Editing Huguenots (section)

===The trip===
French protestants reacted differently to persecution and the ban of Protestantism. Some converted to the Catholic faith, while others decided to leave. Some leave their elderly parents or children that are too young to travel. Those who left were from every social class and every profession including lawyers, merchants and officers. They came from all over France. The only common denominator was that they were Protestants, would not convert to Catholicism and were willing to risk it all to practice their religion freely. Those who leave, leave everything including land to be confiscated unless a family who converted to Catholicism inherits and pays the refugees. This last scenario happens very rarely.<ref name="Cadier-Rey">Cadier-Rey, Gabrielle. “L’exode Des Huguenots.” Bulletin de La Société de l’Histoire Du Protestantisme Français (1903-), vol. 133, 1987, pp. 121–24. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24295999. Accessed 24 January 2025.</ref>

40% of the protestants from the Northern part of France leave while 25% of the south do the same. Those closer to the border (both land and sea) as well as where they are a minority in the population of the area leave more: it is the case in the Paris area, Normandie and the Atlantic coast. Farmers often stay attached to the land while craftsman and merchants represent a large group of those who leave. Some temporarily convert to Catholicism to sell their property before leaving. Others leave over-night.<ref name="Foa">Foa, Jérémie. « Le Refuge protestant ». L'Histoire - Les Collections, 2016/4 N° 73, 2016. p.24-29. CAIRN.INFO, shs.cairn.info/magazine-hist-l-hisoire-les-collections-2016-4-page-24?lang=fr.</ref>

Those who leave must rely on guides who know the routes out of France. Most were honest but some sold out their customers to the authorities. Paying for those guides was expensive as they risked being sent to the [[Galley slave|galley]] until 1687 and later [[hanging]]. They traveled by night and often disguised.<ref name="Cadier-Rey" /> Often, the Huguenots purchased paper guides at a very high price. These guides told the reader which cities to go to, where to avoid, who to contact, etc.<ref name="Foa"/>
[[File:Hugo Vogel - Empfang der Refugies (Hugenotten) durch den Großen Kurfürsten im Potsdamer Schloss, 1885.JPG|thumb|Reception of Huguenot refugees by the [[Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg|Great Elector]] at [[City Palace, Potsdam|Potsdam Palace]], 1685]]
For many, the trip out of the country happens by sea leaving from [[Bordeaux]], [[La Rochelle]], the [[Île de Ré]], [[Nantes]] and other ports along the coast on board English and Dutch ships after they had made their way to the coast using what was available and what could be afforded. Others went by land to the Dutch Republic or Switzerland. Many walk hundreds of miles. The borders with other countries are well guarded, as well as the border between provencies within France and the risk of arrest is a constant fear until they arrive safely. On the way they encounter honest people who help them as well as some who will sell them out or steal their money. Help comes from Protestants and Catholics. The fugitives sometimes must lie about their identity. Entire networks exist to escort them across France and to a safe country. Some fugitives are arrested on the way. For those who make it, they often arrive tired, starving, with nothing to wear and no money to their name.<ref>Didier Boisson, « Le voyage interdit », Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l’Ouest [En ligne], 121-3 | 2014, mis en ligne le 15 novembre 2016, consulté le 22 janvier 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/abpo/2847 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/abpo.2847</ref>

The details of these trips have been recently discovered through the memoires written by Huguenots for their families. These were written often years later once safely outside of France and published only recently. These include:
* ''Mémoires d’une famille huguenote victime de la révocation de l’édit de Nantes'' by Jacques Fontaine<ref>Fontaine, James, and John Fontaine. Mémoires d’Une Famille Huguenote Victime de La Révocation de l'Édit de Nantes: Souvenirs Du Pasteur Jacques Fontaine, Publiés Pour La Première Fois d’Après Le Manuscrit Original. Société des Livres Religieux, 1887. https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/31339376</ref>
* ''Mémoires'' by Isaac Dumont de Bostaquet<ref>Dumont de Bostaquet, Isaac, and Dianne W. Ressinger. Memoirs of Isaac Dumont of Bostaquet a Gentleman of Normandy: Before and after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 2005. https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/65201582</ref>
* ''Mémoires d’un protestant du Vigan des dragonnades au Refuge (1683-1686)'' by Jean Valat<ref>Valat, Jean, et al. Mémoires d’Un Protestant Du Vigan, Des Dragonnades Au Refuge (1683-1686). Les Éditions de Paris, 2011. https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/731328394</ref>
* ''Journal de Jean Migault ou malheurs d’une famille protestante du Poitou victime de la révocation de l’édit de Nantes (1682-1689)'' by Jean Migault<ref>Migault, Jean, and Yves Krumenacker. Das Journal von Jean Migault Leiden Und Flucht Einer Hugenottischen Familie ; (1682 - 1689). Dt. Hugenotten-Ges, 2003. https://search.worldcat.org/en/title/248947616</ref>