In France, we call religious wars a series of eight conflicts, which devastated the kingdom of France in the second half of the 16th century and where Catholics and Protestants opposed each other.
The development of humanism during the Renaissance, of a thought that was both critical and individualistic, provoked the birth of a current of Reformation which called into question the traditional principles of the Christian religion taught by the Church of Rome. Traditional Catholicism is thus opposed to Protestantism, an opposition that leads to a terrible civil war.
The first persecutions against those who adhere to the new ideas begin in the 1520s[1]. But it is necessary to wait for the years 1540 and 1550, to see the development of the cleavages. These are mainly made around the iconoclastic destructions committed by the Protestants on the objects of the Roman ritual considered as sacred by the Catholics; relics, Blessed Sacraments and devotional statues. At the end of the reign of Henry II, the conflict became politicized and on the death of the king in 1559, the nobility organized their networks according to their religious acquaintances. The religious wars began in 1562 and continued interspersed with periods of peace until 1599, with the establishment of the Edict of Nantes. The wars of religion continued in the 17th century (siege of La Rochelle, revocation of the Edict of Nantes) and 18th century (war of the Camisards), until the end of the persecutions under Louis XVI (Edict of tolerance in 1788) .
These religious disorders are particularly difficult to study because of their complexity. Religious differences are superimposed on political confrontations, social struggles, cultural differences and finally a tense European context. It is a period that constitutes a decline for France.
The causes of the conflict
The weakening of royal power
These troubles coincided with a weakening of royal authority. Kings Francis I and Henry II had allowed no challenge to their power. When Henri II died accidentally on July 10, 1559, his successors François II and Charles IX were too young to be able to impose their authority. They cannot prevent the French from tearing each other apart. Between the two warring camps, the queen mother Catherine de Medici and her chancellor Michel de l'Hospital tried in vain to maintain the continuity of the state by establishing religious tolerance.
The insubordination of the French finds its model in the behavior of princes and great lords who allow themselves to take up arms without royal permission. The feudal character of the country appears clearly with the growing independence of princes and parties which dangerously increase the network of their clienteles. The meeting of the Estates General, held three times during the wars of religion, bears witness to this weakening of royal authority. The king needs the support of his subjects to be able to make decisions that will be respected. On this occasion, the royal power was challenged by lawyers and scholars who imagined a greater subordination of the king with regard to these assemblies.
The dispute for power and royal favor
The kings being too young to reign, different political camps try to impose themselves to control the royal power. These are three great noble clans who will thus oppose each other:
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the Montmorency:this is one of the oldest and most powerful families in France. The reason is the extraordinary fortune of the constable Anne de Montmorency who exercised a very important influence on King Henry II. In this family are illustrated François de Montmorency and his first cousins, the three Châtillon brothers (Gaspard de Coligny, François d'Andelot and Odet, cardinal de Châtillon). Although divided between Catholics and Protestants, the Montmorency-Châtillons united on occasion to counter the growing influence of the Guise, their rivals. Without reducing the wars of religion to a private conflict between these two families [2], their competition in the race for power mobilizes their respective immense clientele, spread over the entire kingdom. The Montmorency clan came out the loser in the hostilities (its members died in combat, assassinated, imprisoned and exiled) but it nevertheless experienced a rebirth alongside Henri IV thanks to the governor of Languedoc, the Duke Henri Ier de Montmorency-Damville.
