1.3.1 Huguenot Migration

Question 1

What are Huguenots?

Answer 1

France was a Catholic country but it experienced a series of religious civil wars between the 1560s and the 1590s. (religious reformation). In the years that followed that there were divisions between: French Catholics (who made up the vast majority of the population), and French Protestants who were known as huguenots

Question 2

What was St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre? (3)

Answer 2

• Being the minority, these Huguenots often suffered persecution and were not able to openly practise their religion without fear of violence
• In 1572 there was a wave of violence and assassinations directed against the Huguenots by Catholics, which lasted for several weeks and is known as the St Bartholomew’s Daw Massacre
• Some estimates suggest that as many as 30,000 Huguenots may have been killed in these targeted killings

Question 3

What happened in the period between 1572-98

Answer 3

Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestant, makes England a welcome place for Huguenots; her ministers invite skilled Huguenot craftsmen to work in England and teach British apprentices

Question 4

Describe the development of the Edict of Nantes (2)

Answer 4

• Although France was a Catholic country, in 1598 it was decided that Protestants would be allowed to practise their religion freely - this agreement was known as the Edict of Nantes. French King Henry IV issued this bill of rights
• However, in 1685, the French King Louis XIV rejected the Edict of Nantes, and again removed the rights of the Huguenots to religious freedom. Protestant ministers are given the choice of converting to Catholicism or migrating out of France. The Huguenots are now officially heretics and face persecution once more; about 50,000 Huguenots escape to England

Question 5

Who tears up the Edict of Nantes?

Answer 5

French King Louis XIV

Question 6

How many Huguenots escape to England when King Louis XIV tears up the Edict of Nantes?

Answer 6

50,000

Question 7

What was the impact of the Huguenots in Britain? (3)

Answer 7

The French Huguenots were mainly highly skilled craftsmen and they had a positive social and economic impact on Britain. They:
- established businesses in communities all over England
- transformed existing British industries e.g. bookbinding, silk weaving trade
- started up new industries such as paper making and cutlery making in Sheffield. By the 1710s, Huguenot expertise meant that Britain had 200 paper mills, supplying nearly 70% of Britain’s paper market.

Question 8

How did the Huguenots impact England economically?

Answer 8

When the Bank of England was founded in 1694, Huguenots contributed nearly 10% of the £1.2 million needed to set it up. In fact, the first Governor of the Bank of England was himself a Huguenot

Question 9

When was St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre?

Answer 9

1572

Question 10

By the _____s, Huguenot expertise meant that Britain had ____ paper mills, supplying nearly ___% of Britain’s paper market

Answer 10

1710s, 200, 70