Charles V and 16th-Century France: Monarchy and Religion

The Old Regime: The Empire of Charles V

In 1516, following the death of Ferdinand of Aragon, Charles of Habsburg took the crown of Aragon and Navarre. Due to the inability of his mother, Joanna of Castile, to rule, he also inherited the crown and possessions of the Indies.

France in the 16th Century

While Louis XIV ruled France in the 17th century, the 16th century saw a strong trend towards the centralization of power. The monarch became the symbol of the nation. The kingdom was a mosaic of regions, cities, communities, and lordships, influenced by two factors: the survival of the feudal system and feudal particularism. The political unity of France was forged through constant war-making, an aggregation of provinces or countries, which were integrated while maintaining their own regulations and diverse privileges.

The king was a unifying element, below whom existed a conglomerate of territories and population groups, each with a different legal status. The system of privileges was normal, encompassing both territorial and personal privileges. The population was divided into orders or estates. Each estate was a social and political status of a collective nature, with a set of exemptions and privileges provided legally. Members of each order had specific rights. Within each order, there were hierarchies in terms of the franchises held by each group.

In this reality, the process of centralization began in the 16th century. The king's absolute power was recognized by law; the monarch was answerable only to God. He recognized the existing powers but had to respect the fundamental laws of the kingdom. From Francis I onward, the kings:

• Established a permanent tax system.
• Decreed a standing army.
• Administered justice.

They were assisted by agencies and officials, as well as advisory councils for governance. The king was the temporary chief of the French church. The Concordat of 1516 authorized him to appoint church officials and to benefit from various ecclesiastical revenues.

Limitations to the Centralization Process

The centralization process was limited by:

• The inefficiency of the bureaucratic apparatus.
• Deficiencies in communications, which hindered the transmission of orders.
• Extreme local legal diversity.
• The venality of offices.
• The civil wars caused by religious conflict.

Religious Wars in France

In the second half of the 16th century, France experienced religious wars. The existence of a Protestant party within the kingdom and the formation of a Catholic League weakened royal authority. The international situation was also unfavorable for France. The power of Philip II's Spain and the presence of Protestant nuclei in Germany and the Netherlands threatened the territorial integrity of the kingdom.

The Protestants had great military power and excellent organization. They possessed strongholds and garrisons, and their ranks included nobles and many artisans. Their organization, constituencies, and leaders covered the whole country, and all members received the same treatment. They constituted a state within the state and harmonized their actions with the feudal lords. Because of this, the kings tried to undermine the power achieved by the Huguenots in the 16th century, particularly after the Edict of Nantes.

Towards the end of his reign, Henry IV began the recovery of central power. He resolved the religious conflict through the Edict of Nantes and made peace with Spain. He initiated national reconstruction plans and implemented an interventionist policy in economic matters, with state support boosting agriculture and industry.