- Massacre at Vassy
The "Massacre of Vassy" was the trigger for the long brewing
French Wars of Religion .Based on the theology of
John Calvin , the Huguenots were French Protestants who were persecuted and forced to leave France. Catherine de' Medici, Regent at that time toFrançois II , in theEdict of January had proposed the co-existence of Calvinism and Catholicism in France, relying upon the idealistic idea that the Catholics and Calvinists would stop fighting. On March 1, 1562 Francois the secondDuke of Guise , travelling to his estates, stopped in Vassy and decided to attend Mass. He found a congregation ofHuguenots holding religious ceremonies. Outraged, he ordered his men to fortify the town and led them in setting fire to the church, killing just over 80 unarmed Huguenots and wounding hundreds others. This started theWars of Religion which would continue with intermissions for more than a century.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.