The French in Prussia
The Protestant Reformation begun by Martin Luther spread rapidly in France, and as Protestantism
grew and developed there, it generally abandoned the Lutheran form and turned toward Calvinism.
The new "Reformed religion"established in France by John Calvin in about 1555 was practiced by
many members of the French nobility and middle-class, which placed these French Protestants in
direct conflict with the Catholic Church and the King of France. Followers of this new Protestantism
were soon accused of heresy against the Catholic government and the established religion of France,
and a General Edict urging the total extermination of these heretics was issued in 1536.
Nevertheless, the number and influence of the French Reformers or Huguenots continued to increase
leading to an escalation in hostility. They numbered at least a million by 1562, and may have peaked
to approximately two million, compared to approximately sixteen million Catholics during the same
period. Finally, in 1562, some 1,200 Huguenots were slain at Vassey, France, thus igniting the
French Wars of Religion which would devastate France for the next thirty five years.
The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, October 22, 1685
Louis, by the grace of God king of France and Navarre, to all present and to come, greeting:
King Henry the Great, our grandfather of glorious memory, being desirous that the peace which he had procured for his
subjects after the grievous losses they had sustained in the course of domestic and foreign wars, should not be troubled on
account of the R.P.R. [Religion prétendue réformée -- "the religion called the Reformed"], as had happened in the reigns
of the kings, his predecessors, by his edict, granted at Nantes in the month of April, 1598, regulated the procedure to be
adopted with regard to those of the said religion, and the places in which they might meet for public worship, established
extraordinary judges to administer justice to them, and, in fine, provided in particular articles for whatever could be
thought necessary for maintaining the tranquility of his kingdom and for diminishing mutual aversion between the members
of the two religions, so as to put himself in a better position to labor, as he had resolved to do,
for the reunion to the Church of those who had so lightly withdrawn from it.
As the intention of the king, our grandfather, was frustrated by his sudden death, and as the execution of the said (288)
edict was interrupted during the minority of the late king, our most honored lord and father of glorious memory, by new
encroachments on the part of the adherents of the said R.P.R., which gave occasion for their being deprived of divers
advantages accorded to them by the said edict; nevertheless the king, our late lord and father, in the exercise of his usual
clemency, granted them yet another edict at Nimes, in July, 1629, by means of which, tranquility being established anew,
the said late king, animated by the same spirit and the same zeal for religion as the king, our said grandfather, had resolved
to take advantage of this repose to attempt to put his said pious design into execution. But foreign wars having supervened
soon after, so that the kingdom was seldom tranquil from 1635 to the truce concluded in 1684 with the powers of
Europe, nothing more could be done for the advantage of religion beyond diminishing the number of places for the public
exercise of the R.P.R., interdicting such places as were found established to the prejudice of the dispositions made by the
edicts, and suppressing of the bi-partisan courts, these having been appointed provisionally only.
God having at last permitted that our people should enjoy perfect peace, we, no longer absorbed in protecting them from
our enemies, are able to profit by this truce (which we have ourselves facilitated), and devote our whole attention to the
means of accomplishing the designs of our said grandfather and father,
which we have consistently kept before us since our succession to the crown.
And now we perceive, with thankful acknowledgment of God's aid, that our endeavors have attained their proposed end,
inasmuch as the better and the greater part of our subjects of the said R.P.R. have embraced the Catholic faith. And since
by this fact the execution of the Edict of Nantes and of all that has ever been ordained in favor of the said R.P.R. has been
rendered nugatory, we have determined that we can do nothing better, in order wholly to obliterate the memory of the
troubles, the confusion, and the evils which the progress of this false religion has caused in this (289) kingdom, and which
furnished occasion for the said edict and for so many previous and subsequent edicts and declarations, than entirely to
revoke the said Edict of Nantes, with the special articles granted as a sequel to it,
as well as all that has since been done in favor of the said religion.
I. Be it known that for these causes and others us hereunto moving, and of our certain knowledge, full power, and royal
authority, we have, by this present perpetual and irrevocable edict, suppressed and revoked, and do suppress and
revoke, the edict of our said grandfather, given at Nantes in April, 1598, in its whole extent, together with the particular
articles agreed upon in the month of May following, and the letters patent issued upon the same date; and also the edict
given at Nimes in July, 1629; we declare them null and void, together with all concessions, of whatever nature they may
be, made by them as well as by other edicts, declarations, and orders, in favor of the said persons of the R.P.R., the
which shall remain in like manner as if they had never been granted; and in consequence we desire, and it is our pleasure,
that all the temples of those of the said R.P.R. situate in our kingdom, countries, territories,
and the lordships under our crown, shall be demolished without delay.
