Christianity in the 16th century intermittent conflicts, known as the Wars of Religion. The civil wars were helped along by the sudden death of Henry II in 1559, which saw the beginning of a prolonged period of weakness for the French crown. and outrage became the defining characteristic of the time, illustrated at its most intense in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of August 1572, when the Catholic Church annihilated between 30,000 and 100,000 Huguenots across France. The wars only concluded when Henry IV, a former Huguenot, issued the Edict of Nantes, promising official toleration of the Protestant minority but under highly restricted conditions. Catholicism
Richard Blake (16th century) to St. Nicholas's church, Galway. He died in 1564, having had sons Geoffrey, John, Martin and Thomas. The second son, John Blake fitz Richard, was elected Mayor in 1578. Richard Blake (16th century) Richard Blake was Mayor of Galway from 1533 to 1534. Blake resided at Kiltolla (modern-day Kiltullagh, Carnamore), some ten miles east of Galway town. His grandfather, John Blake fitz William, was elected for the term 1487-88, being the third Mayor. He had disputes with the Burke family, as well as his own Blake relatives, concerning the ownership of lands at Kiltolla, having inherited from his great-grandfather, William