The French Military's Role in the Enforcement of Louis XIV's Religious Policies in Dauphine, 1680-1690

This study examines the role of the French military in enforcing Louis XIV's religious policies in the province of Dauphine during the 1680s. Dauphine's location at the border of the French realm meant that it already had constant exposure to France's soldiers. However, during the 1680s the soldiers were tasked with the persecution of Huguenots in addition to their regular directives to protect the realm. The relatively new and unique military unit, the dragoon, conducted an initiative that lodged them in Protestant households in order to compel Huguenots to convert to Catholicism. This innovation, known as the dragonnades, gave the French military an active role in shaping French society and culture. The actions of the military were not limited to lodging with members of the Reformed Church. The French military, and in particular the dragoons, were tasked with monitoring and surveying of the Dauphinois to ensure that the Edict of Fontainebleau was upheld. In addition, the soldiers garrisoned in Dauphine were utilized to capture and imprison religious perpetrators and potential emigrants.;The ruthless efficiency of the French military while carrying out its directives had profound repercussions in the Alpine region. Sabaudian and Swiss territories were directly affected by the religious policies of Louis XIV, and by the end of the decade following the joint persecution of the Waldensians by France and Savoy; Victor Amadeus II, the duke of Savoy, joined the League of Augsburg against Louis in the Nine Years War. During the Nine Years War Dauphine was exposed to the vengeance of the religionnaires who had been persecuted by the French. The religious undertone was uncommon for Louis XIV's wars and it produced particularly harsh and violent campaigns in the region. The actions of the French military can be linked to this backlash, as its actions created controversy in religiously sympathetic territories adjacent to Dauphine.;The purpose of this study is to highlight how the French military was an active agent in societal change in France at the end of the seventeenth century. The persecution of the Huguenots and Waldensians was so efficient and effective that an entire subculture was supplanted. The study will show how the French military's actions were a key contributing factor behind the Edict of Fontainebleau and the enforcement following its proclamation in 1685 enabled the military to play a deciding role in societal and cultural change. This study supports the argument that the actions and administration of the military institutions in early modern Europe directly affected society, culture, and bureaucracy.