How did Henry IV get himself accepted as king of France ?

Yann Tarouilly 3°2 22/09/10

Henry came in a very difficult moment. Indeed, he was born during the Wars of Religions. He was a Bourbon, and the Bourbons were fighting for their religion : Protestantism. Consequently, the Catholics and especially the Guise family were against him. Moreover, the other claim to the throne was a member of the Guise Family. This is very significant because the Catholics were really powerful at that time.

Another thing that made it hard for Henry to get accepted was the fact that, during the part of his life from his birth to the moment he got crowned (36 years), France was ruled by Henry II and Katherine of Medici ‘s three children: François II, Charles IX, Henry III, who were all three weak, and didn’t behave well. This was important as well because people were quite discontented with them. This point could also be positive for him because people wanted a new, good king who would be able to stop the civil war.

Military skills probably were the thing that helped him most to get accepted as king of France because, at that time, many people thought that the way to solve religious problems was to defeat the Protestants. He proved people he was good at war by defeating the Catholics in 1589 at the Battle of Arques. More generally, it was always important for Kings to be good at war : In case other countries would attack, or in case of rebellions inside the kingdom itself, etc ….

He showed people before being crowned his ability to lead an army and be glorious, which was really important at that time. Being good at war also showed cleverness, force, and that you were a good commander. We can compare leading an army and leading a country : you have to keep everybody agreeing, make your people united, show force, taking right choices, be a good diplomat, be tough physically and mentally, being careful not to be too rough.

The second thing that helped him a lot was that he was dynastic, and showed signs that he would be ...

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The second thing that helped him a lot was that he was dynastic, and showed signs that he would be able to unify France and rule the country properly. Indeed, he had been in this world with royal members since very young : eg his parents had brought him to the court of King Henry II. He showed signs that made people think he would be able to unite France, like his marriage to Margaret of Valois. She was the king’s sister and a catholic, which proved his flexibility and ability to make efforts for his country. He also defeated the Duke of Joyeuse and did not wish to discard his religion : he showed loyalty to his family which was a very important characteristic for a king : being loyal, respectful. As well, he also pledged loyalty to the Catholic King : he showed that he might tolerate Catholicism. This second point is less important than the first one because it was more crucial to the highest part of society : the poor didn’t really care if the king was used to live at Court, with all the important people even if this new king was young, and if he was able to use diplomacy. Whereas being good at war and have good military skills was important to everybody, people from high society, noble people, and poor people too. The king was regarded as a protection against ennemies.

The third important item that helped him to be accepted as a king is the fact that people had the fear of foreigners. In fact, Henry was known very young in France thanks to his big involvement in the Wars of Religions and this helped him a lot because everybody knew who he was and how able he was (physically and mentally). This can seem a bit childish but it is really important for people to know who the future king is and how he is, and if he is going to be a good king. This is important because we know people were really afraid of foreigners : for example when the Catholics got help from Spain, many Catholics hated the sight of Spanish soldiers in Paris. Moreover, the King of Spain suggested that his daughter should become Queen of France but the people of Paris refused because she wasn’t French, which shows French people’s fear of foreigners : they only wanted French Kings and Queens. However, I put this point third because the fear of Foreigners is a secondary point. It isn’t the first thing people would think about. And people, of course, would not accept a French King jut because he is French, if he has no skills. But, it does matter.

I think Money and Bribery come there because it might have helped him but it wasn’t really important. Indeed, he bribed important Catholic Families like the Guise Family and the City of Paris to get their support which helped him quite a lot because these two examples were really important in France. Money obviously helped him to bribe important people but that is all. (not essential but it helped him)

At that time, religion was one of the most important matters and problems. Most of the events in Henry’s life were linked with religion : the Wars of Religions have been his biggest preoccupation for almost a third of his life. Personally, he was for French Protestantism, having been educated and influenced by his mother Jeanne d’Albret, but was forced to switch religion through his reign and even before. Yet, in my opinion, his religion didn’t help him a lot. I think it was even a real problem for him : it caused some massacres eg St Bartholomew’s Eve Massacre: He would have been murdered if he hadn’t been held under Royal guard during the massacre. This massacre happened on the 23rd/24th of August 1572, just after his wedding with Margaret of Valois (19th of August 1572) because he was a Protestant and the Catholics were upset by Protestantism : they thought Protestants were heretics. Indeed, Katherine of Medici, ie Margaret of Valois’ mother ordered the killing of all the Protestants having come to Paris for the wedding.

Henry had many human and personal qualities that helped him to become King. Firstly, he was physically strong and very good at war : he knew how to fight for example he defeated the catholic army at the Battle of Arques as he was less than 30 years old. He was also quite clever because he managed to establish peace eg he forced the Spanish to sign the Treaty of Vervins which ended the wars against Spain in 1598. And just before, in April 1598, he signed the Edict of Nantes, which gave more tolerance towards the Protestants. These examples show that he was able to lead an army and that he was quite a good diplomat too. He was as well strategic. He was able to make some choices that were good for the country but not for him eg he married a Catholic. He used the kingdom’s money quite well after peace was established. All these items show that he had quite a lot of qualities and personal skills.

I think the most important reasons for Henry’s success is his ability to rule the country.

In more details, this ability is based on various items detailed in the previous paragraphs: : he was directive, knew how to react against various things like rebellion : this shows cleverness. He was not a tyrant but showed strength. All this can explain his success : No one else would have been able to establish peace and prosperity in France at that time, after this terrible period of war. The country was devastated and he almost started from nothing. However he also did bad things like bribing people to help him and changing religion quite often.

How did Henry IV get himself accepted as king of France ?