Part 142

"A truce of three months had been agreed upon [August 1, 1593], during which many nobles and several important towns made their submissions to the King. Many, however, still held out for the League, and among them Paris, as well as Rheims, by ancient usage the city appropriated to the coronation of the kings of France. Henry IV. deemed that ceremony indispensable to sanctify his cause in the eyes of the people, and he therefore caused it to be performed at Chartres by the bishop of that place, February 27th 1594. But he could hardly look upon himself as King of France so long as Paris remained in the hands of a faction which disputed his right, and he therefore strained every nerve to get possession of that capital. ... As he wished to get possession of the city without bloodshed, he determined to attempt it by corrupting the commandant. This was Charles de Cossé, Count of Brissac. ... Henry promised Brissac, as the price of his admission into Paris, the sum of 200,000 crowns and an annual pension of 20,000, together with the governments of Corbeil and Mantes, and the continuance to him of his marshal's bâton. To the Parisians was offered an amnesty from which only criminals were to be excepted; the confirmation of all their privileges; and the prohibition of the Protestant worship within a radius of ten leagues. ... Before daybreak on the morning of the 22nd March 1594 Brissac opened the gates of Paris to Henry's troops, who took possession of the city without resistance, except at one of the Spanish guard-houses, where a few soldiers were killed. When all appeared quiet, Henry himself entered, and was astonished at being greeted with joyous cheers. ... He gave manifold proofs of forbearance and good temper, fulfilled all the conditions of his agreement, and allowed the Spaniards [4,000] to withdraw unmolested." In May, 1594, Henry laid siege to Laon, which surrendered in August. "Its' example was soon followed by Chateau Thierry, Amiens, Cambrai and Noyon. The success of the King induced the Duke of Lorraine and the Duke of Guise to make their peace with him." In November, an attempt to kill the King was made by a young man named Jean Chatel, who confessed that he attended the schools of the Jesuits. "All the members of that order were arrested, and their papers examined. One of them, named Jean Guignard, on whom was found a treatise approving the murder of Henry III., and maintaining that his successor deserved a like fate, was condemned to the gallows: and the remainder of the order were banished from Paris, January 8th 1595, as corrupters of youth and enemies of the state. This example, however, was followed only by a few of the provincial cities. The irritation caused by this event seems to have precipitated Henry IV. into a step which he had been some time meditating: a declaration of war against his ancient and most bitter enemy Philip II. (January 17th 1595). The King of Spain, whom the want of money had prevented from giving the League much assistance during the two preceding years, was stung into fury by this challenge; and he immediately ordered Don Fernando de Velasco, constable of Castile, to join Mayenne in Franche Comté with 10,000 men. Velasco, however, was no great captain, and little of importance was done. The only action worth mentioning is an affair of cavalry at Fontaine Française (June 6th 1595), in which Henry displayed his usual bravery, or rather rashness, but came off victorious. He then overran nearly all Franche Comté without meeting with any impediment from Velasco, but retired at the instance of the Swiss, who entreated him to respect the neutrality of that province. Meanwhile Henry had made advances to Mayenne, who was disgusted with Velasco and the Spaniards, and on the 25th September Mayenne, in the name of the League, signed with the King a truce of three months, with a view to regulate the conditions of future submission. An event had already occurred which placed Henry in a much more favourable position with his Roman Catholic