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François Ravaillac

French assassin

Quick Summary

Fran\u00e7ois Ravaillac was a French assassin who, on May 14, 1610, murdered King Henry IV of France in Paris. Ravaillac was a fanatical Roman Catholic who opposed Henry IV's policies, particularly his efforts to bring peace and religious tolerance to France after the Wars of Religion. Henry IV, the first Bourbon king of France, had converted to Catholicism to unify the country but had also granted significant rights to Protestants through the Edict of Nantes. Ravaillac's act of assassination plunged France back into uncertainty, though Henry IV's successor, Louis XIII, eventually consolidated royal power.12

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