In hisEncyclopedia of Protestantism, Hans Hillerbrand wrote that on the eve of theSt. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572, the Huguenot community made up as much as 10% of the French population.[1] By 1600, it had declined to 7–8%,[citation needed] and was reduced further late in the century after the return of persecution underLouis XIV, who instituted thedragonnades to forcibly convert Protestants, and then finally revoked all Protestant rights in hisEdict of Fontainebleau of 1685. In 1686, the Protestant population sat at 1% of the population.[2]
The Huguenots were concentrated in the southern and western parts of theKingdom of France. As Huguenots gained influence and more openly displayed their faith,Catholic hostility grew. A series of religious conflicts followed, known as theFrench Wars of Religion, fought intermittently from 1562 to 1598. The Huguenots were led byJeanne d'Albret; her son, the futureHenry IV (who would later convert to Catholicism in order to become king); and theprinces of Condé. The wars ended with theEdict of Nantes of 1598, which granted the Huguenots substantial religious, political and military autonomy.
Huguenot rebellions in the 1620s resulted in the abolition of their political and military privileges. They retained the religious provisions of the Edict of Nantes until the rule of Louis XIV, who gradually increased persecution of Protestantism until he issued theEdict of Fontainebleau (1685). This ended legal recognition ofProtestantism in France and the Huguenots were forced to either convert to Catholicism (possibly asNicodemites) or flee as refugees; they were subject to violent dragonnades. Louis XIV claimed that the French Huguenot population was reduced from about 900,000 or 800,000 adherents to just 1,000 or 1,500. He exaggerated the decline, but the dragonnades were devastating for the French Protestant community. The exodus of Huguenots from France created abrain drain, as many of them had occupied important places in society.[3][4][5]
A term used originally in derision,Huguenot has unclear origins. Various hypotheses have been promoted. The term may have been a combined reference to the Swiss politicianBesançon Hugues (died 1532) and thereligiously conflicted nature ofSwiss republicanism in his time. It used a derogatorypun on the nameHugues by way of theDutch wordHuisgenoten (literally 'housemates'), referring to the connotations of a somewhat related word in GermanEidgenosse ('Confederate' in the sense of 'a citizen of one of the states of the Swiss Confederacy').[7]
Geneva wasJohn Calvin's adopted home and the centre of the Calvinist movement. In Geneva, Hugues, thoughCatholic, was a leader of the "Confederate Party", so called because it favoured independence from theDuke of Savoy. It sought analliance between the city-state of Geneva and theSwiss Confederation. The labelHuguenot was purportedly first applied in France to those conspirators (all of them aristocratic members of the Reformed Church) who were involved in theAmboise plot of 1560: a foiled attempt to wrest power in France from the influential andzealously CatholicHouse of Guise. This action would have fostered relations with the Swiss.
O. I. A. Roche promoted this idea among historians. He wrote in his book,The Days of the Upright, A History of the Huguenots (1965), thatHuguenot is:
a combination of a Dutch and a German word. In theDutch-speaking North of France, Bible students whogathered in each other's houses to study secretly were calledHuis Genooten ("housemates") while on the Swiss and German borders they were termedEid Genossen, or "oath fellows", that is, persons bound to each other by anoath. Gallicised intoHuguenot, often used deprecatingly, the word became, during two and a half centuries of terror and triumph, a badge of enduring honour and courage.
Some disagree with such non-French linguistic origins. Janet Gray argues that for the word to have spread into common use in France, it must have originated there in French. The "Hugues hypothesis" argues that the name was derived by association withHugues Capet, king of France,[8] who reigned long before the Reformation. He was regarded by the Gallicians as a noble man who respected people's dignity and lives. Janet Gray and other supporters of the hypothesis suggest that the namehuguenote would be roughly equivalent to 'little Hugos', or 'those who want Hugo'.[8]
Paul Ristelhuber, in his 1879 introduction to a new edition of the controversial and censored, but popular[9] 1566 workApologie pour Hérodote, byHenri Estienne,[10] mentions these theories and opinions, but tends to support a completely Catholic origin. As one legend holds, a gateway area in the streets of Tours was haunted by the ghosts ofle roi Huguet (a generic term for these spirits), "because they were wont to assemble near the gate named after Hugon, a Count of Tours in ancient times, who had left a record of evil deeds and had become in popular fancy a sort of sinister and maleficent genius. This count may have beenHugh of Tours, who was disliked for his cowardice. Additionally, it is related, that, it was believed, (that of these spirits) instead of spending their time in Purgatory, came back to rattle doors and haunt and harm people at night. Protestants went out at nights to their lascivious conventicles, and so the priests and the people began to call them Huguenots in Tours and then elsewhere."[11] The name, Huguenot, "the people applied in hatred and derision to those who were elsewhere called Lutherans, and from Touraine it spread throughout France."[12] Theprétendus réformés ('supposedly reformed') were said to gather at night atTours, both for political purposes, and for prayer and singingpsalms.[13] Reguier de la Plancha (d. 1560) in hisDe l'Estat de France offered the following account as to the origin of the name, as cited byThe Cape Monthly:
Reguier de la Plancha accounts for it [the name] as follows: "The namehuguenand was given to those of the religion during the affair of Amboyse, and they were to retain it ever since. I'll say a word about it to settle the doubts of those who have strayed in seeking its origin. The superstition of our ancestors, to within twenty or thirty years thereabouts, was such that in almost all the towns in the kingdom they had a notion that certain spirits underwent their Purgatory in this world after death, and that they went about the town at night, striking and outraging many people whom they found in the streets. But the light of the Gospel has made them vanish, and teaches us that these spirits were street-strollers and ruffians. In Paris the spirit was calledle moine bourré; at Orléans,le mulet odet; at Bloisle loup garon; at Tours,le Roy Huguet; and so on in other places. Now, it happens that those whom they called Lutherans were at that time so narrowly watched during the day that they were forced to wait till night to assemble, for the purpose of praying God, for preaching and receiving the Holy Sacrament; so that although they did not frighten nor hurt anybody, the priests, through mockery, made them the successors of those spirits which roam the night; and thus that name being quite common in the mouth of the populace, to designate the evangelicalhuguenands in the country of Tourraine and Amboyse, it became in vogue after that enterprise."[14]
Some have suggested the name was derived, with intended scorn, fromles guenon de Hus (the 'monkeys' or 'apes ofJan Hus').[15][16] By 1911, there was still no consensus in the United States on this interpretation.[17]
TheHuguenot cross is the distinctive emblem of the Huguenots (croix huguenote). It is now an official symbol of theÉglise des Protestants réformés (French Protestant church). Huguenot descendants sometimes display this symbol as a sign ofreconnaissance (recognition) between them.[18][19]
16th-century religious geopolitics on a map of modern France.
