He was the first monarch of France from the House of Bourbon , a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. He pragmatically balanced the interests of the Catholic and Protestant parties in France, as well as among the European states. He inherited the throne of Navarre in on his mother's death. Bartholomew's Day massacre. He later led Protestant forces against the French royal army. Henry IV initially kept the Protestant faith the only French king to do so and had to fight against the Catholic League , which refused to accept a Protestant monarch.
After four years of military stalemate, Henry converted to Catholicism, reportedly saying that "Paris is well worth a mass". As a pragmatic politician politique , he promulgated the Edict of Nantes , which guaranteed religious liberties to Protestants, thereby effectively ending the French Wars of Religion. An active ruler, Henry worked to regularize state finance, promote agriculture, eliminate corruption, and encourage education.
He began the first successful French colonization of the Americas. He promoted trade and industry, and prioritized the construction of roads, bridges, and canals to facilitate communication within France and strengthen the country's cohesion. These efforts stimulated economic growth and improved living standards. While the Edict of Nantes brought religious peace to France, some hardline Catholics and Huguenots remained dissatisfied, leading to occasional outbreaks of violence and conspiracies.
Henry IV also faced resistance from certain noble factions who opposed his centralization policies, leading to political instability. His main foreign policy success was the Peace of Vervins in , which made peace in the long-running conflict with Spain. He formed a strategic alliance with England. He also forged alliances with Protestant states, such as the Dutch Republic and several German states, to counter the Catholic powers. His policies contributed to the stability and prominence of France in European affairs.
He frequented the peasants during his hunting trips, and acquired the nickname of "miller of Barbaste " meunier de Barbaste. Henry's parents disagreed on the choice of his religion, with his mother seeking to educate him in Calvinism, and his father in Catholicism. After his father's death and the end of the war, he was kept at the French court as a guarantor of the agreement between the monarchy and the Queen of Navarre. Jeanne d'Albret obtained control of his education from Catherine de' Medici and his appointment as governor of Guyenne in In , Henry took part as an observer in his first military campaign in Navarre, and continued his military instruction during the Third War of Religion β He saw combat for the first time in , at the Battle of Arnay-le-Duc [ fr ].
