Biography of Jean Baptiste Mandeville

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Dec 6, 2023

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AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JEAN BAPTISTE MANDEVILLE French Huguenot HUNTER BRESINA HIS-374

Autobiography of Jean Baptiste Mandeville My name is, Jean Baptiste Mandeville, the son of a wealthy fur trader in the northern French city of Rouen, who has lived a devout and modest lifestyle, like many living within the merchant class. Although I was born to a well-off family, we still found the struggles of being in a lower estate in French society. Being a part of a lower estate, my family saw large amounts of taxes being levied on them, as did many others in France. Within the century prior to my birth, the Kingdom of France was continuously embroiled in the French Wars of Religion. My home city of Rouen was greatly affected by the outbreak of these wars, with the city being taken by the Huguenots in April of 1562, then besieged, retaken, and sacked by royal forces in October of that same year. 1 Many persecutions of Huguenots had occurred within the province of Normandy, and peaked with the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre, which lasted from August to October of 1572. 2 You may be wondering what a Huguenot is, well let me tell you. As a Huguenot myself, I am a follower of the Swiss Priest, John Calvin. As a Calvinist follower, I believe in the total depravity, meaning every man is corrupted by sin; the unconditional election, meaning that God’s rescuing of sinners is entirely due to His own will and good pleasure; Limited atonement, meaning there is nothing limited about the power or effectiveness of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, His sacrifice is completely sufficient to save sinners, but it is made definite only for those who God has chosen; the irresistibility of grace, Grace does not teach that God’s calling cannot be resisted for a period of time, but that this resistance will ultimately be overcome. Final perseverance of the saints. 3 1 Benedict, Philip. "Catholics and Huguenots in Sixteenth-century Rouen: The Demographic Effects of the Religious Wars." French Historical Studies (n.d.): 209-234. 2 —. Rouen during the Wars of Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. 3 McNeill, J.T. The History and Character of Calvinism. Oxford: Oxford City Press, 1954.

My childhood took place during the last French War of Religion (1620-1629). During this time, my families’ rights to worship as Huguenots was guaranteed by the Edict of Nantes, issued by King Henry IV only twenty-six years prior. Although it was legal to worship as Huguenots, this didn’t mean that we didn’t experience some trials and tribulations to overcome in a Catholic dominated city and country. Within the years following the Edict of Nantes, the enforcement of religious guarantee had begun to wane and not be regularly enforced, once again leading to the persecution of Huguenots, including my family, throughout France, especially in our home Provence of Normandy. The protestant population of Rouen had fallen since the mid-1500’s and was roughly less than a third of what it was in 1560, almost one hundred years prior to my birth. 4 By the time I was a teenager in 1637, life for many of us Huguenots living within Rouen had become a little more hostile. Even though my family held a decent amount of influence within Rouen, for being wealthier fur traders, my was family always sporting various furs coming in from the North American Colony of New France. This was a sign of more prominence within the city of Rouen. The New World gave great promise for various people living in France. My family would use the New World as a time for economic gain, just like other living cities within coastal regions. This economic gain, however, didn’t leave my parents and I from being impacted by political and religious strife, we did see some of the many impacts that affected our religious community. I find it very important to mention that many in the nobility, and clergy, saw us Huguenots, of which over time, had developed sophisticated theories to political authority, was seen as a threat to monarchy in France. 5 4 —. "Catholics and Huguenots in Sixteenth-century Rouen: The Demographic Effects of the Religious Wars." French Historical Studies (n.d.): 224. Document. 5 Overy, Richard. "Reformation and Catholic Reformation." Overy, Richard. The Times: Complete History of the World. London: Times Books, 2010. 204-205.

My father, Richelieu, an educated and prominent member of the city and a called upon member of the Third Estates for the Estates General, would often cite the second article of the Edict of Nantes (1597), when any religious strife would affect the Huguenots in Rouen as a way to reaffirm their rights as a religious group: “2. We forbid all our subjects, of whatever estate or quality they may be, from renewing the memory of those things, attacking, resenting, injuring, or provoking one another by reproaches for what has occurred… from disputing these things, contesting, quarreling, or outraging or offending by word or deed; but they shall restrain themselves and live peaceably together like brothers, friends, and common citizens, under the penalty of being punished as infractors of the peace and disturbers of the public repose.” 6 My father was often looked up to in the Calvinist community of Rouen. I looked up to him as well and wanted to follow in his footsteps, to become a prominent member of Rouen society and the Calvinist community. As I grew up, I learned many skills of the fur trade from my father, even began to learn about his various philosophies that he had learned while attending University. I would have loved to attend a University, but by being a Calvinist it would make my chances of getting much slimer. My father was able to get into a University due to his family being Catholic, as my father would not convert to the Calvinist faith until he turned 23, in 1614. My father never spoke greatly about his conversion to Calvinism, but I always assumed it must have been a major decision to break away from his family. I was told that my mother’s family had converted in the early days of the reformation, a few generations ago. I was never overly close to my mother, 6 France, King Henry IV of. "The Edict of Nantes." Huguenot Museum of Germany. April 13, 1598. http://www.huguenot-museum-germany.com/huguenots/edicts/01-edict-nantes-1598-english.pdf (accessed April 9, 2023).

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