Huguenot History

Cornwall Family History Society

This timeline highlights key events in the history of religious reforms and Huguenot migrations from France during periods of persecution and tolerance.

1517Martin LUTHER puts forward proposals to reform the Roman Catholic Church, sparking the Reformation.
1533John CALVIN flees France for Switzerland leaving many followers in his native land.
1562The Wars of Religion begin in France in 1572, the massacre of St Bartholomew on 24th August in Paris is followed over the next three months by some 10,000 Huguenots being killed across the country. As a result, there is a spike in refuges during this period.
1598Henri IV’s Edict of Nantes ends the French Wars of Religion and gives Protestants in France a degree of legal toleration. Some refugees head home from England.
1660Louis XIV begins to limit the rights of Protestants in France and a small but steady stream of Huguenots leave for more sympathetic states.
1681The start of the Dragonnades in France triggers the major emigration.
1685Louis XIV’s revocation of the Edict of Nantes in France leads to a further flood of refugees.
1750The last of the religious refugees leave France.
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