GCSE · History · AQA · Spec 8145
Huguenot migration to Britain
Same sea, same Protestants, two very different crossings: a trickle in the 1550s, then tens of thousands after 1685. What changed in France?
History · Cause & effect
Follow the Channel: two waves, two triggers
Not to scale. Tap an event: the left card shows what was going on before it, the right card shows what followed.
Causes ←
What led here
Event
Louis XIV revokes the Edict of Nantes
1685
The Edict of Nantes had protected Huguenots inside France. The revocation cancels that protection.→ Consequences
What followed
History · Migration
Push, pull, or neither?
Pick a reason, then pick where it belongs.
Still to sort
Pushed Huguenots out of France (0)
Made staying in France dangerous.
Where the line is: A push is about danger or lost safety inside France.
Made England a refuge (0)
Why England was a place to go.
Where the line is: A refuge reason is about what England offered, not what France did.
Neither: protection inside France (0)
Kept Huguenots safe where they already lived.
Where the line is: Protection at home gives no reason to leave and no reason to cross.
Which side of the Channel does each cause sit on?
WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED
A quick recap of today's lesson.
Why French Protestants crossed the Channel, in two waves
What you need to know
- 'Huguenot' means a Protestant from France, commonly a Calvinist. It isn't a separate religion.
- Catholics accept the pope's authority; Protestants don't. England broke with the pope in 1534 and became a tolerant Protestant nation.
Have a goDev says: 'England welcomed the Huguenots because England was Catholic too.' What would you say to Dev?
England was Protestant: it broke with the pope in 1534, so French Protestants could find a refuge there.
Catholics accept the pope's authority and Protestants don't, so Dev has the two sides the wrong way round.
- Persecution of Protestants was growing in Catholic France, and August 1572 brought the St Bartholomew's Day killings.
- A first, small wave of Huguenots came in the 1550s, and Edward VI's French church dates from 1550.
- The Edict of Nantes protected Huguenots inside France. Louis XIV revoked it in 1685, and that protection vanished.
Have a goThe Edict of Nantes protected Huguenots inside France. Predict what changes for them when Louis XIV revokes it.
Their protection vanishes, so staying in France becomes far more dangerous.
To revoke something is to cancel it, so the safeguard they relied on is gone.
- Tens of thousands then crossed to England: a much larger second wave.
- After the 1688 Glorious Revolution, monarchs had to be Protestant. William III and Mary II supported the Huguenots.
- Support included a £39,000 fund and a 1709 naturalisation act, revoked in 1711 after about 2,000 were naturalised.
- Huguenots settled in London, in areas including Spitalfields, Soho and Leicester Fields.
- Huguenot sponsors gave £104,000 of the £1.2 million used to open the Bank of England in 1694.
Have a goHuguenot sponsors gave £104,000 of the £1.2 million used to open the Bank of England. How much of the £1.2 million did not come from Huguenot sponsors?
£1,096,000
Write £1.2 million as £1,200,000 first, then take away the £104,000, because £104,000 is the Huguenot part, not the rest.
The big picture
Huguenots were Protestants from France, and they reached England in two waves: a small one in the 1550s and a much bigger one after 1685. Each time, danger in Catholic France pushed them out while Protestant England offered a refuge. After 1688 their experience was largely positive, and their trades, finance and culture left a mark: English versions of Huguenot surnames are still common today.
Key points
Worked example
Problem
Explain why a small number of Huguenots came to England in the 1550s.
⚠ Watch out
Don't write that 'Huguenot' is a religion or that every migrant was poor. It means a Protestant from France, and many came from wealthy communities with trading links to the Netherlands.
Memory hook
Two pressures, one crossing: France pushing, England welcoming. The 1550s were a trickle; 1685 was a flood, because Louis XIV took away the Huguenots' protection.
Check yourself
Without looking back: what had the Edict of Nantes given Huguenots in France, and what happened to it in 1685?
Flashcards
(14)What does 'Huguenot' mean?
How do Catholics and Protestants differ over the pope?
What did England do in 1534, and why did it matter for Huguenots?
When did the first, small wave of Huguenots reach England?
What were the St Bartholomew's Day killings?
What was the Edict of Nantes?
What happened in 1685, and what followed?
What changed after the Glorious Revolution of 1688?
Name the two forms of royal support in England.
What happened to the 1709 naturalisation act?
Where in London did Huguenots settle?
How did Huguenots help to open the Bank of England in 1694?
Which trades did Huguenots work in?
Give three cultural effects of the Huguenots.
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