Francis II of France

With the peace of Cateau Cambresis in 1559, the crown had been left on the cusp of bankruptcy. The public deficit stood at 40 million livres, of which 19 million was owed immediately.[11] The interest rates on these loans were not insignificant, as lenders had grown wary of the crown's inability to pay over the years and this lack of confidence would only be furthered with Henry II's death.[12] Henri's religious policy had also proved ineffective, his persecutory edicts failing to stop the growth of Calvinism in France.[13] Religious violence was increasing, with attacks in Paris, first in response to the loss at the Battle of Saint-Quentin (1557) and then around the trial of the heretic parlementaire Anne du Bourg.[14][15]

Francis of Lorraine, Duke of Guise. Pencil portrait by François Clouet.

From the beginning of their assumption of government, the Guises faced opposition from several factions. Their rise to dominance had come at the expense of Anne de Montmorency and the House of Bourbon who resented their total ascendency to varying degrees.[16]

The political decisions of the government were also contested. To try and set about fixing the realm's finances, they embarked upon an aggressive campaign of cost cutting, scaling down the size of the army from its height in the wars, and deferring payments to the troops, who angrily protested against the Guises.[17] This would not however be enough, so they were moved to raise forced loans from the provinces, such as 800,000 livres from Normandy, to cover shortfalls.[12] They further suppressed Venal office.[18]

Forced loans would continue into 1560, with 100,000 crowns being demanded of the Parlement and merchants of Paris in October 1560, shortly after the convoking of the estates had taken place.[19]

In religion, the Guises initially continued the repression of Protestantism started by King Henry II. From July 1559 to February 1560 they would pass four more persecutory edicts, including such provisions as the razing of any house which a Protestant meeting occurred in, and the prosecution of landlords who knowingly harboured heretics as tenants.[20]

The execution of the conspirators at Amboise. Engraving by Jacques Tortorel and Jean Perrissin, 1569–1570

Opposition to the Guise administration which had been bubbling under the surface during Francis II's reign, coalesced around two primary axes. Firstly there was religious opposition from Protestants such as La Roche Chandieu, secondly there was opposition from military men of the minor gentry, such as Castlenau; these groups came together under the leadership of the seigneur de la Renaudie to form a conspiracy to seize the king and arrest or kill the Cardinal de Lorraine and the Duke de Guise.[21] The group planned to push for Antoine of Navarre to lead them, and become a 'regent' for Francis II.[22] When he proved uninterested in their plot, they moved to the more dubious claim of his brother Condé. He was more receptive to the plan.[23]

As details of the conspiracy were finalised and arms raised for the day, rumours began to leak out to the court of what was happening. Finally on 12 February while the court was travelling to Amboise, the Duke's secretary arrived, bringing a lawyer who had got cold feet about the direction of the conspiracy. The secretary revealed all the details to the Guise and Francis, including the name of the leader, La Renaudie.[24]

With this knowledge to hand, and suspecting the involvement of Condé, the Guise summoned much of the high nobility to Amboise, and began fortifying the castle in preparation. In March the court struck, arresting a band of the conspirators who had assembled to discuss the delivery of money for the operation. Several days later a larger host of soldiers were bloodily repulsed from Amboise.[25] On 17 March, Francis II made the duke of Guise the Lieutenant General of the kingdom, giving him final authority for all military matters. Realising the motley nature of the conspiracy, a mixture of fairly harmless heretics and hardened military men, an amnesty was declared on 17 March for those who laid down their arms and went home within 48 hours. Operations would continue as the court began to fan out troops into the countryside to mop up stragglers.[26]

The court was left with a tricky situation as to how to deal with those captured alive. Interrogations began, attempting to prove a connection between Condé and the conspiracy. Condé denounced accusations thrown at him as the work of 'scum' and more pressingly for honour in aristocratic circles, propagated by 'liars.' The Queen mother assured him that no one doubted his innocence. However on 18 April his chambers were raided while he was attending the kings levée. Unable to find proof however, he was allowed to leave court.[27] Condé hurried south, uniting with his brother Antoine in the south-west.[28]

