Chapter 8: Royal Power and Conflict "Who Were the Huguenots?"

Introduction
Students have read about the Huguenots, the Protestants who frequently warred with the Catholic powers in France. They learned that under Henry IV, who had himself been a Protestant, the Edict of Nantes in 1598 had created special enclaves (areas) for the Huguenots, but that in the time of Cardinal Richelieu, under Louis XIII, the Protestants lost their right to these towns.

Lesson Description
Students will go to the Who Were the Huguenots? Web site. They will then answer four questions about what they have read. Students are then asked to write a short story about a day in the life of a Huguenot.

Instructional Objectives
1. Students will learn more about who the Huguenots were.
2. Students will learn about the persecution of the Huguenots.

Student Web Activity Answers
1. The origin is uncertain, but it was considered at first as an abusive name. The Protestants called themselves réformees, or reformers.
2. They divided the country and kept it bankrupt for about thirty years.
3. At first he pretended to support the Roman Catholic faith. Later he did give up Protestantism, which allowed him to become king.
4. Some students may feel that the persecution might have stopped if higher Church authorities had intervened. Others may see that the situation was typical of the time and also that most people would have been afraid to challenge the power of the cardinal or the king.

GO TO STUDENT ACTIVITY