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The cathedral of Nantes

The Edict of Nantes was issued on April 13, 1598 by Henry IV of France to grant French Calvinists (also known as Huguenots) substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. The main concern was civil unity, and the Edict separated civil from religious unity, treated some Protestants for the first time as more than mere schismatics and heretics, and opened a path for secularism and tolerance. In offering general freedom of conscience to individuals, the edict offered many specific concessions to the Protestants, such as amnesty and the reinstatement of their civil rights, including the right to work in any field or for the State and to bring grievances directly to the king.

The Edict granted the Protestants fifty places of safety (places de sureté), which were military strongholds such as La Rochelle for which the king paid 180,000 écus a year, along with a further 150 emergency forts (places de refuge), to be maintained at the Huguenots' own expense. Such an innovative act of toleration stood virtually alone in a Europe, where standard practice forced subjects to follow the religion of their ruler — the application of the principle of cuius regio, eius religio.

The Edict aimed primarily to end the long-running, disruptive French Wars of Religion. Henry IV also had personal reasons for supporting the Edict. Prior to assuming the throne in 1589 he had espoused Protestantism, and he remained sympathetic to the Protestant cause: he had converted only in 1593 in order to secure his position as king, famously allegedly saying "Paris is worth a Mass". The Edict succeeded in restoring peace and internal unity to France for many years.

The original Act signed on April 30, promulgating the Edict, has disappeared. The Archives Nationales in Paris preserves only the text of a shorter document modified by the clergy and the Parlement of Paris, signed and sealed in 1599. A copy of the first edict sent for safekeeping to Protestant Geneva survives.

Henry IV of France by Frans Pourbus the younger.

The Edict of Nantes that Henry signed comprised four basic texts, including a principal text made up of ninety two articles and largely based on unsuccessful peace treaties hammered out during the recent troubles. The Edict also included 56 "particular" (secret) articles dealing with Protestant rights and obligations. For example, the French state guaranteed to protect French Protestants travelling abroad from the Inquisition. "This crucifies me," protested Pope Clement VIII, upon hearing of the Edict. The final two parts consisted of brevets (royal promises) which contained the military clauses and pastoral clauses. These two brevets were withdrawn in 1629 by Louis XIII.

The edict sustained Catholicism as the established religion of France. Protestants gained no exemption from paying the tithe and had to respect Catholic holidays and restrictions regarding marriage. The authorities limited Protestant freedom of worship to specified geographic areas, outside city walls. The Edict dealt only with Protestant and Catholic coexistence; the Edict did not include Jews or Muslims. In fact, France expelled its Muslims in 1610.

Eighty-seven years later, in October 1685, Louis XIV, the grandson of Henry IV, renounced the Edict and declared Protestantism illegal with the Edict of Fontainebleau. This act, commonly called the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, had very damaging results for France. While the wars of religion did not re-ignite, many Protestants chose to leave France, most moving to Great Britain, Germany, the Dutch Republic and Switzerland, where they brought their watchmaking skills. This exodus deprived France of many of its most skilled and industrious individuals. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes also further damaged the perception of Louis XIV abroad, making the Protestant nations bordering France even more hostile to his regime.

Upon the revocation of the edict, Frederick Wilhelm issued the Edict of Potsdam to encourage Protestants to come to Brandenburg.

• Peace of Vervins
• Warsaw Confederation (1573)
• Freedom of religion
• List of treaties
• Michel de l'Hôpital, a precursor to Henry IV’s policies.
• Edict of Toleration