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{{short description|1627–1628 battle of the Huguenot Rebellions}}
{{other uses|Battle of La Rochelle (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Siege of La Rochelle (1627–1628)<br /><small>''Siège de La Rochelle (1627–1628)''</small>
| image = Siege of La Rochelle 1881 Henri Motte.png
| image_size = 300
| caption = [[Cardinal Richelieu]] on the Sea Wall of [[La Rochelle]] at the time of the siege, 1881 depiction by [[Henri-Paul Motte]]
| partof = the [[Huguenot rebellions]] and the [[Anglo-French War (1627–1629)]]
| date = 10 September 1627 – 28 October 1628
| place = [[La Rochelle]]
| coordinates = {{coord|46.1667|N|1.1500|W|source:wikidata|display=inline,title}}
| result = Royalist victory
| combatant1 = [[House of Bourbon|French Royalists]]<hr />[[Spanish Empire|Kingdom of Spain]]
| combatant2 = [[La Rochelle]]<br />[[Huguenot|Huguenots]]<hr />[[Kingdom of England]]
| commander1 = [[Louis XIII]]<br />[[Cardinal Richelieu]] (siege commander)<br />[[Toiras]] (Governor of [[Île de Ré]])<br />[[Bassompierre]]
| commander2 = [[Jean Guiton]] (mayor)<br>[[Benjamin de Rohan, duc de Soubise|Soubise]] (commander)<br>[[George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham|Duke of Buckingham]] (commander)
| strength1 = Siege army: 22,001<br />[[Toiras]]: 1,200 alongside 30-40 Spanish ships
| strength2 = La Rochelle: 27,000 civilians and soldiers<br />Buckingham: 80 ships, 7,000 soldiers
| casualties1 = Siege army: Unknown<br />[[Toiras]]: 500 killed
| casualties2 = La Rochelle: 22,000 killed<br />Buckingham: 5,000 killed
}}
{{Campaignbox French Wars of Religion|state=collapsed}}
{{Campaignbox Anglo-French War (1627–1629)}}
{{Huguenot rebellions}}

The '''siege of La Rochelle''' ({{Langx|fr|le siège de La Rochelle}}, or sometimes {{lang|fr|le grand siège de La Rochelle}}) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of King [[Louis XIII]] and the [[Huguenots]] of [[La Rochelle]] in 1627–1628. The siege marked the height of [[Huguenot rebellions|the struggle]] between the [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] and the [[Protestant Reformation|Protestants]] in France, and ended with a complete victory for Louis XIII and the Catholics.

==Background==
The 1598 [[Edict of Nantes]] that ended the [[French Wars of Religion]] granted Protestants, commonly known as [[Huguenots]], a large degree of autonomy and self-rule. [[La Rochelle]] was the centre of Huguenot seapower, and a key point of resistance against the Catholic royal government.{{sfn|Glete|1999|p=178}}

The assassination of [[Henry IV of France]] in 1610 led to the appointment of [[Marie de' Medici]] as [[regent]] for her nine-year-old son, [[Louis XIII]]. Her removal in 1617 caused a series of revolts by powerful regional nobles, both Catholic and Protestant, while religious tensions were heightened by the outbreak of the 1618 to 1648 [[Thirty Years War]]. In 1621, Louis re-established Catholicism in the formerly Huguenot region of [[Béarn]], resulting in an [[Huguenot rebellion|uprising]] led by [[Henri de Rohan]] and his brother [[Benjamin de Rohan, duc de Soubise|Soubise]].{{sfn|Sturdy|2002|p=125}}

Despite the royalist capture of [[Saint-Jean d'Angély]], a [[blockade of La Rochelle]] was unsuccessful and the revolt ended in stalemate with the October 1622 [[Treaty of Montpellier]]. Taking La Rochelle was a priority for Louis and his chief minister [[Cardinal Richelieu]]; it was then the second- or third-largest city in France, with over 30,000 inhabitants, and one of its most important ports. In addition to the customs duties generated by imports, it was also among the biggest producers of salt, a major source of taxes for the state; this made it economically crucial.{{sfn|Palm|1923|p=116}}