Controlled by Huguenot nobility
Contested between Huguenots and Catholics
Controlled by Catholic nobility
Lutheran-majority area
The issue of demographic strength and geographical spread of theReformed tradition in France has been covered in a variety of sources. Most of them agree that the Huguenot population reached as many as 10% of the total population, or roughly 2 million people, on the eve of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572.[20][21]
The new teaching ofJohn Calvin attracted sizeable portions of thenobility and urbanbourgeoisie.[22] After John Calvin introduced theReformation in France, the number ofFrench Protestants steadily swelled to ten percent of the population, or roughly 1.8 million people, in the decade between 1560 and 1570.[20] During the same period there were some 1,400 Reformed churches operating in France.[20] Hans J. Hillerbrand, an expert on the subject, in hisEncyclopedia of Protestantism: 4-volume Set claims the Huguenot community reached as much as 10% of the French population on the eve of theSt. Bartholomew's Day massacre, declining to 7 to 8% by the end of the 16th century, and further after heavy persecution began once again with theRevocation of the Edict of Nantes byLouis XIV in 1685.[20] Among the nobles, Calvinism peaked on the eve of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. Since then, it sharply decreased as the Huguenots were no longer tolerated by both the French royalty and the Catholic masses. By the end of the sixteenth century, Huguenots constituted 7–8% of the whole population, or 1.2 million people. By the time Louis XIV revoked theEdict of Nantes in 1685, Huguenots accounted for 800,000 to 1 million people.[20]
Huguenots controlled sizeable areas insouthern and western France. In addition, many areas, especially in the central part of the country, were also contested between the French Reformed and Catholic nobles. Demographically, there were some areas in which the whole populations had been Reformed. These included villages in and around theMassif Central, as well as the area aroundDordogne, which used to be almost entirely Reformed too. John Calvin was a Frenchman and himself largely responsible for the introduction and spread of the Reformed tradition in France.[23] He wrote in French, but unlike theProtestant development in Germany, whereLutheran writings werewidely distributed andcould be read by the common man, it was not the case in France, where only nobles adopted the new faith and the folk remained Catholic.[20] This is true for many areas in the west and south controlled by the Huguenot nobility. Although relatively large portions of the peasant population became Reformed there, the people, altogether, still remained majority Catholic.[20][24]
Overall, Huguenot presence was heavily concentrated in the western and southern portions of the French kingdom, as nobles there secured practise of the new faith. These includedLanguedoc-Roussillon,Gascony and even a strip of land that stretched into theDauphiné. Huguenots lived on the Atlantic coast inLa Rochelle, and also spread across provinces ofNormandy andPoitou. In the south, towns likeCastres,Montauban,Montpellier andNîmes were Huguenot strongholds. In addition, a dense network of Protestant villages permeated the rural mountainous region of theCevennes. Inhabited byCamisards, it continues to be the backbone ofFrench Protestantism. Historians estimate that roughly 80% of all Huguenots lived in the western and southern areas of France.
The availability of the Bible invernacular languages was important to the spread of the Protestant movement and development of the Reformed Church in France. The country had a long history of struggles with the papacy (see theAvignon Papacy, for example) by the time theProtestant Reformation finally arrived. Around 1294, a French version of the scriptures was prepared by the Roman Catholic priest,Guyard des Moulins. A two-volume illustrated folio paraphrase version based on his manuscript, by Jean de Rély, was printed in Paris in 1487.[30][31]
The first known translation of the Bible into one of France's regional languages,Arpitan or Franco-Provençal, had been prepared by the 12th-century pre-Protestant reformerPeter Waldo (Pierre de Vaux).[32] The Waldensians created fortified areas, as inCabrières, perhaps attacking an abbey.[33] They were suppressed byFrancis I in 1545 in theMassacre of Mérindol.[34]
Other predecessors of the Reformed church included the pro-reform andGallican Roman Catholics, such asJacques Lefevre (c. 1455–1536). The Gallicans briefly achieved independence for the French church, on the principle that the religion of France could not be controlled by the Bishop of Rome, a foreign power.[35] During the Protestant Reformation, Lefevre, a professor at theUniversity of Paris, published his French translation of the New Testament in 1523, followed by the whole Bible in the French language in 1530.[36]William Farel was a student of Lefevre who went on to become a leader of theSwiss Reformation, establishing a Protestant republican government in Geneva. Jean Cauvin (John Calvin), another student at the University of Paris, also converted to Protestantism. Long after the sect was suppressed by Francis I, the remaining FrenchWaldensians, then mostly in theLuberon region, sought to join Farel, Calvin and the Reformation, andOlivétan published a French Bible for them. The French Confession of 1559 shows a decidedlyCalvinistic influence.[37]
Although usually Huguenots are lumped into one group, there were actually two types of Huguenots that emerged.[38] Since the Huguenots had political and religious goals, it was commonplace to refer to the Calvinists as "Huguenots of religion" and those who opposed the monarchy as "Huguenots of the state", who were mostly nobles.[39]
The Huguenots of religion were influenced by John Calvin's works and established Calvinist synods. They were determined to end religious oppression.
The Huguenots of the state opposed the monopoly of power the Guise family had and wanted to attack the authority of the crown. This group of Huguenots from southern France had frequent issues with the strict Calvinist tenets that are outlined in many of John Calvin's letters to the synods of the Languedoc.
Early in his reign,Francis I (r. 1515–1547) persecuted the old, pre-Protestant movement ofWaldensians in southeastern France. Francis initially protected the Huguenot dissidents fromParlementary measures seeking to exterminate them. After the 1534Affair of the Placards,[40][41] however, he distanced himself from Huguenots and their protection.[42]
Huguenot numbers grew rapidly between 1555 and 1561, chiefly amongst nobles and city dwellers. During this time, their opponents first dubbed the ProtestantsHuguenots; but they called themselvesreformés, or "Reformed". They organised their first national synod in 1558 in Paris.[43]
By 1562, the estimated number of Huguenots peaked at approximately two million, concentrated mainly in the western, southern, and some central parts of France, compared to approximately sixteen million Catholics during the same period. Persecution diminished the number of Huguenots who remained in France.
