Timeline of Protestant Persecution in France and England
The English Reformation
1534 – Henry VIII declares himself Supreme Head of the Church of England, breaking with papal authority.
1536 – Henry confiscates Catholic monastery lands and redistributes wealth to crown.
1536–1537 – Massive Catholic uprising against religious reforms. Robert Aske leads 40,000 rebels. Henry promises pardons but executes 200+ leaders after suppressing revolt.
1539 – Henry reasserts Catholic doctrine while maintaining break from Rome, creating religious confusion among both Protestant reformers and Catholic loyalists.
1547 – Edward VI's Protestant Reforms become decisively Protestant with new Prayer Books and radical liturgical changes.
1549 – Catholic revolt against Protestant reforms. Government forces kill 4,000 rebels.
1553–1558 – Catholic Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary) restores Catholicism through persecution. Burns to death 280 Protestants. Restores papal authority and Catholic Mass.
1558 – Elizabeth I establishes moderate Protestant church while attempting to avoid extreme persecution.
1569 – Catholic earls try to restore Catholicism and place Mary back on throne. Rebellion fails; 600+ Catholics executed.
1570 – Pope Pius V excommunicates Elizabeth I.
1588 – King Phillip II sends Spanish Armada to invade England in support of Catholics. Armada destroyed.
1605 – Catholic conspirators led by Guy Fawkes attempt to blow up Parliament and King James I.
1642–1646 – First English Civil War: Puritan Parliament battles King Charles I and his Catholic queen.
1648–1649 – Second Civil War: After defeat, Charles I executed by Puritans led by Oliver Cromwell.
1649 – Cromwell's forces brutally suppress Catholic Irish rebellion. 5,500 killed.
1649–1660 – Puritans rule England under Oliver Cromwell. Anglican clergy ejected, Catholic Mass banned, strict Puritan moral code enforced, celebration of Christmas banned.
1660 – Monarchy restored but Parliament gains authority of law and king loses political power.
1662 – 2,000 Puritan ministers expelled from Church of England.
1665 – These ejected ministers banned from coming within five miles of former parishes. They create Nonconformist towns.
1673 – The Test Act excludes Catholics from public office.
1678–1681 – Titus Oates fabricates Catholic conspiracy to assassinate Charles II and causes anti-Catholic hysteria which leads to execution of 35 innocent Catholics.
1685 – Protestant Duke of Monmouth fails to prevent Catholic James II's accession. Judge Jeffreys executes 320 rebels.
1688 – Glorious Revolution: Protestant William and Mary overthrow Catholic James II in bloodless coup after James attempts to restore Catholicism.
The French Reformation
1534 – Protestant posters attacking Catholic Mass appear across France and trigger severe persecution of French Protestants.
1540s–1550s – Catholic King Henry II establishes special courts to try heretics. Hundreds of Huguenots burned at stake.
1547 – Catholic authorities burn 14 Protestants alive in single day, signaling intensification of persecution.
1562–1563 – First War of Religion: Massacre of Vassy. Catholic Duke of Guise's troops kill 30 Huguenot worshipers.
1567–1568 – Second War: Huguenots attempt to capture King Charles IX; conflict spreads across France.
1568–1570 – Third War: Most serious early conflict. Battle of Jarnac kills Huguenot leader Prince de Condé.
1572 – Catherine de' Medici orders murder of Huguenot leaders in Paris.
1572 – Violence spreads nationwide, killing 5,000–30,000 Protestants over several months.
1572–1573 – Fourth War: Huguenot response to massacre; siege of La Rochelle becomes Protestant symbol of resistance.
1574–1576 – Fifth War: "War of the Three Henrys".
1577 – Sixth War: Brief conflict ended by Peace of Bergerac.
1585–1598 – Seventh War: War of the Three Henrys.
1588 – Catholic League led by Henry Duke of Guise opposes Protestant Henry of Navarre's claim to throne.
1588 – Day of the Barricades – Catholic League controls Paris.
1588 – Henry III assassinates Henry of Guise; Catholic League declares war on king.
1589 – Jacques Clément assassinates Henry III; Protestant Henry IV becomes king.
1593 – Henry IV converts to Catholicism.
1620s – Huguenot Rebellions: Protestant strongholds like La Rochelle resist royal authority.
1627–1628 – Siege of La Rochelle: Cardinal Richelieu starves Protestant fortress into submission.
1629 – Peace of Alès: Huguenots lose political privileges. Catholic king gains Absolute Monarchy.