The Huguenots

The exact origin of the word Huegenot or Huguenot is quiet uncertain. But many think it’s a combination of two words from Flemish and German relating to Protestants’ habit to meet in secret in some personnel houses in order to read and study the Bible. Thus, they were called Huis Genooten, which means “house fellows.” Another explanation is that Huguenot would derive from Eid Genossen, meaning “oath fellows” or “persons bound by an oath.” For certain, in the 16th century, the name Huguenot came to apply to French Protestants who first embraced the German Protestant and Reformist Luther’s ideas. As Protestantism grew quickly in Europe and developed in France, the Huguenots became an important religious group in opposition with French Catholic Church and the King of France. In fact, the new “Reformed religion” believed in salvation through individual faith without the need for the intercession of a church hierarchy. The political basis of the kingdom was threatened for many French nobility and middle social-class started practicing the new religion. The clash between the Huguenots and the political and religious power was evident. For 35 years, a bloody war of religion torn France, and just ended in April, 1598, when King Henry IV signed the Edict of Nantes. The Huguenots were victorious and gained extensive religion freedoms. But, in October, 1685, the Edict of Nantes was revoked by King Louis XIV. A vast new persecution began for the Huguenots. Following the migratory exodus of the previous century, hundreds of thousands Huguenots fled France to other countries. Most of them fled to Germany, the Netherlands, and England and its colonies of the New World. Their main destinations in the British colonies of America were South and North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and Florida. In fact, the first arrival of Huguenots in North America was on May 1, 1562, at St. John’s River, in Florida. Unfortunately, this first Huguenot colony was massacred in 1565.

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