As the Huguenots gained influence and displayed their faith more openly, Roman Catholic hostility towards them grew, even though the French crown offered increasingly liberalpolitical concessions and edicts of toleration.[citation needed]
Following the accidental death ofHenry II in 1559, his son succeeded as KingFrancis II along with his wife, the Queen Consort, also known asMary, Queen of Scots. During the eighteen months of the reign of Francis II, Mary encouraged a policy of rounding up French Huguenots on charges of heresy and putting them in front of Catholic judges, and employing torture and burning as punishments for dissenters.[citation needed] Mary returned to Scotland a widow, in the summer of 1561.[44]
In 1561, the Edict of Orléans declared an end to the persecution, and theEdict of Saint-Germain of January 1562 formally recognised the Huguenots for the first time. However, these measures disguised the growing tensions between Protestants and Catholics.[citation needed]
These tensions spurred eight civil wars, interrupted by periods of relative calm, between 1562 and 1598. With each break in peace, the Huguenots' trust in the Catholic throne diminished, and the violence became more severe, and Protestant demands became grander, until a lasting cessation of open hostility finally occurred in 1598. The wars gradually took on a dynastic character, developing into an extended feud between the Houses ofBourbon andGuise, both of which—in addition to holding rival religious views—staked a claim to the French throne. The crown, occupied by theHouse of Valois, generally supported the Catholic side, but on occasion switched over to the Protestant cause when politically expedient.[45][46]
TheFrench Wars of Religion began with theMassacre of Vassy on 1 March 1562, when dozens[47] (some sources say hundreds[48]) of Huguenots were killed, and about 200 were wounded. It was in this year that some Huguenots destroyed the tomb and remains of SaintIrenaeus (d. 202), an early Church father and bishop who was a disciple ofPolycarp.[49] TheMichelade by Huguenotes against Catholics was later on 29 September 1567.[50]
Although the exact number of fatalities throughout the country is not known, on 23–24 August, between 2,000[52] and 3,000[53][54][55] Protestants were killed in Paris and a further 3,000[56] to 7,000 more[57] in the French provinces. By 17 September, almost 25,000 Protestants had been massacred in Paris alone.[58][59] Beyond Paris, the killings continued until 3 October.[58] An amnesty granted in 1573 pardoned the perpetrators. Following the killings many Protestantsfled to the Kentish coast among other places.[60]
The pattern of warfare, followed by brief periods of peace, continued for nearly another quarter-century. The warfare was definitively quelled in 1598, when Henry of Navarre, havingsucceeded to the French throne asHenry IV, and having recanted Protestantism in favour of Roman Catholicism in order to obtain the French crown, issued theEdict of Nantes. The Edict reaffirmed Roman Catholicism as the state religion of France, but granted the Protestants equality with Catholics under the throne and a degree of religious and political freedom within their domains. The Edict simultaneously protected Catholic interests by discouraging the founding of new Protestant churches in Catholic-controlled regions.[citation needed]
With the proclamation of the Edict of Nantes, and the subsequent protection of Huguenot rights, pressures to leave France abated. However, enforcement of the Edict grew increasingly irregular over time, making life so intolerable that many fled the country. The Huguenot population of France dropped to 856,000 by the mid-1660s, of which a plurality lived in rural areas.[citation needed] The greatest concentrations of Huguenots at this time resided in the regions ofGuienne, Saintonge-Aunis-Angoumois andPoitou.[61]
Montpellier was among the most important of the 66villes de sûreté ('cities of protection' or 'protected cities') that the Edict of 1598 granted to the Huguenots. The city's political institutions and the university were all handed over to the Huguenots. Tension with Paris led to asiege by the royal army in 1622. Peace terms called for the dismantling of the city's fortifications. A royal citadel was built and the university and consulate were taken over by the Catholic party. Even before the Edict of Alès (1629), Protestant rule was dead and theville de sûreté was no more.[citation needed]
Expulsion fromLa Rochelle of 300 Protestant families in November 1661
By 1620, the Huguenots were on the defensive, and the government increasingly applied pressure. A series of three small civil wars known as theHuguenot rebellions broke out, mainly in southwestern France, between 1621 and 1629 in which the Reformed areas revolted against royal authority. The uprising occurred a decade following the death ofHenry IV, who was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic in 1610. His successorLouis XIII, under the regency of his Italian Catholic motherMarie de' Medici, was more intolerant of Protestantism. The Huguenots responded by establishing independent political and military structures, establishing diplomatic contacts with foreign powers, and openly revolting against central power. The rebellions were implacably suppressed by the French crown.[citation needed]
Louis XIV inherited the throne in 1643 and acted increasingly aggressively to force the Huguenots to convert. At first he sentmissionaries, backed by a fund to financially reward converts to Roman Catholicism. Then he imposed penalties, closed Huguenot schools and excluded them from favoured professions. Escalating, he instituteddragonnades, which included the occupation and looting of Huguenot homes by military troops, in an effort to forcibly convert them. In 1685, he issued theEdict of Fontainebleau, revoking the Edict of Nantes and declaring Protestantism illegal.[62]
The revocation forbade Protestant services, required education of children as Catholics, and prohibited emigration. It proved disastrous to the Huguenots and costly for France. It precipitated civil bloodshed, ruined commerce, and resulted in the illegal flight from the country of hundreds of thousands of Protestants, many of whom were intellectuals, doctors and business leaders whose skills were transferred to Britain as well as Holland, Switzerland, Prussia, South Africa and other places they fled to. 4,000 emigrated to theThirteen Colonies, where they settled, especially in New York, theDelaware River Valley in Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey,[27] and Virginia. The English authorities welcomed the French refugees, providing money from both government and private agencies to aid their relocation. Those Huguenots who stayed in France were subsequently forcibly converted to Roman Catholicism and were called "new converts".[63]
After this, the Huguenots (with estimates ranging from 200,000 to 1,000,000[7]) fled to Protestant countries: England, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, and Prussia—whose Calvinist Great ElectorFrederick William welcomed them to help rebuild his war-ravaged and underpopulated country. Following this exodus, Huguenots remained in large numbers in only one region of France: the ruggedCévennes region in the south. There were also some Calvinists in the Alsace region, which then belonged to theHoly Roman Empire. In the early 18th century, a regional group known as theCamisards (who were Huguenots of the mountainousMassif Central region) rioted against the Catholic Church, burning churches and killing the clergy. It took French troops years to hunt down and destroy all the bands of Camisards, between 1702 and 1709.[64]
By the 1760s Protestantism was no longer a favourite religion of the elite. By then, most Protestants were Cévennes peasants. It was still illegal, and, although the law was seldom enforced, it could be a threat or a nuisance to Protestants. Calvinists lived primarily in theMidi; about 200,000 Lutherans accompanied by some Calvinists lived in the newly acquiredAlsace, where the 1648Treaty of Westphalia effectively protected them.[65]
The government encouraged descendants of exiles to return, offering them French citizenship in a 15 December 1790 law:
All persons born in a foreign country and descending in any degree of a French man or woman expatriated for religious reason are declared French nationals (naturels français) and will benefit from rights attached to that quality if they come back to France, establish their domicile there and take the civic oath.[66]
Article 4 of 26 June 1889 Nationality Law stated: "Descendants of families proscribed by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes will continue to benefit from the benefit of 15 December 1790 Law, but on the condition that a nominal decree should be issued for every petitioner. That decree will only produce its effects for the future."[67]
Foreign descendants of Huguenots lost the automatic right to French citizenship in 1945 (by force of theOrdonnance n° 45-2441 du 19 octobre 1945, which revoked the 1889 Nationality Law).[68] It states in article 3: "This application does not, however, affect the validity of past acts by the person or rights acquired by third parties on the basis of previous laws."[69]
In the 1920s and 1930s, members of the extreme-rightAction Française movement expressed strong animus against Huguenots and otherProtestants in general, as well as againstJews andFreemasons. They were regarded as groups supporting the French Republic, whichAction Française sought to overthrow.[70]
InWorld War II, Huguenots led byAndré Trocmé in the village ofLe Chambon-sur-Lignon inCévennes helped save manyJews. They hid them in secret places or helped them get out ofVichy France. André Trocmé preached against discrimination as theNazis were gaining power in neighbouring Germany and urged his Protestant Huguenot congregation to hide Jewish refugees fromthe Holocaust.[71]
In the early 21st century, there were approximately one million Protestants in France, representing some 2% of its population.[72] Most are concentrated inAlsace in northeast France and theCévennes mountain region in the south, who still regard themselves as Huguenots to this day.[citation needed] Surveys suggest that Protestantism has grown in recent years, though this is due primarily to the expansion ofevangelical Protestant churches which particularly have adherents among immigrant groups that are generally considered distinct from the French Huguenot population.[73]
Adiaspora ofFrench Australians still considers itself Huguenot, even after centuries of exile. Long integrated into Australian society, it is encouraged by the Huguenot Society of Australia to embrace and conserve its cultural heritage, aided by the Society's genealogical research services.[74]
In the United States there are several Huguenot worship groups and societies. The Huguenot Society of America has headquarters in New York City and has a broad national membership. One of the most active Huguenot groups is inCharleston, South Carolina. While many American Huguenot groups worship in borrowed churches, the congregation in Charleston has its own church. Although services are conducted largely in English, every year the church holds an Annual French Service, which is conducted entirely in French using an adaptation of the Liturgies of Neufchatel (1737) and Vallangin (1772). Typically the Annual French Service takes place on the first or second Sunday after Easter in commemoration of the signing of the Edict of Nantes.
