ABSTRACT
The Reformation of the sixteenth century and the introduction of John Calvin’s teaching into France resulted in intermittent persecution of Protestants beginning in the 1530s. This escalated as powerful political forces came into play. The French Wars of Religion, running from the 1560s to near the end of the century, were a struggle for power between the Catholic House of Guise and the Protestant House of Bourbon. The wars ended when the Protestant Henry of Navarre became King Henry IV of France and converted to Catholicism. In 1598 Henry proclaimed the Edict of Nantes, providing some religious freedoms to the Huguenots. The edict was revoked in 1685 by his grandson, Louis XIV, as he centralized the power of the state and control over the Roman Catholic Church on himself. Louis made it illegal to practice as a Protestant, and all Protestant churches and schools were closed.
