Huguenot





In the 16th and 17th centuries, Protestants in France were called Huguenots,
a word derived from Besan¨on 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 Orlˇans
stopped the persecution for a number of years, and the Edict of
Saint-Germain recognized 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 Huguenots 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 issued the
Edict of Nantes, which granted the Protestants full religious freedom and
equal rights to Catholics.

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

Huguenot refugees flocked to Shoreditch, London in large numbers. They
established a major weaving industry in and around Spitalfields. The Truman
Brewery appeared in 1724, although it was known as the Black Eagle Brewery then.