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the Guise:they are the leaders of the Catholic party. Cousins of the Duke of Lorraine, they know their political rise thanks to Claude de Lorraine and his son François, the first two Dukes of Guise. Thanks to the marriage of Marie Stuart with the heir to the throne, the people of Lorraine strengthened the links between their house and the Valois dynasty. In their family are also distinguished Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, Henri I, Duke of Guise and Charles, Duke of Mayenne. If the hostility shown by the Guises against Catherine de Medici's policy of religious tolerance sometimes caused them to be sidelined during the reign of Charles IX, this Catholic intransigence allowed them to cultivate great popularity with the people. . Praised as champions of the faith, they returned triumphantly to center stage under Henry III thanks to the League. In 1588, the Parisian Leaguers succeeded in driving Henri III out of the capital, which considerably strengthened the influence of the people of Lorraine. Catherine de Medici herself ended up "asking" her son to "make the Duc de Guise happy" [3]. The following year, the League deposed the king following the assassination of the two heads of the house; their surviving brother, Charles, Duke of Mayenne, became the main opponent of the accession of Protestant King Henry IV. Despite their final defeat and their submission to Henri IV, the power of the Guise remained strong enough to force the king to spare them.
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the Bourbons:descendants of Saint Louis in direct line, they are princes of the house of France. It is a family of which some members are the leaders of the Protestant party, including the brothers Louis de Condé and Antoine de Bourbon as well as their respective sons Henri de Condé and Henri IV. It is a divided family that is struggling to find a true leader. Faced with his cousins and his uncle Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon, the legitimate heir Henri de Navarre struggled to impose himself. The death of the last Valois sovereign allows him to gird the crown of France.
Interference from neighboring countries
The wars of religion were also caused by the interference of neighboring countries which kept the flames of unrest burning in order to further weaken France. After losing the Battle of Saint-Quentin in 1557 and signing the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559, France saw the weakening of its leadership in favor of the King of Spain Philip II. Due to the civil war, it experienced a decline in the second half of the 16th century, which benefited Spain and England. But despite the rise of these two countries, France remains a very great power in Europe by its demography, its wealth and its prestige.
To lower France, Spain and England are constantly lending a hand to rebellious subjects. Queen Elizabeth I of England intervened by supporting the Protestants and the King of Spain by supporting the Guise clan, supporters of intransigent Catholicism. During the wars of religion, France was thus divided by two factions supported financially and militarily by foreign countries. During the 1580s, France even seemed to become a battleground where Spain and England clashed through interposed parties.
France's bordering neighbors also have territorial ambitions. England intends to recover the city of Calais, the loss of which it did not accept in 1558. Spain hopes to recover the northern part of Navarre. Savoy, allied with Spain, intends to recover the Italian places occupied by France since the Italian wars.
The wars of religion in France are very dependent on the European context. This is particularly the case with regard to the Spanish Netherlands where politico-religious unrest has been raging since 1566. The war in the Spanish Netherlands automatically affects the French conflicts and vice versa.
The King of France also called on foreign armies to help him re-establish his authority. He thus brings in the Swiss as well as Italian troops sent by the Pope. German reiters and lansquenets were used extensively in the conflict by both sides. The Spaniards use troops of Flemish nationality.
Chronology of Heads of State of France, the Netherlands, Spain and England
The beginnings of the conflict
The first religious problems appeared during the reign of François I (1515-1547). Despite his inclination for humanism, the king considered the Reformation harmful to his authority. He categorically opposed it when the first attacks appeared, namely the iconoclastic destructions that affected holy images (sculptures, relics). From the affair of the Placards (1534), the king began to persecute the Protestants by issuing edicts condemning them.
It was under the reign of his son Henry II (1547-1559) that religious tensions increased dangerously. Even more intolerant than his father, Henry II pursues without weakness those who are called heretics. He multiplies the edicts and creates the burning chambers to condemn them to the stake. Despite this persecution, Protestantism experienced considerable growth. Under the leadership of talented religious leaders (like Calvin), Protestantism appealed to more and more people. Urban circles (craftsmen and bourgeois), and the nobility are particularly affected. Their success causes in the intransigent catholics, a very big resentment. Each party is persuaded to be the sole supporter of the true faith. The country is on the verge of a religious crisis. Only the strong authority of the king allowed the country to remain united, especially during the wars against Spain. The brutal death of Henry II in 1559 opens a period of complete uncertainty.
