Henry IV

Henry IV (Henry of Navarre, r. 1589-1610) was the first Bourbon king of France who converted from Calvinism to Catholicism to secure the throne, then issued the Edict of Nantes (1598), ending the French Wars of Religion by granting Huguenots limited toleration to restore political stability.

What is Henry IV?

Henry IV, also called Henry of Navarre, became the first Bourbon king of France in 1589 and ruled until his assassination in 1610. He started as a Huguenot (French Calvinist) military leader during the French Wars of Religion, which made him unacceptable to Catholic Paris when he inherited the throne. His solution was famously practical. He converted to Catholicism, reportedly quipping that "Paris is worth a Mass," and in 1598 issued the Edict of Nantes, which granted Huguenots the right to worship in specified towns and hold certain offices while keeping Catholicism the official religion of France.

In AP Euro terms, Henry IV is the textbook politique, a ruler who put the political stability of the state above religious purity. The CED's essential knowledge for Topic 2.4 says it directly. A few states, such as France with the Edict of Nantes, allowed religious pluralism in order to maintain domestic peace. Henry IV is the person who made that happen. He treated religion as a problem to be managed rather than a truth to be enforced, and that move ended nearly four decades of civil war between Catholics and Huguenots.

Why Henry IV matters in AP Euro

Henry IV lives in Unit 2: Age of Reformation, Topic 2.4 (Wars of Religion), and he is your strongest evidence for learning objective 2.4.A, which asks you to explain how religion and politics influenced each other from 1450 to 1648. The French Wars of Religion show religion making politics worse (Huguenot nobles using Calvinism to resist the Catholic crown), and Henry IV shows politics taming religion (a king trading confessional loyalty for national peace). That two-way relationship is exactly what the learning objective wants you to argue. He also marks a turning point in a bigger Unit 2 story, the slow death of the medieval ideal of one unified Christendom, which the Peace of Westphalia (1648) finishes off. If you can explain why Henry IV converted and why he issued the Edict of Nantes, you understand the politique logic that runs through the entire era of religious wars.

How Henry IV connects across the course

Edict of Nantes (Unit 2)

This is Henry IV's signature act and the two are basically inseparable on the exam. The edict didn't make France religiously neutral. It made Huguenot toleration a tool for ending civil war, which is why questions about it almost always test the religion-serves-politics relationship.

French Wars of Religion (Unit 2)

Henry IV is the endpoint of this conflict. The wars show how religious reform gave nobles a new excuse to resist the monarchy, and Henry IV's settlement shows the crown clawing that power back by taking religion off the battlefield.

Concordat of Bologna (Unit 1)

Back in 1516, the French crown already won control over church appointments, so French kings had little reason to break with Rome the way England did. That helps explain why France's religious crisis played out as a civil war inside Catholicism's orbit rather than a top-down national Reformation.

Louis XIV's revocation of the Edict of Nantes (Unit 3)

In 1685, Henry IV's Bourbon descendant Louis XIV revoked the edict, betting that absolutism required "one king, one law, one faith." The contrast between the two Bourbons makes a great continuity-and-change argument about how French monarchs used religion to build state power.

Is Henry IV on the AP Euro exam?

Multiple-choice questions rarely ask "who was Henry IV" in isolation. Instead, stems use the Edict of Nantes or the French Wars of Religion and ask what they demonstrate about the relationship between religion and politics, or between monarchy and nobility. The answer they're fishing for is almost always some version of "rulers prioritized political stability over religious uniformity." Practice questions on this topic ask things like what the Edict of Nantes exemplified about religion and politics, or how religious reform created avenues for noble resistance to the crown. Henry IV is your go-to evidence for both. No released FRQ has required Henry IV by name, but he is high-value LEQ and DBQ evidence for any prompt about religious conflict, state-building, or change over time between 1450 and 1648. Drop him in with the date (1598), the term politique, and the political motive, and you've got a complete piece of evidence with analysis attached.

Henry IV vs Henry VIII of England

Easy to mix up because both are 16th-17th century kings tangled in religious conflict, but they moved in opposite directions. Henry VIII broke FROM Catholicism, creating the Church of England with the Act of Supremacy (1534) to get his annulment and seize church wealth. Henry IV converted TO Catholicism in the 1590s to claim the French throne, then tolerated Protestants with the Edict of Nantes. Henry VIII changed his country's religion to fit his politics; Henry IV changed his own religion to fit his country's. Also don't confuse him with Henry IV of the Holy Roman Empire from the medieval Investiture Controversy, who is outside the AP Euro timeframe.

Key things to remember about Henry IV

• Henry IV (Henry of Navarre) was the first Bourbon king of France, reigning from 1589 to 1610, and he ended the French Wars of Religion.

• He converted from Calvinism to Catholicism to secure the throne, summed up in the line "Paris is worth a Mass," making him the classic example of a politique.

• His Edict of Nantes (1598) granted Huguenots limited toleration while keeping Catholicism official, showing a state allowing religious pluralism to maintain domestic peace, exactly as the CED describes.

• Henry IV is core evidence for LO 2.4.A because his reign shows politics shaping religion (conversion for the crown) and religion shaping politics (decades of noble-led civil war).

• His settlement was undone within a century when Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, which makes Henry IV a strong starting point for continuity-and-change essays about religion and state power in France.

Frequently asked questions about Henry IV

What did Henry IV do in AP Euro?

Henry IV became the first Bourbon king of France in 1589, converted to Catholicism to win acceptance as king, and issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598, which granted Huguenots limited toleration and ended the French Wars of Religion.

Was Henry IV actually Protestant or Catholic?

Both, at different times. He was raised and fought as a Huguenot (Calvinist), then converted to Catholicism around 1593 because Catholic France would never accept a Protestant king. That pragmatic switch is exactly why he's labeled a politique.

Did the Edict of Nantes make France religiously equal?

No. Catholicism remained the official religion of France, and Huguenot worship was restricted to specific towns and conditions. It was toleration as a political tool for peace, not full religious equality, and Louis XIV revoked it entirely in 1685.

How is Henry IV of France different from Henry VIII of England?

Henry VIII broke from the Catholic Church with the Act of Supremacy (1534) to create the Church of England, while Henry IV converted to Catholicism in the 1590s to claim the French throne and then tolerated Protestants. One left Rome for political gain; the other rejoined it for political gain.

Why is Henry IV called a politique?

A politique is a ruler who puts the stability of the state above enforcing one religion. Henry IV's conversion and the Edict of Nantes both sacrificed religious uniformity to end civil war, which is the move AP Euro wants you to recognize for LO 2.4.A.