Cold Open

It’s the early hours of January 7th, 1558, in the port of Calais in northern France.

Thomas Wentworth is awake instantly.

The 33-year-old has barely been in bed an hour and has slept in his clothes with his sword ready beside him. Grabbing a weapon, he straps it around his waist as he crosses his chambers and hauls open the door. A captain of the city guard stands outside, his face pale in the torchlight. The attack that Thomas has long feared has finally come.

Calais may be on the coast of France, but for the last 200 years, the port and a small territory around it have been controlled by the English. The Pale of Calais, as it’s known, has given England an important foothold in mainland Europe. But its existence is an open wound for the French, and a few days ago, they launched a surprise assault. Several English fortifications surrounding Calais have already been taken. And now, the French army is outside the walls of the port itself.

Thomas Wentworth is the Lord Deputy of Calais, the man in charge of its defenses. But the city’s fortifications are in disrepair, and its garrison is undermanned. Thomas has tried to warn the English government that the port is vulnerable. But those messages have been ignored. And now it seems it’s too late.

Rushing from his quarters, Thomas emerges onto the streets of Calais.

Terrified townspeople rush past in the darkness, desperate to escape the French. Thomas shouts at the top of his voice for all able-bodied men to take up arms and join him in defending the city. But he’s ignored by the stampeding crowd.

So raising his sword, Thomas pushes through the tide of people and heads toward the sounds of battle. Near the walls, Calais is ablaze, lit on fire by French artillery. Ash and smoke cloak the narrow streets, stinging Thomas’ eyes. He stumbles, struggling to see the way.

The earth beneath him shakes. Blinking his eyes clear for a moment, Thomas stares ahead in horror. The French have blasted a hole in the city walls. And as the stone fortifications collapse, French infantry swarm through the gap. The English soldiers try to stand their ground, thrusting at their attackers with pikes and swords. But their line is too ragged, and there’s nothing Thomas can do to stop his men from falling back and now, for the first time in two centuries, the French are inside Calais.

The fall of Calais will end the English occupation of French soil that dates back almost five hundred years. The city was a relic of a time when kings of England spoke French as their first language and held territory across both sides of the English Channel. Over the centuries, Calais had become a vital strategic and economic outpost for the English in Europe. But try as they might, they will never recover the city, and Thomas Wentworth will be the last Englishman to govern Calais after he surrenders the port on January 7th, 1558.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is January 7th, 1558: The Last English City in France.

Act One

It’s July 12th, 1346, in the English Channel, more than 200 years before the French recapture Calais.

King Edward III of England stares over the prow of his ship as it chops through the waves. On the horizon, a dirty smudge of coastline slowly grows larger and more distinct. It’s France—a kingdom Edward claims as his own.

Almost 300 years have passed since Duke William of Normandy crossed these same waters in the other direction on his way to seize the English throne. As a result of William the Conqueror’s successful invasion of England, for many years, his descendants have held titles and land on both sides of the Channel. But Edward III has especially close ties to France. His mother was a French Princess, and it is through her that Edward claims he is the rightful King of France as well as England. Now, he intends to assert that right by force.

Sailing alongside Edward is the largest invasion force England has ever assembled, a fleet of 747 ships carrying around ten thousand men. When it anchors off the Normandy coast, Edward orders his soldiers to disembark as quickly as possible. No French forces oppose their landing, so Edward immediately leads them east on a march along the coastline. Along the way he lets his troops cause as much destruction as possible. The men burn crops, slaughter livestock, and raze villages to the ground. Meanwhile, the huge English fleet follows the army’s progress from just offshore, destroying any French vessels they come across and burning a hundred ships at anchor in Normandy’s harbors.

When his army reaches Caen, King Edward expects that the garrison will close the city gates on him and settle in for a long siege. But instead, the French soldiers retreat to the highly defended castle and leave the surrounding city defenseless. The English are able to march in with barely a fight. They plunder the city, burning its merchants’ quarters, and leaving more than 3,000 civilians dead. They don’t even bother trying to storm the castle. They simply move on to the next target.

With no sign of the English rampage coming to an end, the French king Philip VI frantically summons soldiers from all across the country and marches them north to meet the English invaders. A month after the sack of Caen, the two armies meet near the town of Crecy. But the battle is a disaster for King Philip. English archers launch clouds of deadly arrows at the French infantry, who find they can’t get close to the English lines. The French soon retreat in chaos, having lost 4,000 men compared to less than 300 for the English.

After this stunning victory, King Edward allows his army just two days’ rest before continuing his march across northern France. This time the destination he has in mind is the port city of Calais. Calais is located at the narrowest point of the English Channel, where just twenty miles separates France from England. If Edward can capture this town, it will give the English a foothold in France that can be easily reinforced and supplied by sea.

In September 1346, the English army reaches the outskirts of Calais. But they soon discover that the city is well protected. It has a double moat, stone walls, and a garrison of soldiers. Breaching those defenses will not be easy. But since the French no longer have an army powerful enough to threaten the English, Edward knows there’s nothing to stop him from laying siege to Calais for as long as it takes.

At first, the French defenders defy the English siege by bringing in food and weapons by sea. But in the spring of 1347, the English advance and seize a position overlooking the Calais harbor. From that point on, no boats can get through to relieve the besieged town. And within a few months, the people are starving, and Calais finally surrenders.