In 1560, the different parties clashed to control the royal power now placed in the hands of a young teenager without experience, François II. The young king entrusted the government to his wife's uncles, the Duke of Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine, pro-Catholic supporters of religious intolerance. The Protestants, led by the Prince of Condé, questioned the legitimacy of the Guise and tried to force their way. This leads to the first violent episode of the wars of religion, the tumult of Amboise.
The brutal death of François II at the end of 1560 momentarily calms people down. Queen Catherine de Medici, who opens the regency in the name of the very young Charles IX, seeks common ground between Catholics and Protestants. With Chancellor Michel de l'Hospital, she multiplies the meetings between the parties and even tries through the Poissy conference to maintain the unity of Christianity. But the policy of the queen fails because of too strong antagonisms which oppose Protestants and Catholics. The emergence of a moderate party at court led to a relaxation of pressure on the Reformers. Protestants feel free and the most violent seek to impose themselves by force. It is no longer just about iconoclasm but about local political clashes. Many violent accidents swarm in the provinces. In the end, Catherine de Medici no longer controls the situation.
Confident in their future, those who feel bad about the faith have converted en masse to Protestantism. The year 1561 is the peak of Protestantism in France. There are about two million Protestants in France. Catholics are more irritated than ever. Acts of violence are increasing throughout the country. The animosity becomes extreme. Each party raises armies. When the year 1562 begins, everyone expects a terrible year. On January 17, 1562, Catherine de Medici promulgates the Edict of January which constitutes a real revolution since it authorizes freedom of conscience and freedom of worship for Protestants, on the condition that they restore all the places of worship whose they had seized. The civil tolerance established by the queen will produce the opposite effect to that sought.
The conflict
Three phases can be distinguished in the course of the wars of religion:
* the Protestant offensive from 1560 to 1572, a period during which Protestantism was on the rise (in the nobility and in the city). The growing number of converts sparked a dynamic surge of enthusiasm among Protestants that led them to believe firmly - wrongly - in the conversion of the entire kingdom. After several disappointments, the Saint-Barthélemy Massacre in 1572 dealt a drastic blow to the development of the movement and put a definitive end to Protestant illusions.
* the offensive of the malcontents from 1572 to the 1580s, a period during which the wars of religion took on more the aspect of a political conflict led by a moderate Catholic party dissatisfied with the strengthening of royal power. At the head of the movement stands the own brother of King François d'Alençon and Catholics of great nobility.
* the Catholic offensive from 1580 to 1599, a period during which the beginnings of the Catholic Counter-Reformation appeared. Catholics seek to exclude Protestants from the kingdom. Their intransigence leads them to be seduced by religious obscurantism and triggers one of the most violent religious wars.
First religious war (1562-1563)
The rupture was consummated on March 1, 1562, when Duke François de Guise, returning from negotiations in Alsace, confronted and killed in Wassy, in unclear circumstances, 37 Protestants gathered in a barn to celebrate their worship. On his return to Paris, Guise was welcomed as a hero and the people demanded a crusade against the Huguenots. On the Protestant side, we are witnessing an uprising under the leadership of Prince Louis de Condé, who seizes the city of Orléans. Taken by surprise by the haste of events, Catherine de Medici tried a final step to maintain peace, but the Duke of Guise undertook a real coup against her by surging in force with his troops at Fontainebleau where the royal family was. He forced the young king and his mother to follow him to Paris under the pretext of protecting them from the Protestants, thus forcing them to side with the Catholics. The first religious war has just broken out.
The Protestants were the first to go on the offensive. The struggle is organized for the control of urban space. The Protestant attack is dazzling. After a month, the Protestants manage to seize a large number of cities, including very important ones such as Lyon, Orléans or even Rouen, the second largest city in the country. With each take, the Protestants proceed methodically to the ransacking of the churches, even to their destruction. The losses are immense but the Protestants fail in Toulouse and Bordeaux. For the Catholic army begins the long siege campaign that must be put in place to recover the taken cities.
