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61-461: Maurice the Learned (1572–1632) was Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1592 until 1627 when he abdicated in favour of his son William V (1602–1637), his younger sons receiving apanages which created several cadet lines of the house ( Hesse-Rotenburg , Hesse-Eschwege and Hesse-Rheinfels ), of which, with amalgamation, that of Hesse-Rheinfels-Rotenburg survived till 1834. In 1627 Ernest (1623–1693),

122-567: A Catholic zealot, and was succeeded by his son Louis XIII . Henry was baptised a Catholic but raised in the Protestant faith by his mother. He inherited the throne of Navarre in 1572 on his mother's death. As a Huguenot (Protestant), Henry was involved in the French Wars of Religion , barely escaping assassination in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre . He later led Protestant forces against

183-467: A French army to support the Protestant claimants. Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully , his financial advisor, was particularly keen on joining the war, as France's finances at the time were secure. Henry declared that he was defending the rights of the Imperial princes, and also that he was honoring his previously agreements to defend the Protestant claimants. Henry also was seeking to curb the power of

244-506: A circumnavigation of the globe and informed Henry of his adventures. He had visited China and India, and met with Emperor Akbar . Historians have assessed that Henry IV was a convinced Calvinist , and only changed his formal religious confession to achieve his political goals. Henry IV was baptized as a Catholic on 5 January 1554. He was raised in the Reformed Tradition by his mother Jeanne III of Navarre . In 1572, after

305-743: A great city, with the Pont Neuf , which still stands today, constructed over the river Seine to connect the Right and Left Banks of the city. Henry IV also built the Place Royale (known since 1800 as Place des Vosges ), and added the Grande Galerie to the Louvre Palace . Stretching more than 400 metres along the Seine river bank, at the time it was the longest edifice of its kind in

366-722: A significant Protestant leader, who then sought to facilitate an agreement between Wolfgang and Johann Sigismund. When peace was negotiated in the Treaty of Dortmund , Henry sent congratulatory messages to the Protestant claimants, and voiced his support, particularly against the Habsburgs who were likely to challenge the treaty. When Habsburg forces invaded Jülich, starting the War of the Jülich Succession , Henry decided to act. On 29 July, after consulting his advisors, Henry ordered

427-470: A universal recognition of his new title. Pope Sixtus V excommunicated Henry and declared him ineligible to inherit the crown. Most of the Catholic nobles who had joined Henry III for the siege of Paris also refused to recognize Henry of Navarre, and abandoned him. He set about winning his kingdom by force of arms, aided by English money and German troops. Henry's Catholic uncle Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon

488-409: A younger son of Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel), received Rheinfels and lower Katzenelnbogen as his inheritance, and some years later, on the deaths of two of his brothers, Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Eschwege (1617–1655) and Herman IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg (1607–1658), he added Eschwege , Rotenburg , Wanfried and other districts to his possessions. Ernest, who

549-669: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Maurice of Hesse-Kassel ( German : Moritz ; 25 May 1572 – 15 March 1632), also called Maurice the Learned or Moritz , was the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) in the Holy Roman Empire from 1592 to 1627. Maurice was born in Kassel as the son of William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel , and of his wife Sabine of Württemberg . Although Maurice had been raised in

610-696: The Collège Royal Henri-le-Grand in La Flèche (today the Prytanée Militaire de la Flèche ). He and Sully protected forests from further devastation, built a system of tree-lined highways, and constructed bridges and canals. He had a 1200-metre canal built in the park at the Château Fontainebleau (which may be fished today) and ordered the planting of pines, elms, and fruit trees. The King restored Paris as

671-649: The Edict of Nantes (1598), which guaranteed religious liberties to Protestants, thereby effectively ending the French Wars of Religion . An active ruler, Henry worked to regularize state finance, promote agriculture, eliminate corruption and encourage education. He began the first successful French colonization of the Americas . He promoted trade and industry, and prioritized the construction of roads, bridges, and canals to facilitate communication within France and strengthen