Defeating Rohan and taking possession of La Rochelle were both essential for Richelieu's policy of centralisation, but since the French Crown did not have a navy strong enough to capture it, he asked [[Kingdom of England|England]] for help. When [[James VI and I|James I]] refused, he approached the [[Dutch Republic]]. The Huguenots were supported by [[Habsburg Spain|Spain]], who the Protestant Dutch were then fighting for [[Eighty Years War|their independence]]; in return for French subsidies, the Dutch agreed to provide naval backing in the 1624 [[Treaty of Compiègne (1624)|Treaty of Compiègne]].{{sfn|Gillespie|2017|pp=146–147}}

==English intervention==
[[File:Portrait of George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham (by Peter Paul Rubens).jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|The [[George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham|Duke of Buckingham]] attempted to lift the siege.]]

The Anglo-French conflict followed the failure of their alliance of 1624, in which England had tried to find an ally in France against the power of the [[Habsburg]]s. In 1626, France under [[Cardinal Richelieu|Richelieu]] concluded a secret peace with Spain, and disputes arose around [[Henrietta Maria]]'s household. Furthermore, France was building the power of its navy, leading the English to be convinced that France must be opposed "for reasons of state".<ref name="google203">''Historical dictionary of Stuart England, 1603–1689'' by Ronald H. Fritze, p. 203 [https://books.google.com/books?id=8goko0Lpr5sC&pg=PA203]</ref>

In June 1626, [[Walter Montagu]] was sent to France to contact dissident noblemen, and from March 1627 attempted to organize a French rebellion. The plan was to send an English fleet to encourage rebellion, triggering a new Huguenot revolt by Duke [[Henri de Rohan]] and his brother [[Benjamin de Rohan, duc de Soubise|Soubise]].<ref name="google203"/>

===First La Rochelle expedition===
{{main|Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (1627)}}On the first expedition, King Charles I sent a fleet of over 100 ships, under his favourite [[George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham]], to encourage a major rebellion in La Rochelle. In June 1627, Buckingham organised a landing on the nearby island of [[Île de Ré]] with 6,000 men in order to help the Huguenots, thus starting the [[Anglo-French War of 1627]], with the objectives being to control the approaches to La Rochelle and to encourage the rebellion in the city.

The city of La Rochelle initially refused to declare itself an ally of Buckingham against the crown of France and effectively denied access to its harbour to Buckingham's fleet. An open alliance would be declared only in September, during the first fights between La Rochelle and royal troops.

Although it was a Protestant stronghold, Île de Ré had not directly joined the rebellion against the king. On [[Île de Ré]], the English under Buckingham tried to take the fortified city of [[Saint-Martin-de-Ré|Saint-Martin]] in the [[siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (1627)]] but were repulsed after three months. Small French royal boats managed to supply St Martin in spite of the English blockade. Buckingham ultimately ran out of money and support, and his army was weakened by disease. After a last attack on Saint-Martin, they were repulsed with heavy casualties and left with their ships.

==Siege==
[[File:La Rochelle during the 1628 siege.jpg|thumb|left|La Rochelle during the siege]]Meanwhile, in August 1627 French royal forces started to surround La Rochelle, with an army of 7,000 soldiers, 600 horses, and 24 cannons, led by [[Charles de Valois, Duke of Angoulême|Charles of Angoulême]]. They started to reinforce fortifications at Bongraine (modern [[Les Minimes]]), and at the [[Fort Louis (La Rochelle)|Fort Louis]].

On September 10, the first cannon shots were fired by La Rochelle against royal troops at Fort Louis, starting the third [[Huguenot rebellion]]. La Rochelle was the greatest stronghold among the Huguenot cities of France, and the centre of Huguenot resistance. Cardinal Richelieu acted as commander of the besiegers when the King was absent.

Once hostilities started, French engineers isolated the city with [[Entrenchment (fortification)|entrenchment]]s {{convert|12|km|mi|sp=us|1}} long, fortified by 11 forts and 18 redoubts. The surrounding fortifications were completed in April 1628, manned with an army of 30,000.

