The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) 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 the struggle between the Catholics and the Protestants in France and French territories, 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.
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 uprising led by Henri de Rohan and his brother Soubise.
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.
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 England for help. When James I refused, he approached the Dutch Republic. The Protestant Dutch agreed to provide naval backing in the 1624 Treaty of Compiègne.
English intervention
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 Habsburgs. In 1626, France under 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".
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 Soubise. 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,
Third La Rochelle expedition
A third fleet was dispatched under the Admiral of the Fleet, the Earl of Lindsey in September 1628,
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
thumb|The surrender of La Rochelle, 17th centuryResidents of La Rochelle had resisted for 14 months, under the leadership of the 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.
<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>