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The 14 pages of word-processed notes cover the following core topic...
- Henry IV; character, abilities, style of kingship; historical reputatio
- Government; relations with the nobilit
- Economic and nancial recovery; the work of Sull
- Religious policies; conversion; the Huguenots and the Edict of Nante
- Foreign policy; relations with England, war with Spain; building an anti-Habsburg
coalition; territorial gains; J lich-Cleve
- How absolutist was Henry IV’s monarchy; how complete was the recovery
Questions
1) How successfully did Henry IV deal with the problems facing him as king of France?
(2010
2) ‘The real credit for the recovery of France after 1598 must go to Henry IV.’ Discuss.
(2012
3) ‘The edict of Nantes should be seen as his greatest achievement.’ Discuss this view of
Henry IV of France. (2013
4) ‘A period of good governance.’ Discuss this verdict on the reign of Henry IV of France.
(2016
Introduction
- Inherited throne of Navarre (aged 9) on death of his father in 1562
- Protestant (apart from a brief period in 1572) until his conversion in 1593
- Bourbons - preeminent aristocratic family in France and Henry took leadership of the Huguenot
movement
- 1588 - received the title “protector of the churches of France” giving him supreme command of
the national Protestant military organisation
- 1589 - became king after the death of Henry III (even though 40 people had a closer biological
relationship to Henry III
- His superior claim to the throne was only widely accepted after he converted to Catholicism in
1593.
Henry the ma
- “The most French King France ever had”
- Reckless and brave “follow me into danger, there shall you see my white plume”
- Vocal and personable
- Firm and uncompromising to challenges
- Shrewd with buying people off
- Looks like a king sounds like a king
Round up of situation in France when Henry IV came to the throne
- Finances: Treasury empty and Crown in debt
- Security / sovereignty - Catholic League supported by Spain controlled much of eastern France
and many cities
- Economy: France suffering the effects of years of civil war.
- Society: peasants suffering and rival noble families had built up power bases challenging that of
the King
Round up of situation in France by the time Henry died in 1610
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, - Crown solven
- Henry had control of the realm
- Religious divisions had been bridged and peace had replaced civil war.
Historians’ views of Henr
Henry has a reputation as one of France’s greatest monarchs. There are no convincing works
thoroughly revising this assessment
However some historians have emphasised
- Following unsuccessful sovereigns (e.g. Henry III) made Henry IV appear more able
- Henry fostered his image of success, (e.g. employing artists, writers and engravers to develop
his image, portraying him as a hero responsible for a French Golden Age)
- Henry’s chief minister the Duke of Sully was responsible for many of the achievements of
Henry’s reign. As surintendant of royal nances and communications, he helped to restore
Crown nances and to rebuild the economic infrastructure. He was also in uential in religious
and foreign policy. He was intellectually sharp and tenacious. On the other hand, Henry
appointed Sully and supported Sully’s work
- The last decade of the reign coincided with a period of economic recovery in France and Europe
and relative international peace. Although Henry’s regime played an important part in improving
the French economy and French security, he arguably bene ted from prosperity and peace
- There is evidence that by 1600 the appeal of French Protestantism was waning - by the end of
the reign the number of Calvinist churches in France had halved and this process continued in
following decades. The elimination of religious con ict may have been caused by a declining
strength and appeal of French Protestantism, as much as by Henry’s policies of reconciliation.
Historiograph
Edmund Burke (1790s) saw the political and nancial recovery of Henry’s reign as part of an
automatic process as France moved towards Bourbon absolutism in the 17th century
Mark Greengrass
- Henry’s assassination has clouded the judgment of historians portraying Henry’s reign as a
golden age in which royal authority was enhanced, the nobility put back in their place and the
foundations laid for absolutism.
- Henry consciously worked to restore royal authority and his policies and those of Sully were
shrewd and carefully planned, although Henry was also fortunate to be ruling at a time when
France was tired of war and in a period of general economic recovery
- Given that Henry mobilised three times between 1600 - 1610, had he survived, he may well
have committed France to a costly and potentially disastrous foreign war against Spain
- Refers to Henry’s reign as a step in the “struggle for stability”
Robin Briggs (1998)
- That there is a tendency to treat Henry’s reign as a time of missed opportunities, when the
monarchy might have introduced major reforms.
- However, “there were many reasons why a genuine programme of reform was effectively ruled
out.” Above all, the ideas of the time were not favourable to innovation and the King and his
ministers were fearful of the return to the disorder from which they had so recently escaped
- Anticipations of later absolutist policies can be found in Henry’s reign, particularly in his handling
of the royal of cials and great nobles, although only the “paulette” marked a radical break with
the conduct of his predecessors
- Henry ruled France “not according to any grand or systematic plan” but rather “with an eye for
expediency and practicality which was precisely what the situation required”.
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