[Prev Page][Contents][Next Page]

The Reformation in France

Henry III

Charles died in 1574 and was succeeded by his brother Henry III (1574-1589). Henry, like Catherine, tried to steer his way between the powerful Guises and the now-vengeful Huguenots, led by Henry of Navarre. And, like the queen mother, Henry resented the influence of the newly-formed Catholic League, which was led by the Guises and financed by the Spanish.

The power of the Catholic League was demonstrated when Henry tried to re-introduce a measure of toleration for the Huguenots in 1576. It lasted barely a year before Henry was forced to revoke it. By the 1580s, Henry so feared the Catholic League that he was determined to break its power. His attempt is known as the Day of the Barricades, but the effort was a failure, and Henry actually had to flee Paris, which now was completely in the hands of the Catholic League.

This happened in 1588, a portentious year for Spain. Not only was it interfering in France, it was preparing a double blow against both England and the Netherlands. Most people know that the famous Spanish Armada was defeated by the English, but the effects of that defeat were felt well beyond Spain and England. In France, Henry was encouraged to take the offensive again, since Spain was now in poor shape to help the Guises.

So Henry hatched a plot that succeeded in assassinating both the Duke of Guise and his brother the cardinal. The Guises instantly took to the field, whereupon Henry III struck an alliance with Henry of Navarre to win back Paris. Early in 1589, though Henry III was himself assassinated by a friar. This now made Henry of Navarre king of France, for Henry III had no children.