16th Century Politics

• Both Calvinists and Catholics became dedicated to spreading their religions

France: the Wars of Religion

• Huguenots: French Calvinists
  • Came from many different backgrounds
  • Many nobles were Huguenots
  • The house of bourbon became huguenots
    • Bourbons were next to Valois in succession to the throne and they were ruling the southern french kingdom of navarre.
• The fact that many nobles were Huguenots potentially posed a threat to the power of the French Valois Monarch which was catholic.
• Calvinists were only 10% of the population, but because they were well organized, they were a powerful minority.
• After the death of Henry II, France was ruled by a series of weak-willed rulers.
• Two of them were controlled by their mother, Catherine de’Medici
• Catherine saw compromise as a good way to reduce tension, but both sides were filled with extremists who refused compromise.
• Ultra-Catholics: strictly opposed huguenots, led by Guise family.
  • Guises were wealthy and could recruit large armies.
• Religion was compounded by discontent in the political situation of France, such as the power of monarchs to cause civil war in France.
• Politiques held that religious truth was not worth the damage of civil war; they eventually won out, but only after a massive war.

The War

• War began in 1562
• Huguenots were able to hold their own because they were very good at defense, but they couldn’t conquer France.
• Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre led to the deaths of thousands of Huguenots
  • Catholic groups went through Paris for three days, killed around three thousand huguenots
  • Even more were killed in the surrounding area
• Huguenots were not defeated, however, and rebuilt their strength
• ultra-Catholics would form a “Holy League” to eliminate heresy
• At this point, Henry III was king of France (he was the successor of his brother Charles IX), but this league wanted Henry the Duke of Guise on the throne, as they believed he was a true catholic.
• Henry, duke of Guise worked with king Philip II of Spain to capture Paris, but Henry III had Henry, duke of Guise, assassinated.
• Henry III and Henry of Navarre (who had converted back to Calvinist) joined forces to retake Paris, and then Henry III was assassinated in 1589 by a monk who was disgusted by him cooperating with a protestant.
• Henry of Navarre became king of France, and converted back to Catholicism so he would be accepted by the Catholic nation. This decision was politique, it prioritized stability over religious truth.
• In 1594 he was crowned and the war ended.
• The Edict of Nantes would finally end religious tension
  • Made catholicism official religion of France
  • Protected rights of Huguenots

Spain: Phillip II

• Phillip II had a few central goals:
  • He wanted to consolidate power in the monarchy
    • This was difficult for him, because he had inherited lands that were decentralized, each area was governed individually.
  • Wanted to eliminate the heresy of Protestantism
  • Make Spain the dominant power in Europe
• He wanted to be at the center of his government, refused to delegate
  • He didn’t distinguish between unimportant matters and important ones
    • Would even correct spelling on official documents
  • Fell weeks behind on state paperwork
• Spain’s economy was fueled by its new world possessions
  • Imported gold, silver, and had great agricultural possessions in the New World
• Importing too much silver had detrimental effects on the Spanish economy.
  • Caused spiraling inflation
• Wars in the 1580s lead to massive expenses
  • Even after massive taxes, the government still had to borrow money
• Eventually, just the interest on the debt was two thirds of Spain’s entire budget.
• Catholicism was extremely important to King Philip II
  • Became known as the “Most Catholic King”
  • Spanish believed they were divinely chosen as the saviors of Catholicism in Europe
• The Netherlands were very important to Spain
  • They were very wealthy, consisting of 17 provinces at a major area of commerce
  • People here had adopted Lutheranism, Anabaptism, and Calvinism.
  • The provinces had no ties that held them together except for Philip II, who was not good to them.
• Philip II wanted to increase his power in the Netherlands
  • This was opposed by local governments
• People began to get angry when they realized all the money they were sending to the Spanish in the form of taxes was no being used to their benefit
• Fighting began in 1566
  • Calvinists, mainly nobles, began destroying stuff in Catholic Churches
  • Philip was made angry by this, and he sent the duke of Alva with 10,000 troops to fight back
• The duke was to oppressive
  • He instituted heavy taxes
  • He created the Council of Troubles, or Council of Blood
• William of Nassau was the prince of Orange and began to organize a revolt among the northern parts of the Netherlands.
• William wanted to unite all of the provinces but was unsuccessful, as religious differences were too polarizing to sustain unity
• In 1579 the Catholic southern provinces formed the Union of Arras and supported Spanish rule
  • In response William of Orange created the Union of Utrecht in the northern states
• The two unions were hostile, and had conflict until 1609.
• The Southern Provinces would remain under Spanish control, and the Northern Provinces became the Dutch Republic, and were finally recognized by Spain in 1648.

England: Elizabeth

• Elizabeth became queen after the death of her sister Bloody Mary.
• England would greatly improve its status during her reign
• Elizabeth supported compromise, and did not want religion to pull her country apart.
• She repealed much of Mary’s legislation and stopped referring to herself as the “Supreme head of the Church” through the New Act of Supremacy.
• Reestablished the book of common prayer through the act of uniformity
• Her cousin Mary was a big problem for her
  • Repeatedly tried to kill her
  • In 1587, she was part of a very severe assassination attempt, and Elizabeth had her beheaded.
• Puritans are English Calvinists.
  • Argued that all elements of Catholicism should be removed from English doctrine
• Elizabeth was also very skilled in handling government
  • Aided by Sir William Cecil and Sir Francis Walsingham
• Despite fearing the ruin war could bring, she unofficially encourages English sailors to attack Spanish ships
  • Francis Drake was very good at this
• She also (secretly) sent aid to enemies of Spain
  • Dutch Calvinists and French Huguenots
• She tried to avoid getting dragged into wars by other countries, but she began to intervene in the Netherlands.
• This caused massive tension between England and Spain
• Philip II decided to invade England, as he determined there was no way to succeed in the Netherlands until he stopped them from aiding the Northern Provinces
  • Sent the Spanish Armada
  • The Spanish though god would be on their side so they needn’t have any concern
  • However, after being damaged by a series of English attacks, they were hit by a storm.
  • The war would continue for another 16 years, but this loss was a substantial blow to the Spanish.