French protestants reacted differently to persecution and the ban of Protestantism. Some converted to the Catholic faith, while others decided to leave. Some leave their elderly parents or children that are too young to travel. Those who left were from every social class and every profession including lawyers, merchants and officers. They came from all over France. The only common denominator was that they were Protestants, would not convert to Catholicism and were willing to risk it all to practice their religion freely. Those who leave, leave everything including land to be confiscated unless a family who converted to Catholicism inherits and pays the refugees. This last scenario happens very rarely.[75]
40% of the protestants from the Northern part of France leave while 25% of the south do the same. Those closer to the border (both land and sea) as well as where they are a minority in the population of the area leave more: it is the case in the Paris area, Normandie and the Atlantic coast. Farmers often stay attached to the land while craftsman and merchants represent a large group of those who leave. Some temporarily convert to Catholicism to sell their property before leaving. Others leave over-night.[76]
Those who leave must rely on guides who know the routes out of France. Most were honest but some sold out their customers to the authorities. Paying for those guides was expensive as they risked being sent to thegalley until 1687 and laterhanging. They traveled by night and often disguised.[75] Often, the Huguenots purchased paper guides at a very high price. These guides told the reader which cities to go to, where to avoid, who to contact, etc.[76]
For many, the trip out of the country happens by sea leaving fromBordeaux,La Rochelle, theÎle de Ré,Nantes and other ports along the coast on board English and Dutch ships after they had made their way to the coast using what was available and what could be afforded. Others went by land to the Dutch Republic or Switzerland. Many walk hundreds of miles. The borders with other countries are well guarded, as well as the border between provencies within France and the risk of arrest is a constant fear until they arrive safely. On the way they encounter honest people who help them as well as some who will sell them out or steal their money. Help comes from Protestants and Catholics. The fugitives sometimes must lie about their identity. Entire networks exist to escort them across France and to a safe country. Some fugitives are arrested on the way. For those who make it, they often arrive tired, starving, with nothing to wear and no money to their name.[77]
The details of these trips have been recently discovered through the memoires written by Huguenots for their families. These were written often years later once safely outside of France and published only recently. These include:
Mémoires d’une famille huguenote victime de la révocation de l’édit de Nantes by Jacques Fontaine[78]
The first Huguenots to leave France sought freedom from persecution in Switzerland and the Netherlands.[82] A group of Huguenots was part of the French colonisers who arrived in Brazil in 1555 to foundFrance Antarctique. A couple of ships with around 500 people arrived at the Guanabara Bay, present-dayRio de Janeiro, and settled on a small island. A fort, namedFort Coligny, was built to protect them from attack from the Portuguese troops and Brazilian natives. It was an attempt to establish a French colony in South America. The fort was destroyed in 1560 by the Portuguese, who captured some of the Huguenots. The Portuguese threatened their Protestant prisoners with death if they did not convert to Roman Catholicism. The Huguenots of Guanabara, as they are now known, produced what is known as theGuanabara Confession of Faith to explain their beliefs. The Portuguese executed them.
Huguenots first settled at theCape of Good Hope in 1671; the first documented was the wagonmaker François Vilion (Viljoen). The first Huguenot to arrive at the Cape of Good Hope wasMaria de la Quellerie, wife of commanderJan van Riebeeck (and daughter of aWalloon church minister), who arrived on 6 April 1652 to establish a settlement at what is todayCape Town. The couple left forBatavia ten years later.
But it was not until 31 December 1687 that the first organised group of Huguenots set sail from the Netherlands to theDutch East India Company post at the Cape of Good Hope.[83] The largest portion of the Huguenots to settle in the Cape arrived between 1688 and 1689 in seven ships as part of the organised migration, but quite a few arrived as late as 1700; thereafter, the numbers declined and only small groups arrived at a time.[84] Many of these settlers were given land in an area that was later calledFranschhoek (Dutch for 'French Corner'), in the present-dayWestern Cape province of South Africa. A large monument to commemorate the arrival of the Huguenots in South Africa was inaugurated on 7 April 1948 at Franschhoek. The Huguenot Memorial Museum was also erected there and opened in 1957.
The official policy of theDutch East India governors was to integrate the Huguenot and theDutch communities. When Paul Roux, a pastor who arrived with the main group of Huguenots, died in 1724, the Dutch administration, as a special concession, permitted another French cleric to take his place "for the benefit of the elderly who spoke only French".[85] But withassimilation, within three generations the Huguenots had generally adopted Dutch as their first and home language.
Many of the farms in the Western Cape province in South Africa still bear French names. Many families, today, mostlyAfrikaans-speaking, have surnames indicating their French Huguenot ancestry. Examples include: Blignaut, Cilliers, Cronje (Cronier), de Klerk (Le Clercq),de Villiers, du Plessis, Du Preez (Des Pres), du Randt (Durand), du Toit, Duvenhage (Du Vinage), Franck, Fouché, Fourie (Fleurit), Gervais, Giliomee (Guilliaume), Gous/Gouws (Gauch), Hugo, Jordaan (Jourdan),Joubert, Kriek, Labuschagne (la Buscagne),le Roux, Lombard,Malan,Malherbe, Marais, Maree, Minnaar (Mesnard), Nel (Nell), Naudé, Nortjé (Nortier),Pienaar (Pinard), Retief (Retif), Roux, Rossouw (Rousseau), Taljaard (Taillard), TerBlanche, Theron,Viljoen (Vilion) and Visagie (Visage).[86][87] Thewine industry in South Africa owes a significant debt to the Huguenots, some of whom hadvineyards in France, or were brandy distillers, and used their skills in their new home.
French Huguenots made two attempts to establish a haven in North America. In 1562, naval officerJean Ribault led an expedition that exploredFlorida and the present-daySoutheastern US, and founded the outpost ofCharlesfort onParris Island, South Carolina. The French Wars of Religion precluded a return voyage, and the outpost was abandoned. In 1564, Ribault's former lieutenantRené Goulaine de Laudonnière launched a second voyage to build a colony; he establishedFort Caroline in what is nowJacksonville, Florida. War at home again precluded a resupply mission, and the colony struggled. In 1565 the Spanish decided to enforce their claim toLa Florida, and sentPedro Menéndez de Avilés, who established the settlement ofSt. Augustine near Fort Caroline. Menéndez' forces routed the French and executed most of the Protestant captives.
