On the night of August 24, 1572 - the feast of St. Bartholomew, a mass massacre of Huguenots (French Protestants) was carried out in France. The massacre was organized by Catherine de' Medici and the Dukes of Guise. This was the bloodiest moment of the Wars of Religion, fought in France in the period 1562-1594.
Thousands of Huguenots were killed then, including Admiral Coligny. The Wars of Religion in France were wars between Catholics and Protestants (Calvinists, Huguenots). They erupted as a result of the spread of Calvinism and the efforts of the French king and the Catholic clergy to oppose the new religious movement gaining ground in France.
The Calvinists were led by the Bourbon princes (King Antoine of Navarre, Henry III of Navarre, Prince Louis I of Condé). The Catholics were led by the Dukes of Guise. The first three wars (1562-1563, 1567-1568, 1568-1570) ended in success for the Huguenots, who subsequently derived certain privileges from this. After the massacre of Huguenots on St. Bartholomew's Day (August 24, 1572), the religious wars flared up with renewed vigor.
In 1576, the Huguenot Confederation was formed in southern France, and in the north, the Catholic League was formed, in which the aristocracy played a leading role. During the Third Period of Wars (1585-1594), the masses, captivated by the prospect of freeing themselves from fiscal exploitation, supported the Catholic League, so in the late 1580s political anarchy reached its peak. On August 1, 1589, the king (Henry III) was assassinated by mercenaries of the League. He was succeeded by Henry of Navarre (Henry IV), but he was prevented from entering northern France by the troops of the League and the Spanish King Philip II.
In 1593, Henry IV converted to Catholicism and entered Paris in March 1594. This put an end to the Huguenot Wars. The last echoes of this movement (1595-1598) were suppressed partly by force, partly by some concessions.