The Age of Religious Wars

1559-1689

Wars of Religion

Wars of Religion: general

French Religious Wars

RELIGIOUS WARSRELIGIOUS WARS

General Information

• 1562-1598 French civil wars

• Philip II Crusade

• Dutch revolt against Philip II

• Thirty Years’ War 1618-48

• English Civil War– Puritan revolution 1640-1660

– Glorious Revolution 1688-89

• The two main crusaders:John Calvin and St. Ignatius Loyola– Calvinists seized control of Scotland,

northern provinces of the the Low Countries, temporarily England, France, Germany, Poland, and Hungary

– Catholics controlled Flanders, France, Austria, Spain, and Bohemia

• 1559 Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis between Phillip II of Spain and Henry II of France– French gave up claims to Italy; Spain

stopped trying to dismember France

– Habsburg victory; Valois lose

– But started a new era of warfare neither country could handle

• Calvinists and Catholics both ‘conservatives’ - no religious deviation would be tolerated in Christendom

• Both sides recognized new secular forces changing Europe a) overseas expansionb) commercial capitalismc) dynastic rivalryd) nationalisme) state sovereignty

• It would be the last medieval crusade and the first modern war

• Calvin died in 1564, the Council of Trent ended in 1563, Loyola died in 1556 – People no longer mediated disputes

• The Roman Inquisition and the Index of Prohibited Books kept Catholics ‘pure’

• The Consistory of Geneva kept Calvinists ‘pure’

Personalities

• Radical Catholics– Charles V (HRE): Charles I (Spain)– Philip II (Spain)– Mary I Tudor (England)

• Protestants– Edward VI (England)

• Moderates– Elizabeth I (England)– Henry IV of Navarre (France)

Political• The political trend during this time was

toward centralized, authoritarian state.– New Monarchy influence…

– Opened with Phillip II of Spain and ended with Louis XIV of France

– It was an era of absolutism, but not for the Dutch or the English

Economic

• It was an era of great inflation and the development of mercantilism– Exploration & influx of gold/silver

– Amsterdam became the commercial center of Europe

Intellectual & Art

• There was an intellectual Revolution in mathematics, physics, and astronomy– It was the age of Galileo, Descartes, and Newton– Scientific Revolution

• It was the period of the Baroque of great art and theater, of Shakespeare and Molière

Social

• Western capitalism v’s Eastern agriculture

• Spain, France, England, Holland all improved, Holy Roman Empire, Poland, Ottoman Empire all deteriorated

• Propertied v’s the propertyless

French Wars of Religion 1562-1598

• French collapse had many reasons:a) Huguenots and Catholicsb) Aristocracy and the Crownc) Bourgeoisie and political rightsd) Paris mobe) Riots in the provinces

• BUT religion triggered the crisis

• Francis I (1515-1547)Henry II (1547-59)Francis II (1559-60)Charles IX (1560-74)Henry III (1574-89)

• 1516 Concordat of Bologna - French bishops and abbots nominated by the monarch

• The king was not all-powerful, he lacked money

• Opposition began during the reign of Henry II

• 3 opponents: Guise, Montmorency, Bourbon

Catherine de’Medici

• Montmorency was very wealthy• Bourbons claimed the throne through blood• Guise - strongest group - ultra-Catholic• Henry II was killed at a tournament in 1559 at the Peace of

Cateau-Cambrésis, the throne went to his oldest son - Francis II• All the sons were dominated by their mother - Catherine de

Medici• Catherine tried to reconcile the Huguenots and the Catholics like

Elizabeth I had done

• The Catholics turned against her and supported the Guises– Guises controlled northern France, Paris and were helped by

Phillip II of Spain who wanted to see France destroyed

• Elizabeth of England supported the Huguenots

• 1562 the Duke of Guise ordered his men to slaughter a group of praying Huguenots - starting the French religious wars

• Killings mounted as both sides randomly killed any and all people

• For 10 years the killing continued - paid for by aristocrats who loved fighting

• In 1572 a peace was declared so the Bourbon prince Henry of Navarre could marry the sister of the king Charles IX

• The Guises saw this wedding as a disaster• Catherine de Medici, jealous of her sons, joined with the Guises• St Bartholomew’s day the Catholics ambushed the Huguenots in

their beds• Prince Henry was allowed to live after promising to become

Catholic

• Thousands of Huguenots were killed(The pope paid the messenger 100 gold coins)

• King Charles was sick - the House of Valois was discredited and the Huguenots were still around

• 1574 Charles died and was replaced by his neurotic brother Henry III

• Catholics and Huguenots hated Henry and the fighting resumed

• 1576 Henry of Guise formed the Holy League to destroy all Huguenots

• Prince Henry of Navarre, heir to the throne, renounced his Catholicism and led the Huguenots

• The War of the Three HenriesGuise v’s Valois v’s Navarre

• 1588 Phillip II order Guise to stage a riot in Paris to prevent the French from interfering with his Armada

• The king fled the city and left Guise in charge, he forced the king to make him chief minister

• But Phillip’s Armada was badly defeated and he was powerless to help Guise

• Henry III plotted to have Henry Guise assassinated• Henry III joined with Henry of Navarre to crush the

Catholics, but III was also assassinated by a fanatical monk

• Only Henry of Navarre was left• It took Henry 10 years to end the war because Philip kept

trying to invade France from Flanders• 1598 Henry and Phillip made peace restoring the terms of

1559

• 1598 Henry issued the Edict of Nantes – declaring Catholicism the official religion of

France

– nobles could practice Protestantism in the privacy of their own houses

– Huguenots could defend territory

– Huguenots could hold minor positions

• The French learned that a strong central government was the only answer to national problems - i.e. Absolute monarchy