Henry IV, popularly known as the Henry of Navarre was a ruler of France. He was a great king who was able to bring an end to the religious wars between the Protestants and the Roman Catholics through the Edict of Nantes. He is also called Henry the Great.
Background
Henry IV, also popularly known as the Henry of Bourbon or the Henry of Navarre was born on the 13th of December, 1553 in the Pau region of France. He was the son of Antoine de Bourbon who was the Duke and Jeanne d’Albret. Though his father held the sole responsibility to become the next king of France, there was hardly any chance for Henry to become the king since the King Henry II already had three sons to Catherine de Médicis.
Henry spent most of his childhood in Bearn. From the age of eight to age fourteen, he lived with his cousins who were the children of the king of France. Among these children, there also existed Henry’s future spouse Margaret.
Henry’s father Antoine de Bourbon succumbed to death amid the religious fights between the Protestants and the Roman Catholics. He kept on changing his sides and mostly kept himself to remaining a protestant.
Education
Henry was given military training.
Career
As a part of the military training, Henry was made the lead of the army who fought against the Roman Catholics of the lower Navarre. He was only fifteen years of age then and had won the battle. In the following year, Henry was put in under Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Condé who was his uncle and the leader of the Protestants. In the battle with Duke d’Anjou, the upcoming Henry III, Prince de Condé was killed and the Protestants lost the battle on the 13th of March, 1569. After this unfortunate incident, Henry was kept under Gaspard de Coligny who was the new leader of Protestants and was given the following military training. Henry was seventeen when he established himself as a true leader in the Battle of Arnay-le-Duc when he led the Huguenot army. The long expedition awakened the true leader and the soldier in Henry and he would now understand the issues being faced in his kingdom. In order to end the religious war, Henry was planned to marry Margaret of Valois of the Royal French house. When Henry’s mother died in the year 1572, he became the King of Navarre and autonomous lord of Bearn. He married Margaret on 18th of August, 1572. A week later, there came St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre wherein several Protestants in the number of thousands were killed by royal soldiers. The marriage was highly defamed because of the fatalities that it followed. Under the pressure of his brother-in-law, Henry converted himself to Roman Catholic. Since his faith couldn’t be trusted upon, Henry was kept for around four years in the court of Henry III and Charles IX.
In the year of 1576, Henry escaped the court and joined the forces against the Roman Catholics in opposition to Henry III. Henry proved himself to be a strong Protestant and another war broke out in 1576 followed by him convincing his team to accept the Treaty of Bergerac on the 17th of September 1577 even though the treaty imposed several constraints on them. When François, Duke d’Anjou, brother to Henry III’s died in the year 1584, Henry of Navarre became the heir to the throne of France which was highly resisted by the Roman Catholics and the Pope because of his religion in Protestantism. War of the Three Henrys broke out between Henry of Navarre, Henry III and the Holy League of the Roman Catholics led by the Duke de Guise. Henry was a great leader and a true inspiration to his army. Though he wanted to win the battle, Henry also understood the situation that the country was going through and under his leadership, at the battle of Coutras, on 20th of October, 1587; Henry of Navarre defeated the military of Henry III who were highly influenced by Duke de Guise. It was during this time that the Royal league announced Elizabeth of Valois and the daughter of the Philip II as the upcoming ruler of France. When Henry III was made aware of this, he got Duke de Guise killed. Henry III joined forced with the Henry of Navarre to gain back control over Paris. During their united fight against Paris, Henry III was stabbed to death in his headquarters. Before death, Henry III announced Henry of Navarre as his heir to the crown of France.
Henry IV was the King of France now though he had to go through great struggles in the following years to make safe his empire. Henry fought and won several battles including Arques in the year 1589 and Ivry in the year 1590. He also lost to wars in Paris and Rouen in the years 1590 and 1591-92 respectively. When Henry could see no end to the wars and exhaustion of army who were supporting Henry III, he took up the final conversion to Roman Catholic in the year 1593. His conversion gained back Henry’s strength and he also gained high support from the people of Lyon and Orleans. Henry was able to gain back Paris in the year 1594. When Spain continued to resist against Henry IV, he declared a war to Philip II of Spain in the year 1595 and defeated his allies the month of June 1595 in Burgundy and took back Amiens from the Spanish control in 1597. A peace treaty of Vervins was signed between France and Spain in the year 1598. Henry signed the Edict of Nantes which declared Roman Catholics as the state church but also created major religious freedom measures for the Protestants who could now create their regional offices. This Edict of Nantes had finally ended the forty years of religious war. Henry IV was able to achieve peace at his homeland. He now wanted to bring in prosperity and discipline in France. He was able to bring in order soon enough which surprised many.
