
Henry of Navarre was able to win, despite the fact that his opponents were provided military support by Spain. He defeated Henry III at Coutras in 1587. Henry III was forced to reaffirm freedom of religion. Then Giza in 1588 revolted in Paris and expelled the king from there. Henry made concessions to the leaders of the Catholic League, announced his support for the exclusive rights of Catholics, but returning to Paris organized the assassination of Heinrich de Guise and his brother, Cardinal Louis de Guise. Then, with the support of Henry of Navarre, declared heir to the throne, Henry III suppressed the League's actions, but in 1589 he was killed by the fanatic monk Jacques Clement.
Kingdom War
He was succeeded by Henry of Navarre, who became Henry IV, the first king of France from the Bourbon dynasty. However, the Catholic League, which enjoyed particularly strong support among the Parisian population, refused to recognize him as king. Henry defeated the troops of the League at Arca in 1589 and at Ivry in 1590, but he could not capture Paris until 1594. To enter the capital of France, he had to return to the fold of the Catholic Church. In this connection, Henry is credited with the catch phrase: "Paris is worth a mass!"
The aftermath of the religious wars in France
The line under the religious wars in 1598 was drawn by the peace treaty of Henry IV with France in Vervin, according to which Spain refused to support the Catholic League. In the same year, Henry issued the Edict of Nantes, which guaranteed freedom of religion and recognized the dominance of Protestantism in 200 cities, where the Huguenots received the right to build fortifications. Formally, it can be considered that the Huguenots won a victory in the religious wars, but in fact it turned out to be imaginary. The overwhelming majority of the French population remained faithful to Catholicism and sympathized with the ideas of the League. The wealth of the Huguenot merchants became the subject of desire of both the royal treasury and the Catholic aristocracy. Many feudal lords owed significant sums to the Huguenot bankers.
1621 - an uprising broke out against the introduction of the Catholic religion in Bearn, formerly recognized as a Huguenot city. By suppressing it in 1622, the de facto ruler of France, Cardinal Richelieu, deprived the Huguenots of the right to have their own fortresses, with the exception of La Rochelle and Montauban. A new uprising of the Huguenots in 1625 led to the capture of La Rochelle by royal troops in 1628 and to the treaty of 1629, which deprived the Huguenots of any political influence in the state. 1685 - King Louis XIV canceled the Edict of Nantes, leaving the Huguenots with a choice, either to convert to Catholicism, or to leave their homeland. Hundreds of thousands of French people chose to emigrate: and settled in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, England and overseas colonies, in particular in North America and South Africa.
B. Sokolov