Louis XIV in 1685, the year he
revoked the Edict of Nantes
Protestant peasants rebelled
against the officially sanctioned
dragonnades (conversions enforced
by dragoons, labeled "missionaries
in boots") that followed the Edict of
Fontainebleau.
rewarded converts to Catholicism.[68] This discrimination did not encounter much
Protestant resistance, and a steady conversion of Protestants occurred, especially among
the noble elites.
In 1681, Louis dramatically increased his persecution of Protestants. The principle of cuius
regio, eius religio generally also meant that subjects who refused to convert could
emigrate, but Louis banned emigration and effectively insisted that all Protestants must be
converted. Secondly, following the proposal of René de Marillac and the Marquis of
Louvois, he began quartering dragoons in Protestant homes. Although this was within his
legal rights, the dragonnades inflicted severe financial strain on Protestants and atrocious
abuse. Between 300,000 and 400,000 Huguenots converted, as this entailed financial
rewards and exemption from the dragonnades.[69]
On 15 October 1685, Louis issued the Edict of
Fontainebleau, which cited the redundancy of
privileges for Protestants given their scarcity after
the extensive conversions. The Edict of
Fontainebleau revoked the Edict of Nantes and
repealed all the privileges that arose therefrom.[4]
By his edict, Louis no longer tolerated the existence
of Protestant groups, pastors, or churches in France.
No further churches were to be constructed, and those already existing were to be
demolished. Pastors could choose either exile or secular life. Those Protestants who had
resisted conversion were now to be baptised forcibly into the established church.[70]
Historians have debated Louis's reasons for issuing the Edict of Fontainebleau. He may
have been seeking to placate Pope Innocent XI, with whom relations were tense and whose
aid was necessary to determine the outcome of a succession crisis in the Electorate of
Cologne. He may also have acted to upstage Emperor Leopold I and regain international
prestige after the latter defeated the Turks without Louis's help. Otherwise, he may simply
have desired to end the remaining divisions in French society dating to the Wars of Religion by fulfilling his coronation oath to
eradicate heresy.[71][72]
Many historians have condemned the Edict of Fontainebleau as gravely harmful to France.[73] In support, they cite the emigration
of about 200,000 highly skilled Huguenots (roughly one quarter of the Protestant population, or 1% of the French population)
who defied royal decrees and fled France for various Protestant states, weakening the French economy and enriching that of
Protestant states. On the other hand, some historians view this as an exaggeration. They argue that most of France's preeminent
Protestant businessmen and industrialists converted to Catholicism and remained.[74]
What is certain is that the reaction to the Edict was mixed. Even while French Catholic leaders exulted, Pope Innocent XI still
argued with Louis over Gallicanism and criticized the use of violence. Protestants across Europe were horrified at the treatment of
their co-religionists, but most Catholics in France applauded the move. Nonetheless, it is indisputable that Louis's public image in
most of Europe, especially in Protestant regions, was dealt a severe blow.
In the end, however, despite renewed tensions with the Camisards of south-central France at the end of his reign, Louis may have
helped ensure that his successor would experience fewer instances of the religion-based disturbances that had plagued his
forebears. French society would sufficiently change by the time of his descendant, Louis XVI, to welcome tolerance in the form
of the 1787 Edict of Versailles, also known as the Edict of Tolerance. This restored to non-Catholics their civil rights and the