The French Religious Wars Of France

Discuss the extent to which the religious schism during the sixteenth century was symptomatic of political, social, and economic problems.

In 1685, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes and put the Edict of Fontainebleau in its place. Because of this document, all religious toleration for Huguenots (previously allowed by the Edict of Nantes) was no longer allowed, leaving them with two options: convert to Catholicism or leave France. Through this law, Louis achieved national religious unity.

To begin, the Protestant Reformation began in reaction to the Catholic Church’s rather corrupt practices. Prior to the Reformation, the only major Christian denomination in Western Europe at the time was Catholicism, headed by the Pope in Rome. Through many acts of violence such as the formation of the Spanish Inquisition and the slaughter of the Cathars, amongst others, Europe’s Monarchs had wiped out and suppressed any form of religious competition. With the Catholic Church holding a tight stranglehold over Europe, Catholicism was the only option. This allowed

By mid-1600s Calvinism and Catholicism had grown to become religions trying to spread the word of God heavily. There was much dispute in religions around Europe during the Reformation causing fights throughout the continent. These included the French wars in which the French kings attempted to abolish Calvinism. This dispute was solved in 1598 when Catholicism was declared the official religion of France. Many different countries adapted many different beliefs throughout the 16th century.

13. ‘01 Discuss the political and social consequences of the Protestant Reformation in the first half of the sixteenth century.

The eight wars of religion escalated thought-out 36 years, with intermittent interruptions. The Protestant progressing originated in Northern Europe in the early 16th century. but escalated in the 19th century. It began as a reaction to the Medieval Roman Catholic doctrine and practices. After a procession of European religious wars in the 16th and 17th centuries, and especially in the 19th century, it spread throughout the world. Wherever Protestantism arose, it altered the social, economic, political, and cultural life of the area The wars would end with the Edict of Nantes an edict that ingrained a limited tenacity. Frances struggle with religious turmoil between Catholics and Protestants was an ongoing crisis, however, the Spaniards belief in religion provided vast support to the moral code and allowed the police authoritative power of the state to loosen its grip on the community. History shows that atheistic, totalitarian states used force rather than religion to enforce obedience to government tyranny1 .

Throughout history, religion has played an important role in almost every aspect of life but, in certain events, it has played a more dominant role. As time progressed in the 1500’s, many religious aspects of life developed solely on the aspect of animosity, and nothing is so fatal to religion than that of indifference. For example, the Wars of Religion display a clear conflict between two very different religions, the Catholic League and the Huguenots. The brutal power struggle was converging in Europe between the

Louis XVI was a devout Catholic who forced Huguenots, protestant, to convert to Catholicism or one was sent to jail. This was a big problem for France as many Huguenots picked up their belongings a sought out religious freedom elsewhere. Huguenots were important to society, as they were the merchants and the skill workers. They took their skills elsewhere putting a deficit in the French everyday life. Louis XVI was known for engaging in numerous wars over years. He got involved in a series of wars beginning with the War of Devolution, the war to enforce the queen’s claim in the Spanish Netherlands leading in to the Dutch War. As the wars continued the strength of the army continued to decline and lack the strength. After the war against the Grand Alliance, the resources throughout the country took a hit and diminished significantly. The War of the Spanish Succession sent a message to the people of France, that Louis XVI’s didn’t have the country’s best interest at heart. This was the longest war and war that almost led to France’s defeat. As result Louis XVI was blamed for the financial deficit, the burden with debt. The last few years of Louis XIV’s reign he had many problems: debt, reforms of Colbert were ruined and the people of France began to revolt. His last memories of France were melancholy and unhappiness

During the sixteenth century, numerous conditions and beliefs existed that cause the Protestant Reformation. It was a religious, political, cultural and logical disturbance that had made some Europeans split from the Catholic Church. “In northern and central Europe, reformers [such as John Calvin, Henry VIII and most importantly Martin Luther] challenged papal authority and questioned the Catholic Church’s ability to define Christian practice.” The tension between the reformers and the church triggered wars, persecutions and the Counter-Reformation, also called the Catholic Reformation.

The 17th century French aristocrat Michel de Montaigne lived in a tumultuous world. With the spark of Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, the fire spread rapidly to France. The nation divided against itself. The rebellious protestant Huguenots and the traditional staunch Catholics both viewed the other group as idolatrous heretics in time when that crime could justify execution. Consequently, Catholic monarchs throughout Europe felt the impending threat to their reigns, too, because if they supposedly ruled through divine right, what would change concerning the support of their subjects? After the peace-making Edict of Nantes, rehashing the religious conflicts of the century was forbidden, but seeing his country—and even his own family—torn apart, how could one refrain from comment? So in his writings, Montaigne has to write around his actual subjects. This isn’t to say, however, that he conveyed none of his ideas directly. Montaigne criticizes the cultural belief in a correct way of life, opposing the idea with a more relativistic viewpoint, though the way in which he presents it, as mere musings in personal correspondence, fails to effectively convince his readers.

Catherine and Charles tried to avoid joining either side. The religious war became even more complicated due to the English involvement and support of the alliance with the huguenots, and complications that existed due to blood feuds of major noble families. This began when the Huguenot leader Admiral Gaspard de Coligny ordered the assassination the Duke of Guise. While the fighting continued into the late 1560s, Huguenot armies continued mercilessly attacking convents and monasteries, torturing and killing their inhabitants. While Catholic forces, equally as cruel, began to slay Huguenots from many

Louis forbade any doctrine that contradicted Catholicism. He shut down the theological center of the Jansenists (Catholics whose guidelines and customs mirrored some characteristics of Protestantism). In his efforts to eliminate Protestantism from his country, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes which previously had granted religious freedom to Protestants. The revocation of the Edict caused Calvinists schools and churches to be shut down, compelled their pastors to flee the country, and obliged the conversion of remaining Calvinists. This revocation also allowed children of Calvinists to be taken away and brought up as Catholics. A mass exodus of Huguenots (tens of thousands) left for other countries who would take them in such as the Dutch Republic, England, North America, and Brandenburg-Prussia. Protestants from other European countries were appalled by Louis’ religious policies and used it as justification for why they went to war against

The Dutch Revolt, In the sixteenth century, was a conflict between the Protestant Low Countries, and the Catholic Spanish Empire. This resulted in the division of the seventeen provinces of the Netherlands, and eventually the formation of the Dutch Republic. The Dutch speaking north were tolerant to various religious affiliations, whereas, the French and Walloon South, remained loyal to Philip II, and were predominantly Catholic. In order to establish the significance of reformed faith in the success of the Dutch Revolt, this assignment will explore some of the events surrounding the uprising. In addition, it will consider social, economic and political factors, in order to identify how they contribute to the success of the conflict.

Religion: Majority of France’s religion is catholic which takes up 88-92% of its population. Roman Catholic 83–88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%–10%, unaffiliated 4%.

During the 1500’s, the conflict and tension between Catholics and Protestants brought about new levels of violence in Paris and surrounding areas. Despite the authorities of Paris’ attempts at maintaining peace and order, Catholics were determined to rid the streets of unwanted Protestants. On August 24th, 1572, a day known to Catholics as “St. Bartholomew’s Day”, thousands of Protestants were murdered by Catholics. From then on, this day was known as “The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.” Authors Barbra Diefendorf, and Philip Benedict both wrote about this devastating time in history with contrasting approaches to the issue. Though sharing in some similarities, the approaches in which Diefendorf and Benedict take on the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre are significantly contrastive. The authors provide different theories to why the massacre occurred, as well as disclose information about important events that occurred during different times.