For the military conspirators who had remained under arms there would be little mercy, many would be executed in the following days, and hanged from the battlements as a warning. To the shock of members of the court, this included men of 'good birth' such as the baron de Castlenau.[29] Nevertheless the court was conscious its religious policy had been a failure, and as early as 8 March, the Edict of Amboise was propagated, offering a retroactive amnesty for those convicted of heresy, on the condition they live as good Catholics. This began the distinction between the crimes of heresy and the crime of sedition, which had during the reign of Henri II been treated as a unified crime.[30][31]

Whilst the rebellion outside the castle of Amboise may have been crushed, the situation was deteriorating in the provinces. Troops raised for the conspiracy in Dauphine, Provence, and the Lyonnais were left without central direction, creating the nucleus of guerrilla armies that caused chaos in their localities.[32] Beyond the planned regional elements of Amboise, many Protestants began seizing churches independently, and engaging in acts of unauthorised iconoclasm, as in Rouen and Provence.[33] During the summer, this rebellious movement gained intensity; several cities in southern France were by now engulfed in revolt.[34][35]

The climax of the regional disorder came in the early Autumn, where on 4 September in Lyon, a large stockpile of weapons was discovered in the city of Lyon by the authorities, after a brief firefight with a group of Protestants the weapons were seized, narrowly foiling a planned coup in the city by several days.[36] The narrow foiling of this conspiracy only further enraged the king and his administration who suspected the involvement of Condé in this affair. This was confirmed when an agent of his carrying papers that implicated him was intercepted.[37]

The king's reaction was fierce and determined: he mobilised his troops, sent the army to the rebellious areas to quell the sedition, and ordered governors to return to their positions.[38] To isolate the renegade princes of the blood further the administration created two super-governorships giving one to Charles, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon and the other to Louis, Duke of Montpensier, thus divorcing their interests from those of their cousins. Heavily outnumbered Condé and Navarre decided making a stand and fighting would be pointless, and they departed their southern regional powerbase at the kings request to attend the forthcoming Estates General. [39]

Portrait of Catherine de' Medici, mother of Francis II

This distinction between heresy and sedition, represented a new religious policy for the monarchy of France. While there was to be no allowance for heretical worship, it was hoped this would avoid needless bloodshed, and reunify the kingdom around the crown.[40] This changing of the political winds was furthered when in April the former Guise client Michel de l'Hôpital became Lord Chancellor of France replacing the ailing François Olivier. Hôpital was a humanist Catholic, little interested in the persecution that had defined the administration in the 1550s. In conjunction with Charles Cardinal of Lorraine, Catherine de Medici and Admiral Coligny, he began pushing this new religious policy further.[41]

In May 1560 a further edict was passed, the Edict of Romorantin. This edict denounced the spread of heresy in the kingdom, but also noted the failure of the policies on the 1550s.[42] The edict proposed that going forth trial for heresy would be handled by the ecclesiastical courts instead of the Parlement. This was significant as the ecclesiastical courts lacked the ability to provide death sentences, and while they could technically still refer cases to the Parlements for sentencing, this acted as a de facto abolition of the death penalty for heresy. For more 'seditious' offences, such as heretical preaching, pamphlet producing and services, the Présidaux courts would have jurisdiction.[43]

Conscious that the financial and religious problems of the crown had not yet gone away, and desiring to create a more definitive solution, the Guise oversaw the calling of an Assembly of Notables. Conscious that they were liable to be arrested, Condé and Navarre were not among the leading nobility who attended. Lorraine intended to guide the assembly towards his proposed idea of a national religious council, to reunify the two faiths peacefully, this was however taken off course by Coligny, who presented a petition from the Norman church seeking the right to establish temples. The duke of Guise was infuriated by this proposal, suggesting if two religions were tolerated 'his sword would not remain sheathed for long.' The assembly drew up a reform package of tax ideas, and closed by convening the Estates General to whom this package would be presented.[44] It was initially intended to host this at Meaux before a location change to Orléans due to religious troubles at the former city.[45]

Afraid the proposed council might be highly Gallican , the Pope decided to reopen the general council of Trent, but rejected the attendance of any Protestant, the demands of the French crown to scrap their proposed national council.[46]