There are several theaters of operations. The most important is that which is deployed on the Loire and in Normandy where the royal Catholic army is trying to retake Rouen. The second combat zone is located in the South-East, in particular on the Languedoc side, and the third combat zone takes place in the South-West where Blaise de Monluc leads a war and relentless repression against the Protestants he incidentally defeated at the Battle of Vergt.
The Protestant army is essentially made up of merchants and craftsmen. It is supervised by experienced noble networks and calls on German mercenaries. Since the Hampton Court Treaty, she has had the significant support of the Queen of England. The Protestants, however, failed to unite their three armies (south-west, south-east, Loire Valley).
The battle that took place at Dreux on December 19, 1562 turned out to the advantage of the royal army. The Prince of Condé is captured but the Catholic camp also suffers several losses; Marshal de Saint-André was killed and Constable Anne de Montmorency was taken prisoner by the Protestants.
The two most important Catholic warlords, Antoine de Bourbon and François de Guise, were soon killed, the first at the siege of Rouen and the second at the siege of Orléans during an ambush at Saint-Mesmin.
The loss of the main warlords allows Catherine de Medici to restore peace. She launched negotiations with the Prince of Condé which ended on March 19, 1563 with the Edict of Amboise. It authorizes Protestant worship in certain reserved places and opens a period of civil tolerance. The cities of Rouen, Orléans and Lyon return to the Catholics.
This war has left heavy wounds. The churches and cathedrals taken by the Protestants were extremely damaged. Because of the violence they experienced, cities like Rouen, Orléans and Lyon subsequently became hotbeds of intransigent Catholicism. The end of the war leads many Catholics to take revenge on the Protestants. During 1563, many lawsuits were brought to condemn the Protestants who plundered the churches.
In the end, the peace imposed by the queen mother remains precarious. Catholics hold a grudge against Protestants for the destruction they have committed. The first religious war was the most destructive. As for the Protestants, they remain convinced and determined to convert the kingdom to their religion.
Taking advantage of peace, Catherine de Medici began a royal tour of France in 1564, in order to show the young Charles IX to her people. Everywhere, he was received triumphantly, and demonstrations of loyalty, both Catholics and Protestants, were general[4].
Second religious war (1567-1568)
After having known peace for four years, the kingdom of France is again the prey to arms. The resumption of hostilities in 1567 can be explained for three reasons:the failure of the Edict of Amboise which left freedom of worship only to nobles, the stormy international context and the court rivalry between the Prince of Condé and the king's younger brother, Henri Duke of Anjou. The ambitious Condé took umbrage at the political rise of the young prince, barely sixteen years old, and left the court to express his annoyance.
Outside the country, the situation is serious. In 1566, a violent iconoclastic wave swept over the churches and convents of Flanders. This widespread popular riot known as the beggar revolt was very quickly brought under control by the Spaniards who govern the Netherlands, but the nobility of the country took the opportunity to demand more freedom from the King of Spain. Although calm returned in 1567, King Philip II of Spain dispatched an army to punish his rebellious subjects. The Spanish army sent from the Milanese heads towards the Netherlands along the French border. The enemy approach revives the fears of the King of France who decides to raise several Swiss battalions to prevent a possible Spanish attack on France. This lifting arouses the concern of French Protestants who have remained suspicious since the interview in Bayonne, the outcome of which has remained secret. The iconoclastic surge of the Flemings and the setbacks of Mary Stuart in Scotland rekindled passions in France and led to new incidents in the provinces (the Michelade massacre).
The second war broke out precisely on September 28, 1567 when the Prince of Condé tried to seize the royal family by force (Surprise de Meaux). This break in the policy of concord is a surprise and the attack of the Prince of Condé, in whom Catherine de Medici had placed her hopes of conciliation, is a betrayal. It is following this event that the regent of the kingdom resolves to use violence to maintain peace. The Protestant cities of the South rise again and the two armies clash again. At the head of the Protestant army, Condé settled in Saint-Denis, with a view to starving Paris. But, on November 10, he was repelled during the battle of Saint-Denis, although undecided, in particular because of the death of the Constable de Montmorency.
