La Rochelle suffered two sieges of particular historical importance.
The first siege took place on the occasion of Saint-Barthélemy. Worried and irritated, the Protestants who made up almost the entire population rose up against royal authority. A long negotiation is engaged in vain. In December 1572, the place was blocked by an immense army, the Duke of Anjou taking command of in February 1573. The besieged defended themselves so well that the king ordered the conclusion of peace, which was signed on July 1. Freedom of worship is granted in La Rochelle, Nîmes and Montauban.
The second siege was even longer and much more deadly.
Since the Edict of Nantes, the Protestants of the South and South-West constitute a
sort of 'State within the State because of the total independence they enjoy in their
places of safety.
La Rochelle is the strongest of these places, not only by its formidable enclosures, but also by the facility of its communications with the foreigner.
At the beginning of the reign of Louis XIII, it is the port of La Rochelle which allows the Protestant party revolted to receive English aid.
The king came to lay siege in 1622 but soon had to give up. A few years later, against the general opinion that wanted the city to be impregnable, Richelieu
decided, in concert with the king, that La Rochelle would be taken whatever the cost to Tre-
sor royal, actually quite poor at the time. The cardinal himself took charge of the operations, assisted by Schomberg* and Bassompierre*. The English are driven out of the Ile de Ré. On the land side, the city is surrounded by a 12 km trench. The port is enclosed by a breakwater 1,500 m long and 8 m wide, according to the plans of engineers Thiriot and Métezeau. The English fleet tries to prevent the completion of the works and to supply the place. But his interventions
reflect the past procrastination of Buckingham and the disorder of the English government:they are clumsy, poorly synchronized, hesitant. A new, more serious attempt ends in resounding failure. The work completed, the Rochelois must defend themselves. They showed admirable courage, resisting for more than fourteen months under the leadership of their mayor, the energetic Jean Guiton*. Famine alone forced them to capitulate on October 29, 1628.
The number of dead is estimated at 15,000.
The king will not abuse a a hard-won victory and “will show mercy”
to those who fought him. He will be satisfied with the demolition of the ramparts and the restoration of the Catholic worship. But of course, by doing so, La Rochelle will lose its privileges "which were greater than any city in the kingdom".