Edict of Nantes It was issued in 1598, by king Henry IV Bourbon of France. It was the second document (after The January Edict of 1561) issued by a French sovereign to provide religious freedom in the country. It was a consequence of the long-lasting religious conflicts in France between Catholics and Huguenots (other name for Calvinists), situated mainly in Southern France. King Henry IV succeeded Henry III Valois and his infamous mother Catherine de Medici. Henry IV was one of the most prominent leaders of the Protestant opposition in France, but had to convert to Catholicism (for the second time in his life) in order to inherit the throne. The Edict of Nantes was one of the first things that he did as a king, and, basically, it allowed for the Protestants across the land to hold on to the cities that they had turned into their strongholds, while Catholics did the same, too. This was a compromise and angered many, Catholics because they could not get rid of the "heresy" among their lands, and Protestants because they could not succeed in reforming France once and for all.
