Reason for the Length of the French Wars of Religion Essay Example

Reason for the Length of the French Wars of Religion Essay French Wars of Religion: Result of a weak monarchy, fragile peace agreements, and the battle of social worlds The reason for the length of the French wars of religion was attributed to the power vacuum that opened up during the reign of the minor Charles IX, as the Catholic Guises battled for power between the Protestant factions, the Bourbons and the Chatillons. Because the king’s vulnerable regent, Catherine de’ Medici wanted to keep the peace in order to protect her son’s power, watered down peace agreements were drawn up and the monarchy was constantly switching sides of loyalty between the Protestants and the Catholics. This in turn dragged out the Wars of Religion since there was no solid monarchy to keep everyone in check. The intensity of the battles were furthermore enhanced by the severe hostility and suspicion that lay in-between the Catholic community of believers and the Protestant community with regards to the way they practiced religion and lived their lives. The weak authoritative government begins to create chaos when Charles IX takes over the crown as a young boy and reigns until 1574 with the help of his mother and regent, Catherine de’Medici. The Guise family takes over the governmental administration within the first few days of the young boy’s reign, which includes the church, military affairs, foreign diplomats, and the treasury. A three way political battle develops between the Protestant Bourbons controlling the southern and western France, the Montmorency Chatillons controlling the center of France, and Catholic Guise faction in control of Eastern France. The fact that the aristocrats are being converted to Protestantism creates a severe threat to the Catholic Church and therefore the state itself. We will write a custom essay sample on Reason for the Length of the French Wars of Religion specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Reason for the Length of the French Wars of Religion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Reason for the Length of the French Wars of Religion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Catherine de’ Medici does not necessarily have religious loyalty towards the Guise clan and is only concerned with protecting the monarchy of her son, Charles IX, so she allies herself with the Protestants in 1562 and gives them the right to worship in public outside of towns in the January edict. This action in turn provokes the Guise family in anger to strike back against the Protestants by coordinating a surprise attack on the Protestant worshipers in the Vassy of Champagne. This is an example of how a brutal battle is roused due to the disagreement between the susceptible authority of Catherine de Medici and a powerful government faction striving for power. In this situation, the battles could have been stopped if there had been a powerful absolute monarchy in charge of the court. Instead, Catherine goes back and forth between the two sides. Case in point, in 1563, Catherine changes her alliance in favor of the Guises out of fear and the Protestants are forced to complete surrender. After the third war, the crown becomes more Protestant under the influence of Coligny. Catherine again changes her loyalty to the Protestants. When she begins to fear Coligny’s move into the Netherlands, she joins with the Guises to assassinate Coligny. When this fails, she tells her son that there was going to be a Huguenot uprising so that she doesn’t get in trouble with her son and the court. After convincing him, many Huguenots including Coligny were destroyed in the Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre. Again, there is a battle fought due to the ambivalent court and Catherine’s failure to pick loyalty on either side. The inadequate peace agreements are another critical aspect of why the wars drag on for so long. The edict of Amboise, for example is doomed to fail due to the resisting Guise family in the court and because the king is only fifteen years old. Because of this weak legitimacy, the parlement of Paris and the provisional parlements are against the toleration of Protestants and refuse to register them. They finally do only because they attach a proviso that limits authotiry of the edict until the king is of age, when the national court can resolve the dispute. With such weak power held in the monarchy, peace agreements throughout the war continue this pattern and provoke more disagreements among the court, which do not help with ending the war. Another example of a weak peace agreement is Henry III’s peace of Monsier in 1576 where Catholics immediately question whether or not the new king was interested in disposing heresy. In result of this, the League of 1576 was organized in letting Catholics act independently of the throne. Here is an example of a wobbling authority when they are trying to settle the peace between the groups. Things improve however with the beginning of Henry IV’s reign in 1593 where he renounces the Protestant faith and becomes a Catholic. He sets in stone the Edict of Nantes which is the â€Å"that temporary expedient imposed by thirty years indecisive warfare†¦. † There were still parts of resistance throughout France angry about the religious wars such as members of the Catholic league controlling big cities such as Rheims, Huguenots living on the defensive and Spanish troops living on the French land in