II. We forbid our subjects of the R.P.R. to meet any more for the exercise of the said religion in any place
or private house, under any pretext whatever, . . .
III. We likewise forbid all noblemen, of what condition soever, to hold such religious exercises in their houses or fiefs,
under penalty to be inflicted upon all our said subjects who shall engage in the said exercises,
of imprisonment and confiscation.
IV. We enjoin all ministers of the said R.P.R., who do not choose to become converts and to embrace the Catholic,
apostolic, and Roman religion, to leave our kingdom and the territories subject to us within a fortnight of the publication of
our present edict, without leave to reside therein beyond that period, or, during the said fortnight, to engage in any (290)
preaching, exhortation, or any other function, on pain of being sent to the galleys. . . .
VII. We forbid private schools for the instruction of children of the said R.P.R., and in general all things whatever which
can be regarded as a concession of any kind in favor of the said religion.
VIII. As for children who may be born of persons of the said R.P.R., we desire that from henceforth they be baptized by
the parish priests. We enjoin parents to send them to the churches for that purpose, under penalty of five hundred livres
fine, to be increased as circumstances may demand; and thereafter the children shall be brought up in the Catholic,
apostolic, and Roman religion, which we expressly enjoin the local magistrates to see done.
IX. And in the exercise of our clemency towards our subjects of the said R.P.R. who have emigrated from our kingdom,
lands, and territories subject to us, previous to the publication of our present edict, it is our will and pleasure that in case
of their returning within the period of four months from the day of the said publication, they may, and it shall be lawful for
them to, again take possession of their property, and to enjoy the same as if they had all along remained there: on the
contrary, the property abandoned by those who, during the specified period of four months, shall not have returned into
our kingdom, lands, and territories subject to us, shall remain and be confiscated
in consequence of our declaration of the 20th of August last.
X. We repeat our most express prohibition to all our subjects of the said R.P.R., together with their wives and children,
against leaving our kingdom, lands, and territories subject to us, or transporting their goods and effects therefrom under
penalty, as respects the men, of being sent to the galleys, and as respects the women, of imprisonment and confiscation.
(291) XI. It is our will and intention that the declarations rendered against the relapsed shall be executed according to
their form and tenor.
XII. As for the rest, liberty is granted to the said persons of the R.P.R., pending the time when it shall please God to
enlighten them as well as others, to remain in the cities and places of our kingdom, lands, and territories subject to us, and
there to continue their commerce, and to enjoy their possessions, without being subjected to molestation or hindrance on
account of the said R.P.R., on condition of not engaging in the exercise of the said religion, or of meeting under pretext of
prayers or religious services, of whatever nature these may be, under the penalties above mentioned of imprisonment and
confiscation. This do we give in charge to our trusty and well-beloved counselors,
Given at Fontainebleau in the month of October, in the year of grace 1685
The French refugees, attracted by numerous privileges besides free practice of Calvinism, brought
much capital into Prussia as well as 46 new crafts, for instance silk and other textile industries. They
also introduced certain vegetables such as beans, asparagus, sweet peas and Brussels sprouts.
In France, the Protestant persecution reached a height in 1572 at the Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s  
Day. In the Massacre, Catholics killed thousands of Huguenots in Paris. Similar massacres took place
in other French towns in the weeks following. Almost 25,000 Protestants were slain in Paris alone
and thousands elsewhere. Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II, King Charles's father-in-law, was
sickened, describing the massacre as "shameful". Protestant countries were horrified at the events.
An amnesty granted in 1573 pardoned the perpetrators.
The Edict of Nantes, signed by Henry IV in April, 1598, ended the Wars of Religion, and allowed the
Huguenots some religious freedoms in twenty specified towns of France. However, with the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in October, 1685, the persecution of Huguenots
began anew. It forbade Protestant services, mandated that children would be educated as Catholics,
and prohibited emigration. Despite the ban, more than 250,000 people fled from France, and the
ensuing bloodshed and brain drain proved costly for France in times to come.
Friedrich Wilhelm had succeeded in enrolling Huguenot 500 officers and 1,500 Huguenot petty
officers and soldiers in his army, and the refugees continued to play an important part in the army of
Brandenburg-Prussia where at times they made up than one-third of the officers. Later in history,
General Hermann von François, the First World War hero of the Battle of Tannenberg and famed
U-boat captain Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière both traced their ancestry to the Huguenot refugees.
