1. Mr. Meester AP European History
French Religious Wars
Mr. Meester
AP European History

2. Religious Wars
The period from approximately 1560 to 1648 witnessed continuing warfare, primarily between Protestants and Catholics.
In the latter half of the 16th century,, the fighting was along the Atlantic seaboard between Calvinists and Catholics; after 1600, the warfare spread to Germany where Calvinists, Lutherans, and Catholics fought.

3. New Tactics & Technology
Cannons became effective; therefore, elaborate and expensive fortifications of cities were required.
Long sieges became necessary to capture a city.
The infantry armed with pikes and muskets, made the cavalry charge obsolete.
Great discipline and control of armies were required to sustain a siege or train the infantry.
An army once trained would not be disbanded, due to the expense of retraining the infantry.

4. New Organization
The order of command and modern ranks appeared, as did uniforms.
The better discipline permitted commanders to attempt more actions on the battlefield, so more soldiers were necessary.
Armies grew from the 40,000 of the Spanish army of 1600, to 400,000 in the French army at the end of the 17th century.

5. War and Destruction Devastation of the enemy’s lands became the rule.
Armies, mostly made up of mercenaries lived by pillage when not paid and often were not effectively under the control of the ruler employing them.
Peasants, after such devastation and torture to reveal their valuables, left farming and turned to banditry.

6. Francis I Consolidates Power
Francis I ( ) obtained control of the French Church when he signed the Concordat of Bologna with the pope
no incentive to encourage Protestantism.
Signed the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis in 1559,
Conflict between the Hapsburgs and Valois ended
No fear of outside invasion for a while.

7. 4 Families in France
The Catholic Valois family ruled France but Henry II died unexpectedly
Three other powerful families tried gain control
The Bourbon & Montmorency-Chatillons families became Calvinists
The most powerful was the Catholic Guise family

8. Appeal of Calvinism
John Calvin was a Frenchman and Geneva was near France
French Calvinists were sometimes called Huguenots.
Calvinist ideas spread in France, especially among the nobility.
Conde & Coligny
The rising French middle class also began to support the ideas of Calvinism.

10. Catherine de Medici
Henry’s wife, Catherine de Medici, became regent, and tried to maintain the monarchy
She feared Guise control more than the Huguenots
The Guise family would start the 1st war of religion

11. The Peace of Saint-Germain
The 1st & 2nd Wars of Religion saw the deaths of the Duke of Guise & Conde
The Peace of Saint-Germain ended the fighting and saw a rise of Bourbon influence
Catherine secretly plotted with the Guise family to prevent Bourbon domination

12. The St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
Catherine supported a Guise plot to assassinate Coligny.
It failed and Catherine feared the response
On St. Bartholomew Day Coligny & 3,000 Huguenots are killed and within 3 days 20,000 more are killed.
Changed the entire nature of the Catholic-Calvinist conflict

13. War of the Three Henrys
Three opposing sides tried to gain control of France.
Henry III (Valois, Catholic)
Henry Guise (Catholic)
Henry of Navarre (Bourbon, Huguenot)
Early on, the Catholic League under Guise was dominant
Guise was later assassinated by Henry III.
Guise counterattack forces a Valois-Bourbon alliance
Henry III is killed by a Dominican Friar
With no Valois heir, Henry of Navarre was crowned Henry IV, in 1589.

14. Henry IV
Henry began to unite France but was unable to conquer or control Paris, center of the Catholic strength.
In 1593, he converted to Catholicism saying “Paris is worth a mass.”
In this respect, he was a politique, more interested in political unity than religious uniformity.

15. Edict of Nantes
In 1589, Henry issued the Edict of Nantes Edict of Nantes
Permitted Huguenots to worship publicly
Access to the universities and public office
Fortified towns in France to protect themselves.
The Edict was not a recognition of the advantages of religious tolerance so much as it was a truce in the religious wars.