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732-476: The Edict of Nantes which granted them many concessions. Henry was nicknamed Henri le Grand (the Great), and in France is also called le bon roi Henri (good king Henry) and le vert galant (The Green Gallant) for his numerous mistresses. In English he is most often referred to as Henry of Navarre. In 1609, Henry had grown infatuated with Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency , Princess of Condé , much to

793-606: The Edict of Nantes , which granted circumscribed liberties to the Huguenots. Henry IV successfully ended the civil wars. He and his ministers appeased Catholic leaders using bribes of about 7 million écus, a sum greater than France's annual revenue. In combination with other fiscal problems, the king was faced with a financial crisis by the middle of the 1590s. In response to this crisis, Henry resolved to convene an Assembly of Notables in November 1596 that he hoped would approve

854-532: The Lutheran faith, he converted to Calvinism in 1605. On the principle Cuius regio eius religio , Maurice's subjects were also required to convert to Calvinism. Maurice's conversion was controversial since the Peace of Augsburg had only settled religious matters betweens Roman Catholics and Lutherans and had not considered Calvinists. Maurice tried to introduce Calvinism to the lands which he had inherited from

915-630: The 16th and 17th centuries. Landgraf Moritz (to use his German nomenclature) was a great supporter of the performing arts and even built the first permanent theatre in Germany, named the Ottoneum , in 1605. This building still exists today but as a Natural History Museum. In 1609, Maurice played a leading role in mediating the Treaty of Dortmund , which aimed to determine the succession of Julich-Cleves-Berg . He did so with support from King Henry IV of France . Maurice's actions (though not necessarily

976-639: The Alps. In January 1601, Henry accepted another offer of papal arbitration and gained not only Bresse, but Bugey and Gex . Savoy retained a narrow corridor through the Val de Chézery . This still allowed Spanish troops to cross from Lombardy to Franche Comté without going through France, but it created a choke point where the Spanish Road was a single bridge across the Rhône River . The Saluzzo conflict

1037-706: The Catholic League nobles opposing Henry to win the Battle of Craon in 1592. The Spanish war was not ended with Henry's coronation, but after his victory at the Siege of Amiens in September 1597, the Peace of Vervins was signed in 1598. This freed his armies to settle the dispute with the Duchy of Savoy , ending with the Treaty of Lyon of 1601 , which arranged territorial exchanges. One of Henry's major problems

1098-737: The Dey of Algiers and the Ottoman Empire , but this project floundered with the arrival of John of Austria in Aragon and the disarmament of the Moriscos. In 1576, a three-pronged Ottoman fleet from Constantinople was planned to disembark between Murcia and Valencia while the French Huguenots would invade from the north and the Moriscos accomplish their uprising, but the fleet failed to arrive. After his crowning, Henry continued

1159-677: The Emperor's brother, also a member of the House of Habsburg . In case of such opposition, Philip indicated that princes of the House of Lorraine would be acceptable to him: the Duke of Guise; a son of the Duke of Lorraine; and the son of the Duke of Mayenne. The Spanish ambassadors selected the Duke of Guise, to the joy of the League. However, at that moment of seeming victory, the envy of the Duke of Mayenne

1220-722: The French Wars of Religion. On 9 June 1572, upon his mother's death, the 19-year-old became King of Navarre . At the death of his mother Queen Jeanne, it was arranged for Henry to marry Margaret of Valois , daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici . The wedding took place in Paris on 18 August 1572 on the parvis of Notre Dame Cathedral . On 24 August, the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre began in Paris. Several thousand Protestants who had come to Paris for Henry's wedding were killed, as well as thousands more throughout

1281-550: The French royal army. Henry inherited the throne of France in 1589 upon the death of Henry III . Henry IV initially kept the Protestant faith (the only French king to do so) and had to fight against the Catholic League , which refused to accept a Protestant monarch. After four years of military stalemate, Henry converted to Catholicism, reportedly saying, "Paris is well worth a mass." As a pragmatic politician he promulgated

