Huguenot Timeline of Events

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Huguenot

The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the Calvinists...

Timeline of Events

1562

1.17.1562

France recognizes the Huguenots under the Edict of Saint-Germain.

3.1.1562

23 Huguenots are massacred by Catholics in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion.

1572

8.18.1572

Marriage in Paris of the future Huguenot King Henry IV of Navarre to Marguerite de Valois, in a supposed attempt to reconcile Protestants and Catholics.

8.24.1572

St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre: On the orders of king Charles IX of France, a massacre of Huguenots (French Protestants) begins.

1590

3.14.1590

Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots defeat the forces of the Catholic League under the Duc de Mayenne during the French Wars of Religion.

1598

4.13.1598

Henry IV of France issues the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom of religion to the Huguenots. (Edict repealed in 1685.)

1628

10.28.1628

The Siege of La Rochelle, which had lasted for 14 months, ends with the surrender of the Huguenots.

1762

3.10.1762

French Huguenot Jean Calas, who had been wrongly convicted of killing his son, dies after being tortured by authorities; the event inspired Voltaire to begin a campaign for religious tolerance and legal reform.