Huguenot History

1517	Martin LUTHER puts forward proposals to reform the Roman Catholic Church, sparking the Reformation.
1533	John CALVIN flees France for Switzerland leaving many followers in his native land.
1562	The Wars of Religion begin in France in 1572, the massacre of St Bartholomew on 24^th 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.
1598	Henri IV’s Edict of Nantes end the French Wars of Religion and gives Protestants in France a degree of legal toleration. Some refugees head home from England.
1660	Louis XIV begins to limit the rights of protestants in France and a small but steady stream of Huguenots leave for more sympathetic states.
1681	The start of the Dragonnades in France triggers the major emigration.
1685	Louis XIV’s revocation of the Edict of Nantes in France leads to a further flood of refugees.
1750	The last of the religious refugees leave France.