The King of France Francis II and Maria Stuart

The future King Francis II was born in the family of Henry II (1519-1559) and Catherine de Medici (1519-1589). This happened on the eleventh year of the marriage of the crowned couple, on January 19, 1544. The child was named after his grandfather Francis I. Because of the fact that Catherine could not bear the heir for a long time, she was removed from the king, who began to live with his favorite Diane de Poitiers.

Infancy

Francis II grew up in the Saint-Germain Palace. It was a residence in the Paris suburb on the banks of the Seine. The child was baptized on February 10, 1544 in Fontainebleau. The Grandfather King then knighted him. The godparents became the Pope Paul III and Aunt Margarita of Navarre.

In 1546 the infant became governor in Languedoc, and a year later he received the title of Dauphin after his grandfather died, and Father Henry II became king. The child had many mentors, including a Greek scientist from Naples. The growing heir studied to dance and fence (this was a sign of a good tone in that era).

Organization of marriage

An important issue was the engagement and the continuation of the dynasty. Henry II decided that his son would marry Maria Stuart - Queen of Scotland. She was born on December 8, 1542, and from the very first days she received her title, because at that time her father, Jacob V. died. In fact, the closest relative was James Hamilton (Earl of Arran).

At that time, the religious question was acute. France and Scotland were Catholic countries. England received her Protestant church. Therefore, the authorities of the three countries were not too in a hurry to conclude alliances. When the "French" party finally won in Scotland, the nobles decided to give the little queen for the Dauphin from Paris. The initiator of such a union was Cardinal David Beaton, who replaced Hamilton.

Then the British troops suddenly invaded the country. Catholic churches were destroyed, and peasant land was ruined. The Protestants organized individual terror against the Scottish nobles, who did not want to make concessions to their southern neighbor. Finally the regents of Mary asked for help from France. From there, troops appeared in exchange for the promised wedding. In August 1548, Maria, who had just turned five, boarded a ship and went to her future husband.

Wedding with Maria Stewart

The girl, among other things, was also the granddaughter of Claude de Giza - a peer of France and one of the most influential aristocrats in the country. He guarded her and helped with the court until his death, overtaken by a venerable nobleman in 1550. The bride was unusually high for her years, whereas Francis II, on the contrary, was small in height. Despite this, Henry II liked the future daughter-in-law, and he said with satisfaction that the children would become accustomed to each other in the course of time.

The wedding took place on April 24, 1558. A new marriage union meant that in the future the descendants of this couple would be able to unite the thrones of Scotland and France under one scepter. In addition, Mary was the great-granddaughter of the English King Henry VII. This fact would give her children a legitimate excuse to claim the throne in London. Until his death, Francis II remained king-consort of Scotland. This title did not give real power, but enshrined the status of the ruler's spouse. But the couple never got their children through their short marriage. This was due to the young age and possible diseases of the Dauphin.

Inheritance of the throne

Only a year after the wedding (July 10, 1559), Francis II Valois became king due to his father's premature death. Henry II celebrated the wedding of one of his daughters and traditionally arranged a knightly tournament. King fought with one of the guests - Gabriel de Montgomery. The Count's spear broke on the shell of Henry, and his splinter hit the ruler in the eye. The wound was fatal, because it caused inflammation. The king died, despite the fact that he was assisted by the best doctors in Europe, including Andreas Vesalius (the founder of the modern theory of anatomy). It is believed that Henry's death was predicted by Nostradamus, who, by the way, was still alive at the time.

September 21, 1559 Francis II Valois was crowned in Rheims. The ritual of entrusting the Crown entrusted Cardinal Charles de Guise. The crown was so heavy that the court had to support it. Charles became one of the regents on par with the uncles of Mary of the Gizov family. Also, the mother, Catherine de 'Medici, had a great influence on the child. The young monarch spent all his free time on entertainment: he hunted, arranged funny tournaments and traveled to his palaces.

His unwillingness to delve into state affairs even more fanned the enmity between the various court clans, thirsting for manifestations of real power. Giza, which actually began to rule the country, faced a sea of internal problems, each of which overlapped another.

Problems with the Treasury

First of all, there was a financial issue. Francis II and Maria Stewart received the throne after several costly wars with the Habsburgs, initiated by the previous Valois. The state borrowed from banks, resulting in a debt of 48 million livres, while the royal treasury received only 12 million in revenue a year.

Because of this, Giza began to implement a policy of financial savings, which was one of the reasons for their unpopularity in society. In addition, the brothers postpone payments to the military. The army was reduced in general, and many soldiers were left without work, and then served in robbers or participated in religious wars, cashing in on the opposition of all against all. The courtyard, which had lost its usual luxury, was also dissatisfied.