subjects; he had succeeded [September, 1595] in effecting his reconciliation with the Pope. ... The war on the northern frontiers had not been going on so favourably for the King." In January, 1595, "Philip II. ordered the Spaniard Fuentés, who, till the arrival of Albert [the Archduke], conducted the government of the Netherlands, to invade the north of France; and Fuentés ... having left Mondragone with sufficient forces to keep Prince Maurice in check, set off with 15,000 men, with the design of recovering Cambrai. Catelet and Doullens yielded to his arms; Ham was betrayed to him by the treachery of the governor, and in August Fuentés sat down before Cambrai. ... The Duke of Anjou had made over that place to his mother, Catherine de'Medici, who had appointed Balagni to be governor of it. During the civil wars of France, Balagni had established himself there as a little independent sovereign, and called himself Prince of Cambrai; but after the discomfiture of the League he had been compelled to declare himself, and had acknowledged his allegiance to the King of France. His extortion and tyranny having rendered him detested by the inhabitants, they ... delivered Cambrai to the Spaniards, October 2nd. Fuentés then returned into the Netherlands. ... The Cardinal Archduke Albert arrived at Brussels in February 1596, when Fuentés resigned his command. ... Henry IV. had been engaged since the winter in the siege of La Fère, a little town in a strong situation at the junction of the Serre and Oise. He had received reinforcements from England as well as from Germany and Holland. ... Albert marched to Valenciennes with about 20,000 men, with the avowed intention of relieving La Fère; but instead of attempting that enterprise, he despatched De Rosne, a French renegade ... with the greater part of the forces, to surprise Calais; and that important place was taken by assault, April 17th, before Henry could arrive for its defence. La Fère surrendered May 22nd; and Henry then marched with his army towards the coast of Picardy, where he endeavoured, but in vain, to provoke the Spaniards to give him battle. After fortifying Calais and Ardres, Albert withdrew again into the Netherlands. ... Elizabeth, alarmed at the occupation by the Spaniards of a port which afforded such facilities for the invasion of England, soon afterwards concluded another offensive and defensive alliance with Henry IV. (May 24th), in which the contracting parties pledged themselves to make no separate peace or truce with Philip II." The Dutch joined in this treaty; but the Protestant princes of Germany refused to become parties to it. "The treaty, however, had little effect." Early in 1597, the Spaniards dealt Henry an alarming blow, by surprising and capturing the city of Amiens, gaining access to it by an ingenious stratagem. But Henry recovered the place in September, after a vigorous siege. He also put down a rising, under the Duke de Mercœur, in Brittany, defeating the rebels at Dinan, while his lieutenant, Lesdiguières, in the southeast, invaded Savoy once more, taking Maurienne, and paralyzing the hostile designs of its Duke. {1215} The malignant Spanish king, suffering and near his end, discouraged and tired of the war, now sought to make peace. Both the Dutch and the English refused to treat with him; but Henry IV., notwithstanding the pledges given in 1596 to his allies, entered into negotiations which resulted in the Treaty of Vervins, signed May 2, 1598. "By the Peace of Vervins the Spaniards restored to France Calais, Ardres, Doullens, La Capelle, and Le Câtelet in Picardy, and Blavet (port Louis) in Brittany, of all their conquests retaining only the citadel of Cambrai. The rest of the conditions were referred to the treaty of Câteau-Cambresis, which Henry had stipulated should form the basis of the negotiations. The Duke of Savoy was included in the peace." While this important treaty was pending, in April, 1598, Henry quieted the anxieties of his Huguenot subjects by the famous Edict of Nantes.

