France : Foreign Policy, 1661-1715 Spain 1648-1700 Spanish Netherlands, 1600-1713




The Siege of La Rochelle, 1627-1628




A.) Pre-History

In the Edict of Nantes, the French Huguenots were promised freedom to express their faith in and around a number of cities. La Rochelle acuired the fame of being the inofficial capital of France's Huguenots; the port city was the base for many French overseas expeditions. It is also referred to as a 'Maritime Republic'.
In 1627, the city of La Rochelle concluded a treaty with England which foresaw the landing of English troops in France.


B.) The Siege

French troops laid siege to La Rochelle; English attempts to break the siege failed. After 14 months of siege (August 1627 to October 1628) the city, whose population had dropped from 18,000 to 5,000, the city surrendered.
Another battleground was Bearn, another Huguenot stronghold. Therefore the conflict is also known as the Third Bearnese Revolt, which lasted until 1629. The Bearnese were lead by Henri Duc de Rohan; the defenders of La Rochelle by Soubise.


C.) Legacy

This was the last Huguenot War; the Huguenots ceased to be a political factor in French politics. England and France concluded peace Jan. 13th 1629.


EXTERNAL
FILES 		Article La Rochelle, in Catholic Encyclopedia
Chronologie Louis XIII, 1610-1643, from France Diplomatie, in French
Article Henri Duc de Rohan, by EB 1911
DOCUMENTS
REFERENCE H.P.H. Jansen, Kalendarium. Geschiedenis van de Lage Landen in Jaartallen. (Calendarium. History of the Low Countries by Years), Utrecht 1979



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on June 10th 2003, last revised on November 18th 2004

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