Details of the Huguenots in French History

Also translated as Huguenot and Huguenot, a sect formed by French Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. At the Paris Synod in 1559, it was organized by Calvin's followers in various regions of France. The name comes from Hugues Capet, the founder of the Capetian dynasty. A form of French Protestant reformation from the 16th to the 17th century. Since the 17th century, Huguenotism has been generally identified as "French Protestantism". This sect opposed the king's dictatorship and fought the Huguenot War with the French Catholics from 1562 to 1598. It later gained legal status due to the Edict of Nantes. Later, he was persecuted and was not officially recognized by the country until 1802. Influenced by the ideas of John Calvin in the 1530s, the Huguenots were politically opposed to absolute monarchy. Between 1555 and 1561, a large number of nobles and citizens converted to Huguenotism. During this period, the Catholic Church first called Calvin's followers "Huguenot", while the Huguenots called themselves "Reformers." The main components were the Protestant feudal nobles and small and medium-sized local nobles who opposed the king's autocracy and attempted to seize the Catholic Church's real estate, as well as the bourgeoisie and craftsmen who strived to preserve the "freedom" of the city.

In 1559 AD, there were 72 Huguenot churches in the country. This was a creedal and Presbyterian church with Calvinistic ideas; a year later, the number of Huguenot believers had increased. to 300,000 people. In the same year, Charles IX of France came to the throne at the age of ten, and was regent by Queen Mother Catherine. She took advantage of the discord between the two factions of the French aristocracy at that time (one faction was led by the Guise family in the northeast and relied on the support of the Roman Catholic Church; the other faction was led by the southwest and France). Headed by the central Bourbon family and believing in Calvinism), she allowed them to restrict each other to maintain her royal power. In 1561, she announced the end of the persecution of the Huguenots and released the arrested Protestants, which greatly increased the number of Protestants. , it is said that the snipe and the clam fight, and the fisherman wins. The Huguenots were religiously persecuted because of their incompatibility with France's traditional old religion. Therefore, instigated by the nobles of the two factions, the followers of the new and old religions hated each other and even developed into armed confrontation. This situation lasted for more than a year, and finally the "Siva Massacre" broke out on March 1, 1562. It was caused by the Duke of Guise passing through the town of Siwa when the Huguenot believers were holding a worship service. The two sides clashed, and Guise The Duke's armed entourage attacked them, killing and wounding more than two hundred people. This was the Huguenot War with the Catholic Church. This civil war lasted for more than 30 years and was divided into three stages and ten battles. The Saint Bartholomew's Massacre occurred in 1572, also known as Saint Bartholomew's Day. It is said that all the bells in Paris rang at the same time on that day. In fact, this was the code to start the massacre; This brutal act lasted for three days and three nights, and the massacre continued. The atrocities that were originally only in Paris even spread to other cities. Such a brutal suppression of the Huguenots can be called the most filthy event in history. One of the most brutal crimes. Unfortunately, this incident not only did not end the civil war, but brought more impact to the civil war. This kind of struggle continued until the era of Charles's next king, Henry III, and became a (triangle) between (three Henrys). Conflict), the so-called three Henrys refer to the moderate king-Henry III; the Catholic leader-Henry of Guise; and the Huguenot leader-Henry of Bourbon. Later, King Henry III ordered the murder of Henry of Guise. Unexpectedly, after Henry of Guise was killed, he himself was assassinated in retaliation from the enemy. Therefore, in 1589, the only surviving Henry de Beaubonne legitimately inherited the throne. However, because most of the people in France were still Catholics and could not tolerate a Huguenot king ruling them, Henry III declared himself a Catholic in 1593, and then in 1594, he entered Paris with great fanfare and became the King Henry IV.

In 1598, King Henry IV of France mentioned in his preface that he was once the leader of the Huguenots, but he converted to Roman Catholicism. The purpose of his conversion was to promulgate the Edict of Nantes, allowing Protestants to enjoy freedom of worship and belief. Freedom even gave them the right to armed self-defense. Therefore, the Huguenots retained armed self-defense forces in more than two hundred towns in southern France to serve as guarantees for the fulfillment of the king's edicts. The Edict of Nantes promulgated by King Henry IV of France is indeed in the spirit of religious tolerance. Legend has it that Henry IV once said: "Paris is well worth the existence of the Mass." , regardless of whether this statement is true, most historians today accept the fact that he changed his faith. However, sporadic fighting still occurred at that time. In 1610, Henry IV was assassinated, and France once again entered the scene of war. Many French people fled to neighboring countries and even the New World to seek refuge. It was not until 1628 that the Huguenot base of La La La Rochelle was taken, the worst of the sporadic fighting. In 1629, the political influence of the Huguenots in France also collapsed, but they continued to survive as a Huguenot group. Generally speaking, the 17th century was still a relatively peaceful era for the Huguenots in France. The good times did not last long. At the end of the 17th century, King Louis XIV of France promulgated the "Edict of Fontainebleau", abolished the "Edict of Nantes" and declared Protestantism illegal. As a result, about 200,000 Huguenots emigrated on a large scale, mainly settling in Britain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Prussia and other places.