During the French Wars of Religion, Henry IV of France declares war on Spain.

January 17, 1595

During the French Wars of Religion, Henry IV of France declares war on Spain.

The French Wars of Religion were a prolonged period of war and popular unrest between Catholics and Huguenots in the Kingdom of France between 1562 and 1598. It is estimated that three million people perished in this period from violence, famine, or disease in what is considered the second deadliest religious war in European history.