The rest of the campaign takes place in the south-east of the Paris region, between Loire and Meuse in a face-to-face without confrontation. From November 1567 to February 1568, the Duke of Anjou strives to pursue the Protestant army. But Condé and Coligny refuse to give battle before their junction with the German reiters of Prince Palatine Jean Casimir. They leave the banks of the Seine for Lorraine where the junction must take place. For its part, the royal army awaits the German troops of the Duke of Saxony and the Italian troops of Piedmont. Apart from a few skirmishes, nothing happens. United with the reîtres, the Protestants went down to Burgundy, crossed the Loire at La Charité, went up towards Paris and took Blois and Chartres. The lack of financial means, on both sides, led to the signing of a truce, known as the Peace of Longjumeau on March 22, 1568.
Third War of Religion (1568-1570)
The peace of Longumeau is fragile because the royal power no longer trusts the Prince of Condé, and the idea of an international coordination of Catholics for the repression of Protestantism is accredited (for example with the execution of Cocqueville). The Peace of Longjumeau is more of a truce which above all allows the belligerents to organize their armies. A few months after the signing of the peace, the war resumed. It was the Catholics who anticipated by trying to capture by surprise the Prince of Condé, at the Château de Noyers, and the Admiral de Coligny, at Tanlay, on July 29, 1568. The project failed and the Protestant leaders gathered at La Rochelle where Coligny and Condé have found refuge.
The entire campaign takes place in the West of France, south of the Loire. The objective of the royal army is to seize the Protestant towns located between the Charente and the Dordogne. The Protestants entrenched in La Rochelle await the military support of the Prince of Orange and the Duke of Deux-Pont, whose army is financed by the Queen of England. For its part, the royal army commanded by the Duke of Anjou awaits support from Spain and the Pope.
After a winter campaign without major clashes and marked by desertions, the Duke of Anjou won on March 13, 1569 in Jarnac a victory where the Prince of Condé was killed. Coligny, who succeeded him at the head of the Calvinists, named Henri de Navarre and Henri de Condé chiefs of the Huguenot army but in reality remained the only real chief. On the Catholic side, Anjou failed to exploit its victory for lack of sufficient artillery and failed to take Cognac. Nor does he have sufficient troops to garrison the towns captured from the Protestants.
While in April, Brissac and Andelot each died regretted by his camp, the Duke of Deux-Ponts entered France and vandalized Burgundy. The Catholics were alarmed when he took La Charité-sur-Loire without difficulty, which allowed them to cross the Loire. The king goes to the camp of Orleans while Catherine de Medici descends to the camp of the Duke of Anjou. If by chance, the Duke of Deux-Ponts died in the meantime, on June 25, 1569, Coligny defeated the Catholics at La Roche-L'Abeille where Strozzi was taken prisoner. Then Coligny lays siege to Poitiers where the Duke of Guise hastily shut himself up. But Coligny was again defeated on October 3 by the Duke of Anjou at the Battle of Moncontour.
The military operations turned to the advantage of the royal army which took over the Protestant towns of Poitou one by one. After Châtellerault, Niort and Lusignan, Anjou installs the siege in front of Saint-Jean-d'Angély where the king and the queen mother come to join it on October 24. La Rochelle is blocked by sea, but with winter setting in and money lacking on either side, negotiations resume. The hostilities ended more or less with the capitulation of Saint-Jean-d'Angély on December 3, 1569. During the negotiations, Coligny, who had taken over the shreds of the army, continued his retreat by the south and to the surprise of the Catholics won the Battle of Arnay-le-Duc over Cossé on June 27, 1570. This event precipitated the signing of a new truce, the Edict of Saint-Germain, on August 8, 1570. This treaty guaranteed 4 places of safety to Protestants .