The calling of the Estates General presented an opportunity to bring Condé into line, and in October he was summoned to present himself at the Estates General. Upon arrival he and several associates were promptly arrested and put on trial.[47] After filibustering the proceedings Condé would eventually be found guilty, and given an indeterminate sentence, likely imprisonment at Loches.[48]

In foreign policy, Francis II continued peace efforts Henry II had begun with the signing of the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in April 1559, which ended 40 years of war between France and the Habsburg empire. At the expense of its influence in Europe, France continued to restore lands conquered over the previous 40 years. In this sense, Francis II's reign began the decline of French influence throughout Europe, to the benefit of Spain.[49][50]

When Henry II died, the restitution of these territories was well under way. Francis II, aware of the kingdom's weaknesses, reassured Spain of its intention to fulfill the treaty just signed.[51] The Maréchal de Brissac, who displayed some unwillingness to evacuate Piedmont, was asked to change his behaviour and accelerate the withdrawal.[52][53][54] By the autumn of 1559, France had completely left Savoy, and Piedmont, except for the five locations agreed upon in the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis. If these were returned to the Duke of Savoy Emmanuel Philibert, Montferrat would be returned to Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua. Both were allies of Spain. Finally, Valenza, which Brissac was grumbling about releasing, was to be returned to the Spanish Duchy of Milan. On the Spanish side, King Philip II showed some unwillingness to return four locations in the northeast of the kingdom as required by the treaty. Border disputes renewed tensions between the two nations, but after months of protests Francis II finally obtained these territories.[55][56]

Along with restitution of territories, the government of Francis II had to negotiate, pay, or claim compensations for people whose properties were taken or destroyed during the war.[57][58] It also had to reach an agreement with Spain about the prisoners of war held by both sides. Many noblemen were still prisoners and unable to pay their ransom. Common soldiers were consigned to use as rowers on the royal galleys. Even after a reciprocal release compromise was signed, Spain was not eager to lose its prisoners.[59][60][61]

When Francis II died, France withdrew from Scotland, Brazil, Corsica, Tuscany, Savoy and most of Piedmont.

The king and his spouse Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots (painted around 1558). (Bibliothèque Nationale de France)

With the marriage of Francis II and Mary Stuart, the future of Scotland was linked to that of France. A secret clause signed by the queen provided that Scotland would become part of France if the royal couple did not have children.[62] The queen's mother, Marie of Guise, was already regent for Scotland.

Because of French control over their country, a congregation of Scottish lords organised an uprising and made the regent and her French councils leave the capital, Edinburgh, in May 1559. Having taken refuge at the fortress of Dunbar, Marie of Guise asked France for help. Francis II and Mary Stuart sent troops right away. By the end of 1559, France had regained control of Scotland.[63]

Nothing seemed to stand in the way of French control of Scotland apart from English support for the Scottish nobles. Queen Elizabeth I of England was still offended that Francis II and Mary Stuart had put on their coat of arms those of England, thus proclaiming Mary's claims on the throne of England.[64] In January 1560, the English fleet blockaded the port of Leith, which French troops had turned into a military base. They were supported by the arrival in April of 6000 soldiers and 3000 horsemen, which began the siege of the city.

Just as English troops were not particularly successful, the French troops found themselves in a better strategic position. But the French government's poor financial situation and internal turmoil in the French kingdom prevented any military reinforcements from being sent.[65][66] When the Bishop of Valence and Charles de La Rochefoucault, sieur of Randan, sent by the king to negotiate, arrived in Scotland, they were treated almost like prisoners. With Marie of Guise shut up in an Edinburgh fortress, the two men were forced to negotiate a peace that was disadvantageous to France. On 6 July 1560, they signed the Treaty of Edinburgh, which ended French occupation of Scotland. Francis II and Mary Stuart had to withdraw French troops and stop displaying England's arms.

A few weeks later, the Parliament of Scotland established Protestantism as the state religion. When Francis II and Mary Stuart were presented with the Treaty of Edinburgh, they were outraged and refused to sign it; they also challenged the legitimacy of the Scottish parliament's decision.[67]