_T. H. Dyer, History of Modern Europe, book 3, chapters 10-11 (volume 2)._

ALSO IN: _Lady Jackson, The First of the Bourbons, volume 1, chapters 14-18, and volume 2, chapters 1-7._

_J. L. Motley, History of the United Netherlands, chapters 29-35 (volume 3)._

_R. Watson, History of the Reign of Philip II., books 23-24._

FRANCE: A. D. 1598-1599. The Edict of Nantes.

For the purpose of receiving the submission of the Duke of Mercœur and the Breton insurgents, the king proceeded down the Loire, and "reached the capital of Brittany, the commercial city of Nantes, on the 11th of April, 1598. Two days later he signed the edict which has come to be known as the Edict of Nantes [and which had been under discussion for some months with representatives of a Protestant assembly in session at Châtellerault]. ... The Edict of Nantes is a long and somewhat complicated document. Besides the edict proper, contained in 95 public articles, there is a further series of 56 'secret' articles, and a 'brevet' or patent of the king, all of which were signed on the 13th of April; and these documents are supplemented by a second set of 23 'secret' articles, dated on the last day of the same month. The first of these four papers is expressly declared to be a 'perpetual and irrevocable edict.' ... Our chief concern being with the fortunes of the Huguenots, the provisions for the re-establishment of the Roman Catholic worship, wherever in the course of the events of the last 30 years that worship had been interfered with or banished, need not claim our attention. For the benefit of the Protestants the cardinal concession was liberty to dwell anywhere in the royal dominions, without being subjected to inquiry, vexed, molested, or constrained to do anything contrary to their conscience. As respects public worship, while perfect equality was not established, the dispositions were such as to bring it within the power of a Protestant in any part of the kingdom to meet his fellow-believers for the holiest of acts, at least from time to time. To every Protestant nobleman enjoying that extensive authority known as 'haute justice,' and to noblemen in Normandy distinguished as possessors of 'fiefs de haubert,' the permission was granted to have religious services on all occasions and for all comers at their principal residence, as well as on other lands whenever they themselves were present. Noblemen of inferior jurisdiction were allowed to have worship on their estates, but only for themselves and their families. In addition to these seigniorial rights, the Protestant 'people' received considerable accessions to the cities where they might meet for public religious purposes. The exercise of their worship was authorized in all cities and places where such worship had been held on several occasions in the years 1596 and 1597, up to the month of August; and in all places in which worship had been, or ought to have been, established in accordance with the Edict of 1577 [the edict of Poitiers--see above: A. D. 1577-1578], as interpreted by the Conference of Nérac and the Peace of Fleix [see above: A. D. 1578-1580]. But in addition to these, a fresh gift of a second city in every bailiwick and sénéchaussée of the kingdom greatly increased the facilities enjoyed by the scattered Huguenots for reaching the assemblies of their fellow-believers. ... Scholars of both religions were to be admitted without distinction of religion to all universities, colleges, and schools throughout France. The same impartiality was to extend to the reception of the sick in the hospitals, and to the poor in the provision made for their relief. More than this, the Protestants were permitted to establish schools of their own in all places where their worship was authorized. ... The scandal and inhumanity exhibited in the refusal of burial to the Protestant dead, as well in the disinterment of such bodies as had been placed in consecrated ground, was henceforth precluded by the assignment of portions of the public cemeteries or of new cemeteries of their own to the Protestants. The civil equality of the Protestants was assured by an article which declared them to be admissible to all public positions, dignities, offices, and charges, and forbade any other examination into their qualifications, conduct, and morals than those to which their Roman Catholic brethren were subjected. ... Provision was made for the establishment of a 'chamber of the edict,' as it was styled, in the Parliament of Paris, with six Protestants among its sixteen counsellors, to take cognizance of cases in which Protestants were concerned. A similar chamber was promised in each of the parliaments of Rouen and Rennes. In Southern France three 'chambres mi-parties' were either continued or created, with an equal number of Roman Catholic and Protestant judges." In the "brevet" or patent which accompanied the edict, the king made a secret provision of 45,000 crowns annually from the royal treasury, which was understood to be for the support of Protestant ministers, although that purpose was concealed. In the second series of secret articles, the Protestants were authorized to retain possession for eight years of the "cautionary cities" which they held under former treaties, and provision was made for paying the garrisons. "Such are the main features of a law whose enactment marks an important epoch in the history of jurisprudence. ... The Edict of Nantes was not at once presented to the parliaments; nor was it, indeed, until early in the following year that the Parliament of Paris formally entered the document upon its registers. ... There were obstacles from many different quarters to be overcome. The clergy, the parliaments, the university, raised up difficulty after difficulty." But the masterful will of the king bore down all opposition, and the Edict was finally accepted as the law of the land. "On the 17th of March [1599] Henry took steps for its complete execution throughout France, by the appointment of commissioners--a nobleman and a magistrate from each province --to attend to the work."

_H. M. Baird, The Huguenots and Henry of Navarre, chapter 14 (volume 2)._

ALSO IN: _C. M. Yonge, Cameos from English History, 5th series, chapter 36._

{1216}

The full text of the Edict of Nantes will be found in the following named works:

_C. Weiss, History of French Protestant Refugees, volume 2, appendix._

_A. Maury, Memoirs of a Huguenot Family (J. Fontaine), appendix._

FRANCE: A. D. 1599-1610. Invasion of Savoy. Acquisition of the Department of Aisne. Ten years of peace and prosperity. The great works of Henry IV. His foreign policy. His assassination.

