Huguenot

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Protestants in France were called Huguenots, a word derived from Besançon Hugues[?], the leader of a revolt in Geneva.

Most Huguenots were Calvinists. During most of the 16th century, the Huguenots faced fierce persecution, which towards the end of the century led to large internal religious wars[?]. However, in 1561 the Edict of Orleans[?] stopped the persecution for a number of years and the Edict of St. Germain[?] recognized the them for the first time (January 17, 1562). The French Wars of Religion then began with a massacre of 1,000 Huguenots at Vassy[?] on March 1, 1562. In 1572 thousands of Huguentos were killed in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre and amnesty was granted the next year. The 5th holy war[?] against the Huguenots began on February 23, 1574 and persecution continued periodically until 1598 when king Henry IV gave the Edict of Nantes which granted the Protestants full religious freedom and equal rights to Catholics.

Louis XIV in 1685 revoked the edict and declared Protestantism illegal. After this, many Huguenots fled to surrounding Protestant nations, especially to Prussia. On December 31, 1687 a band of Huguenots set sail from France to the Cape of Good Hope.