Barred by the government from settling inNew France, Huguenots led byJessé de Forest, sailed to North America in 1624 and settled instead in the Dutch colony ofNew Netherland (later incorporated into New York and New Jersey); as well as Great Britain's colonies, includingNova Scotia. A number of New Amsterdam's families were of Huguenot origin, often having emigrated as refugees to the Netherlands in the previous century. In 1628 the Huguenots established a congregation asL'Église française à la Nouvelle-Amsterdam (the French church in New Amsterdam). This parish continues today asL'Eglise du Saint-Esprit, now a part of theEpiscopal Church (Anglican) communion, and welcomes Francophone New Yorkers from all over the world.[88] Upon their arrival in New Amsterdam, Huguenots were offered land directly across from Manhattan on Long Island for a permanent settlement and chose the harbour at the end ofNewtown Creek, becoming the first Europeans to live inBrooklyn, then known as Boschwick, in the neighbourhood now known asBushwick.
Huguenot immigrants settled throughout pre-colonial America, including in New Amsterdam (New York City), some 21 miles north of New York in a town which they namedNew Rochelle, and some further upstate inNew Paltz. The "Huguenot Street Historic District" in New Paltz has been designated a National Historic Landmark site and contains one of the oldest streets in the United States of America. A small group of Huguenots also settled on thesouth shore ofStaten Island along theNew York Harbor, for which the current neighbourhood ofHuguenot was named. Huguenot refugees also settled in theDelaware River Valley of Eastern Pennsylvania and Hunterdon County, New Jersey in 1725.Frenchtown in New Jersey bears the mark of early settlers.[27]
New Rochelle, located in the county ofWestchester on the north shore ofLong Island Sound, seemed to be the great location of the Huguenots in New York. It is said that they landed on the coastline peninsula of Davenports Neck called "Bauffet's Point" after travelling from England where they had previously taken refuge on account of religious persecution, four years before the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. They purchased from John Pell, Lord ofPelham Manor, a tract of land consisting of six thousand one hundred acres with the help ofJacob Leisler. It was named New Rochelle after La Rochelle, their former strong-hold in France. A small wooden church was first erected in the community, followed by a second church that was built of stone. Previous to the erection of it, the strong men would often walk twenty-three miles on Saturday evening, the distance by the road from New Rochelle to New York, to attend the Sunday service. The church was eventually replaced by a third,Trinity-St. Paul's Episcopal Church, which contains heirlooms including the original bell from the French Huguenot ChurchEglise du St. Esperit on Pine Street in New York City, which is preserved as a relic in the tower room. The Huguenot cemetery, or the "Huguenot Burial Ground", has since been recognised as a historic cemetery that is the final resting place for a wide range of the Huguenot founders, early settlers and prominent citizens dating back more than three centuries.
Some Huguenot immigrants settled in central and eastern Pennsylvania. They assimilated with the predominantlyPennsylvania German settlers of the area.
In 1700 several hundred French Huguenots migrated from England to the colony ofVirginia, where the KingWilliam III of England had promised them land grants inLower Norfolk County.[89] When they arrived, colonial authorities offered them instead land 20 miles above the falls of the James River, at the abandonedMonacan village known asManakin Town, now inGoochland County. Some settlers landed in present-dayChesterfield County. On 12 May 1705, theVirginia General Assembly passed an act to naturalise the 148 Huguenots still resident at Manakintown. Of the original 390 settlers in the isolated settlement, many had died; others lived outside town on farms in the English style; and others moved to different areas.[90] Gradually they intermarried with their English neighbours. Through the 18th and 19th centuries, descendants of the French migrated west into the Piedmont, and across theAppalachian Mountains into the West of what became Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and other states. In the Manakintown area, theHuguenot Memorial Bridge across theJames River and Huguenot Road were named in their honour, as were many local features, including several schools, includingHuguenot High School.
In the early years, many Huguenots also settled in the area of present-dayCharleston, South Carolina. In 1685, Rev. Elie Prioleau from the town ofPons in France, was among the first to settle there. He became pastor of the first Huguenot church in North America in that city. After the Revocation of theEdict of Nantes in 1685, several Huguenots includingEdmund Bohun of Suffolk, England,Pierre Bacot of Touraine France,Jean Postell of Dieppe France,Alexander Pepin,Antoine Poitevin of Orsement France, andJacques de Bordeaux of Grenoble, immigrated to the Charleston Orange district. They were very successful at marriage and property speculation. After petitioning the British Crown in 1697 for the right to own land in the Baronies, they prospered as slave owners on the Cooper, Ashepoo, Ashley and Santee River plantations they purchased from the British LandgraveEdmund Bellinger. Some of their descendants moved into the Deep South and Texas, where they developed new plantations.
The FrenchHuguenot Church of Charleston, which remains independent, is the oldest continuously active Huguenot congregation in the United States.L'Eglise du Saint-Esprit in New York, founded in 1628, is older, but it left the French Reformed movement in 1804 to become part of theEpiscopal Church.
Most of the Huguenot congregations (or individuals) in North America eventually affiliated with other Protestant denominations with more numerous members. The Huguenots adapted quickly and often married outside their immediate French communities.[91] Their descendants in many families continued to use French first names and surnames for their children well into the nineteenth century. Assimilated, the French made numerous contributions to United States economic life, especially as merchants and artisans in the late Colonial and early Federal periods. For example,E.I. du Pont, a former student ofLavoisier, established theEleutherian gunpowder mills.[92]Howard Hughes, famed investor, pilot, film director, and philanthropist, was also of Huguenot descent and descendant from Rev.John Gano.
Paul Revere was descended from Huguenot refugees, as wasHenry Laurens, who signed the Articles of Confederation for South Carolina. Other descendants of Huguenots includedJack Jouett, who made the ride from Cuckoo Tavern to warnThomas Jefferson and others that Tarleton and his men were on their way to arrest him for crimes against the king; Reverend John Gano, aRevolutionary War chaplain and spiritual advisor toGeorge Washington;Francis Marion; and a number of other leaders of the American Revolution and later statesmen. The last active Huguenot congregation in North America worships in Charleston, South Carolina, at a church that dates to 1844. The Huguenot Society of America maintains theManakin Episcopal Church in Virginia as a historic shrine with occasional services. The Society has chapters in numerous states, with the one in Texas being the largest.
After the BritishConquest of New France, British authorities inLower Canada tried to encourage Huguenot immigration in an attempt to promote a Francophone Protestant Church in the region, hoping that French-speaking Protestants would be more loyal clergy than those ofRoman Catholicism. While a small number of Huguenots did come, the majority switched from speaking French to English. As a result, Protestants are still a religious minority inQuebec today.[93]
The Huguenots originally spoke French on their arrival in the American colonies, but after two or three generations, they had switched to English. They did not promote French-language schools or publications and "lost" their historic identity.[94] In upstate New York they merged with the Dutch Reformed community and switched first to Dutch and then in the early 19th century to English.[95] In colonial New York City they switched from French to English or Dutch by 1730.[96]
Some Huguenots fought in the Low Countries alongside the Dutch against Spain during the first years of theDutch Revolt (1568–1609). The Dutch Republic rapidly became a destination for Huguenot exiles. Early ties were already visible in theApologie ofWilliam the Silent,condemning the Spanish Inquisition, which was written by his court minister, the Huguenot Pierre L'Oyseleur, lord of Villiers.Louise de Coligny, daughter of the murdered Huguenot leaderGaspard de Coligny, married William the Silent, leader of the Dutch (Calvinist) revolt against Spanish (Catholic) rule. As both spoke French in daily life, their court church in thePrinsenhof inDelft held services in French. The practice has continued to the present day. The Prinsenhof is one of the 14 activeWalloon churches of theDutch Reformed Church (now of theProtestant Church in the Netherlands). The ties between Huguenots and the Dutch Republic's military and political leadership, theHouse of Orange-Nassau, which existed since the early days of the Dutch Revolt, helped support the many early settlements of Huguenots in the Dutch Republic's colonies. They settled at theCape of Good Hope in South Africa andNew Netherland in North America.