Fourth War of Religion (1572-1573)
This fourth war opened with the massacre of Saint-Barthélemy, on August 24, 1572. The failure of the siege of La Rochelle by the royal army and the lack of resources of the royal treasury put a rapid end to the operations.
It was from this war that absolute monarchical power began to be questioned:
* by the constitution of the Union of Protestants of the South, a real parallel government, which levies taxes (on Catholics and Protestants), has its States (elected by the faithful), establishes a program of negotiation with the king and owns its own military organization;
* by the publication of theoretical works:Franco-Gallia by François Hotman and Le Réveil-matin des Français, which contest the heredity of the monarchy and the legitimacy of the Regency, in particular by a woman and a foreigner.
Summary timeline
* Night of August 23 to 24, 1572:massacre of Saint-Barthélemy
* January 13-August 31, 1573:Siege of Sancerre by royal and Catholic troops.
* February 11-July 6, 1573:Siege of La Rochelle
* June 24, 1573:negotiation that puts an end to the siege.
* July 11, 1573:Edict of Boulogne where the clauses of the Edict of Amboise are brought back into force. The Protestants obtain La Rochelle, Montauban and Nîmes, lose Cognac and La Charité-sur-Loire.
* July 1573:negotiation of Montauban. The Protestants of the South refuse the Edict of Boulogne.
* August 24, 1573:Capitulation of Sancerre. The governor of Berry, La Châtre, who commands the royal troops, enters Sancerre on August 31.
Fifth Religious War (1574-1576)
This war opens with the plot of the Malcontents. Since the strengthening of royal power and the benevolence granted by the king to the radicals of the Catholic party, a rebellious movement was born within the court itself. The opposition is in particular waged against the supporters of the Duke of Anjou, whose political influence has been at its peak since Saint-Barthélemy. The absence of the prince, who left to join his kingdom of Poland, leads to many political speculations.
The plot is led by the king's own younger brother, François d'Alençon who intends to remove Anjou from the succession to the throne of France. He is allied with the house of Montmorency (Montmorency and Thoré) and the King of Navarre and plans with him to flee the court and trigger the break. The plotters have outside support. The Prince of Condé has gone to seek refuge with the Protestant princes of Germany, while Montgomery prepares a landing in Normandy with the help of his English friends. The plotters also have the support of Ludovic de Nassau and Turenne.
The plot fails, the escape of the princes is stymied, the plotters arrested. Marshal de Montmorency is imprisoned, with Cossé-Brissac, Montgomery captured in Normandy by Matignon. Only of the Montmorency clan, Damville, governor of Languedoc, remains, by making an alliance with the Protestants.
When Henri III returned from France to ascend the throne, he pardoned the rebellious princes but was unable to reach an agreement with the governor of Languedoc, Damville, Montmorency's brother, whose release he demanded. The war is frozen, but opens again a few months later with the very surprising escape of the brother of King François, followed six months later by that of the King of Navarre. The belligerents then form a coalition and open hostilities against the king. Despite the victory on October 10, 1575, at Dormans, of the Duke of Guise, whom the King placed at the head of the royal troops, the Prince of Condé brought in Jean Casimir, the son of the Count Palatine of the Rhine, who came to threaten Paris with his army. Henri III had to bow and on May 6, 1576 he granted the Edict of Beaulieu, which gave greater freedom of worship to Protestants, rehabilitated the memory of Coligny, and above all provided the king's brother with enormous advantages.
Sixth Religious War (1576-1577)
The sixth war is the consequence of too favorable conditions granted to Protestants and princes of the Edict of Beaulieu. Elle permet au roi de reprendre quelques villes, mais, très mal soutenu par la Ligue créée en 1576, il abandonne les opérations faute de moyens. Cette guerre s’achève par l’édit de Poitiers, qui restreint les conditions du culte protestant.
* 17 septembre 1577 :paix de Bergera
* 8 octobre 1577 :l’édit de Poitiers confirme la paix de Bergerac.