Four thousand workmen also built a {{convert|1,400|m|mi|sp=us|adj=mid|-long}} [[seawall]] to block the seaward access between the city and harbor, stopping all supplies. The initial idea for blocking the channel came from the Italian engineer [[Pompeo Targone]], but his structure was broken by winter weather, before the idea was taken up by the royal architect [[Clément Métezeau]] in November 1627. The wall was built on a foundation of sunken hulks filled with rubble. French artillery battered English ships trying to supply the city.{{sfn|Duffy|1995|p=118}}

Meanwhile, in southern France, [[Henri de Rohan]] vainly attempted to raise a rebellion to relieve La Rochelle. Until February, some ships were able to go through the seawall under construction, but after March this became impossible. The city was completely blockaded, with the only hope coming from possible intervention by an English fleet.

===Foreign support for the French Crown===
[[File:Louis XIII at the Siege of La Rochelle 17th century.jpg|thumb|left|Louis XIII at the siege of La Rochelle]]

====Dutch support====
The Roman Catholic government of France rented ships from the Protestant city of [[Amsterdam]] to conquer the Protestant city of La Rochelle. This resulted in a debate in the city council of Amsterdam as to whether the French soldiers should be allowed to have a Roman Catholic sermon on board of the Protestant Dutch ships. The result of the debate was that it was not allowed. The Dutch ships transported the French soldiers to La Rochelle. France was a Dutch ally in the war against the [[Habsburg]]s.

====Spanish alliance====
In the occasion of the siege of La Rochelle, Spain manoeuvered towards the formation of a Franco-Spanish alliance against the common enemies that were the English, the Huguenots, and the Dutch.<ref name="parker74">[https://books.google.com/books?id=W6qCGNPb2AcC&pg=PA74 ''The Thirty Years' War'' by Geoffrey Parker, p. 74]</ref> Richelieu accepted Spanish help, and a Spanish fleet of 30 to 40 warships was sent from Corunna to the [[Gulf of Morbihan]] as an affirmation of strategic support,<ref name="parker74"/> arriving three weeks after the departure of Buckingham from [[Île de Ré]]. At one point, the Spanish fleet anchored in front of La Rochelle, but did not engage in actual operations against the city.

===English relief efforts===
England attempted to send two more fleets to relieve La Rochelle.

====Second La Rochelle expedition====
A naval force led by [[William Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbigh|William Feilding]], Earl of Denbigh, left in April 1628, but returned without a fight to [[Portsmouth]], as Denbigh said that he had no commission to hazard the king's ships in a fight, and returned shamefully to Portsmouth.<ref name="google119">[https://books.google.com/books?id=UkpYLLa0fDwC&pg=PA119 ''An apprenticeship in arms'' by Roger Burrow Manning, p. 119]</ref>

====Third La Rochelle expedition====
A third fleet was dispatched under the Admiral of the Fleet, the [[Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey|Earl of Lindsey]] in September 1628,<ref name="google119"/> consisting of 29 warships and 31 merchantmen.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5tY9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA150 ''Ships, money, and politics'' by Kenneth R. Andrews, p. 150]</ref>
In September 1628, the English fleet tried to relieve the city. After bombarding French positions and failing to force the sea wall, the English fleet had to withdraw. Following this last disappointment, the city surrendered on 28 October 1628.

==Epilogue==
[[File:The surrender of La Rochelle.jpg|thumb|''The surrender of La Rochelle'', 17th century]]Residents of La Rochelle had resisted for 14 months, under the leadership of the mayor [[Jean Guitton (Mayor)|Jean Guitton]] and with gradually diminishing help from England. During the siege, the population of La Rochelle decreased from 27,000 to 5,000 due to casualties, famine, and disease.

Surrender was unconditional. By the terms of the [[Peace of Alais]], the Huguenots lost their territorial, political, and military rights, but retained the religious freedom granted by the [[Edict of Nantes]]. However, they were left at the mercy of the monarchy, unable to resist later when [[Louis XIV]] abolished the Edict of Nantes altogether and embarked on active persecution.

Aside from its religious aspect, the siege of La Rochelle marks an important success in the creation of a strong central government of France, in control throughout its territory and able to suppress regional defiance. In the immediate aftermath was the growth of the [[absolute monarchy]], but it had long-term effects upon all later French regimes up to the present.

The French philosopher [[Descartes]] is known to have visited the scene of the siege in 1627.

