In European History, students are learning about the religious wars. Perhaps the most famous incident of the wars involved the religious wars in France. Henri of Navarre was in Paris to marry the beautiful French princess, Marguerite, or Margot. As a Protestant, Henri brought with him thousands of followers. The leader of the Huguenot nobles was Gaspard de Coligny. He was assassinated during the wedding week.
In order to "cover up" the assassination, Catherine de Medici ordered the murder of other leading Huguenots. They were in town...and this was an opportunity. Wholesale slaugher broke out, and in the next few days and weeks, thousands were killed.
In Paris, the bodies of ten thousand Huguenots lay stripped and murdered in the streets. This included men, women and children.
The film, Queen Margot, was made in the 1990's about this event. As you can imagine, it received an R rating. Yes, history is often R rated or even X rated.
