The Wars of Religion

McCoy
French Wars of Religion
Massacre de Vassy, 1562
 Execution of Anne de Bourg, 1559

Massacre of Merindol, 1545

Executions of protestants at Amboise

 Catholic Kings of France (House of Valois)
 Francis I (r. 1515-1547)
• Though a powerful king, was unsure how to
handle the rise of protestantism in France
• Was not convinced they were heretics,
instead labeled them rebels
 Henry II (r. 1547-1559)
• Married to Catherine de Medici
• Father of three kings/1 queen of France and
a queen of Spain
• Severely persecuted the protestant
Huguenots
 Would cut out their tongues for
“uttering” heresies
 Francis II (r. 1559-1560)
• After unexpected death of Henry II, became
king at age 15
• Too young to rule, mother Catherine
effectively held power
• Though Catherine tried to wield sole power,
Francis’ uncles the Dukes of Guise held
heavy influence
• Guise excessive influence angered rivals
Rise of Protestants
 Calvinists and Zwinglians
• First introduced in France during the reign
of Francis I (1515-1547)
• Francis was unsure exactly what was
considered heresy- therefore allowed
Calvinism to gain strength
 Affair of the Placards (1534) turned the
Calvinists into religious rebels
• The affront to Francis forced him to pursue
the Calvinist as political rebels
 1540s, Calvinism becomes organized as
the Huguenots
• Nobility begins to convert due to the active
work of Calvinist leaders out of Geneva
• As many as 2 million French Calvinists by
the outbreak of war in 1562 (compared to
16 million Catholics)
 Outbreak of War- 1562
• Calvinism was very strong amongst the
nobility (political challenge to the king)
and the southern cities (economic
challenge to the king)
 French Wars of Religion

 1562-1598
• Seven periods of war and the War of the
Three Henri’s
• Involved England and Spain
• Between 2 – 4 million deaths (population of
France was barely 20 million)

 Religious conflict for religious supremacy

• Power and influence of France, central
location to other Catholic nations, made it a
main battleground of Catholic Reformation
Assassination of the Duke of Guise
 Political conflict for control of the throne of
France
• House of Valois (Catholic and ruling
family)
• House of Guise (Catholic)
• House of Bourbon (Huguenot)

 Long period of conflict weakened the

monarchy during the years of war, but
eventually produced the iconic absolute
monarchies of the 17th century
 Significant Events of the French Wars

 Massacre of Vassy- 1562

• Ordered by the Duke of Guise
• Duke was passing a barn with a large congregation of Huguenots in Mass
• Considered the start of hostilities

 Marriage of Henry of Navarre to Princess Marguerite de Valois- 1572

• Placed Henry third in line for the French throne
• Attempt to create peace by Catherine de Medici
• Catholic militants took the opportunity to slaughter all of the protestant leaders gathered
in Paris for the wedding

 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre- Aug. 1572

• Catholics kill over 70,000 protestants across France in 3 days, 10,00 0 in Paris alone

 Death of the Duke of Anjou (1584)

• Only brother of King Henry III
• Left the throne of France to the husband of his sister, Henry of Navarre
• The War of Three Henri’s (1585-1598)
 Henry of Navarre sought aide from England and Luthern Germans
 Henry, Duke of guise
 Henry III, King of France
 End of War and the Edict of Nantes

 Henry of Navarre becomes king of

France
• Converts to Catholicism and becomes
Henry IV
• “Paris is worth a mass”
• Establishes the House of Bourbon as
French kings
 Remain kings until 1800s
 Having seen the instability produced by
weak rulers begins the establishment of
Absolutism

 Edict of Nantes (1598)

• Truce between the Huguenots and the
Catholics
• Protected their right to worship
• Within 50 years the Huguenots would be
destroyed politically

 Henry is assassinated by a Catholic in

1610 for failing to destroy the Protestants
• Succeeded by Louis XIII (1601-1643)
• France would be dominated by powerful
Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin until the
Henry IV of France (Navarre)
reign of Louis XIV
 The Importance of Leadership

 Weak and indecisive leadership of French

kings led to instability

 Throughout the conflict the crown…

• Asked for Spanish assistance
• Supported Huguenots claims and rights
• Allowed other nobles to gain excessive
influence Battle of Moncontour, 1569
• France lost prestige, influence, wealth, and
power throughout the conflict
Catherine Medici inspects dead Huguenots

 Assassinations
• Francis, Duke of Guise (1563)
• Admiral Coligny (1572)
 Sparked the St. B’s Day Massacre
• Henry, Duke of Guise and his brother
(1588)
 Assassianted by Henry III who feared the
power of Guise
• King Henry III (1589)
 Asked Henry of Navarre to convert and
create peace
 The Spanish Armada and the Dutch
Revolt

Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588-1589

 The Low Countries

 Geographical positioned within

the influence of Germany,
France, and England
• Excellent staging area to
invade England/France/Holy
Roman Empire
• Extremely wealthy ports

 Political power situated within

powerful cities-states much like
Renaissance Italy or Ancient
Greece
• Willing to unite in face of
foreign threats

