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May 2001 |
Page 5 |
| A Huguenot Primer |
Most HFA members are familiar with the history relating to the founding of New Paltz by our Huguenot ancestors and the path taken by Jean and Abraham Hasbrouck from Calais to Mannheim (in the German Pfalz or Palatinate) in the 1650's and to Kingston and Hurley, NY in the 1670's. But most of us are probably less familiar with the Huguenot saga as it unfolded in France. Having some knowledge of this history is important to an understanding of our heritage and the conditions which led our ancestors and thousands of their compatriots to abandon their native country and seek a new life abroad. A number of books have been written on this subject, but few of us have time to read them; so here, for your enlightenment, is a capsule summary of what happened.
It all started with John Calvin (born in 1509), a Frenchman, who studied in his early twenties to become a Catholic priest but switched to law instead and became first a Christian humanist and then a radical Protestant. Since that was a dangerous position in Catholic France, he moved to Geneva and in 1534 began writing The Institutes of Christian Religion, which became the definition of faith for his followers. It stressed individual freedom of conscience and separation of church and state, both revolutionary ideas at that time. But it's surprising that it became popular because it also featured the doctrine of predestination and called for a disciplined, austere lifestyle with severe limits on gambling, drinking, singing and dancing. Many Frenchmen came to Geneva to study under Calvin and returned home to serve as Protestant ministers. Despite Catholic persecution the French Calvinists increased in number, mainly due to their tight organization, zeal and dedication as well as the disgust of many with the moral corruption of the Catholic Church of that era. They became known as Huguenots, but surprisingly, there is no definitive explanation for the origin of the word. The most common theories are that it is a corruption of the Swiss-German term eidgenossen, meaning confederates, or the Flemish huis genooten, meaning house fellowship, which was appropriate since they had to meet secretly in members' houses. Calvinism in France appealed first to the educated middle class and then to the nobility, which gave them sufficient power to achieve a degree of tolerance and protection by the French kings, who, though Catholic, found their support useful against the kings' enemies, both internal and external. However, the Catholic majority continued to vigorously oppose the Protestants and to try to influence the kings against them. They succeeded in a big way in 1572 when they convinced 22-year-old King Charles IX and his mother, Catherine de Medici, that the Huguenots were a serious threat to the crown.
"Kill them all!" the young king cried, and that's what they tried to do. Early on the morning of a religious holiday, The Feast of St. Bartholomew, the Catholics around Paris began a systematic slaughter of Protestants in what became known as the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. The killing went on for a week and spread through the countryside. Pope Gregory XIII was so pleased with the results that he produced a medal to celebrate the event. However, despite the thousands of deaths, the Huguenot movement survived with sufficient strength and leadership to battle the Catholics in the Wars of Religion until 1594. The last of the wars was called the War of the Three Henrys. It pitted King Henry III, Henry of Guise and Henry of Navarre against one another in a struggle for the French crown. In the end Henry III arranged the assassination of Henry of Guise, only to be assassinated himself eight months later. Thus, the crown came to Henry of Navarre, who was a Huguenot. Recognizing that he would not be accepted by Catholic France, he converted to Catholicism, but he was obviously sympathetic to the Huguenots. In 1598 he issued the Edict of Nantes, basically a Huguenot bill of rights, which with some exceptions, gave them approximately equal status with Catholics.
The Edict, not surprisingly, was unpopular with Catholics and was
frequently violated, but on an overall basis it worked until King Henry
was assassinated by an ultra-Catholic fanatic in 1610. He was succeeded by
his son, Louis XIII, who had no Huguenot ties and was influenced by the
Catholics around him, particularly Cardinal Richelieu, to clamp down again
on the Protestants. The religious battles began anew in 1621, and in 1628
the last and strongest Huguenot stronghold at La Rochelle was captured.
Yet, in victory Cardinal Richelieu wanted to make use of the skills of the
industrious Huguenots, and in the subsequent peace treaty he reaffirmed
the principal provisions of the Edict of Nantes. However, Louis XIII
ignored increasing violations of Huguenot rights by his governors, and
from then on conditions deteriorated steadily for the Huguenots. A prime
example of the persecutions was the draggonade system initiated by the
governors: Huguenot towns were forced to quarter brutal troops with orders
to prod them into conversion. Men were beaten and imprisoned, women were
raped, and all were forced to attend mass. Children were taken from their
families to be raised Catholic. Louis XIV was even more hostile than his
predecessor. He formalized the dragonnade system; and in 1685, to popular
acclaim, he revoked the Edict of Nantes. Thereafter it was open season for
just about any type of persecution of the Huguenots.
The objective of all this was not to force out the Huguenots, but to force
their conversion. The Catholic kings wanted to retain the skills of the
Huguenots and to impress the Pope with their conversion rates. In fact,
there were severe penalties for flight. But although many less religious
Huguenots converted, large numbers did choose to flee, and there were
waves of emigration during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. No one knows
for sure how many fled, but estimates run from 200,000 to 500,000. They
went to areas open to Protestantism, mainly England, Holland, the German
principalities (where our ancestors went initially), North America and
South Africa. In what is now the USA they settled along the East Coast,
especially in New York and the Carolinas. New Rochelle, NY was named for
the Huguenot stronghold in France. Although Huguenots represented only a
very small percentage of the population, their contribution to the success
of this country has been considerable. Twenty-one U.S. presidents were of
Huguenot descent, including Washington, both Adamses, both Roosevelts,
Truman and Eisenhower. Military descendants include both Grant and Lee,
Davy Crockett at the Alamo, Pershing in World War I, Eisenhower and
Chennault of Flying Tiger fame in World War II. In the arts there are
Longfellow, Whittier and Thoreau; in education, Vassar, Bowdoin and
Gallaudet; in business, the duPonts and Tiffany; explorers John Fremont
and Charles Lindbergh; in government, William Howard Taft, John Foster
Dulles and many governors, senators, congressmen, etc. In all, as you can
see, the Huguenot emigration turned out to be a bonanza for this country.
It is interesting to note that by far the heaviest exodus of Huguenots came after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685; many do not realize that there was any significant outflow before then. But our Hasbrouck ancestors and the other New Paltz patentees had already left about thirty years earlier, providing ample evidence of Huguenot persecution even during the period of supposed tolerance provided by the Edict.