Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2011-12-12 La Grande Arche des Fugitifs?,/i> Huguenots in the Dutch Republic After 1685 Michael Joseph Walker Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the History Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Walker, Michael Joseph, "La Grande Arche des Fugitifs?,/i> Huguenots in the Dutch Republic After 1685" (2011). Theses and Dissertations. 2900. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2900 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. La Grande Arche des Fugitifs? Huguenots in the Dutch Republic After 1685 Michael Joseph Walker A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Craig Harline, Chair Karen Carter Christopher Hodson Department of History Brigham Young University December 2011 Copyright © 2011 Michael Joseph Walker All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT La Grande Arche des Fugitifs? Huguenots in the Dutch Republic After 1685 Michael Joseph Walker Department of History, BYU Master of Arts In the seventeenth century, many refugees saw the United Provinces of the Netherlands as a promised land—a gathering ark, or in French, arche. In fact, Pierre Bayle called it, “la grande arche des fugitifs.” This thesis shows the reception of one particular group of Protestant refugees, the Huguenots, who migrated to the Netherlands because of Catholic confessionalization in France, especially after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. The thesis offers two case studies—one of the acceptance of Huguenot clergymen and one of the mixed reception of refugee radical and philosopher Pierre Bayle—in order to add nuance to existing knowledge and understanding of the Huguenot diaspora, and of the nature of tolerance in the Dutch Republic, especially in regard to the Dutch Reformed Church. Dutch society, and especially the Reformed Church, welcomed the Huguenot refugees because of their similar religious beliefs and the economic and cultural benefits they brought with them. Particularly following the 1685 Revocation, refugees fleeing France settled securely in the Republic amongst the Walloons, descendants of refugees already settled there, and worshiped in prosperity and peace within the Walloon Church, a French-speaking arm of the Dutch Reformed Church. Using synodal records, this thesis examines the relationships between refugee pastors and the established Walloon leaders and finds that there was a bond of acceptance between the two groups of clergy, motivated by the desire for orthodoxy in religious belief, or in other words, by a Reformed desire for confessionalization. Huguenots were also able to maintain a measure of French identity while still being integrated into Dutch society. The second chapter shows the limits of Dutch tolerance by examining the Netherlandish experience of Pierre Bayle, a Huguenot refugee and philosopher. His experience was typical for a controversial philosopher and refugee in the Netherlands because he endured intolerance from certain religious authorities, but also received protection from other moderate religious officials and university and civic authorities. Bayle expressed sentiments that the Netherlands was a safe haven, or ark, for refugees, even though he endured censure from church officials. Their aims were to make the community‟s religious convictions more uniform, and some leaders of the Dutch Reformed Church saw Bayle‟s ideas as threats to that—to confessionalization. In the same vein as Benjamin Kaplan‟s Divided By Faith, this thesis shows that tolerance certainly existed in the Republic, but was more complicated than Bayle and others suggested. Indeed, efforts that thwarted confessionalization were met with intolerance by the Reformed Church. This thesis also contributes to Huguenot studies by discussing the relationships of refugees to their host community in the Dutch Republic. Keywords: Huguenot, refugee, pastor, Pierre Bayle, confessionalization, Dutch Republic, Netherlands, France, Revocation, Walloon, Dutch Reformed Church, Edict of Nantes, tolerance ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In his most recent book, Dr. Craig Harline, wrote, “Not only are we most interested in the past when we see what it has to do with us personally, we learn best from it too.”1 This caused me serious reflection. What have I learned from this particular study of the past? I gained an appreciation for the people I wrote about, the period, the arguments, and the history, but, most importantly, I learned that the Huguenot experience has applications for all of us. I also learned that writing a thesis is time consuming and difficult! Many offered advice. First, I thank all the BYU professors who directed, taught or employed me. Those include Drs. Craig Harline, Karen Carter, Christopher Hodson, Donald Harreld, Malcolm Thorp, Mary Richards, Mark Choate, and Timothy Davis. I thank my committee for having patience and providing prompt feedback. In addition, I acknowledge Dr. Judith Pollmann from the University of Leiden for her help since 2007. Thanks also to Leiden‟s “Walloon Library.” Help and counsel came from others as well. Insight and editing advice came from Liberty Sproat, my parents, Perrin and Charlotte Walker, my sister Susan W. Gehring, her husband Chad Gehring, and a few others. Thank you. Thanks also to Thomas Melville for his support. Sincere appreciation also goes to the History department‟s Julie Radle for her empathy, organization and availability. A special thank you goes to my friends for their support. In addition, my personal convictions brought me to study the Huguenots and tolerance, so I also express gratitude for my faith and my Heavenly Father. I thank also the scholars of the past, like Pierre Bayle, who endured trials to advance philosophical and religious tolerance. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Heather Marie, and our son, Xander Malachi. Thank you for your patience and love. I am fortunate to have you in my life. 1 Craig Harline, Conversions: Two Family Stories from the Reformation and Modern America (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011), 19. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 THE HUGUENOT DIASPORA..........................................................................1 DUTCH SOCIETY AND RELIGION ..............................................................10 I. “UNE SI BELLE CONCORDE ET UNE SI HEUREUSE UNION”: HUGUENOT AND WALLOON PASTORS ................................................................19 ORTHODOXY AND CONFESSIONALIZATION ........................................22 PRACTICAL ASSISTANCE AND SPIRITUAL UNITY ..............................28 II. NOT SO TOLERANT? THE CASE OF PIERRE BAYLE .........................................37 BAYLE‟S EARLY LIFE ..................................................................................37 BAYLE AS SKEPTIC ......................................................................................39 JURIEU AND THE CONSISTORY ................................................................43 THE CHURCH, THE STATE, AND PUBLISHING ......................................58 OTHER TROUBLED PHILOSOPHERS IN THE REPUBLIC ......................63 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................70 BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................................75 FIGURES ..........................................................................................................................84 iv LIST OF FIGURES Pages Figure 1. FIGURE 1: MAP OF THE HUGUENOT DIASPORA ...........................................85 2. FIGURE 2: “KUCHLIN,” DICTIONNAIRE HISTORIQUE ET CRITIQUE .......... 86 3. FIGURE 3: A LETTER FROM BAYLE TO DU RONDEL .................................. 87 4. FIGURE 4: A LETTER FROM BAYLE TO DU RONDEL (CONT‟D) ............... 88 5. FIGURE 5: PICTURE OF PIERRE BAYLE (1647-1706) ..................................... 89 6. FIGURE 6: 1680 SKETCH OF THE COMET ....................................................... 90 v INTRODUCTION In 1685 Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, ending toleration of the Protestant minority (called Huguenots) in France and forcing them to convert to Catholicism or emigrate.1 Some 185,000 Huguenots left, seeking refuge in the Dutch Republic, the British Isles, Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Africa, and the New World (including New France, the Caribbean, South Carolina, Florida, New York, and Brazil; see Figure 1).2 This thesis seeks to contribute to knowledge and understanding of the Huguenot diaspora by examining their little-studied experience in the Dutch Republic, where roughly 60,000 Huguenots found a new home, causing Pierre Bayle to call the Republic, “la grande arche des fugitifs” (see Figure 2).3 This thesis also seeks to contribute to a growing understanding of the nature of Dutch tolerance toward outsiders. The Huguenot Diaspora The Huguenot diaspora spanned almost three centuries across the Atlantic World, and, other than the slave trade, was the largest migration in the Early Modern period. The