French+Wars+of+Religion

=French Wars of Religion=

The French Wars of Religion were fought between the French Catholics and Protestants, or Huguenots, between 1562 and 1598. The main issues of the wars were the factional disagreements between the aristocratic houses of France. Nobody knows the exact number of wars and their respective dates, however many historians continually debate about them. There are two internationally accepted events, the Massacre of Vassy in 1562 and the Edict of Nantes in 1598, which started and concluded the wars, respectively.

A very large number of people were killed or died during the wars, somewhere between 2,000,000 and 4,000,000 people is the estimation. When the Edict of Nantes ended the conflict in 1598, Huguenots received their rights and freedoms, but there was still great hostility towards them. After the wars, the monarchy that was currently ruled under Francis II and then Charles IX was weakened, but then it regained power after Henry IV took the throne.

On September 27. 1629, Cardinal Richelieu and the Huguenot leaders negotiated The Peace of Alés, which was a confirmation of the Edict of Nantes but with extra differences added on. The Peace stated that the Huguenots had no political rights and the Huguenots were forced to give up all cities that they were in charge of. This ended the wars towards the Huguenots and granted guaranteed tolerance for them. Almost 60 years later, in 1685, King Louis XIV went against the Peace and continued the wars against the Huguenots and.

The wars and the creation of the Edict of Nantes created religious tolerance in France, making it a semi-free country. Although France was still ruled under a monarchy, the king could not prosecute anyone for religious practices. This gave the French a sense of freedom in their lives. The Edict of Nantes also gave political freedom to the French people as well, but they could not overthrow the monarchy. The monarchy of France was abolished in 1792. These wars helped make France into the country that it is today.