Huguenots Flee to Brandenburg
1685
Frederick William, the Great Elector of Brandenburg, issued the Edict of Potsdam inviting French Protestants driven out by Louis XIV to settle in his underpopulated lands. Twenty thousand Huguenots arrived, bringing skills, capital, and Calvinist piety. Berlin's population tripled. The origins of modern Prussian prosperity owed something to French intolerance.
In context
Also in 1685 (4 other events on record)
- Revocation of Edict of Nantes · Europe · Religion
- Bach, Handel, and Scarlatti Born · Europe · Culture
- James II Takes the English Throne · Europe · Politics
- Monmouth Rebellion · Europe · War
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Politics
Era
Enlightenment (1651–1800), one of 696 events from that era on Saeculum.