Ask Yvette – Difference between Huguenot and Walloon

Several people have asked me what the difference is between a Huguenot and Walloon.

Huguenots

Huguenots were protestants from France in the 1500s and 1600s. Protestants were persecuted in France from the start of the Reformation in the early 1500s to 1598, when the Edict of Nantes promised them religious freedom, and again after 1685, when the Edict of Nantes was revoked, until 1789, when the French Revolution reintroduced freedom of religion.

Many Huguenots went to the northern Netherlands, not only in times when they were persecuted but also during times of religious freedom in the 1600s. It is often not possible whether religious or economic motives were the main driving force.

Walloons

A Walloon was a French-speaking person from the Southern Netherlands (present-day Wallonia in Belgium). During the Eighty Years’ War (1568-1648), this area continued to be under Spanish rule. Under the Spanish, protestants were persecuted. Several French-speaking protestants from that area moved to the northern Netherlands. Many of them came from areas with a flourishing textile industry, and brought their trade with them.

Walloon Church of Rottedam, circa 1790. Credits: Carel Frederik Bendorp, collection Rijksmuseum (public domain)

Differences and Similarities

Both Huguenots and Walloons were French-speaking protestants, but their place of origin was different. Huguenots were from France, Walloons from the southern Netherlands. Both were French-speaking, and they often attended the same churches in the places where they settled, such as Middelburg, Amsterdam, or Leiden in the Netherlands.

The timing of their migration waves also differed. Many Walloons left after Antwerp fell into Spanish hands in 1585. Huguenots left in huge numbers after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685.

Walloon Churches

In the Netherlands, Walloons often founded Walloon churches, that offered French-speaking services. Many Huguenots who settled in the Netherlands also attended these churches. It is not uncommon to find marriages between Walloons and Huguenots.

You can usually find Walloon church records in the regular series of church records of towns kept in government archives. They were part of the church records that were turned over to the government when the civil registration is introduced.