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1342-421: The Habsburgs. Henry's actions faced critique. Some saw him as a warmonger. The Papacy in particular was concerned that Henry was supporting Protestant princes. Henry responded to the papacy declaring that he was keeping the peace. When Habsburg ambassadors told Henry that he was contributing to the decline of Catholicism by supporting the Protestant claimants, Henry declared that he was merely trying to contain

1403-621: The Habsburgs. He also warned the Papacy to keep religion out of succession affairs. France assured the Protestant princes of the Empire that despite being Catholic, the French would still provide aid. Henry also sought to gain the aid of the English and Dutch. Henry greatly pressured the Dutch for support, appealing directly to states-general. Despite Henry's defense of the Protestant princes during

1464-511: The Huguenots including the exact places where worship may or may not take place, the recognition of three Protestant universities, and the allowance of Protestant synods. The king also issued two personal documents (called brevets ) which recognized the Protestant establishment. The Edict of Nantes signed religious tolerance into law, and the brevets were an act of benevolence that created a Protestant state within France. Despite this, it would take years to restore law and order to France. The Edict

1525-522: The Jülich War, many of the German states distrusted him. Afterall, Henry had converted to Catholicism in 1593. Also, France owed debts to some German states, which France struggled to repay. There were also concerns that Henry sought to become Emperor. It was widely believed that in 1610 Henry was preparing to escalate the war against the Holy Roman Empire , which was prevented by his assassination and

1586-751: The King of Navarre as a true subject and Frenchman, not a fanatic Huguenot aiming to subjugate Catholics, and Catholic royalist nobles also rallied to them. With this combined force, the two kings marched to Paris. The morale of the city was low, and even the Spanish ambassador believed the city could not hold out longer than a fortnight. However, on 2 August 1589, a monk infiltrated Henry III's camp and assassinated him. When Henry III died, his ninth cousin once removed, Henry of Navarre, nominally became king of France. The Catholic League, however, strengthened by foreign support—especially from Spain—was strong enough to prevent

1647-888: The Ottoneum) ruined Hesse-Kassel financially. In 1627 he abdicated in favour of his son William V . Five years later he died in Eschwege . He was not only a serious musician but an expert composer (a Pavane of his, for the lute, has several times been recorded by both lutenists and guitarists). The leading musical figures whom he supported included Heinrich Schütz and John Dowland . On 23 September 1593, Maurice married Agnes of Solms-Laubach (7 January 1578 – 23 November 1602). They had six children: On 22 May 1603, Maurice married Countess Juliane of Nassau-Siegen (3 September 1587 – 15 February 1643). They had fourteen children: Henry IV of France Henry IV ( French : Henri IV ; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by

1708-473: The Three Henrys (1587–1589). The Duke of Guise pushed for complete suppression of the Huguenots and had much support among Catholic loyalists. Political disagreements among the parties set off a series of campaigns and counter-campaigns that culminated in the Battle of Coutras . In December 1588, King Henry III had the Duke of Guise murdered, along with his brother Louis, Cardinal of Guise, thinking

1769-504: The allegiance of the vast majority of his subjects. Since Reims , traditional coronation place of French kings, was still occupied by the Catholic League, Henry was crowned King of France at the Cathedral of Chartres on 27 February 1594. Pope Clement VIII lifted excommunication from Henry on 17 September 1595. He did not forget his former Calvinist coreligionists, however, and was known for his religious tolerance. In 1598 he issued

1830-528: The capital of the joint Kingdom of Navarre with the sovereign principality of Béarn . His parents were Jeanne III of Navarre (Jeanne d'Albret) and her husband, Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, King of Navarre . Although baptised as a Catholic, Henry was raised in the Calvinist faith by his mother, who had declared Calvinism the religion of Navarre. As a teenager, Henry joined the Huguenot forces in

