Edict of Nantes
Edict of Nantes
A decree passed by King Henri IV in 1598 that granted full religious liberty to the Huguenots (Protestants) of France. The decree allowed the Huguenots freedom to worship in private and public as they chose; it also granted them control of certain towns in France and set up courts of Catholic and Protestant judges that would hear cases involving Protestants. The edict was an attempt to end the decades of religious conflict in France that had resulted in thousands of deaths and decline in order throughout the kingdom. After the death of Henri IV, however, his successor King Louis XIV sought to consolidate royal control over the Protestant towns, including the strategic port of La Rochelle on the western coast. The armies of the king attacked and defeated La Rochelle in 1628, and by the Peace of Alais the Protestant towns lost their independence. In later decades Louis gradually ended the privileges granted to the Huguenots and in 1685 revoked the Edict of Nantes. This action resulted in the flight of thousands of Huguenot families to the Low Countries and to French colonies in North America, which drained France of a population vital to its growing manufacturing economy. The revocation also increased political tensions with France's Protestant neighbors.