Nantes, Edict of, 1598, decree promulgated at Nantes by King Henry IV to restore internal peace in France, which had been torn by the Wars of Religion; the edict defined the rights of the French Protestants (see Huguenots). These included full liberty of conscience and private worship; liberty of public worship wherever it had previously been granted and its extension to numerous other localities and to estates of Protestant nobles; full civil rights including the right to hold public office; royal subsidies for Protestant schools; special courts, composed of Roman Catholic and Protestant judges, to judge cases involving Protestants; retention of the organization of the Protestant church in France; and Protestant control of some 200 cities then held by the Huguenots, including such strongholds as La Rochelle (see Rochelle, La), with the king contributing to the maintenance of their garrisons and fortifications. The last condition, originally devised for an eight-year period but subsequently renewed, was to serve as guarantee to the Huguenots that their other rights would be respected; however, it gave French Protestantism a virtual state within a state and was incompatible with the centralizing policies of cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin and of Louis XIV. The fall (1628) of La Rochelle to Richelieu's army and the Peace of Alais (1629) marked the end of Huguenot political privileges. After 1665, Louis XIV was persuaded by his Roman Catholic advisers to embark on a policy of persecuting the Protestants. By a series of edicts that narrowly interpreted the Edict of Nantes, he reduced it to a scrap of paper. Finally, in 1685, he declared that the majority of Protestants had been converted to Catholicism and that the edict of 1598, having thus become superfluous, was revoked. No French Protestants were allowed to leave the country; those who openly remained Protestants were promised the right of private worship and freedom from molestation, but the promise was not kept. Thousands fled abroad to escape the system of dragonnades, and several provinces were virtually depopulated. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes weakened the French economy by driving out a highly skilled and industrious segment of the nation, and its ruthless application increased the detestation in which England and the Protestant German states held the French king. Its object—to make France a Catholic state—was fulfilled on paper only, for many secretly remained faithful to Protestantism, while the prestige of the Roman Catholic Church suffered as a result of Louis's intolerance.

Nantes, city (1990 pop. 252,029), capital of Loire-Atlantique dept., W France, on the Loire River. It is an important industrial and shipping center with its ocean port at Saint-Nazaire. Recent renovations of the rail, road, and air transportation systems have contributed greatly to the area's economic development. Food products (especially biscuits), naval equipment, metals, dyes, clothing, bicycles, and agricultural equipment are the leading manufactures. The chief town of the Gallic tribe of the Namnetes, Nantes became an important trade and administrative center under the Romans. It was made an episcopal see in the 4th cent. Nantes was ravaged and held (843-936) by Norsemen and later (10th cent.) fell to the dukes of Brittany, who resided there until Brittany became part of France in 1524. During the French Revolution, Nantes was nearly stormed by royalist troops of the Vendée and was the scene of massacres by the revolutionaries in 1793. Nantes was a center of resistance to the German occupation in World War II, and its civilian population suffered ruthless reprisals. Points of interest include a 10th-century castle on the Loire, a 15th-century cathedral with tombs of dukes of Brittany, the Tower of Brittany, and the Musée des Beaux-Arts. The Univ. of Nantes (founded 1460) is one of the city's many educational facilities.

(April 13, 1598) Law promulgated by Henry IV of France to grant religious liberty and full civil rights to the Protestant Huguenots. It stipulated that Protestant pastors were to be paid by the state, and public worship was permitted in most of the kingdom, though not in Paris. It also restored Catholicism in all areas where Catholic practice had been interrupted by the Wars of Religion. The edict was resented by the Catholic clergy; Cardinal de Richelieu annulled its political clauses in 1629, and the full edict was revoked by Louis XIV in 1685.

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Breton Naoned ancient Condivincum

City (pop., 1999: 270,251), northwestern France. Located on the Loire River, west of Tours, it derives its name from the Namnètes, a Gallic tribe settled there before the Romans conquered Gaul. The Huns, the Normans, and dukes of Brittany claimed it before it passed to France in 1499. It rallied to King Henry IV of France after he signed the Edict of Nantes in 1598. During the French Revolution its populace suffered many executions. Occupied by German troops in World War II, it was heavily damaged by Allied bombing; it was taken by U.S. troops in 1944. Rebuilt into a major economic centre, it has important industrial plants and shipbuilding yards. It also boasts a castle, a cathedral, a university, and an art museum.

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(April 13, 1598) Law promulgated by Henry IV of France to grant religious liberty and full civil rights to the Protestant Huguenots. It stipulated that Protestant pastors were to be paid by the state, and public worship was permitted in most of the kingdom, though not in Paris. It also restored Catholicism in all areas where Catholic practice had been interrupted by the Wars of Religion. The edict was resented by the Catholic clergy; Cardinal de Richelieu annulled its political clauses in 1629, and the full edict was revoked by Louis XIV in 1685.

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