Nantes, << nants or nahnt, >> Edict of, was the first official recognition of religious tolerance by a major European country. King Henry IV of France signed the edict (public order) in the city of Nantes on April 13, 1598. France had suffered 50 years of internal warfare and religious division before Henry signed the edict.
The edict gave French Protestants, called Huguenots, control of about 100 fortified towns for eight years. It also gave them freedom of conscience (freedom of beliefs), social and political equality with the Roman Catholic majority, and a certain degree of freedom of worship. Authorities seriously enforced the edict only until Henry’s death in 1610. King Louis XIV canceled the edict in 1685. As a result, about 200,000 Huguenots left France.
