The Waldensians were an ancient Christian people of the Alpine valleys between Italy and France who for centuries lived as isolated farming communities while maintaining a faith they believed reached back to the Apostles. Their identity changed dramatically around 1173, when Peter Waldo of Lyon, after seeking a more authentic Christian life, had the Gospels translated into his own dialect, gave his wealth to the poor, preached publicly from Scripture, and was excommunicated and exiled from France; in the Italian Alps, like-minded believers embraced him and joined his zeal for evangelizing. Their preaching brought severe persecution, including a crusade opened by Pope Innocent VIII in 1487 and two centuries of repeated massacres and destruction by French and Italian troops. In 1532, after debate and prayer at Chanforan, Waldensian leaders formally aligned with the Reformation, abandoning secrecy, worshiping publicly, building churches, adopting resident pastors, and replacing Patois with French and Italian in church life. In 1689, nine hundred refugees carried out the "Glorious Return," using guerrilla tactics to fight their way back to their homeland and pledging at Sibaud to reclaim all their valleys. Restrictions later continued to rise and fall, limiting worship, education, professions, and public service, but after Waterloo General Charles Beckwith aided the Waldensians by settling in the Valleys, building 165 schools over thirty years, and supporting further education in Switzerland. King Charles Albert visited in 1844 and, on February 17, 1848, restored their civil and political liberties by an Edict of Emancipation. When persecution waned, overpopulation and shrinking farms brought a new crisis, and after hearing of available land in America, some Waldensian families voted in the church at Pomeretta to emigrate to Burke County, North Carolina.