Foreign policy

In foreign policy, Francis II and his advisers tried to continue efforts to strengthen and maintain peace that had come after the end of the Italian wars. This was a series of armed conflicts, stretching in the interval from 1494 to 1559. Henry II, shortly before his death, concluded the Kato-Cambrazi world. The agreement consisted of two papers.

The first treaty was signed with the Queen of England, Elizabeth I. According to him, France was assigned to the seized coastal Calais, but in return, Paris was to pay 500 thousand crowns. However, Giza, faced with a lot of debts inside the country, decided not to provide money for the fortress. Time has shown that 500 thousand ECU remained so only on paper, while Calais became the property of France. No one resisted this, including Francis II. The biography of the young monarch speaks eloquently about the fact that he generally did not like to take the initiative into his own hands.

Territorial concessions

The second treaty, concluded in Kato-Cambresis, was to foster France and Spain. He was much more painful. France lost large territories. She gave the Habsburgs Thionville, Marienburg, Luxembourg, as well as some areas in Charolais and Artois. The Savoyard Duke (ally of Spain) received from Paris Savoy, Piedmont. The Genoese republic went to Corsica.

Francis had no choice but to follow the points of the treaty drawn up by the father, which made Spain finally occupy a leading position in the Old World, while France, engaged in internal quarrels, could not do anything against it.

Another interesting point of the treaty was that Emmanuel Filibert (Duke of Savoy) married Aunt Francis, Margarita. This marriage took place already during the reign of the young monarch. Another wedding took place between Philip of Spain and sister of Francis - Elizabeth.

Also during the reign of Francis continued long negotiations with the Spanish crown on the return of hostages from both sides of the border to their homeland. Some of them have been imprisoned for decades.

At the same time, an uprising of the Protestant Lords against the French regents began in Scotland. The official religion was changed, after which all Parisian managers hastily left the country.

Religious war

The Giza brothers were fanatical Catholics. They were the initiators of a new wave of repression against Protestants who lived in France. This measure was made possible by King Francis II, who gave a go-ahead for the freedom of action for his wife's uncles. Huguenots were persecuted all the way to mass executions. The places of their gatherings and gatherings collapsed, as if they were plague barracks.

The actions of the Catholics were opposed by the Protestant party, which also had its leaders at the royal court. These were distant relatives of the ruler of Antoine de Bourbon (king of the small mountainous Navarre) and Louis Conde. They were also called "princes of blood" (that is, they were representatives of the Capetian dynasty, to which the reigning Valois also belonged).

Ambauz conspiracy

In March 1560, the Huguenots, in response to the actions of Catholics, arranged the Ambauz conspiracy. It was an attempt to capture Francis into captivity and force him to distance himself from the Gizov brothers. However, the plans became known in advance, and the royal court took refuge in Ambauze, a city on the Loire and the heart of all of France. Nevertheless, the conspirators decided to take a chance. Their attempt failed, the invaders were killed by guards.

This served as a pretext for a wave of persecution against Protestants. They were executed practically without trial. Antoine de Bourbon and Louis Conde were also arrested and charged with plotting. They were saved only by the fact that the mother of King Catherine de 'Medici stood up for them. She, like many aristocrats behind her, was moderate in religious matters and tried to reach a compromise between Catholics and Huguenots. It was December 1560.

Reconciliation policy

After such a heat of passion, religious policy became softer, which Francis ratified. 2. His reign was marked by the fact that all prisoners were released on the religion. Since the time of Henry II, this was the first relaxation. In May 1560, an edict was issued, signed by Francis II. The Duke of Brittany (this is one of his many titles) first spoke of freedom of conscience.

In April, the Queen Mother declared Chancellor of France Michel de l'Hospital. He was a famous public servant, poet and humanist of the era. The writer published poetry in Latin, in which he imitated the ancient Horace. His father had previously served as Charles de Bourbon. Tolerant Michelle began to pursue a policy of tolerance. For the dialogue between warring religions, the General States were convened (for the first time in 67 years). Soon the decree was adopted, which was de la'Hospital. He abolished the death penalty on charges of a crime against religion. The rest of the policy remained outside the board, the face of which was Francis II. Children on the throne began to change each other, like a charming coquette changing gloves.

The death of Francis and the fate of Mary

Francis II - the King of France - could no longer follow these events. In his ear, a fistula suddenly formed, which caused a deadly gangrene. On December 5, 1560, the 16-year-old monarch died in Orleans. On the throne ascended the next son of Henry II - Charles X.

The wife of Francis Mary Stewart returned to her home, where by that time Protestants had triumphed. Their faction demanded from the young queen a break with the Roman church. The girl managed to maneuver between the two sides of the conflict, until she was deprived of the throne in 1567, after which she fled to England. There she was imprisoned by Elizabeth Tudor. Scotland was seen in an imprudent correspondence with a Catholic agent, with whom she coordinated an attempt on the English queen. As a result, Mary was executed in 1587 at the age of 44 years.