1891-637: The chagrin of her husband, Henry II, Prince of Condé . On 28 November 1609, the Prince and Princess fled to Brussels in the Spanish Netherlands . King Henry was furious, and believed that the Prince was conspiring against him, so he threatened to raise an army of 60,000 to capture him and bring back the princess. This corresponded with the War of the Jülich Succession, so it added to the tension, especially with Spain. Though generally well-liked, Henry

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1952-475: The claims of France and the Duke of Savoy. The Duke offered to cede Bresse to France if he could retain Saluzzo. Henri IV accepted this, but Spain objected that Bresse was a vital part of the Spanish Road, and persuaded the Duke to reject the decision. Henry IV was already at Lyon and had soldiers ready, and four days later he marched fifty thousand men against the duchy, occupying almost all of its area west of

2013-439: The country in the days that followed. Henry narrowly escaped death thanks to the help of his wife and his promise to convert to Catholicism. He was forced to live at the court of France, but he escaped in early 1576. On 5 February of that year, he formally abjured Catholicism at Tours and rejoined the Protestant forces in the military conflict. He named his 16-year-old sister, Catherine de Bourbon , regent of Béarn. Catherine held

2074-501: The country's cohesion. These efforts stimulated economic growth and improved living standards. While the Edict of Nantes brought religious peace to France, some hardline Catholics and Huguenots remained dissatisfied, leading to occasional outbreaks of violence and conspiracies. Henry IV also faced resistance from certain noble factions who opposed his centralization policies, leading to political instability. His main foreign policy success

2135-459: The creation of new royal revenues. The assembly approved the creation of a new tax on goods entering towns that would be known as the pancarte , however in 1597 the crown was again rocked by military crisis when the Spanish seized Amiens . Huguenot leaders were placated by the Edict of Nantes , which had four separate sections. The articles laid down the tolerance which would be accorded to

2196-497: The encouragement of his mistress, Gabrielle d'Estrées , Henry permanently renounced Protestantism and converted to Catholicism to secure his hold on the French crown, thereby earning the resentment of the Huguenots and his ally Elizabeth I of England . He was said to have declared that Paris vaut bien une messe ("Paris is well worth a Mass "), although the attribution is doubtful. His acceptance of Catholicism secured

2257-579: The epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great , was King of Navarre (as Henry III ) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch of France from the House of Bourbon , a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty . He pragmatically balanced the interests of the Catholic and Protestant parties in France as well as among the European states. He was assassinated in Paris in 1610 by

2318-581: The extinct Hesse-Marburg branch of his family. Such a change of faith was contrary to the inheritance rules, and resulted in an ongoing conflict with the Hesse-Darmstadt branch. It also brought him into conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor , Matthias . English strolling players ('Die Englische Comoedianten') were frequent visitors to, and performers in, towns and cities in Germany and other European countries, including Kassel, during

2379-456: The kings of France had resisted the interference of the pope in political matters, and that he should not raise a foreign prince or princess to the throne of France under the pretext of religion. Mayenne was angered that he had not been consulted prior to this admonishment, but yielded, since their aim was not contrary to his present views. Despite these setbacks for the League, Henry remained unable to take control of Paris. On 25 July 1593, with

2440-416: The massacre of French Calvinists, he was forced by Catherine de' Medici and the royal court to convert. In 1576, after escaping from Paris, he abjured Catholicism and returned to Calvinism. In 1593, to gain recognition as King of France , he converted again to Catholicism. Although a formal Catholic, he valued his Calvinist upbringing and was tolerant toward the Huguenots until his death in 1610, and issued

2501-544: The policy of a Franco-Ottoman alliance and received an embassy from Sultan Mehmed III in 1601. In 1604, a "Peace Treaty and Capitulation " was signed between Henry IV and the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I , granting France numerous advantages in the Ottoman Empire. In 1606–07, Henry IV sent Arnoult de Lisle as Ambassador to Morocco to request the observance of past friendship treaties. An embassy

