Edict of Potsdam

Timeline

1. 1685Potsdam · BrandenburgAfter news of Louis XIV's revocation of the Edict of Nantes reached Brandenburg, the Great Elector Frederick William decided to recruit French refugees of the same Reformed confession through a public edict, both to express religious solidarity and to replenish peasants, artisans and officers in his war-ravaged territories.
2. 1685Potsdam electoral residence · BrandenburgFrederick William issued the edict at Potsdam, promising arriving French Reformed believers escort along the way, permission to settle, years of tax exemption, guild and occupational access, and guarantee of worship according to Reformed rites. The benefits did not extend to French Catholics.
3. 1685–1687Berlin and Magdeburg area · BrandenburgAbout twenty thousand Huguenots accepted the invitation and entered Brandenburg-Prussia, forming French-language chapels and artisan settlements in Berlin, Magdeburg and elsewhere, bringing textile, luxury-craft and military talent, and becoming an important source of population for rebuilding the Hohenzollern lands.