Septième guerre de religion (1579-1580) ou guerre des Amoureux
Déclarée par une minorité de protestants, cette guerre fut l’une des plus courtes et des moins suivies. Elle se finit dans l’indifférence avec la prise de Cahors par Henri de Navarre et la paix de Fleix (près de Bergerac) accordant des baux de six ans aux places de sûreté protestantes. Cette guerre est aussi appelée guerre des Amoureux en raison des intrigues de galanterie qui y donnèrent lieu. En effet, le protestant Henri de Navarre (futur Henri IV) et sa femme Marguerite de Valois (la reine Margot) menèrent joyeuse vie à Nérac au milieu d’une cour composée de jeunes seigneurs frivoles, et que leurs continuelles galanteries avaient fait surnommer les Amoureux.
Huitième guerre de religion (1585-1598)
Par sa durée qui est de 13 ans, cette huitième et dernière guerre de religion est la plus importante. Elle meurt avec la Sainte Ligue catholique, un groupe politico-religieux qui s’est donné le but de faire disparaître le protestantisme de France. Trois époques se dessinent :
* 1585-1589 :L’alliance de la Ligue et du roi.
La réconciliation en 1584 du roi de France Henri III avec le roi de Navarre Henri III, dont il a fait son héritier a soulevé une grande vague de protestation catholique. Au printemps 1585, la Ligue revigorée prend le pouvoir dans beaucoup de villes locales. Elle reçoit le soutien d’une grande partie de la population et de la noblesse (la clientèle des Guise en particulier). L’ampleur du soulèvement contraint le roi de France à signer le traité de Nemours qui l’oblige à rompre avec le roi de Navarre et à lui faire la guerre ainsi qu’aux protestants. Guère motivé, le roi laisse le conflit s’enliser et n’apporte pas les moyens qu’il faut pour supporter le duc de Mayenne qui peine à battre Navarre, ce qui rend le roi impopulaire. Poussé par le duc de Joyeuse, le roi consent en 1587 à intervenir. La reine d’Angleterre et les princes allemands apportent leur soutien aux protestants. Le roi confie à Joyeuse le soin de battre Navarre et à Guise celui de battre les secours allemands. Le premier est vaincu à la bataille de Coutras, le second est vainqueur à Auneau, ce qui renforce la popularité de la Ligue qui s’empare du pouvoir à Paris à l’occasion de la « Journée des Barricades » en 1588. Chassé de Paris et détesté par les Ligueurs, Henri III tente de maintenir son autorité en éliminant la Ligue dont il fait assassiner les chefs, le duc de Guise et son frère le cardinal de Lorraine à Blois en décembre 1588.
* 1589-1594 :À la conquête de Paris
Destitué de son trône, le roi n’a plus d’autre solution que de s’allier aux protestants pour mettre fin à la puissance de la Ligue. Réconcilié avec le roi de Navarre, Henri III est assassiné en 1589 par un moine fanatique, faisant ainsi de Henri de Navarre, chef des Protestants, le roi de France sous le nom d’Henri IV. Henri IV tente d’entreprendre la reconquête de son royaume en grande partie tenu par la Ligue, qui refuse de reconnaître un roi protestant. Après la victoire d’Arques, il vient mettre le siège devant Paris qu’il fait bombarder. Contraint à la retraite à cause de la faiblesse de ses effectifs, il obtient le ralliement des personnes fidèles à la dignité royale. Après la brillante victoire d’Ivry, il tente un troisième siège sur Paris où plusieurs milliers de pauvres gens meurent de faim. L’opinion publique peine toutefois à se porter en sa faveur, du fait de l’accentuation de la pression fanatique qu’exerce sur la population une minorité extrémiste appelée les Seize. Au bout de plusieurs semaines de siège, Henri IV se voit contraint de lever le camp, à cause d’une armée de tertio espagnols envoyés par Alexandre Farnèse pour secourir Paris. Henri IV abandonne momentanément Paris. S’il parvient à prendre Chartres, ville réputée royaliste, il échoue devant Rouen dont le siège avait duré plus d’un an (1591-1592). Sur le front sud, le duc de Montmorency parvient à battre la famille de Joyeuse avec laquelle les Montmorency se disputent le Languedoc depuis le début des guerres de religion et menace désormais la ville de Toulouse aussi Catholique que Paris. En Savoie, Lesdiguières accumule des victoires qui permettent de libérer Marseille et la Provence du carcan du duc de Savoie qui s’était permis de la prendre. La conversion au catholicisme d’Henri IV en 1593 lui ouvre les portes de Paris en 1594.
