Second; β Saint-Denis ; Chartres. Fifth; β Dormans. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease directly caused by the conflict, and it severely damaged the power of the French monarchy.
Bartholomew's Day massacre in The fighting ended with a compromise in , when Henry of Navarre, who had converted to Catholicism in , was proclaimed King Henry IV of France and issued the Edict of Nantes , which granted substantial rights and freedoms to the Huguenots. However, Catholics continued to disapprove of Protestants and of Henry, and his assassination in triggered a fresh round of Huguenot rebellions in the s.
Tensions between the two religions had been building since the s, exacerbating existing regional divisions. The death of Henry II of France in July initiated a prolonged struggle for power between his widow Catherine de' Medici and powerful nobles. Both sides received assistance from external powers, with Spain and Savoy supporting the Catholics, and England and the Dutch Republic backing the Protestants.
Moderates, also known as Politiques , hoped to maintain order by centralising power and making concessions to Huguenots, rather than the policies of repression pursued by Henry II and his father Francis I.
They were initially supported by Catherine de' Medici, whose January Edict of Saint-Germain was strongly opposed by the Guise faction and led to an outbreak of widespread fighting in March. She later hardened her stance and backed the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in Paris , which resulted in Catholic mobs killing between 5, and 30, Protestants throughout France.
