The French Wars of Religion (1562-1598) were a series of eight conflicts between Protestant and Catholic factions in France lasting 36 years, The fighting ended in 1598 when Henry of Navarre, who had converted to Catholicism in 1593, was proclaimed Henry IV of France and issued the Edict of Nantes, which granted substantial rights and freedoms to the Huguenots. However, Catholics continued to have a hostile opinion of Protestants in general and of Henry, and his assassination in 1610 triggered a fresh round of Huguenot rebellions in the 1620s.

Tensions had been rising between Protestants and Catholics since 1534 but the religious and political situation worsened after Henry II (r. 1547-1559) died from an injury. His son, Francois II (Francis II, r. 1559-1560), crowned king at the age of 15, had been married to Mary, Queen of Scots (l. 1542-1587) who was the niece of Francis, Duke of Guise (l. 1519-1563) and his brother Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine (l. 1524-1574). Although Francis II was of age to rule on his own, his mother, Catherine de ‘Medici (l. 1519-1589) encouraged the Guise brothers to assume control as Francis II was inexperienced and sickly.

The House of Guise, devoutly Catholic, then exercised the power behind the throne and were hostile to the efforts of the Huguenots (French Protestants) who were advancing their vision in France. In March 1560, a group of Huguenots tried to kidnap Francis II to remove him from the influence of the Guise brothers. The plot, known as the Amboise Conspiracy, was discovered and anyone thought to be involved, as well as over 1,000 other Huguenots, were executed. In retaliation, Huguenots began vandalizing Catholic churches and rising tensions led to the Massacre of Vassy in March of 1562, in which Catholics killed more Protestants, starting the first war.

Conflict continued, with periods of armed peace between hostilities, until 1598 when King Henry IV, recognizing that France would never accept a Protestant king, converted to Catholicism (allegedly, with the famous line, “Paris is well worth a Mass”). His Edict of Nantes (1598), granting rights to Protestants in France while maintaining Catholic sovereignty, ended the French Wars of Religion (which had cost approximately 4 million lives) but did not address the underlying tensions which continued to erupt throughout the next century.

French Wars of Religion - World History Encyclopedia :france-cool:

French Wars of Religion - Comprehensive Documentary - Pike & Shot Channel :macron:

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  • Frank [he/him, he/him]@hexbear.net
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    3 months ago

    I still think Paul was just high on his own supply. Poor little white boy can’t just tell people “Chill, we don’t need to murder billions of people, I actually read about the Islamic conquest of the 6th and 7th century and it turns out that we can just convert everyone by telling them they get favorable tax status and that Muslims aren’t allowed to go on pillaging raids against other Muslims so they’ll be safe if they convert and can even join us in raiding non-Muslims. Their nobility will all convert anyway because we control the economy and trade routes and nobles value that more than any personal beliefs, and we fund religious education on all the worlds to convert the peasants in like, idk, half a generation. Everyone simmer down and have some spice coffee because we’re gonna be up all night figuring out the logistics of this and we’re gonna need a big bureaucracy.”

    • GinAndJuche@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      It’s made quite clear there only is the golden path and he is simply not willing to make the sacrifice. Based off how I read it at least.

      Also, raising people until they convert is kinda fucked and possibly worse. It’s hypocritical. Yeah sure we can have peace, just do and believe everything I tell you to or you’re a target. Totally a moral high ground.

      If I’m misunderstanding the point let me know. I feel like I probably am, but that’s what it seemed like

        • GinAndJuche@hexbear.net
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          3 months ago

          Looking at Iberia, isn’t the way it’s described actually kinda accurate?

          Obviously ignoring the sci-fi prescience and the way it saves humanity, that clearly didn’t happen.

          • nurjahreszeiten [he/him]@hexbear.net
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            3 months ago

            No not at all, the conquest of Iberia was not an raising till they converted. It was just one ruling minority(visgoths around 1-2% of the iberian population) gets overthrown by another. The nobility even could in some places stay in power without converting, they had to guarantee safety for Muslims and pay the jizya (tax that is only for non Muslims). Islamic law did not applyto the Christians, they were ruled by the old visgoth law. The forced conversion came later under the almoravids and jews where especially targeted, but that was around 400 years later. The Berber where a very small minority, if they would have ruled harshly, they would not reign for long.

            • GinAndJuche@hexbear.net
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              3 months ago

              That isn’t how it went down in Dune either though and this entire exchange within that context. Not what I was saying. Within a sense Paul and later Leto do create a society which resembles that, but the magical elements really do create a divergence that makes further comparison difficult

              PS, if you like fiction about that historical time period, Guy Gavriel Kay has a book in an alt history version of just before the reconquista. It has a very somber tone, for the author is very aware that a period of tolerance of ending within the period he portrays.

    • Saeculum [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      3 months ago

      Poor little white boy can’t just tell people "Chill, we don’t need to murder billions of people, I actually read about the Islamic conquest of the 6th and 7th century and it turns out that we can just convert everyone by telling them they get favorable tax status and that Muslims aren’t allowed to go on pillaging raids against other Muslims so they’ll be safe if they convert and can even join us in raiding non-Muslims.

      The Muslim conquests did still kill a very large number of people, and unlike the early Muslims, Paul doesn’t have the advantage that his two largest neighbours are completely exhausted from decades of war.