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2562-484: The regency for nearly thirty years. Henry became heir presumptive to the French throne in 1584 upon the death of Francis, Duke of Anjou , brother and heir to the Catholic Henry III , who had succeeded Charles IX in 1574. Given that Henry of Navarre was the next senior agnatic descendant of King Louis IX , King Henry III had no choice but to recognise him as the legitimate successor. A conflict for

2623-551: The reign of Henry IV, rivalry continued among France, Habsburg Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire for the mastery of Western Europe. The conflict was not resolved until after the Thirty Years' War . During Henry's struggle for the crown, Spain had been the principal backer of the Catholic League, and it tried to thwart Henry. Under the Duke of Parma , an army from the Spanish Netherlands intervened in 1590 against Henry and foiled his siege of Paris. Another Spanish army helped

2684-437: The removal of the brothers would restore his authority. However, the populace was horrified and rose against him. The King was no longer recognized in several cities; his effective power was limited to Blois , Tours, and the surrounding districts. In the general chaos, Henry III relied on Henry of Navarre and his Huguenots. The two kings were united by a common interest—to win France from the Catholic League. Henry III recognized

2745-580: The request of Henry IV. From 1604 to 1609, following the return of François Martin de Vitré, Henry attempted to set up a French East India Company on the model of England and the Netherlands. On 1 June 1604, he issued letters patent to Dieppe merchants to form the Dieppe Company , giving them exclusive rights to Asian trade for 15 years, but no ships were sent until 1616. In 1609, another adventurer, Pierre-Olivier Malherbe , returned from

2806-547: The strongest candidate was probably the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain , daughter of Philip II of Spain , whose mother Elisabeth had been the eldest daughter of Henry II of France . In the religious fervor of the time, the Infanta was considered a suitable queen, provided she married a suitable husband. The French overwhelmingly rejected Philip's first choice, Archduke Ernest of Austria ,

2867-474: The subsequent rapprochement with Spain under the regency of Marie de' Medici . Even before Henry's accession to the French throne, the French Huguenots were in contact with Aragonese Moriscos in plans against the Habsburg government of Spain in the 1570s. Around 1575, plans were made for a combined attack of Aragonese Moriscos and Huguenots from Béarn under Henry against Spanish Aragon , in agreement with

2928-518: The succession of the wealthy Duchies were in dispute. Henry aimed to maintain peace among the Protestant princes of the Holy Roman Empire to present a united front against the Habsburgs. To achieve this, Henry encouraged a peaceful settlement over the succession between the two main protestant claimants: Wolfgang Wilhelm of Palatinate-Neuburg and Johann Sigismund of Brandenburg . He communicated this with Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel ,

2989-453: The throne of France then ensued, contested by these three men and their respective supporters: Salic law barred inheritance by the king's sisters and all others who could claim descent through only the female line. However, since Henry of Navarre was a Huguenot, many Catholics refused to acknowledge the succession, and France was plunged into a phase of the Wars of Religion known as the War of

3050-771: The use of imported gold and silver cloth. He also built royal factories to produce luxuries such as crystal glass, silk, satin, and tapestries (at Gobelins Manufactory and Savonnerie manufactory workshops). The king re-established silk weaving in Tours and Lyon , and increased linen production in Picardy and Brittany . He had distributed 16,000 free copies of the practical manual The Theatre of Agriculture by Olivier de Serres. King Henry's vision extended beyond France, and he financed several expeditions of Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts and Samuel de Champlain to North America. France laid claim to New France (now Canada). During

3111-520: The world. He promoted the arts among all classes of people, and invited hundreds of artists and craftsmen to live and work on the building's lower floors. This tradition continued for another two hundred years, until ended by Napoleon I . The art and architecture of his reign have become known as the Henry IV style . Economically, Henry IV sought to reduce imports of foreign goods to support domestic manufacturing . To this end, new sumptuary laws limited

