Massacres During the French Wars of Religion (original) (raw)

This article examines who committed major massacres, when they were committed, and where. This led to three discoveries: (1) men in organized military units, not crowds, perpetrated most of the massacres; (2) most violence occurred in the early phases of the Wars; and (3) massacres tended to occur in regions where one side was trying to solidify its control, frequently in the context of local coups or seizures of power. These facts suggest that in general, military and political leaders ordered massacres based on rational — usually political — calculations.