Henry IV and the Edict of Nantes

King Henry IV won over most French Catholics and retook most Leaguer cities soon after his abjuration and coronation. The duke of Mercoeur held out in Brittany, but Henry IV eventually defeated him as well. Moreover, he defeated a Spanish army that had supported Mercoeur and the League. In 1598 Henry issued the Edict of Nantes, which offered the Protestants once again freedom of conscience and limited freedom of worship, although that included being able to worship openly in towns they occupied before the peace. Moreover, the Protestants were granted four towns that they could hold as military fortresses for their protection. The Edict of Nantes maintained the peace longer than any of the earlier edicts, as Protestants very reluctantly accepted defeat. Another angry Catholic, however, assassinated Henry IV in 1610, leaving a young minor son, Louis XIII. Civil war threatened to break out all over again.