The Hugenots

The Huguenots were Calvinist Protestants in France who faced an enormous amount of persecution during the religious struggles of the 16th and 17th centuries. In the late 16th century, the number of Huguenots in France increased significantly and their rivalry with the Catholics led to the Wars of Religion, which lasted from 1562 until 1598.

In 1572, large numbers of Huguenots were massacred in Paris on the orders of Queen Catherine de Medici. However, the Huguenots triumphed when the Protestant Henry IV succeeded to the throne in 1598. In the same year the Edict of Nantes was passed and it officially guaranteed religious toleration. Nevertheless, persecution continued and the Edict was revoked by Louis XIV in 1685. At this point, many Huguenots migrated to England.

The first Huguenot names appeared in England after the 16th century, when this group of French Protestants began to leave France to seek refuge in Protestant countries. The Huguenots flooded into Protestant England in the 17th century, when religious persecution intensified at home. The Huguenots, who possessed great commercial and industrial skills, settled in English manufacturing towns, where they were instrumental to the production of crystal, paper, cutlery, watches, and precision instruments. After they were welcomed into England, Huguenot names began to appear in increasingly large numbers in documents such as the Curia Regis Rolls, The Pipe Rolls the Hearth Rolls, the Treaty of Limerick, parish registers, baptismals and tax records.

The Huguenots were fervently loyal to the Crown during the era of Cromwell. They were overwhelmingly Methodist, and were supporters of the "Glorious Revolution" which led to the long series of Jacobite uprisings by the supporters of the Catholic King James II. Many of the Huguenots signed undertakings to remain Protestant and migrated to Ireland to settle on lands confiscated from Catholics during the Plantation of Ulster.

References

  1. ^ Swyrich, Archive materials