It was not until the Edict of Toleration in November, 1787, that the civil and religious rights of
Huguenots in France was even partially restored.
Huguenots fled to Holland, Britain, Switzerland and South Africa. Considerable numbers of
Huguenots migrated to North America, especially to Virginia, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania and New
York. But in the direction of West and the North, the major site of transit was Frankfurt, Germany,
and the main places that welcomed the refugees were Brandenburg-Prussia, Hesse-Cassel, the
Rhine-Main region, the Electoral Palatinate and Franconia. It is said that from 1524 to 1740, there
were established in Germany some two hundred Huguenot colonies. Nearly 44,000 Huguenots
established themselves in Germany, particularly in religiously tolerant Prussia where they were
welcomed heartily by Elector Friedrich Wilhelm, as is represented in the picture above which shows
the exiled Huguenots on their knees and bowing before Friedrich Wilhelm in gratitude.
Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s  Day and Prussia's Great Elector taking in the Refugees
Potsdam’s French Church (Französische Kirche), left, was
erected in the 1750s for the Huguenot community there, but
it was said there was a French church in almost every town in
Prussia. In 1700, it was estimated that every third Berliner
was French and a significant proportion of Prussia's
population was French-speaking. The Berlin Huguenots
preserved the French language in their church services for
nearly a century until they, loyal to the land which had given
them freedom, willingly shed it in protest of Napoleon's
occupation of Prussia in 1806-07.
EXCERPTS FROM THE EDICT OF THE GREAT ELECTOR CONCERNING HUGUENOT REFUGEES (1685)
In view of the sympathy which we ought to, and do, feel for our brethren of the reformed evangelical religion in France,
who have been driven by persecution to leave their homes and settle in other countries, we, Frederick William, etc.,
desire by this edict to offer them a free and safe refuge in all our lands and possessions and to specify what rights,
privileges, and prerogatives we are graciously minded to grant them. . . .
3. We particularly specify the towns of Stendal, Werben, Rathenow, Brandenburg, and Frankfurt in the electorate of
Brandenburg, Magdeburg, Halle, and Calbe in the duchy of Magdeburg, and Konigsberg in Prussia, as places where
living is cheap and opportunities for trade and other means of support abundant; and we command herewith that when
any of the said French people of the reformed evangelical religion make their appearance, they shall be well received in
the said towns, and that every opportunity and assistance shall be given them in establishing themselves there. They shall,
moreover, be free to establish themselves in any other place in our lands and dominions outside the above-mentioned
towns which shall seem to them more con­venient for the purposes of their trade or calling.
4. They shall be permitted to bring with them any furniture, merchandise,
or other movable property free of all duties or imposts of any kind whatever. . .
6. In towns or other places where there are unoccupied or waste lands or properties, we ordain that these shall' be given
over to our said French brethren of the reformed evangelical religion, free of all and every incumbrance, to hold and enjoy
for themselves and their posterity.
We further ordain that the necessary materials for the cultivation of these lands shall be furnished them gratis. . . .
7. So soon as any of our said French brethren of the reformed evangelical religion shall have settled themselves in any
town or village, they shall be invested, without pay­ment of any kind, with all the rights, benefits, and privileges of
citizenship enjoyed or exercised by our subjects who live and were born in said town or village.
8. If any of them shall desire to establish manufactories of cloth, stuffs, hats, or other articles, we will not only bestow on
them all the necessary permissions, rights, and privileges, but will further aid them, so far as is in our power,
with money and requisite materials.
9. Those who wish to settle in the country shall be given a certain amount of land to cultivate, shall be furnished with the
requisite utensils and materials and encouraged in every way, as has been done in the case of certain families
who have come from Switzerland to settle in our country….
11. In every town where our said French brethren in the faith are established, we will support a special preacher and set
apart a proper place where they may hold their services in the French language,
and with such usages and ceremonies as are customary in the reformed evangelical churches in France.
12. As for the members of the French nobility who have placed themselves under our protection and entered our service,
they enjoy the same honors, dignities, and preroga­tives as our own subjects of noble birth, and several of them have
been given some of the most important offices at our court as well as in our army; and we are graciously disposed to
show like favor to all such of the French nobility as may in future present themselves to us.
Given at Potsdam, the 29th of October, 1685.