StadtholderWilliam III of Orange, who later became King of England, emerged as the strongest opponent ofKing Louis XIV after the French attacked the Dutch Republic in 1672. William formed theLeague of Augsburg as a coalition to oppose Louis and the French state. Consequently, many Huguenots considered the wealthy and Calvinist-controlled Dutch Republic, which also happened to lead the opposition to Louis XIV, as the most attractive country for exile after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. They also found many French-speaking Calvinist churches there (which were called the "Walloon churches").
After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, the Dutch Republic received the largest group of Huguenot refugees, an estimated total of 75,000 to 100,000 people. Amongst them were 200 pastors. Most came from northern France (Brittany, Normandy, and Picardy), as well as West Flanders (subsequently French Flanders), which had been annexed from the Southern Netherlands by Louis XIV in 1668–78.[97] Many came from the region of theCévennes, for instance, the village ofFraissinet-de-Lozère.[98] This was a huge influx as the entire population of the Dutch Republic amounted toc. 2 million at that time. Around 1700, it is estimated that nearly 25% of the Amsterdam population was Huguenot.[citation needed] In 1705, Amsterdam and the area ofWest Frisia were the first areas to provide full citizens rights to Huguenot immigrants, followed by the whole Dutch Republic in 1715. Huguenots intermarried with Dutch from the outset.
One of the most prominent Huguenot refugees in the Netherlands wasPierre Bayle. He started teaching inRotterdam, where he finished writing and publishing his multi-volume masterpiece,Historical and Critical Dictionary. It became one of the 100 foundational texts of the USLibrary of Congress. Some Huguenot descendants in the Netherlands may be noted by French family names, although they typically use Dutch given names. Due to the Huguenots' early ties with the leadership of the Dutch Revolt and their own participation, some of the Dutchpatriciate are of part-Huguenot descent. Some Huguenot families have kept alive various traditions, such as the celebration and feast of their patronSaint Nicolas, similar to the DutchSint Nicolaas (Sinterklaas) feast.
As a major Protestant nation, England patronized and helped protect Huguenots since at least the mid-1500s. Kent hosted thefirst congregation of Huguenots in England in around 1548.[99] During the reign ofMary I (1553–1558) they were expelled but, with the accession ofElizabeth I, returned to London in 1559 and Kent in 1561.[100] An early group of Huguenots settled inColchester in 1565.[101][102] There was a small navalAnglo-French War (1627–1629), in which the English supported the French Huguenots against King Louis XIII.[103] London financed the emigration of many to England and its colonies around 1700. Some 40,000–50,000 settled in England, mostly in towns near the sea in the southern districts, with the largest concentration in London where they constituted about 5% of the total population in 1700.[104][105][106] Many others went to the American colonies, especiallySouth Carolina.[107][108] The immigrants included many skilled craftsmen and entrepreneurs who facilitated the economic modernization of their new home, in an era when economic innovations were transferred by people rather than through printed works. The British government ignored the complaints made by local craftsmen about the favoritism shown to foreigners.[109][110] The immigrants assimilated well in terms of using English, joining the Church of England, intermarriage and business success. They founded the silk industry in England.[111][112] Many became private tutors, schoolmasters, travelling tutors and owners of riding schools, where they were hired by the upper class.[113]
Both before and after the 1708 passage of theForeign Protestants Naturalization Act, an estimated 50,000 ProtestantWalloons and French Huguenots fled to England, with many moving on to Ireland and elsewhere. In relative terms, this was one of the largest waves of immigration ever of a single ethnic community to Britain.[114]Andrew Lortie (born André Lortie), a leading Huguenot theologian and writer who led the exiled community in London, became known for articulating their criticism of the Pope and the doctrine oftransubstantiation during Mass.
Of the refugees who arrived on theKent coast, many gravitated towardsCanterbury, then the county'sCalvinist hub. Many Walloon and Huguenot families were grantedasylum there.Edward VI granted them the whole of the western crypt ofCanterbury Cathedral for worship. In 1825, this privilege was reduced to the south aisle and in 1895 to the formerchantry chapel of theBlack Prince. Services are still held there in French according to the Reformed tradition every Sunday at 3 pm.
Other evidence of the Walloons and Huguenots in Canterbury includes a block of houses in Turnagain Lane, whereweavers' windows survive on the top floor, as many Huguenots worked as weavers. The Weavers, ahalf-timbered house by the river, was the site of a weaving school from the late 16th century to about 1830. (It has been adapted as a restaurant—see illustration above. The house derives its name from a weaving school which was moved there in the last years of the 19th century, reviving an earlier use.) Other refugees practiced the variety of occupations necessary to sustain the community as distinct from the indigenous population. Such economic separation was the condition of the refugees' initial acceptance in the city. They also settled elsewhere in Kent, particularlySandwich,Faversham andMaidstone—towns in which there used to be refugee churches.
TheFrench Protestant Church of London was established byRoyal Charter in 1550. It is now located atSoho Square.[115] Huguenot refugees flocked toShoreditch, London. They established a majorweaving industry in and aroundSpitalfields (seePetticoat Lane and theTenterground) in East London.[116] InWandsworth, their gardening skills benefited theBattersea market gardens. The flight of Huguenot refugees fromTours, France drew off most of the workers of its great silk mills which they had built.[citation needed] Some of these immigrants moved toNorwich, which had accommodated an earlier settlement of Walloon weavers. The French added to the existing immigrant population, then comprising about a third of the population of the city.
Some Huguenots settled in Bedfordshire, one of the main centres of the British lace industry at the time. Although 19th-century sources have asserted that some of these refugees were lacemakers and contributed to the East Midlands lace industry,[117][118] this is contentious.[119][120] The only reference to immigrant lace makers in this period is of twenty-five widows who settled in Dover,[117] and there is no contemporary documentation to support there being Huguenot lace makers in Bedfordshire. The implication that the style of lace known as 'Bucks Point' demonstrates a Huguenot influence, being a "combination of Mechlin patterns on Lille ground",[118] is fallacious: what is now known as Mechlin lace did not develop until the first half of the eighteenth century and lace with Mechlin patterns and Lille ground did not appear until the end of the 18th century, when it was widely copied throughout Europe.[121]
Many Huguenots from theLorraine region also eventually settled in the area aroundStourbridge in the modern-dayWest Midlands, where they found the raw materials and fuel to continue their glassmaking tradition. Anglicized names such as Tyzack, Henzey and Tittery are regularly found amongst the early glassmakers, and the region went on to become one of the most important glass regions in the country.[122]
Winston Churchill was the most prominent Briton of Huguenot descent, deriving from the Huguenots who went to the colonies; his American grandfather wasLeonard Jerome.
Following the French crown's revocation of theEdict of Nantes, many Huguenots settled in Ireland in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, encouraged by an act of parliament for Protestants' settling in Ireland.[123][124][125][126][127] Huguenot regiments fought forWilliam of Orange in theWilliamite War in Ireland, for which they were rewarded with land grants and titles, many settling inDublin.[128] Significant Huguenot settlements were inDublin,Cork,Portarlington,Lisburn,Waterford andYoughal. Smaller settlements, which includedKilleshandra in County Cavan, contributed to the expansion of flax cultivation and the growth of theIrish linen industry.