Paris. The edict was successful since Henry IV stressed unity over toleration. No theological questions raised or debated. He decided to stay switch to Catholicism, but yet still supported both sides. Along with the political strife, there was incredible suspicion and hostility among the Catholic community and Protestant community with regards to the beliefs and practices, which attributed to the intensity of the wars. The differences made it a battle of culture. Just as Georges Livet states, each community viewed the other as â€Å"pollutants of their own particular notion of the body social, as threats to their own conception of ordered society. The Catholics viewed the king as the â€Å"Rex Christianissimus,† in that they were ordained from God and even are to an extent God himself. On the other hand, John Calvin and the early Protestants thought that the amount of control that the kings had was a form of corruption. They questioned the sale of indulgences and the way the clergy were elected. For example, they were appalled that of 129 bishops Henry II appoints, 102 were princes of the blood or members of the nobility of the sword. The vital opposing difference was the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eurcharist, otherwise known as Transubstantiation, understood literally in orthodox Catholic principles but refused, or understood figuratively in the Reformed Church. Protestants also believe that getting pardons is no replacement for acts of love. If people are purchasing them rather than buying food for the poor, than it makes no sense. Point 42 States, â€Å"Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons. This of course angers the Catholics tremendously and makes them defensive. Starting with the edict of Chateaubriant of 1551, Henry puts a legalistic ban on Protestantism. Catholics see them as rebels who threatened society from the lower ends of the social ladder. These religious differences aggravate the two communities and therefore cause major hostility. An example of such social hostility is when Catholic Baron, Francoi s de Fumel, forbades his Calvinist peasants from worshipping. They revolt with weapons and were joined by hundreds of catholic persons to seize his home. This makes it clear that religion wasn’t necessarily the theme of the revolt. Both the ultra-Catholic Parlement of Bordeaux and the Calvinist synod that met at nimes disrecarded the Catholics that participated and both groups assumed it was a Calvinist revolt and that the murder was a â€Å"seditious disturbers of the public order and â€Å"totally perverse people only superficially instructed in religion who think the gospel promises them agrarian freedom and enfranchisement. † Here is where one sees the Protestants as rebels. Another anecdote of this social hostility is an episode presented to the king along with 55 other instances demonstrating violence against Huguenot nobles. The one that sticks out is that of Marguerite de Hurtelon where she was massacred in her house and shot five times in her breasts. This maltreatment is not necessarily having to do with religion, but rather theft, robbery and sexual abuse. Overall, Catholics in parts of Frances make little effort to treat the lives of Protestants with respect that the edict wanted. Clearly, Catholics view Protestants as an â€Å"impurity to be purged, a blemish to be excied, or indeed, nothing but garbage to be fed to pigs. † Through these instances, it is clear that religious division is aggravated by social tensions in the hierarchical society of the old regime. Because the communities were so tightly knit, they therefore became suspicious quickly. Overall, historian Etienne Pasquier, puts it perfectly when he states that â€Å"nothing to be more feared in a state than civil war†¦particularly when a king, due to his minority, does not have the power to command absolutely†¦. He predicts that the civil war will end in a â€Å"tragedy,† and he is correct. The catalyst that sparks the seemingly endless amount of wars is the weak authoritative monarchy that opens up as the various factions battle for power. Catherine de’ Medici cannot remain stable on one side or the other due to fear of losing her son’s power. Consequently w eak peace agreements are made and the government is left flustered. The harsh tension among the civilians during this time and sensitivity within the two groups is due to the differences between the two communities. A weak monarchy becomes even weaker when two cultural communities are constantly on the defensive. Work Sited Armstrong, E. The French wars of religion, their Political Aspects. Oxford, 2005. Baumgartner, Frederic. France in the Sixteenth Century. NY: St. Martins Press,1995 Holt, Mack P. The French wars of religion, 1562-162. Cambridge University Press, 1995. Baumgartner, Frederic J. Radical Reactionaries: the political thought of the French Catholic League. Geneve, 1975. See, David. The French Wars of Religion, 16 October 2010, http://webcache. oogleusercontent. com Streich, Michael. The Edict of Nantes and King Henry IV, 20 October 2010, http://www. suite101. com/content/the-edict-of-nantes-and-king-henry-iv-a90529 The University of Virginia Library. The Gordon Collection and French Wars of Religion. 