How many died during the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre?

Answer 1

The estimated death toll from the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in France ran from over5,000-30,000. The massacre began on August 23, 1572, which was St. Bartholomew's Day Eve. It was carried out against Huguenots, who were Protestant dissenters against the majority Roman Catholic Church.

The massacre took place in the aftermath of the marriage of the Catholic Marguerite de Valois [May 14, 1553-March 27, 1615] to her second cousin, the Protestant Henry III [December 13, 1553-May 14, 1610] of Navarre.* For that marriage, many leading, prominent, rich and unsuspecting Huguenots had flocked to the largely Catholic Paris. One of the reasons for the massacre's quick, foul victories may have been the suggested involvement of King Charles IX [June 27, 1550-May 30, 1574] and his mother, Queen Catherine de' Medici [April 13, 1519-January 5, 1589].

*He subsequently became King Henry IV of France. He was a rare, beloved monarch whose reputation survived the later French Revolution.