ABSTRACT
Historians had long considered the Wars of Religion, which steeped the kingdom of France in blood during the second half of the sixteenth century, to be a series of conflicts in a straightforward civil war. The emergence of London as an essential nerve centre of the international Huguenot network began slowly in the spring of 1562 with the outbreak of the first civil war in France and the regular arrival of diplomatic officials charged with negotiations with the queen and her advisors. Between April and September 1562 at least four of these envoys were appointed by the leaders of the Huguenot party. In succeeding wars, and in spite of frequently stormy relations between the French Reformed high nobility and Elizabeth I, London rapidly acquired its position as a centre of Huguenot diplomacy. The importance of London's role in the building and functioning of a Huguenot diplomatic network appears incontrovertible.