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3172-518: Was Henry IV's last major military operation, but he continued to finance Spain's enemies. He generously assisted the Dutch Republic with over 12 million livres between 1598 and 1610. In some years, the payment was 10% of France's total annual budget. France also sent subsidies to Geneva after the Duke of Savoy attempted to capture the city in 1602. In 1609, the death of the childless Johann William , Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg , meant that

3233-594: Was a convert to the Roman Catholic Church, was a great traveller and a voluminous writer. About 1700 his two sons, William (d. 1725) and Charles (or Karl) (d. 1711), divided their territories, and founded the families of Hesse-Rotenburg and Hesse-Wanfried. The latter family died out in 1755, when William's grandson, Constantine (d. 1778), reunited the lands except Rheinfels, which had been acquired by Hesse-Kassel in 1735, and ruled them as Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg. This Hesse location article

3294-442: Was aroused, and he blocked the proposed election of a king. The Parlement of Paris also upheld the Salic law. They argued that if the French accepted natural hereditary succession, as proposed by the Spaniards, and accepted a woman as their queen, then the ancient claims of the English kings would be confirmed, and the monarchy of centuries past would be rendered illegal. The Parlement admonished Mayenne, as lieutenant-general, that

3355-421: Was considered a heretical usurper by some Catholics and a traitor to their faith by some Protestants. Henry was the target of at least 12 assassination attempts, including by Pierre Barrière in August 1593 and by Jean Châtel in December 1594. Henry was killed in Paris on 14 May 1610 by François Ravaillac , a Catholic zealot who stabbed him while his coach was stopped on Rue de la Ferronnerie . The carriage

3416-445: Was met by opposition from the parlements , which objected to the guarantees offered to Protestants. The Parlement de Rouen did not formally register the edict until 1609, although it begrudgingly observed its terms. During his reign, Henry IV worked through the minister Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully , to regularize state finance, promote agriculture, drain swamps, undertake public works, and encourage education. He established

3477-443: Was proclaimed king by the League, but the Cardinal was Henry's prisoner at the time. Henry was victorious at the Battle of Arques and the Battle of Ivry , but failed to take Paris after besieging it in 1590. When Cardinal de Bourbon died in 1590, the League could not agree on a new candidate at the Estates General called to settle the question, also attended by the envoys of Spain. While some supported various Guise candidates,

3538-409: Was sent to Ottoman Tunisia in 1608 led by François Savary de Brèves . Under Henry IV, various enterprises were set up to develop long-distance trade. In December 1600, a company was formed through the association of Saint-Malo , Laval , and Vitré to trade with the Moluccas and Japan. Two ships, the Croissant and the Corbin , were sent around the Cape of Good Hope in May 1601. The Corbin

3599-401: Was the Peace of Vervins in 1598, which made peace in the long-running conflict with Spain. He formed a strategic alliance with England. He also forged alliances with Protestant states, such as the Dutch Republic and several German states, to counter the Catholic powers. His policies contributed to the stability and prominence of France in European affairs. Henry de Bourbon was born in Pau ,

3660-418: Was the Spanish Road which traversed Spanish territory through Savoy to the Low Countries. His first opportunity to cut the Spanish Road was a dispute over the ownership of the Marquisate of Saluzzo . The last marquis left Saluzzo to the French crown in 1548 (when Savoy was occupied by France), but the territory became disputed during the chaos of the Wars of Religion. The pope was asked to arbitrate between

3721-417: Was wrecked in the Maldives , leading to the adventure of François Pyrard de Laval , who managed to return to France in 1611. The Croissant , carrying François Martin de Vitré , reached Ceylon and traded with Aceh in Sumatra , but was captured by the Dutch on the return leg at Cape Finisterre . François Martin de Vitré was the first Frenchman to write an account of travels to the Far East in 1604, at

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