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The siege of Privas was undertaken by
The siege of Privas followed the disastrous capitulation of the main Protestant stronghold of
/ref> Privas was selected by Antoine Hercule de Budos, Marquis des Portes (1589-1629), as a strategic target; capturing it would break a line of Huguenot defences and disconnect their main centers of
Privas was captured on 28 May 1629 after a siege of 15 days, at which Louis XIII was present. 500 to 600 Huguenot men who had barricaded themselves in a fort surrendered, but some attempted to blow themselves up with Royal troops, leading to a massacre. The city was destroyed by looting and burning.''History of the Huguenots: from 1598 to 1838'' William S. Browning
/ref> In a letter to the
One girl who escaped the massacre was adopted by Richelieu, and was nicknamed "La Fortunée de Privas". The Marquis des Portes was killed in the siege.''Rebels and Rulers, 1500-1660: Provincial rebellion'' by Pérez Zagorín p.18
/ref>
''The Cambridge illustrated history of France'' by Colin Jones p.145
/ref> In 1640, Richelieu commissioned painter Nicolas Prévost to paint the siege, based on the engraving by
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
...
of France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
from 14 May 1629, and the city of Privas was captured on 28 May 1629. It was one of the last events of the Huguenot rebellions
The Huguenot rebellions, sometimes called the Rohan Wars after the Huguenot leader Henri, Duke of Rohan, Henri de Rohan, were a series of rebellions of the 1620s in which French people, French Calvinist Protestants (Huguenots), mainly located in ...
(1621-1629).
Context
The siege of Privas followed the disastrous capitulation of the main Protestant stronghold of La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...
. Louis XIII then moved to eliminate the remaining Huguenot resistance in the south of France. With Alès
Alès () is a Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. Until 1926, i ...
and Anduze
Anduze (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gard Departments of France, department in southern France.Anduze", Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. II, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1878, p. 24 .
The village is at the foot of the ...
, the city of Privas was at the center of a string of Protestant strongholds in the Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately .
History
...
, stretching from Nîmes
Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...
and Uzès in the east, to Castres
Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (adminis ...
and Montauban
Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...
in the west.''Siege Warfare: The fortress in the early modern world, 1494-1660'' Christopher Duffy p.121/ref> Privas was selected by Antoine Hercule de Budos, Marquis des Portes (1589-1629), as a strategic target; capturing it would break a line of Huguenot defences and disconnect their main centers of
Nîmes
Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...
and Montauban
Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...
.
The city was defended by Alexandre du Puy-Montbrun, a leading Protestant from Montbrun-les-Bains in the Dauphiné
The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...
, already active in Montauban (1621).
The siege
Privas was captured on 28 May 1629 after a siege of 15 days, at which Louis XIII was present. 500 to 600 Huguenot men who had barricaded themselves in a fort surrendered, but some attempted to blow themselves up with Royal troops, leading to a massacre. The city was destroyed by looting and burning.''History of the Huguenots: from 1598 to 1838'' William S. Browning/ref> In a letter to the
Queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
, Richelieu reported the destruction in wording that minimized active responsibility on the part of royal Catholic forces:
One girl who escaped the massacre was adopted by Richelieu, and was nicknamed "La Fortunée de Privas". The Marquis des Portes was killed in the siege.''Rebels and Rulers, 1500-1660: Provincial rebellion'' by Pérez Zagorín p.18/ref>
Aftermath
After Privas, Alès soon fell in the Siege of Alès in June 1629. The remaining Huguenot cities rapidly fell too, and finally Montauban surrendered after a short siege led by Bassompierre. These last sieges of the Huguenot rebellion were followed by thePeace of Alès
The Peace of Alais, also known as the Edict of Alès or the Edict of Grace, was a treaty negotiated by Cardinal Richelieu with Huguenot leaders and signed by King Louis XIII of France on 28 June 1629. It confirmed the basic religious principles o ...
(27 September 1629), which settled the revolt by guaranteeing the practice of the Huguenot religion and judicial protection, but requiring Huguenot strongholds as well as political assemblies to be dismantled./ref> In 1640, Richelieu commissioned painter Nicolas Prévost to paint the siege, based on the engraving by
Abraham Bosse
Abraham Bosse ( – 14 February 1676) was a French artist, mainly as a printmaker in etching, but also in watercolor painting, watercolour.Château de Richelieu.
See also
*French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...
* Huguenot rebellions
The Huguenot rebellions, sometimes called the Rohan Wars after the Huguenot leader Henri, Duke of Rohan, Henri de Rohan, were a series of rebellions of the 1620s in which French people, French Calvinist Protestants (Huguenots), mainly located in ...
References
{{Authority control 1629 in France Privas, Siege of Conflicts in 1629 Huguenot rebellions Privas History of Ardèche Louis XIII