* 1594-1598 :La conquête de la France
Durablement installé dans sa capitale, Henri IV peut songer à finir la reconquête de son royaume. Il déclare officiellement la guerre à l’Espagne et entame une campagne en Bourgogne qui débouche sur l’écrasement des dernières forces armées de la Ligue à la bataille de Fontaine-Française. Mayenne vaincu, la Ligue nobiliaire cesse peu à peu d’exister. Henri IV peut faire son entrée royale dans la ville de Lyon qui contrairement à Paris, l’accueille avec beaucoup de pompe. Si Mayenne et le cardinal de Joyeuse font leur soumission au roi, il n’en va pas de même du gouverneur de Bretagne, le duc de Mercoeur qui maintient la coupe ligueuse sur la Bretagne où Philippe II fait débarquer une troupe espagnole. L’Est reconquis, Henri IV songe à protéger sa frontière nord attaquée par les Espagnols. Les affrontements à Laon rétablissent la situation en sa faveur mais la prise surprise de la ville d’Amiens par les Espagnols remet tout en question. Délaissé par les protestants qui s’estiment lésés par le roi, Henri IV tente tant bien que mal de reprendre Amiens où il déploie des moyens militaires considérables. Une armée de secours espagnols vient assiéger l’armée assiégeante, mais au bout de multiples sacrifices, la ville est reprise. En 1598, la France et l’Espagne sont à bout de force et signent la paix de Vervins.
Henri IV se déplace à Angers pour préparer un nouvel édit de pacification et soumettre à Nantes, le duc de Mercoeur. Le roi de Navarre obtiendra la paix avec Mercoeur et réglera le problème protestant par l’adoption d’un édit de tolérance, l’Édit de Nantes.
Timeline
* 7 juillet 1585 :Traité de Nemours (Henri III reconnaissait la Ligue)
* 20 octobre 1587 :bataille de Coutras (vainqueur Henri de NAvarre)
* 12 mai 1588 :journée des barricades (soulevement des catholiques parisiens contre Henri III)
* 23 décembre 1588 :assassinat du duc de Guise et du cardinal de Guise
* 1er août 1589 :assassinat d’Henri III, arrivée au pouvoir de Henri IV
* 15-29 septembre 1589 :bataille d’Arques (vainqueur Henri IV)
* 14 mars 1590 :bataille d’Ivry (vainqueur Henri IV)
* 23 mai 1592 :bataille de Craon
* 2 mai 1593 :bataille du Port-Ringeard
* 25 juillet 1593 :Henri IV se reconvertit au catholicisme
* 22 mars 1594 :Henri IV entre enfin dans Paris
* 5 juin 1595 :Bataille de Fontaine-Française (vainqueur Henri IV, fin de la Ligue)
* 11 mars-19 septembre 1597 :siège d’Amiens
* 13 avril 1598 :édit de Nantes
* 2 mai 1598 :Traité de Vervins (les Espagnols rendent à la France ses territoires occupés)
Sources
* Pierre Miquel. Les Guerres de religion. Paris :Librairie Arthème Fayard, 1980 (réédition). Chronologie détaillée, Index détaillé, bibliographie (27 p). 596
* Arlette Jouanna (dir.), Histoire et dictionnaire des guerres de religion, 1559-1598, Robert Laffont, coll. « Bouquins », 1998 (ISBN 2221074254);