For over 150 years, Huguenots were allowed to hold their services in Lady Chapel inSt. Patrick's Cathedral. AHuguenot cemetery is located in the centre of Dublin, off St. Stephen's Green. Prior to its establishment, Huguenots used theCabbage Garden near the cathedral. AnotherHuguenot cemetery is located off French Church Street in Cork.
A number of Huguenots served as mayors in Dublin, Cork, Youghal and Waterford in the 17th and 18th centuries. Numerous signs of Huguenot presence can still be seen with names still in use, and with areas of the main towns and cities named after the people who settled there. Examples include the Huguenot District and French Church Street inCork City; andD'Olier Street in Dublin, named after a High Sheriff and one of the founders of the Bank of Ireland. A French church in Portarlington dates back to 1696,[129] and was built to serve the significant new Huguenot community in the town. At the time, they constituted the majority of the townspeople.[130]
One of the more notable Huguenot descendants in Ireland wasSeán Lemass (1899–1971), who was appointed asTaoiseach, serving from 1959 until 1966.
With the precedent of a historical alliance — theAuld Alliance — between Scotland and France, Huguenots were mostly welcomed to, and found refuge in the nation from around the year 1700.[131] Although they did not settle in Scotland in such significant numbers as in other regions of Britain and Ireland, Huguenots have been romanticised, and are generally considered to have contributed greatly to Scottish culture.[132]John Arnold Fleming wrote extensively of the French Protestant group's impact on the nation in his 1953Huguenot Influence in Scotland,[133] while sociologistAbraham Lavender, who has explored how the ethnic group transformed over generations "from Mediterranean Catholics to White Anglo-Saxon Protestants", has analyzed how Huguenot adherence toCalvinist customs helped facilitate compatibility with the Scottish people.[134]
A number of French Huguenots settled in Wales, in the upperRhymney valley of the currentCaerphilly County Borough. The community they created there is still known asFleur de Lys (the symbol of France), an unusual French village name in the heart of the valleys of Wales. Nearby villages areHengoed, andYstrad Mynach. Apart from the French village name and that of the local rugby team,Fleur De Lys RFC, little remains of the French heritage.
Obelisk commemorating the Huguenots inFredericia, Denmark
After the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572, some persecuted Huguenots fled to Poland, taking advantage of its religious tolerance confirmed by theWarsaw Confederation, marking the first significant historical wave ofFrench migration to Poland.[135]
In Berlin the Huguenots created two new neighborhoods:Dorotheenstadt andFriedrichstadt. By 1700 one fifth of the city's population was French-speaking. The Berlin Huguenots preserved the French language in their church services for nearly a century. They ultimately decided to switch to German in protest against the occupation of Prussia byNapoleon in 1806–07. Many of their descendants rose to positions of prominence. Several congregations were founded throughout Germany and Scandinavia, such as those ofFredericia (Denmark), Berlin,Stockholm, Hamburg,Frankfurt, Helsinki, andEmden.
Tenements inSzczecin, Poland, built by descendants of French Huguenot immigrants to the city
Prince Louis de Condé, along with his sons Daniel and Osias,[citation needed] arranged with Count Ludwig von Nassau-Saarbrücken to establish a Huguenot community in present-daySaarland in 1604. The Count supported mercantilism and welcomed technically skilled immigrants into his lands, regardless of their religion. The Condés established a thriving glass-making works, which provided wealth to the principality for many years. Other founding families created enterprises based on textiles and such traditional Huguenot occupations in France. The community and its congregation remain active to this day, with descendants of many of the founding families still living in the region. Some members of this community emigrated to the United States in the 1890s.
InBad Karlshafen, Hessen, Germany is the Huguenot Museum and Huguenot archive. The collection includes family histories, a library, and a picture archive.
The exodus of Huguenots from France created abrain drain, as many of them had occupied important places in society. The kingdom did not fully recover for years. The French crown's refusal to allow non-Catholics to settle inNew France may help to explain that colony's low population compared to that of the neighboring British colonies, which opened settlement to religious dissenters. By the start of theFrench and Indian War, the North American front of theSeven Years' War, a sizeable population of Huguenot descent lived in the British colonies, and many participated in the British defeat of New France in 1759–1760.[136]
The persecution and the flight of the Huguenots greatly damaged the reputation ofLouis XIV abroad, particularly in England. Both kingdoms, which had enjoyed peaceful relations until 1685, became bitter enemies and fought each other in a series of wars, called the "Second Hundred Years' War" by some historians, from 1689 onward.
François Mitterrand issued a formal apology to the Huguenots and their descendants on behalf of the French state in 1985.
In October 1985, to commemorate the tricentenary of theRevocation of the Edict of Nantes, PresidentFrançois Mitterrand of France announced a formal apology to the descendants of Huguenots around the world.[143] At the same time, the government released a special postage stamp in their honour reading "Franceis the home of the Huguenots" (Accueil des Huguenots).
New Rochelle, New York, named for the city ofLa Rochelle, a known former Huguenot stronghold in France. The Huguenot and Historical Association of New Rochelle was organized in 1885 for the purpose of perpetuating the history of its original Huguenot settlers. The mascot ofNew Rochelle High School is the Huguenot; and one of the main streets in the city is called Huguenot Street.
John Pintard (1759–1854), a descendant of Huguenots and prosperous New York City merchant who was involved in various New York City organizations. Pintard was credited with establishing the modern conception ofSanta Claus.
Arthur C. Mellette (23 June 1842 – 25 May 1896), the last governor of the Dakota territory and the first governor of South Dakota was of Huguenot descent.
InRichmond, Virginia, and the neighboringChesterfield County, there is a Huguenot Road. A Huguenot High School in Richmond and Huguenot Park in Chesterfield County, along with several other uses of the name throughout the region, commemorate the early refugee settlers.
The Manakintown Episcopal Church in Midlothian, Virginia serves as a National Huguenot Memorial.
Walloon Settlers Memorial (located inBattery Park) is a monument given to the City of New York by the Belgian Province of Hainaut in honor of the inspiration ofJessé de Forest in founding New York City. Baron de Cartier de Marchienne, representing the government and Albert I, King of Belgium, presented the monument to Mayor John F. Hylan, for the City of New York 18 May 1924.
Huguenots of Spitalfields is a registered charity promoting public understanding of the Huguenot heritage and culture in Spitalfields, the City of London and beyond. They arrange tours, talks, events and schools programmes to raise the Huguenot profile in Spitalfields and raise funds for a permanent memorial to the Huguenots.[150]
Huguenot Place inWandsworth is named after theHuguenot Burial Site or Mount Nod Cemetery, which was used by the Huguenots living in the area. The site was in use from 1687 to 1854 and graves can still be observed today.
