Wars of Religion in France

(in Russian, Religious Wars; also Huguenot Wars), the civil wars between the Catholics and the Calvinists (Huguenots) during the second half of the 16th century. The religious trappings of the wars masked a complex struggle between various social forces.

Historical works give a variety of dates for the Wars of Religion: 1562–94, 1562–96, and 1562–98. (Sometimes, 1559 or 1560 is given as the initial date.) Contemporaries referred to the Wars of Religion as the civil wars in France, a term often encountered in historical literature of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The preconditions for the Wars of Religion in France were established by the socioeconomic changes of the mid-16th century. On the one hand, the oppressed, lower strata of the population were impoverished by taxes, which increased during the last years of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The condition of the lower strata of the population deteriorated sharply, owing to a wave of price increases caused by the price revolution, which also led to substantial reductions in the income of the nobility. On the other hand, during the mid-16th century the political power of the nobility continued to be eroded by the absolutist state. Thus, socioeconomic conditions were responsible for extensive participation in the Wars of Religion by the nobility and by the common people, who were rebelling against feudal exploitation and against the emerging exploitation of capitalism. The upper stratum of the nobility—the feudal aristocracy—was the social stratum most strongly opposed to absolutism. However, the feudal aristocracy did not act as a united front but split into two competing cliques that claimed power in the state. The Catholics were led by the dukes of Guise, and the Calvinists by the Bourbons (Prince Louis of Condé and later, Henry of Navarre) and by Admiral G. de C. Coligny. The Catholic camp included a substantial proportion of the nobility and bourgeoisie of the central and northeastern provinces. Especially in the southern and western border provinces, the Calvinists attracted the support of part of the urban nobility, who were defending their feudal rights and who were opposed to centralization, the goal of the absolutist state. The Calvinist nobility expected to improve its economic condition by secularizing church property. For the majority of the nobility the religious question was secondary: during the Wars of Religion they converted from one faith to the other.

In 1559 popular disturbances broke out in many of the French provinces, and the Calvinist nobles in the south began to expropriate church property. In 1560 the Bourbons, who hoped to remove the Guises from power, engaged in a conspiracy headed by the Prince of Condé, with the goal of capturing King Francis II in the castle of Amboise. Subsequently, the Bourbons planned to rule in his name, thus becoming the de facto rulers of France. However, the Amboise conspiracy was discovered. After the accession of Charles IX, a minor, in December 1560, the regent Catherine de Médicis and the chancellor M. de L’Hospital endeavored to make peace between the Catholics and the Huguenots, but their efforts were thwarted by the Guises. On Mar. 1, 1562, a detachment led by the Duke of Guise massacred a group of Calvinists attending services in the small town of Vassy. This incident triggered overt military actions.

Until 1572 the leaders of both camps attempted to capture the king and rule in his name. Both sides sought foreign aid: the Huguenots placed their hopes on the German princes, as well as on their coreligionists in the Netherlands and England, and the Catholics relied on Spain. The first three Wars of Religion (1562–63, 1567–68, and 1568–70) were concluded by the Peace of St.-Germain (1570), under which the Huguenots received four important fortified cities and the right to occupy official government positions, and under which Calvinist services were authorized throughout the kingdom. The Huguenots’ gains drove the Guises and Catherine de Médicis to organize a mass slaughter of the Huguenots in Paris in 1572 (St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre). The massacre led to the resumption of hostilities.

In the wars of 1572–73 and 1574–76 the Huguenots’ objective was to oust the Valois dynasty. Propaganda against absolutism reached its peak during the 1570’s (seeMONARCHOMACHS). In 1576 a Huguenot confederation of cities and nobles (a state within a state) was established in the southwestern provinces of France. The royal Edict of Beaulieu (1576) reconfirmed the Huguenots’ right to practice their religion and also granted de facto recognition to their confederation. The Estates General met at Blois in 1576 and rejected the Edict of Beaulieu, giving rise to renewed hostilities against the Huguenots. The Catholics established their own organization—the Catholic League (1576).

The Huguenots’ struggle against the state came to an end after the sixth and seventh Wars of Religion, which were concluded by the Peace of Bergerac (1577) and the Peace of Fleix (1580). Most of the south remained under the control of the Huguenots. Rising taxes and the further deterioration of economic conditions, owing to the price revolution, fostered the movement against the absolutist state in the Catholic towns and cities. This movement resulted in the creation of the Paris League in 1584. After the death of the Duke of Anjou (brother of the childless king, Henry III) in 1584, Henry of Navarre, the leader of the Huguenots, became the legitimate heir to the throne. Catholics from various social strata took this as a signal for action. Henry of Guise, the leader of the Catholic aristocracy, claimed the throne. (The house of Guise traced its origins to Charlemagne.)

In 1585 the Paris League merged with the feudal grouping led by the Guises, forming a new Catholic League, which succeeded in pressuring Henry III to rescind all edicts that favored the Huguenots. This marked the beginning of the eighth War of Religion (1585–89), which is sometimes called the War of the Three Henrys (Henry of Guise, Henry III, and Henry of Navarre). At first, Henry III joined forces with Henry of Guise, leading the Catholics against Henry of Navarre. The Paris League (the main forces of the Catholic League) fought against the Huguenots and the government. An uprising broke out in Paris on May 12–13, 1588 (the Day of the Barricades), and Henry III fled to Chartres. The Guises and the Catholic League made their demands known to King Henry III, who was forced to make concessions. (For example, Henry of Guise was appointed commander in chief of the army.)

When the Estates General met at Blois in October 1588, the majority of the deputies sided with the League. In December 1588, the Duke of Guise and his brother, the Cardinal of Lorraine, were killed by order of Henry III. The antiroyalist movement in Paris and many other cities reached its highest point. Under pressure from the democratic wing of the Paris League, Henry III was deposed in Paris and compelled to form an alliance with Henry of Navarre, whom he proclaimed his successor. The two leaders moved their forces toward Paris (the war of 1589–94, or, according to other chronological systems, the war of 1589–96 or 1589–98). In August 1589, Henry III was assassinated by a Dominican monk sent by the League.

Henry of Navarre became king of France, but northern France, as well as a number of southern towns and provinces, did not acknowledge his sovereignty. Charles, duke of Mayenne, the brother of the two assassinated members of the house of Guise, became head of the League. Taking advantage of the circumstances, Philip II of Spain attempted to place his protégé on the French throne, with the support of the pope, who had excommunicated Henry of Navarre for heresy. A Spanish intervention in support of the French Catholics was launched from the southern Netherlands, and Spanish troops entered Paris in 1591, with the consent of the League. This resulted in the intensification of political anarchy throughout the country. The unbridled feudal reaction led to mass peasant uprisings (seeCROQUANTS). Frightened by the scope of the movement of the lower strata, the Catholic aristocracy and the bourgeoisie recognized Henry of Navarre as king. He had converted to Catholicism in 1593. Crowned Henry IV in 1594, he entered Paris. The provinces ruled by the Catholic League were subjugated in 1596. The Edict of Nantes (1598) defined the status of the Huguenots. Hostilities between the armies of Henry IV and Philip II continued until 1598, ending in the Treaty of Vervins.