Henry's reign was marked by wars with
Austria, and the persecution of the
Protestant Huguenots. Henry II severely punished them, burning them alive or cutting out their tongues for speaking their Protestant beliefs. Even those suspected of being Huguenots could be imprisoned for life. The
Edict of Chateaubriand (
27 June 1551) called upon the civil and ecclesiastical courts to detect and punish all heretics and placed severe restrictions on Protestants, including loss of one-third of property to informers and confiscations. It also strictly
regulated the press by prohibiting the sale, importation or printing of any unapproved book.
The
Italian War of 1551–1559, sometimes known as the Habsburg-Valois War, began when Henry declared war against
Charles V with the intent of recapturing Italy and ensuring French, rather than Habsburg, domination of European affairs. An early offensive into
Lorraine was successful, with Henry capturing the three episcopal cities of
Metz, Toul, and
Verdun, but the attempted French invasion of
Tuscany in 1553 was defeated at the
Battle of Marciano.
After Charles's abdication in 1556 split the Habsburg empire between
Philip II of Spain and
Ferdinand I, the focus of the war shifted to
Flanders, where Phillip, in conjunction with
Emmanuel Philibert of
Savoy, defeated the French at
St. Quentin. England's entry into the war later that year led to the French capture of
Calais, and French armies plundered Spanish possessions in the
Low Countries; but Henry was nonetheless forced to accept the
Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, in which he renounced any further claims to Italy.
The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis was signed between
Elizabeth I of England and Henry on
April 2 and between Henry and
Philip II of Spain on
April 3 1559, at
Le Cateau-Cambrésis, around twenty kilometers south-east of
Cambrai. Under its terms, France restored
Piedmont and
Savoy to the Duke of Savoy, but retained
Saluzzo, Calais and the bishoprics of
Metz, Toul, and
Verdun. Spain retained
Franche-Comté. Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of
Savoy, married
Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry, the sister of Henry II, and
Philip II of Spain married Henry's daughter
Elisabeth.
Henry raised the young Queen
Mary I of Scotland at his court, hoping to use her as a tool of Valois imperialism. On April 24, 1558, Henry's fourteen-year-old son Francis was married to Mary in a union intended to give the future king of France not only the throne of Scotland but a claim to the throne of England. Henry had Mary sign secret documents, illegal in Scottish law, that would ensure Valois rule in Scotland even if she died without heir (Guy 2004:91). Mary's claim to the English throne quickly became current when
Mary I of England died later in 1558, Henry and his Catholic advisors regarding
Elizabeth Tudor as illegitimate.
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