Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/670

 656 HENRY IV. (FRANCE) of several auxiliary troops sent to him by the German princes. Thejournee des barricades, when Henry III. was compelled to leave his metropolis in the hands of the rebellious duke of Guise, brought about a reconciliation be- tween the kings of France and Navarre, who united their forces to oppose the league, and in concert laid siege to the capital. The assassi- nation of Henry III. greatly increased the diffi- culties of Henry of Navarre. He was at once deserted by the Catholic nobles who supported the cause of his predecessor, but who, notwith- standing their devotion to royalty, would not accept a Protestant king; the league at the same time raised against him his uncle, the cardinal de Bourbon, whom they proclaimed king under the title of Charles X. ; and the nation itself evinced no partiality for Henry. He was obliged to raise the siege of Paris, was pursued through Normandy by the duke of Mayenne, and seemed to be in imminent dan- ger, when he thwarted the hopes of his ene- mies by his heroic stand near the castle of Arques ; notwithstanding their large superior- ity in numbers, they were obliged (Oct. 6, 1589) to beat a retreat, leaving from 1,000 to 1,200 men on the field. Henry, quickly returning to Paris, seized its suburbs, but could not take the city itself for want of artillery. Another and more decisive victory over Mayenne, that of Ivry, which he won March 14, 1590, once more opened before him the road to the capi- tal, which he blockaded for several months, and had reduced to the last extremities, when it was relieved by the approach of a Spanish army under Alexander Farnese, duke of Par- ma. For two years longer the war was car- ried on with varied success, Henry being more than once worsted by his opponents, but, amid the most trying circumstances, showing such perseverance, ingenuity, and valor as to uphold the drooping spirits of his followers. A favor- able change in his fortunes became apparent during the year 1593. Discord prevailed among his enemies ; the ambitious designs of Philip II. of Spain, who openly manifested his desire of placing his daughter on the throne of France, inspired the French Catholics, and even the leaguers, with distrust and anger. A better feeling grew up among the people, who, being weary of so protracted a war, instinctively leaned toward the prince from whom alone peace could be expected. Everything showed him that the tune had come for a decisive step ; and he therefore abjured Protestantism at St. Denis in July, 1593, and was crowned at Char- tres, Feb. 27, 1594. The majority of the na- tion at once sided with him. Paris surrender- ed March 22, and within a few months most of the Catholic governors of the provinces and cities also submitted. Mayenne still held Bur- gundy with the assistance of Spanish troops; but the high constable of Castile having been defeated at Fontaine-Francaise, June 5, 1595, negotiations were entered into, and the duke, swearing allegiance to Henry, kept the gover- norship of the province. Picardy was mean- while in the hands of Spain, against which war had been formally declared ; the king led his army against Amiens, and, notwithstanding the presence of the Spanish army under the arch- duke Albert, forced that city to capitulate (1597), and the next year brought to submission the duke de Mercceur, who had heretofore acted as an independent sovereign in Brittany. France was now wholly under his control ; he gave her peace at home by the celebrated edict of Nantes, April 13, 1598, and abroad by the treaty of Vervins with Spain, May 2. Henry now perseveringly pursued the policy of re- storing order and prosperity to his kingdom, strengthening the royal authority, and placing France in a respectable position abroad. In this laborious task he was especially assisted by the duke de Sully. Agriculture, mining, com- merce, and manufactures were encouraged; roads were opened and repaired ; the army re- ceived a better organization, while strong for- tresses were built along the N. and E. frontiers ; the navy, which had been neglected, was im- proved, and attention was paid to the French colonies in America. In short, improvements were made in every branch of the public ser- vice. The ambitious aspirations of provincial governors were effectually checked ; political conspiracies were severely punished ; munici- pal franchises and immunities, that had been revived or extended during the civil wars, were curtailed; and obedience to the king became the order of the day. After the death of his celebrated mistress, Gabrielle d'Estrees, hav- ing procured the dissolution of his marriage with Margaret of Yalois, December, 1599, Hen- ry married Maria de' Medici, the niece of the grand duke of Tuscany, which secured his influence among the Italian princes. A short war with the duke of Savoy put him (1601) in possession of several valuable districts on the E. frontier. A formidable conspiracy having been plotted by the duke de Bouillon and the count d'Auvergne, in conjunction with Marshal Biron, who also maintained secret relations with Spain and Savoy, Henry had the latter, his old companion in arms, arrested, tried before the parliament, and beheaded, July 31, 1602. A few years later the count d'Auvergne, hav- ing engaged in new intrigues, was incarcerated in the Bastile ; and the duke de Bouillon, the constant promoter of rebellions among the Protestants, was dispossessed of his principali- ty of Sedan, and would have lost his life but for Queen Elizabeth's entreaties. His power being thus firmly established, Henry resumed the political designs of Francis I. and Henry II., concerted extensive schemes with Barne- veldt, the grand pensionary of Holland, form- ed alliances with German Protestant princes, and made preparations for a fresh war against the house of Austria. It is even said that he aimed at nothing short of an entire re- organization of Europe. However this may have been, he was on the eve of leaving Paris