 Prior to Spanish occupation, the

Low Countries were relatively
independent and self-governing
• Spanish governors tried to
spread imperial power and
Catholicism to the people of
the area
• Dutch would look to other
protestants for financial help
 The 80 Years War

 Background…
• Through dynastic inheritance, Spain controlled the
regions of the Low Countries by
• By 1560s Calvinists had established a significant
following in the southern cities
• Catholic Spain began to persecute Calvinists as part
of Catholic Reformation movement
• Calvinists protested against the religious and
political persecution

 The Dutch Revolt (1568-1609)

• Partially successful revolt of 17 protestant provinces
against the Catholic Spanish Empire
• With the support of French, German, and English
protestants, William of Orange led the revolt Assassination of William of Orange, 1584
• Eventually the rebellious northern territories become
the United Provinces, aka the Dutch Republic

 The Spanish Response

• Both Charles I/V and Philip II of Spain spent
immense resources trying to subdue the region
• Governors are sent to lead Spanish armies, most of
the war fought via sieges and the destruction of the
many small towns and cities
 Council of Troubles/Blood executed as many as
20,000 Calvinists
• The southern provinces are especially damaged
 Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604)

 Causes and Background

• Unofficial War that consisted mostly of pirating and
small naval combats
• English supported Dutch resistance against Spanish rule
• Philip II was co-ruler of England with Queen “Bloody”
Mary
• Execution of his cousin Mary, Queen of the Scots by
Elizabeth I may have served as the spark

 The Spanish Armada- 1588

• Over 100 ships and 30,00 men sail up the English
channel
• 50 ships and 10,000 men return to Spain
• Victory seemed to confirm that God supported the
Protestant cause across Europe
• Spanish countered by defeating the English Armada in
1589

 War ended with the Treaty of London

• England would stop interfering in the Spanish
Netherlands
• Spain would stop interfering in Ireland
• England would stop piracy

 Treasuries of both countries exhausted by the end of the war

• The huge costs involved in fighting an overseas war Sir Francis Drake, successfully
• Spanish prestige damaged, English navy begins to pirated Spanish ships
dominate Europe and foreign wars
Elizabeth I, the Armada Portrait
 The Thirty Years War (1618-1648)

 Catholic Supporters
• Holy Roman Emperor and the Imperial armies
• Bavaria
• Spain

 Protestant Supporters
• Sweden, France, Denmark, the Dutch, Russia,
England
• France only Catholic nation
 Interested in preventing powerful Habsburg
kingdoms of Spain and Holy Roman Empire
from surrounding France

 Those who switched sides

• Savoy, Brandenburg, Palatinate, Hesse Kessel,
Saxony
• Smaller nations tried to stay on the winning
side

 1 million soldiers total participated

• ~150,000 Swedish and French
• ~300,000 Spanish

• As many as 12 million people died as a result

 The Leaders of the War

 Military commanders dominated

the first half of the war, many
commanded large personal armies
of mercenaries that often
devastated the local populations

 Most important individuals:

• Gustavus Aldophus (King of Gustavus
Sweden) Wallenstein
 Led protestant to major victories and
established the Swedish Empire
 Killed in 1632 at the Battle of Lutzen
• Albrecht Wallenstein
 Defeated Gustavus and nearly won the
war before assassinated by the Holy
Roman Emperor in 1634
• Count of Tilly
 Main opponent of Gustavus, died of
wounds in 1632 at the Battle of Rain
• Rene Descartes
 fought in the French armies Tilly Richelieu
The lands of the lords and princes of the Empire after 1648
“The Miseries and Misfortunes of War,” by Jacques Callot, 1632
 Significant Consequences
 Habsburg politically influenced diminished
 Rise of Bourbon (French) monarchy

 Rise of the Swedish Empire

 Collapse of central power structure in Holy

Roman Empire
 Franco-Spanish War until 1659

 Major decline in the power of the Catholic

Church
 Europe in 1648

 Treaty of Westphalia
• First modern congress
 Most nations attended and the first concepts of
international politics and balance of power begin to
form
• All parties recognize the Peace of Augsburg
 Confirms Protestant faiths
• To each his own, people have right to decide
religion

 France becomes dominant power

• Successfully challenged both Pope and the Holy
Roman Emperor
• Young Louis XIV comes of age after the war
 Regents Richelieu and Mazarin rule for him until
1661
 Louis became king at age 4 and reigned for 70+ years
• France adopts policy of increasing power and
prestige

 Absolute monarchies begin to consolidate power

in…
• France- 1598
• Russia- 1672
• Spain- 1554
• Austria- 1637
• Prussia- 1640
• Sweden- 1660
 Response to the Crisis

 Absolutism
• Monarch is the head of state/government and
rules without any legal opposition

• France, Spain, Prussia, Russia, and Austria

• Consolidation of royal power to end political
instability
• Development of the principle of the “Divine
Rights of Kings”
• Initially successful, but internal stability allows
for countries to take greater risks in world
politics

 England
• Civil War over future of English government
• Absolutism defeated and constitutional
monarchy established in 1688 (The Glorious
Revolution)

 Changing nature of warfare…

• Wars will now be fought over larger colonial
empires
• Britain begins to compete with
Spain/France/Dutch for colonies in India and the
Americas
Louis XIV of France