| When Henry IV ascended to the throne of France in 1589, most of his new kingdom was united against him in a Catholic League that included many of the country's largest and wealthiest towns. Although he had inherited the throne, great numbers of Frenchmen were unwilling to accept a Protestant king. Eventually Henry re-converted to Catholicism, destroyed the League, and recaptured his towns. This study is a political and social analysis of the municipal views Henry possessed and developed in governing his towns after the wars of religion. Based on extensive municipal archives from numerous towns as well as the state archives in Paris, the work traces the relationship Henry cultivated with his towns between 1589 to 1610. Attention is given to different treatment extended to towns that had sided with either the Catholic League, royalist cause, or Protestant movement during the wars. Henry realized better than anyone how serious a threat rebellious towns could pose to the security of the realm. To prevent further rebellion, he therefore exerted his authority over a number of former League towns and weakened their municipal autonomy in the process. Henry showed greater leniency to the royalist and Protestant towns.;Henry's progress at developing a more authoritative state should not be exaggerated. With regards to crowntown issues, Henry established some impressive precedents for later kings to follow, but he did so using methods devised by medieval and Renaissance kings. Henry made no attempt to centralize royal administration or establish himself as absolute over the towns. His infringement on municipal rights and privileges began rather as temporary measures designed to restore order after the wars. The frequency with which he intervened in the municipal administrations of Catholic League towns, nevertheless, strengthened the crown. Thus his relationship with the former League towns formulated a more "absolute" response to municipal affairs even though his "municipal policy" was never conceived in such terms. |
