Edict of Nantes Revoked

In 1685 King Louis XIV of France issued the Edict of Fontainebleau, which revoked the Edict of Nantes. The original Edict of Nantes, granted by his grandfather Henry IV in 1598, had ended the French Wars of Religion by guaranteeing the Protestant Huguenots a measure of religious toleration and certain civil and military protections. Louis XIV, committed to religious uniformity and the principle of one king and one faith, had progressively curtailed those rights.

The revocation outlawed Protestant worship, ordered the destruction of Huguenot churches, and closed Protestant schools. Although emigration was officially forbidden, the persecution prompted a mass exodus of Huguenots, who fled to the Dutch Republic, England, the German states, Switzerland, and the American colonies in search of refuge.

The consequences for France were severe. The departing Huguenots included many skilled artisans, merchants, and professionals, and their loss weakened France's economy while enriching the countries that received them. The revocation also damaged Louis XIV's reputation among Protestant powers and contributed to the hostility that helped unite his enemies in the wars of the later seventeenth century.