"One thing only the peace of Vervins left unsettled. In the preceding troubles a small Italian appanage, the Marquisate of Saluces, had been seized by Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Savoy, and remained still in his possession. The right of France to it was not disputed, did not admit indeed of dispute; but the Duke was unwilling to part with what constituted one of the keys of Italy. He came to Paris in December 1599 to negotiate the affair in person," but employed his opportunity to intrigue with certain disaffected nobles, including the Duke of Biron, marshal of France and governor of Burgundy. "Wearied with delays, whose object was transparent, Henry at last had recourse to arms. Savoy was speedily overrun with French troops, and its chief strongholds taken. Spain was not prepared to back her ally, and the affair terminated by Henry's accepting in lieu of the Marquisate that part of Savoy which now constitutes the Department of Aisne in France." Biron, whom the King tried hard to save by repeated warnings which were not heeded, paid the penalty of his treasonable schemes at last by losing his head. "The ten years from 1600 to 1610 were years of tranquillity, and gave to Henry the opportunity he had so ardently longed for of restoring and regenerating France." He applied his energies and his active mind to the reorganization of the disordered finances of the kingdom, to the improvement of agriculture, to the multiplication of industries, to the extending of commerce. He gave the first impulse to silk culture and silk manufacture in France; he founded the great Gobelin manufactory of tapestry at Paris; he built roads and bridges, and encouraged canal projects; he began the creation of a navy; he promoted the colonization of Canada. "It was, however, in the domain of foreign politics that Henry exhibited the acuteness and comprehensiveness of his genius, and his marvellous powers of contrivance, combination, execution. ... The great political project, to the maturing of which Henry IV. devoted his untiring energies for the last years of his life, was the bringing of the ... half of Europe into close political alliance, and arming it against the house of Austria, and striking when the fit time came, such a blow at the ambition and intolerance of that house that it might never be able to recover. After innumerable negotiations ... he had succeeded in forming a coalition of twenty separate States, embracing England, the United Provinces, Denmark, Sweden, Northern Germany, Switzerland. At last the time for action came. The Duke of Cleves died, 25th March 1609. The succession was disputed. One of the claimants of the Dukedom was supported by the Emperor, another by the Protestant Princes of Germany [see GERMANY: A. D. 1608-1618]. The contest about a small German Duchy presented the opportunity for bringing into action that alliance which Henry had planned and perfected. In the great military movements that were projected he was himself to take the lead. Four French armies, numbering 100,000, were to be launched against the great enemy of European liberty. One of these Henry was to command; even our young Prince of Wales was to bring 6,000 English with him, and make his first essay in arms under the French King. By the end of April, 1610, 35,000 men and 50 pieces of cannon had assembled at Chalons. The 20th May was fixed as the day on which Henry was to place himself at its head." But on the 16th of May (1610) he was struck down by the hand of an assassin (François Ravaillac), and the whole combination fell to pieces.

_W. Hanna, The Wars of the Huguenots, chapter 8._

"The Emperor, the King of Spain, the Queen of France, the Duke d'Epernon, the Jesuits, were all in turn suspected of having instigated the crime, because they all profited by it; but the assassin declared that he had no accomplices. ... He believed that the King was at heart a Huguenot, and thought that in ridding France of this monarch he was rendering a great service to his country."

_A. de Bonnechose, History of France, volume 1, page 450._

ALSO IN: _M. W. Freer, The Last Decade of a Glorious Reign._

_Duke of Sully, Memoirs, volumes 2-5._

_Sir N. W. Wraxall, History of France, 1574-1610, volume 5, chapter 7-8, and volume 6._

FRANCE: A. D. 1603-1605. First settlements in Acadia.

See CANADA: A. D. 1603-1605; and 1606-1608.

FRANCE: A. D. 1605-1616. Champlain's explorations and settlements in the Valley of the St. Lawrence.

See CANADA: A. D. 1608-1611; 1611-1616; 1616-1628.

FRANCE: A. D. 1610. Accession of King Louis XIII.

FRANCE: A. D. 1610-1619. The regency of Marie de Medicis. The reign of favorites and the riot of factions. Distractions of the kingdom. The rise of Richelieu.