27 October 2010, http://www2. lib. virginia. edu/rmds/portfolio/gordon/religion/ K. Aland, ed. , Martin Luthers 95 Theses; H. Grimm, ed. , Luthers Works, XXXI; E. Iserloh, The Theses Were Not Posted; F. Lau, The Posting of Luthers Theses, Legend or Fact? CTM 38:691-703. Reason for the Length of the French Wars of Religion Essay Example Reason for the Length of the French Wars of Religion Essay French Wars of Religion: Result of a weak monarchy, fragile peace agreements, and the battle of social worlds The reason for the length of the French wars of religion was attributed to the power vacuum that opened up during the reign of the minor Charles IX, as the Catholic Guises battled for power between the Protestant factions, the Bourbons and the Chatillons. Because the king’s vulnerable regent, Catherine de’ Medici wanted to keep the peace in order to protect her son’s power, watered down peace agreements were drawn up and the monarchy was constantly switching sides of loyalty between the Protestants and the Catholics. This in turn dragged out the Wars of Religion since there was no solid monarchy to keep everyone in check. The intensity of the battles were furthermore enhanced by the severe hostility and suspicion that lay in-between the Catholic community of believers and the Protestant community with regards to the way they practiced religion and lived their lives. The weak authoritative government begins to create chaos when Charles IX takes over the crown as a young boy and reigns until 1574 with the help of his mother and regent, Catherine de’Medici. The Guise family takes over the governmental administration within the first few days of the young boy’s reign, which includes the church, military affairs, foreign diplomats, and the treasury. A three way political battle develops between the Protestant Bourbons controlling the southern and western France, the Montmorency Chatillons controlling the center of France, and Catholic Guise faction in control of Eastern France. The fact that the aristocrats are being converted to Protestantism creates a severe threat to the Catholic Church and therefore the state itself. We will write a custom essay sample on Reason for the Length of the French Wars of Religion specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Reason for the Length of the French Wars of Religion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Reason for the Length of the French Wars of Religion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Catherine de’ Medici does not necessarily have religious loyalty towards the Guise clan and is only concerned with protecting the monarchy of her son, Charles IX, so she allies herself with the Protestants in 1562 and gives them the right to worship in public outside of towns in the January edict. This action in turn provokes the Guise family in anger to strike back against the Protestants by coordinating a surprise attack on the Protestant worshipers in the Vassy of Champagne. This is an example of how a brutal battle is roused due to the disagreement between the susceptible authority of Catherine de Medici and a powerful government faction striving for power. In this situation, the battles could have been stopped if there had been a powerful absolute monarchy in charge of the court. Instead, Catherine goes back and forth between the two sides. Case in point, in 1563, Catherine changes her alliance in favor of the Guises out of fear and the Protestants are forced to complete surrender. After the third war, the crown becomes more Protestant under the influence of Coligny. Catherine again changes her loyalty to the Protestants. When she begins to fear Coligny’s move into the Netherlands, she joins with the Guises to assassinate Coligny. When this fails, she tells her son that there was going to be a Huguenot uprising so that she doesn’t get in trouble with her son and the court. After convincing him, many Huguenots including Coligny were destroyed in the Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre. Again, there is a battle fought due to the ambivalent court and Catherine’s failure to pick loyalty on either side. The inadequate peace agreements are another critical aspect of why the wars drag on for so long. The edict of Amboise, for example is doomed to fail due to the resisting Guise family in the court and because the king is only fifteen years old. Because of this weak legitimacy, the parlement of Paris and the provisional parlements are against the toleration of Protestants and refuse to register them. They finally do only because they attach a proviso that limits authotiry of the edict until the king is of age, when the national court can resolve the dispute. With such weak power held in the monarchy, peace agreements throughout the war continue this pattern and provoke more disagreements among the court, which do not help with ending the war. Another example of a weak peace agreement is Henry III’s peace of Monsier in 1576 where Catholics immediately question whether or not the new king was interested in disposing heresy. In result of this, the League of 1576 was organized in letting Catholics act independently of the throne. Here is an example of a wobbling authority when they are trying to settle the peace between the groups. Things improve however with the beginning of Henry IV’s reign in 1593 where he renounces the Protestant faith and becomes a Catholic. He sets in stone the Edict of Nantes which is the â€Å"that temporary expedient imposed by thirty years indecisive warfare†¦. † There were still parts of resistance throughout France angry about the religious wars such as members of the Catholic league controlling big cities such as Rheims, Huguenots living on the defensive and Spanish troops living on the French land in