The king was almost convinced to aid the Dutch in their rebellion against rival Spain.  The Queen Mother saw France in no position to intervene.  So she came up with a plan.  She invited dozens of nobles to her niece's wedding, and pressured her son, Charles IX, to get rid of them all.  De Coligny, Henri de Navarre, and hundreds of Protestant nobles and peasants were butchered in chaos which would
The king was almost convinced to aid the Dutch in their rebellion against rival Spain.  The Queen Mother saw France in no position to intervene.  So she came up with a plan.  She invited dozens of nobles to her niece's wedding, and pressured her son, Charles IX, to get rid of them all.  De Coligny, Henri de Navarre, and hundreds of Protestant nobles and peasants were butchered in chaos which would spread throughout France and effectively diminish the strength of the French Reformation.  For ten points, give the name this outburst of violence.
The king was almost convinced to aid the Dutch in their rebellion against rival Spain.  
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre