Queen Catherine died, worn out and despairing.
King Henry was murdered in his turn, and with him perished the direct
line of the royal house. Henry of Navarre was the nearest heir to the
throne.
Of course the Catholics would not consent to be ruled by this champion
of the Huguenots; so again the strife went on. Henry proved himself a
dashing and heroic leader, winning splendid battles. Spanish forces
invaded the country, and he beat them, too. Though Protestant, he was
recognized even by his foes as the national hero. At last he took that
much-debated resolve, than which was never act more statesmanly. He
became a Catholic. His opponents gladly laid down their arms; even
fanatic Paris hailed him with extravagant delight. In 1598 he proclaimed
the Edict of Nantes, granting safety and religious freedom to his former
comrades, the Huguenots. The religious wars of France ended; the wisdom
and power of one man had healed what seemed a hopeless confusion.[7]
[7] See _Henry of Navarre Accepts Catholicism_, page 276.
Under this great monarch, Henry IV, France resumed her former place of
power in Europe. Her chief began planning grim revenge on Spain for all
her injuries. And then he, too, fell by the assassin's knife (1610).
REVOLT OF THE NETHERLANDS
We have traced the French tumults to the end of the present period; let
us go back to see why, with his chief foe so helpless, Philip II
accomplished no more in extending his own power.
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