He converted to Catholicism in 1593, finally entered Paris in 1594. Internal League opposition began to wind down in the mid-90s, but as of 1596 Spain is actively at war with France and in the spring captured Calais, where we live. The 1590s have been difficult years for the common people everywhere in Europe. The weather has been cold and wet for three years and there have been at least three bad harvests in a row. The League warfare has destroyed transportation and food supplies.
Bread is scarce and prices of food, fuel, and housing are high, while wages are low.
The costs of war and the huge national debt have meant that taxes are also high. There have been peasant uprisings in some provinces, sometimes with Huguenots and Catholics alike uniting against the nobility. The effects of war have been so severe in Northern France that two-thirds of the population of Picardy is widows and orphans. The Spanish are still pressing hard agains the northern border and these are bleak times, but Henri's leadership offers France some hope for the future. Home to Poulet Gauche Bibliography -c.