Replies

A persecuted minority? like the Moslems in Bradford and France today, the Huguenots were the same

If you want to check history, check the facts for yourself. If you don't, here they are:

In france, under Francis I, France was tolerant of all religious views
however, what did the Huguenots do? In the affair of the placards they posted placards all over Paris and even on the bedchamber door of the king (a security breach that angered him and made him change his tolerance position) -- these placards were attacks on Catholics. --> note, this is in the 1500s, and the King is tolerant of them, quite rare in the 1500s until the 1800s or 1900s in fact, but what do the Huguenots do? They post a placard right outside his door, cocking their noses at him so to speak
instead of discussing, the Huguenots went to attack the Catholic majority who until then were content to let them live and debate and discuss and debate.
In the French wars of Religion, the Huguenots conspired against the King. The people who became Huguenots were primarily the urban elite, like our present-day New Yorkers who take a fad and they saw that this was a means to oppose the King, so Huguenotism became a political tool
Huguenots in 1560 attacked Catholic Churchs and destroyed properties in Rouen and La Rochelle -- thus the FIRST salvo was lobbed by the Huguenots. -- the Catholics retailiated with mobs at seeing their places of worship attacked and defiled by Huguenots
Next, in 1562-70, we have the wars -- now political-religious, so no, it was not a simple case of "persecution" --> The Huguenots were one side of a civil war, which they lost
let's come to the juicy part, the St. Bart's day massacre -- this occured in 1572, 40 years after the first provocations by the Huguenots and 12 years after they started destroying Catholic Churchs (just like the Moslems in America they were quiet until their numbers grew)

now, King Charles XI was openly in favor of the Huguenots -- so a political moment. Hence the attacks on the opposing side
So, let's see in conclusion -- Huguenots first start their provocations in 1534, then in 1560 start attacking Catholic Churchs (with no provocation), then start their political support against the conservatives and start a civil war. After 12 years their side loses the civil war and yet they are still allowed to live and practise their faith (note this is the 1500s, not a nice time, yet they get this tolerance) -- but they still play political intrigues. So, one faction starts to attack and massacre the other faction

o, stop the entire "poor persecuted Huguenots" -- they brought it on themselves.

CRONOS, the civil war ended in a compromise ~ the Catholics stacked arms and the Huguenots did not. Secondly the King, who was a Protestant, became a Catholic ~ ("Paris is Worth a Mass").

The Parisian Mob seems to have been a problem all by itself ~ and as was typical in large cities througout Europe in that time would sometimes make national policy with a local uprising.

We've learned to ignore the MOB in these modern times ~ else our politicians would be running to and fro seeking to molify this or that focus group or pollster!

Oh, guess we haven't begun to ignore the MOB either have we. Well, my mistake.

The whole thing in France started over the claim by various members of the royal family that they didn't need to attend mass at the cathedral because they had their own personal priests to take confession and administer other sacraments, and, besides, they could read, write and cipher better than any mere cleric.

That, and the adoption of polygamy by the top nobles in the 1400s set the stage for a rather abrupt break incivil re lations. The duc d'Guise's own Great Grandfather had two wives and three concubines ~ he disagreed with that custom in fact. Later, after the end of the war the King of France was provided with his first formal State Mistress!

I think part of the Catholic concern was a bunch of them imagined they'd WON but they'd lost ~ the Huguenots were still there, the King still had a harem (2 or more is a harem) and now courtesy of the national treasury, and Protestant merchants sailing under French flags could do business with Catholic merchants in other lands with which France had treaties of commerce.

My word, they must have been angry as wet hens!