War of Religions

With the failure of the edict of toleration, Admiral Coligny and the Prince of Condé are forced to flee to the safety of La Rochelle, from which they wage the Third War of Religion. After a month of fighting, they capture most of Western France for the Huguenots. 

After the second war, the royal ministry almost immediately turns their backs on the edict of toleration as the kingdom descends into chaos once again. 

In the final act of the Second War of Religion, the Prince of Condé lays siege to Chartres while the two sides hammer out a peace agreement.

After the Battle of Saint-Denis, the Prince of Condé flees east to meet up with German mercenaries in Lorraine as his armies consolidate. Meanwhile, a rogue Protestant commander disobeys direct orders from Condé and fights to expel the royalists from the south of France.

In this episode, we return to Paris where the fate of the city is left to a brutal fight between the armies of the Prince of Condé and Anne de Montmorency near the suburb of Saint-Denis. 

At the same time while the Huguenots conspired to capture the king at Meaux, a group of Protestants in the city of Nîmes rise up to overthrow their city council, and extinguish Catholicism from their city once and for all. 

The Protestants, fed up with the lack of enforcement of the edict of toleration, take it upon themselves to kidnap King Charles IX.

This episode turns from the events in Europe to examine the Huguenot attempts at colonization in Brazil and Florida.

After the peace, Huguenots and Catholics unite to drive the English from France. Afterwards, King Charles IX comes of age and celebrates with a royal tour of France to show off his force and make sure that the edict of tolerance was being enforced.

After the Battle of Dreux, the Duke of Guise leads his army to Orléans for a final siege to end the war. Catherine and Condé negotiate a peace, but not without an untimely death.

As 1562 comes to an end, the Catholics have a series of victories over the Huguenots, such as the fall of Rouen and the defeat of the Protestant forces in Aquitaine. Condé responds by trying the seize Paris, and the Battle of Dreux ensues to decide the fate of France.

With Toulouse securely in Catholic hands, Joyeuse tries to reclaim the rest of Languedoc for himself. He lays siege to Montpellier,  but in order to defeat the Huguenots, he first must link up with Catholic forces under Sommerive on the other side of Provence.

In May of 1562, the streets of Toulouse came alive with blood as religious riots gave way to urban warfare, leaving thousands dead. University students fought alongside their fellow townsmen, as snipers dominated the roofs of the city and barricades divided its streets.

A quarrel between Guise and Condé erupts into a full civil war as power struggles consume countless cities across France.

This time, the Duke of Guise makes new friends and enemies as he clashes with a Huguenot congregation in the city of Wassy, France. A massacre against the Protestants ensues, leaving fifty dead.

The reign of Francis II was characterized by further religious tensions, as Protestants try to kidnap the king at court. However, the young king's death leads to Charles IX on the throne, and Catherine de Medici experiments with religious toleration. 

The second of three introductory videos that cover the background of the French Wars of Religion. This episode examines the reign of King Henri II of France, and how Protestantism continued to grow despite increased persecution from the government.

This is the first of three introductory videos that cover the background of the French Wars of Religion. In this video, I give a broad overview of the entrance of Protestantism into France under the reign of King Francis I.