Saint Bartholomew’s Day, Massacre of, was a slaughter of French Huguenots (Protestants). The massacre began in Paris on St. Bartholomew’s Day, Aug. 24, 1572. It spread throughout France, and thousands of Huguenots were killed before the violence ended.
During the mid-1500’s, the French Roman Catholics and Huguenots fought bitterly. The Huguenots had become so numerous that the Catholics feared they would take control of the French government. A civil war began in 1562 and lasted eight years. In 1570, the Peace of Saint-Germain granted the Huguenots liberty. But fear of the growing Huguenot political power led Catholic leaders to plot the assassination of Gaspard de Coligny. Coligny, a respected Huguenot leader, had become one of King Charles IX’s chief ministers.
The attempt on Coligny’s life caused great tension in Paris. Huguenots had flocked to the city to celebrate the marriage of their leader, Henry of Navarre (later King Henry IV of France), to the king’s sister, Margaret of Valois. Henry of Guise, Coligny’s enemy, led a group who murdered Coligny on St. Bartholomew’s Day. Other well-known Huguenots were killed in Paris. Mobs then killed thousands throughout France. Henry of Navarre saved his life by becoming Catholic, but he resumed his Protestant faith a few years later.