Henry was the subject of attempts on his life by Pierre Barrière in August 1593 and Jean Châtel in December 1594. In the third assassination attempt, King Henry IV was killed in Paris on 14 May 1610 by a Catholic fanatic, François Ravaillac, who stabbed him in the Rue de la Ferronnerie. Henry's coach was stopped by traffic congestion related to the Queen's coronation ceremony, as depicted in the engraving by Gaspar Bouttats. Hercule de Rohan, duc de Montbazon, was with him when he was killed; Montbazon was wounded, but survived. Henry was buried at the Saint Denis Basilica.
Henry IV had proved to be great ruler to France. He helped the kingdom prosper economically and also signed several treaties for its commercial success. He was a competent administrator and though he lacked creating great strategies, he was a great inspiration to his supporters and his speeches were used years later for motivation. Though he was misunderstood many times, Henry was able to get up and prove himself again and again. He reformed the French army and supported the people of the land to flourish in many ways.
Henry put in efforts to improve the French economy with the help of crown officials and well-off merchants. He was successfully able to gain personal control over parliaments. To develop the market in France, Henry IV encouraged agriculture, planting colonies, silk industries and supported manufacturing items that were previously being imported in the state.
Religion
Henry IV was earlier a Protestant who converted to Roman Catholic to gain back support from the Royal League, the people of France and Spain. He mentioned that he belonged to the religion of those brave and good. He was successfully able to eradicate the religious war and bring in peace for the people. During his reign, he ensured that he encouraged Royal Catholics as well as the faith of the Protestants.
Views
Quotations:
"If God grants me longer life, I will see to it that no peasant in my kingdom will lack the means to have a chicken in the pot every Sunday."
"Nothing is impossible to a valiant heart."
"I am of the religion of all those who are brave and good."
Personality
King Henry IV proved his leadership skill right from his teenage. After the death of his father, Henry’s mother ensured that he had proper military training. With his long time experience in conquests, he understood what each of the class of the people needed and this dedication to him gained him trust from the people who followed him truthfully. Though Henry was not very creative, he revamped Paris by building the gallery of Louvre, Hôtel-de-Ville, Place Royale and the Tuileries.
Henry IV proved to be a man of vision and courage. Instead of waging costly wars to suppress opposing nobles, Henry simply paid them off. As king, he adopted policies and undertook projects to improve the lives of all subjects, which made him one of the country's most popular rulers ever.
Henry's forthright manner, physical courage, and military successes also contrasted dramatically with the sickly, effete languor of the last Valois kings, as evinced by his blunt assertion that he ruled with "weapon in hand and arse in the saddle" (on a le bras armé et le cul sur la selle). He was also a great philanderer, fathering many children by a number of mistresses.
Connections
Henry IV married Margaret on 18th of August, 1572. When Pope Clement VIII annulled the marriage between Henry and Margaret. Henry's first marriage was not a happy one, and the couple remained childless. Henry and Margaret separated even before Henry acceded to the throne in August 1589. Then Henry IV married Marie de Médicis who was the princess of Tuscany in the year 1600. The following year celebrated the birth of future Louis XIII, the eldest prince of France followed by four other children.
Antoine of Navarre was the King of Navarre through his marriage to Queen Jeanne III, from 1555 until his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Bourbon, of which he was head from 1537.
Mother:
Jeanne d'Albret
16 November 1528 – 9 June 1572
Jeanne d'Albret was the queen regnant of Navarre from 1555 to 1572.
Wife:
Margaret of Valois
14 May 1553 – 27 March 1615
Margaret of Valois was a French princess of the Valois dynasty who became queen consort of Navarre and later also of France. She was the first wife of Henry IV of France. But their marriage was annulled in 1599.
Marie de' Medici was Queen of France as the second wife of King Henry IV of France, of the House of Bourbon.
Son:
Louis XIII of France
27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643
Louis XIII of France was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who ruled as King of France from 1610 to 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
Daughter:
Elisabeth of France
22 November 1602 – 6 October 1644
Elisabeth of France was Queen consort of Spain (1621 to 1644) and Portugal (1621 to 1640) as the first spouse of King Philip IV of Spain. She also served as regent of Spain during the Catalan Revolt.
Daughter:
Christine Marie of France
10 February 1606 – 27 December 1663
Son:
Nicolas Henri, Duke of Orléans
April 16, 1607 – November 17, 1611
Son:
Gaston, Duke of Orléans
24 April 1608 – 2 February 1660
Daughter:
Henrietta Maria of France
25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669
Henrietta Maria of France was queen consort of England, Scotland, and Ireland as the wife of King Charles I.
