Henry of Navarre and the edict of Nantes

1. Henry of Navarreand the edict of Nantes By: Cadeena Liou and Lauren Chen

2. Henry of Navarre • French nobleman • Henry was in line to be the king however he was Huguenot (a French Calvinist protestant) so he had to fight through Catholic troops to become king • Converted to Catholicism and was accepted by the people • Crowned Henry IV and reigned between 1553-1610

3. Events Leading up to Henry of Navarre’s Reign • Henry of Navarre was in Paris getting married during the time that the Queen of France ordered the killing of Huguenots - Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre • Huguenot nobles, who were attending Henry’s wedding, were killed first • Many were killed but Henry escaped by denying his religion • This was the starting point of the violence spreading through France

4. The Edict of Nantes • Created by King Henry IV to restore peace • Issued in 1598 and gave Huguenots some freedom to worship - Were able to hold office positions - Could rule 200 towns where Huguenots dominated the area • The “one king, one law, one religion” concept was gone with this edict • Catholicism was still the official religion of France but you weren’t forced to follow this religion • Huguenots had to financially support the Catholic Church under the Edict

5. France After the Edict of Nantes • Religious wars stopped • Henry eliminated all of France’s debt and France became economically stable again • The extra money was put towards improving the country by creating more industries and building canals and roads

6. Disunity in Europe • The Edict of Nantes had to be issued because there were religious wars occurring between Catholics and Huguenots all throughout France • France was broken up into two different religions after King Henry VI decided that Huguenots could worship even under a Catholic government • If this was happening in France, this must have been happening elsewhere in Europe, breaking everyone apart