The Siege of La Rochelle (1572–1573) began soon after the St. Bartholomew massacre. Henry IV of
France had given the Huguenots extensive rights in the Edict of Nantes. La Rochelle, at the time the
second or third largest city in France with over 30,000 inhabitants, had become their stronghold and
was under its own governance. It was also the center of Huguenot seapower, and the strongest center
of resistance against the central government. With the assassination of Henry IV in 1610, and the
advent of Louis XIII under the regency of Marie de' Medici, there resulted a return to pro-Catholic
politics and a weakening of the Protestant positions. The Duke Henri de Rohan and his brother
Soubise led the Protestant resistance which ultimately exploded into a Huguenot rebellion. In 1621,
Louis XIII besieged and captured Saint-Jean d'Angély, and a blockade of La Rochelle was attempted
in 1621-1622, ending with a stalemate and the Treaty of Montpellier.
Rohan and Soubise took up arms again in 1625, ending with the capture of Île de Ré in 1625 by
Louis XIII, after which he wished to subdue the Huguenots, and his Chief Minister Cardinal
Richelieu declared that the suppression of the Huguenots was the first priority of the kingdom.
England, meanwhile, had tried to ally with France against the power of the Habsburg, but after they
discovered Richelieu had concluded a secret peace with Spain in 1626 and was building up the
French Navy, the English became convinced that France must be opposed. In 1626, they sent Walter
Montagu to France to contact dissident noblemen to organize a French rebellion, planning to send an
English fleet to encourage it. A new Huguenot revolt was consequently begun by Duke Henri de
Rohan and his brother. King Charles I of England sent a fleet of 80 ships, under George Villiers, 1st
Duke of Buckingham, to encourage a major rebellion in La Rochelle.
In June 1627, Buckingham organised a landing on the nearby Île de Ré with 6,000 men ostensibly in
order to help the Huguenots, thus starting an Anglo-French War (1627-1629) with the objective of
controlling the approaches to La Rochelle and of encouraging rebellion in the city. But La Rochelle
initially refused to declare itself an ally of Buckingham, in a state of war against the crown of France,
and denied Buckingham's access to its harbor. Neither had Île de Ré directly joined the rebellion
against the king, although it was a Protestant stronghold. Here, the English under Buckingham tried
to take the fortified city of Saint-Martin but were repulsed. Saint-Martin managed to stay supplied in
spite of the English blockade and Buckingham ultimately ran out of money and support, and his army
was weakened. After a last attack on Saint-Martin they were repulsed with heavy casualties, and left
with their ships. In August 1627, Royal forces started to surround La Rochelle with an army of 7,000
soldiers led by Charles of Angoulême and on September 10, La Rochelle fired the first cannons shots
against Royal troops at Fort Louis, starting the third Huguenot rebellion. Cardinal Richelieu acted as
the commander of the besieging troops. French engineers then isolated the city with entrenchments
and a long seawall to block the seaward access to the city.
Rebellions were begun in southern France in hopes of relieving La Rochelle, but were in vain. Until
February, some ships were able to go through the seawall under construction, but after March this
became impossible. The city was completely blocked, with the only hope coming from a possible
intervention of an English fleet. The government of France rented ships from Amsterdam, an ally in
the war against the Habsburgs, to conquer La Rochelle. Spain maneuvered toward the formation of a
Franco-Spanish alliance against the common enemies: the English, the Huguenots and the Dutch.
Richelieu accepted Spanish help, and a Spanish fleet of 30 to 40 warships was sent as a affirmation
of strategic support, arriving three weeks after the departure of Buckingham, but did not engage in
actual operations against the city of La Rochelle.
England made two feeble attempts to send two fleets to relieve La Rochelle. The first returned
without a fight to Portsmouth and the second withdrew after French bombardments. The citizens of
La Rochelle to their dismay watched helplessly as the English turn and sail away. The city
surrendered unconditionally on October 28, 1628 after 14 months of resistment under mayor Jean
Guitton's leadership and with the tragically diminished help from England who had encouraged their
resistance in the first place. Guiton had during that time appealed to Richelieu that the women and
children be allowed to leave the town, but the cardinal refused, saying, "All the Rochellese shall go
out together." La Rochelle was starved into submission. Its population decreased from 27,000 to
5,000 during the siege due to casualties, famine and disease. When King Louis entered the conquered
town, the streets were strewn with the dead because people were too weak to bury them, and while
those of the garrison who were still alive, they were unable to hold a pike from illness and hunger.
The capture of La Rochelle was a great triumph for Richelieu.
By the terms of the Peace of Alais, the Huguenots lost their territorial, political and military rights,
but retained the religious freedom granted by the Edict of Nantes. They  were, however, left at the
mercy of the monarchy and too weakened to resist when the later king, Louis XIV, abolished the
Edict of Nantes and embarked on active persecution.