Paris. The edict was successful since Henry IV stressed unity over toleration. No theological questions raised or debated. He decided to stay switch to Catholicism, but yet still supported both sides. Along with the political strife, there was incredible suspicion and hostility among the Catholic community and Protestant community with regards to the beliefs and practices, which attributed to the intensity of the wars. The differences made it a battle of culture. Just as Georges Livet states, each community viewed the other as â€Å"pollutants of their own particular notion of the body social, as threats to their own conception of ordered society. The Catholics viewed the king as the â€Å"Rex Christianissimus,† in that they were ordained from God and even are to an extent God himself. On the other hand, John Calvin and the early Protestants thought that the amount of control that the kings had was a form of corruption. They questioned the sale of indulgences and the way the clergy were elected. For example, they were appalled that of 129 bishops Henry II appoints, 102 were princes of the blood or members of the nobility of the sword. The vital opposing difference was the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eurcharist, otherwise known as Transubstantiation, understood literally in orthodox Catholic principles but refused, or understood figuratively in the Reformed Church. Protestants also believe that getting pardons is no replacement for acts of love. If people are purchasing them rather than buying food for the poor, than it makes no sense. Point 42 States, â€Å"Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons. This of course angers the Catholics tremendously and makes them defensive. Starting with the edict of Chateaubriant of 1551, Henry puts a legalistic ban on Protestantism. Catholics see them as rebels who threatened society from the lower ends of the social ladder. These religious differences aggravate the two communities and therefore cause major hostility. An example of such social hostility is when Catholic Baron, Francoi s de Fumel, forbades his Calvinist peasants from worshipping. They revolt with weapons and were joined by hundreds of catholic persons to seize his home. This makes it clear that religion wasn’t necessarily the theme of the revolt. Both the ultra-Catholic Parlement of Bordeaux and the Calvinist synod that met at nimes disrecarded the Catholics that participated and both groups assumed it was a Calvinist revolt and that the murder was a â€Å"seditious disturbers of the public order and â€Å"totally perverse people only superficially instructed in religion who think the gospel promises them agrarian freedom and enfranchisement. † Here is where one sees the Protestants as rebels. Another anecdote of this social hostility is an episode presented to the king along with 55 other instances demonstrating violence against Huguenot nobles. The one that sticks out is that of Marguerite de Hurtelon where she was massacred in her house and shot five times in her breasts. This maltreatment is not necessarily having to do with religion, but rather theft, robbery and sexual abuse. Overall, Catholics in parts of Frances make little effort to treat the lives of Protestants with respect that the edict wanted. Clearly, Catholics view Protestants as an â€Å"impurity to be purged, a blemish to be excied, or indeed, nothing but garbage to be fed to pigs. † Through these instances, it is clear that religious division is aggravated by social tensions in the hierarchical society of the old regime. Because the communities were so tightly knit, they therefore became suspicious quickly. Overall, historian Etienne Pasquier, puts it perfectly when he states that â€Å"nothing to be more feared in a state than civil war†¦particularly when a king, due to his minority, does not have the power to command absolutely†¦. He predicts that the civil war will end in a â€Å"tragedy,† and he is correct. The catalyst that sparks the seemingly endless amount of wars is the weak authoritative monarchy that opens up as the various factions battle for power. Catherine de’ Medici cannot remain stable on one side or the other due to fear of losing her son’s power. Consequently w eak peace agreements are made and the government is left flustered. The harsh tension among the civilians during this time and sensitivity within the two groups is due to the differences between the two communities. A weak monarchy becomes even weaker when two cultural communities are constantly on the defensive. Work Sited Armstrong, E. The French wars of religion, their Political Aspects. Oxford, 2005. Baumgartner, Frederic. France in the Sixteenth Century. NY: St. Martins Press,1995 Holt, Mack P. The French wars of religion, 1562-162. Cambridge University Press, 1995. Baumgartner, Frederic J. Radical Reactionaries: the political thought of the French Catholic League. Geneve, 1975. See, David. The French Wars of Religion, 16 October 2010, http://webcache. oogleusercontent. com Streich, Michael. The Edict of Nantes and King Henry IV, 20 October 2010, http://www. suite101. com/content/the-edict-of-nantes-and-king-henry-iv-a90529 The University of Virginia Library. The Gordon Collection and French Wars of Religion. 27 October 2010, http://www2. lib. virginia. edu/rmds/portfolio/gordon/religion/ K. Aland, ed. , Martin Luthers 95 Theses; H. Grimm, ed. , Luthers Works, XXXI; E. Iserloh, The Theses Were Not Posted; F. Lau, The Posting of Luthers Theses, Legend or Fact? CTM 38:691-703.