The siege was depicted in detail by numerous artists such as [[Jacques Callot]] and marked by the 1635 painting ''[[Louis XIII Crowned by Victory]]''.

==Numismatics==
Around the time of the siege, a series of propaganda coins were struck to describe the stakes of the siege, and then commemorate the royal victory. These coins depict the siege in symbolic ways, showing the city and the English effort in a poor light, while putting an advantageous light on royal might.<ref>[[Musée d'Orbigny-Bernon]] exhibit</ref>

<gallery>
File:Lucerna Impiorum Extinguetur Louis XIII 1626.jpg|''Lucerna Impiorum Extinguetur'' ("The beacon of the impious will be extinguished"), 1626.
File:Two dogs in the water around the reflect of a crown 1627.jpg|Two dogs in the water around the reflection of a crown 1627.
File:Snail pierced by an arrow on a raft Esto Domi 1628.jpg|English snail pierced by an arrow on a raft, ''Esto Domi'' ("Go Home"), 1628.
File:Vanquished English ship Tellus decepit et Unda Louis XIII 1629.jpg|Vanquished English ship, ''Tellus decepit et Unda'', 1629.
</gallery>

==In popular culture==
The siege forms the historical background for the novel ''[[The Three Musketeers]]'' by [[Alexandre Dumas]] and the book's numerous adaptations to stage, screen, comics and video game.

The 11th book of [[Robert Merle]]'s ''[[Fortune de France]]'' series, ''La Gloire et les perils'', deals entirely with the siege.

In [[Lawrence Norfolk]]'s 1991 novel, ''Lemprière's Dictionary'', the siege is the central cause of events (entirely fictional) 160 years later in London around the writing of [[John Lemprière]]'s ''Classical Dictionary containing a full Account of all the Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors''. In the novel, a group of eight (originally nine) merchants cause the deaths of most (if not all) of the citizens of La Rochelle by manipulating them into committing mass suicide before escaping the city in subterranean tunnels. This event leads to one of Lemprière's ancestors (whom is said to be a member of the nine merchants) turning against the merchants and also forms a being known as the "Sprite of La Rochelle".

[[Taylor Caldwell]] writes about the siege in great detail in her 1943 novel ''The Arm and the Darkness'' but has as its commander the fictional Huguenot nobleman Arsene de Richepin, one of the central characters of the book.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last1=Duffy |first1=Christopher |title=Siege Warfare: The Fortress in the Early Modern World 1494–1660 |date=1995 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0415146494}}
* {{cite book |last1=Gillespie |first1=Alexander |title=The Causes of War Volume III: 1400 CE to 1650 CE |date=2017 |publisher=Hart Publishing |isbn=978-1849466462}}
* {{cite book|last1=Glete|first1=Jan|title=Warfare at sea, 1500–1650: maritime conflicts and the transformation of Europe|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=1999|isbn=978-0415214551}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Palm |first1=Franklin Charles |title=The Siege and Capture of La Rochelle in 1628: Its Economic Significance |journal=Journal of Political Economy |date=1923|volume=31|issue=1|pages=114–127 |doi=10.1086/253493 |jstor=1823071|s2cid=153639520 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Parker|first1=Geoffrey|title=The Thirty Years War|date=1997|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415154581}}
* {{cite book|last1=Sturdy|first1=David|title=Fractured Europe: 1600–1721 (Blackwell History of Europe)|publisher=Wiley & Sons|year=2002|isbn=978-0631205128}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Rochelle 1627-1628}}
[[Category:Huguenot rebellions]]
[[Category:Anglo-French War (1627–1629)]]
[[Category:Sieges of the Anglo-French wars]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1627]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1628]]
[[Category:1627 in France]]
[[Category:1628 in France]]
[[Category:Military history of Nouvelle-Aquitaine]]
[[Category:History of Charente-Maritime]]
[[Category:La Rochelle]]
[[Category:Sieges of the Thirty Years' War]]
[[Category:Sieges involving Spain]]
[[Category:England–Spain relations]]
[[Category:Cardinal Richelieu]]
[[Category:Louis XIII]]
[[Category:George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham]]
[[Category:Battles of the Thirty Years' War involving England]]
[[Category:Battles of the Thirty Years' War involving France]]
[[Category:Battles of the Thirty Years' War involving Spain]]