Canterbury Cathedral retains a Huguenot Chapel in the 'Black Prince's Chantry', part of the Crypt which is accessible from the exterior of the cathedral. The chapel was granted to Huguenot refugees on the orders of Queen Elizabeth I in 1575. To this day, the chapel still holds services in French every Sunday at 3 pm.[151]
Strangers' Hall inNorwich got its name from the Protestant refugees from the Spanish Netherlands who settled in the city from the 16th century onwards and were referred to by the locals as the 'Strangers'.[152] The Strangers brought with them their pet canaries, and over the centuries the birds became synonymous with the city. In the early 20th century,Norwich City F.C. adopted thecanary as their emblem and nickname.[153]
Most South African Huguenots settled in theCape Colony, where they became assimilated into theAfrikaner andAfrikaans population. Many modern Afrikaners have French surnames, which are given Afrikaans pronunciation and orthography. The early immigrants settled inFranschhoek ("French Corner") nearCape Town. The Huguenots contributed greatly to thewine industry in South Africa.[154]
The majority of Australians with French ancestry are descended from Huguenots. Some of the earliest to arrive in Australia held prominent positions in English society, notablyJane Franklin andCharles La Trobe.[155]
Others who came later were from poorer families, migrating from England in the 19th and early 20th centuries to escape the poverty ofLondon's East End Huguenot enclaves ofSpitalfields andBethnal Green. Their impoverishment had been brought on by the Industrial Revolution, which caused the collapse of the Huguenot-dominated silk-weaving industry. ManyFrench Australian descendants of Huguenots still consider themselves very much Huguenots or French, even in the 21st century.[156]
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^G.M.D. Howat,Stuart and Cromwellian Foreign Policy (1974) p. 156.
^Roy A. Sundstrom, "French Huguenots and the Civil List, 1696–1727: A Study of Alien Assimilation in England."Albion 8.3 (1976): 219–235.
^Robin Gwynn, "The number of Huguenot immigrants in England in the late seventeenth century."Journal of Historical Geography 9.4 (1983): 384–395.
^Robin Gwynn, "England's First Refugees"History Today (May 1985) 38#5 pp. 22–28.
^Jon Butler,The Huguenots in America: A refugee people in New World society (1983).
^Kurt Gingrich, "'That Will Make Carolina Powerful and Flourishing': Scots and Huguenots in Carolina in the 1680s."South Carolina Historical Magazine 110.1/2 (2009): 6–34.online
^Heinz Schilling,"Innovation through migration: the settlements of Calvinistic Netherlanders in sixteenth-and seventeenth-century Central and Western Europe."Histoire Sociale/Social History 16.31 (1983).online
^Mark Greengrass, "Protestant exiles and their assimilation in early modern England."Immigrants & Minorities 4.3 (1985): 68–81.
^Irene Scouloudi, ed.Huguenots in Britain and Their French Background, 1550–1800 (1987)
^Lien Bich Luu, "French-speaking refugees and the foundation of the London silk industry in the 16th century."Proceedings-Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland 26 (1997): 564–576.
^Michael Green, "Bridging the English Channel: Huguenots in the educational milieu of the English upper class."Paedagogica Historica 54.4 (2018): 389–409online[dead link]
^abPalliser, Mrs. Bury (1865).History of Lace. London: Sampson Low, Son and Marston. p. 299.A nest of refugee lace-makers, 'who came out of France by reason of the late "troubles" yet continuing,' were congregated at Dover (1621–22). A list of about twenty-five 'widows being makers of Bone lace is given...'
^Seguin, Joseph (1875). J. Rothschild (ed.).La dentelle: Histoire, description fabrication, bibliographie (in French). Paris: J. Rothschild. p. 140.There is a tradition that the art of bobbin lace was brought to England by the Flemish emigrants who, fleeing from the tyranny of the Duke of Alba, went to settle in England. This tradition is entirely false for the lace industry did not exist in Flanders when the Duke of Alba went there.
^Yallop, H.J. (1992).The History of the Honiton Lace Industry. Exeter: University of Exeter Press. p. 18.ISBN0859893790.
^Levey, Santina (1983).Lace, A History. London: Victoria and Albert Museum. p. 90.ISBN090128615X.Until the late 18th century, the lace made at Lille was indistinguishable from the other copies of Michelin and Valencienne, but, at that time, it appears to have adopted—along with a number of other centres—the simple twist-net ground of the plainer blonde and thread laces.
^Ellis, Jason (2002).Glassmakers of Stourbridge and Dudley 1612–2002. Harrogate: Jason Ellis.ISBN1-4010-6799-9.
^Grace Lawless Lee (2009),The Huguenot Settlements in Ireland, Page 169
^Raymond Hylton (2005),Ireland's Huguenots and Their Refuge, 1662–1745: An Unlikely Haven, p. 194, Quote: "The Bishop of Kildare did come to Portarlington to consecrate the churches, backed by two prominent Huguenot Deans of ... Moreton held every advantage and for most of the Portarlington Huguenots there could be no option but acceptance ...
^Raymond P. Hylton, "Dublin's Huguenot Community: Trials, Development, and Triumph, 1662–1701",Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London 24 (1983–1988): 221–231
^Raymond P. Hylton, "The Huguenot Settlement at Portarlington, ...
^C. E. J. Caldicott, Hugh Gough, Jean-Paul Pittion (1987),The Huguenots and Ireland: Anatomy of an Emigration, Quote: "The Huguenot settlement at Portarlington, 1692–1771. Unique among the French Protestant colonies established or augmented in Ireland following the Treaty of Limerick (1691), the Portarlington settlement was planted on the ashes of an ..."
^Kathy Chater (2012).Tracing Your Huguenot Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians.Pen & Sword.ISBN978-1848846104.Combined with what was called the 'Auld Alliance' between Scotland and France (England's traditional enemy), this meant that French Huguenots found Scotland a welcoming refuge.
^"The Scots Magazine" (Volume 60 ed.).DC Thomson.Scotland owes a great deal to the Huguenots. They were the flower of France, and the persecution, epitomised by themassacre of St Bartholomew's Day, 1572, which drove so many to seek refuge abroad, enriched our nation{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)
^Abraham Lavender (1989).French Huguenots: From Mediterranean Catholics to White Anglo-Saxon Protestants.Peter Lang.ISBN978-0820411361.In Scotland, the Huguenots 'became part of the warp and woof of the Scottish nation. They followed the tenets ofJohn Calvin and made their contribution social, religious and commercial' (Reaman 1966; 95).
^Stosunki polsko–francuskie w toku dziejów (in Polish). 1941. p. 3.
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Ruymbeke, Bertrand Van.New Babylon to Eden: The Huguenots and Their Migration to Colonial South Carolina. U. of South Carolina Press, 2006. 396 pp
Scoville, Warren Candler.The persecution of Huguenots and French economic development, 1680–1720 (U of California Press, 1960).
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VanRuymbeke, Bertrand and Sparks, Randy J., eds.Memory and Identity: The Huguenots in France and the Atlantic Diaspora, U. of South Carolina Press, 2003. 352 pp.
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The Liturgy, or Forms of Divine Service, of the French Protestant Church, of Charleston, S. C., Translated from the Liturgy of the Churches of Neufchatel and Vallangin: editions of 1737 and 1772. With Some Additional Prayers, Carefully Selected. The Whole Adapted to Public Worship in the United States of America. Third edition. New York: Anson D. F. Randolph & Company, 1853. 228 pp.Google Books and theInternet Archive. Available also fromMaking of America Books as a DLXS file or in hardcover.
1Overseas parts of France proper Migration of minorities inFrance (i.e.Basques) can be considered as separate (ethnically) or French migration (by nationality).
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