Legalization Of Marijuana Essays (1416 words) - Drug Control Law

Legalization Of Marijuana Essays (1416 words) - Drug Control Law "Legalization of Marijuana" April 28, 1997 Cannabis sativa or marijuana has been cultivated for over 5,000 years. The plant spreads like milkweed and will eventually run out any other plants nearby. In the wild, or grown with care marijuana can grow to be 3 - 20 feet high. The plant itself can be used for rope, material, medicine or for smoking. But, whatever way you choose to use this plant, it is illegal. It was made a law in the early 1900?s that it was illegal to smoke, eat, or get high from this plant. The plant?s only legal use was for rope and materials. Even this was controlled by the government though. In the 1960?s and 1970?s a group of youth stereotyped as "Hippies" were using marijuana on a regular basis to get "high." This is the term for the effects of the drug when smoked. The effects are that of "ataxia, increased appetite, and a sensation of dryness in the throat." (A.P.E. L to M 193). These "hippies" fought to legalize it. Groups such as the major one, "N.O.R.M.A.L." formed to fight for the right to smoke marijuana. Protests were formed and marches and festivals were held. On the other side of this was the government cracking down and forming new laws to keep it illegal. In the 1980?s the fight to legalize marijuana was decreased, but the groups like "N.O.R.M.A.L." were still around. Although the people weren?t so strong-willed to legalize it they still fought. New and harder drugs were now popular and marijuana wasn?t as "popular." In the early 1990?s the drug was once again popular after the side effects of the new drugs were seen. The drug?s popularity still increases today. Only there is more violence surrounding it in drug deals and gang wars. Although there would need to be regulations on it and new laws made. The legalization of marijuana would not only benefit the government but also the people. Although the government and people would benefit, it would have a bad side. After many years of fighting to keep it illegal, the government would have to spend millions on new laws, regulations, and plans. Also the government has made treaties with other countries on keeping the world drug-free. America being the largest supporter of a drug-free society would be absolutely hypocritical to go and legalize. Other countries would become angry and think of us as money greedy, drug smoking fools. This would also hurt other countries because America would be a large drug trafficking area where people would come and buy a large amount and export to the still drug-free countries. America?s reputation could go down the drain. Not only would America?s reputation go down but also the fears of American citizens conducting every day life stoned from marijuana is a scary thought. The effects of marijuana are not alcohol?s but would impair a person?s driving ability. Accidents would increase. People who would abuse the drug would not only jeopardize themselves but also others. It would have to be treated as driving while drinking and stiff laws and enforcement would have to be inflicted. These are the downsides to the drug, but with proper laws and methods the drug turn into money for the government. If the government played it right, they could make billions of dollars from this one plant. In the early 1990?s the number one legal cash crop, corn, brought 16 billion dollars to the U.S. Marijuana blew this away with an estimated 24 billion dollars. If the government grew and kept track of marijuana, and sold licenses to farmers to grow it, the government would be able to pay off debts, help the economy and reduce violence-related to the drug all at the same time. They would also be able to sell the stocks of the plant as rope or material. Currently, many farmers are secretly growing marijuana to pay off their own debts. This is an inexpensive way to earn more cash from one plant than they could from a field of corn. The majority of these farmers were growing marijuana in the Midwest, but it?s really growing strong in the Appalachians to the Great Plains. "They look like they were torn from a page from