When the victorious King Edward marches into the town, he drives out the entire French population and seizes their possessions. But the prize he’s won is far greater than plunder alone. He quickly repopulates Calais with English soldiers and settlers. And as his war with France continues, this port becomes the most important conduit for arms and supplies crossing the Channel from England.

The war between England and France will continue for decades to come. And Calais will remain an English possession for even longer. But eventually, after more than two centuries, the French will launch an assault to finally wrest back control of the port and evict the English from France once and for all.

Act Two

It’s the morning of January 7th, 1558, in Calais, 211 years after the English captured the town.

40-year-old French General François de Lorraine walks through the streets of Calais. The ground underfoot is littered with ash and rubble, and fires still burn in some of the buildings, thickening the low pall of smoke that hangs over the town.

The fighting here has been fierce—hand-to-hand, street-by-street. And even now François can hear the screams of the wounded and dying. But he allows himself a satisfied smile all the same. Because he has just been informed that Calais’s English commander, Thomas Wentworth, is ready to surrender.

After King Edward III captured Calais in the 14th century, war between England and France continued off and on for decades. The conflict eventually went on so long that it became known as The Hundred Years’ War. It only came to an end in 1453 when the French seized back most of the land in France lost to the English except for one city—the port of Calais. The land around the city was flat marshland, lacking any natural defensive features. So, the English were forced to maintain a costly system of fortifications to protect the port from attack. It was worth the expense, however. For centuries, the city offered a safe port for the English navy. And it secured access for English wool to the lucrative European textile market centered on nearby Flanders.

But the French never gave up on reclaiming Calais and, over the years, the English grew complacent. Calais’s defenses were neglected, and the French King Henry II saw his opportunity. A few days ago, at the beginning of 1558, Henry ordered his general, François de Lorraine, to lead his troops into battle and retake Calais for the French crown. Now, François’s surprise attack has breached Calais’s walls, and the city is about to surrender.

Accompanied by his men, François meets with the exhausted English commander Thomas Wentworth in a square at the heart of the city. There, Thomas gives up his sword, indicating the town is now officially in French hands.

François spares Thomas and the other defenders of Calais, but he gives them just a few hours to leave. As the victorious French army watches on in delight, the defeated English file out of the city and crowd aboard ships to take them back across the Channel. It’s only when these survivors reach England that news of the fall of Calais begins to spread.

The loss is a bitter blow to England’s Queen, Mary. But she never has a chance to retake the port. Only a few months after Calais fall, Mary falls ill, and she never recovers. In November 1558, Mary dies, allegedly exclaiming on her deathbed: “When I am dead and cut open, they will find Calais inscribed on my heart.”

Mary is succeeded as Queen of England by her half-sister, Elizabeth. And though, Elizabeth doesn’t have much in common with her predecessor, she does share Mary’s despair at the loss of Calais. She resolves to retake the port as quickly as possible.

Her chance comes four years later, in 1562. Protestant rebels rise up against the Catholic monarchy in France, and the country falls into chaos. Hoping to take advantage, Elizabeth makes an alliance with these rebels and helps them seize the port Le Havre in the north of France. Then, she rushes three thousand English troops across the Channel to garrison the town. Once again, England occupies a small sliver of French land. But Elizabeth doesn’t actually want Le Havre at all. It’s around 100 miles by sea from England, and almost 200 miles by land from the heart of the textile trade in Flanders, so it will be difficult to reinforce, and its use as a trading post is limited as well.

Instead, Elizabeth intends to use Le Havre as a bargaining chip to regain control of Calais.

Elizabeth’s plan is quickly foiled, though. In March 1563, the Protestant rebels in France agree to a peace deal with their monarch. That frees up the French army to advance on Le Havre. And it’s a fight Elizabeth’s generals in the city believe they cannot win. They have little choice but to order a retreat back across the water to the safety of England.

The failure of Elizabeth’s scheme will be the last time she will attempt to capture French territory. Soon, a formal treaty will be drawn up to confirm what’s becoming increasingly obvious on both sides of the English Channel: Calais belongs to France. And it always will.

Act Three

It’s April 11th, 1564, at Richmond Palace in London, England, six years after the French recaptured the port of Calais.

Queen Elizabeth I lifts her quill and dips it into an ornate silver ink well, as one of her secretaries hovers by her shoulder, ready with a stack of documents for her to sign. The most important of them, is placed before her first: a new treaty between England and France.

After the failure of the English expedition to France last year, Elizabeth was forced to accept that there was no prospect of reclaiming Calais as she once had hoped. The French had significantly strengthened its fortifications since they seized the town, and Elizabeth’s advisers told her that taking it by force would be almost impossible. So, reluctantly, Elizabeth dispatched her diplomats to France with orders to negotiate a lasting peace. And now, the treaty is here and ready for her royal approval.

The Treaty of Troyes formally confirms that the English will no longer claim any territory in France—including Calais. In return for this promise of peace, the French king has agreed to pay Elizabeth the enormous sum of 120,000 crowns. This lucrative deal will boost English treasury. But Elizabeth still can’t help feeling stung by the humiliation of having to officially give up Calais.

So with little ceremony, Elizabeth scratches her name at the bottom of the document. The official shakes a little sawdust over it to dry the ink before taking the signed treaty away.

Elizabeth watches him go, and rises from her seat and prepares herself to face the lords and ladies of her court. Elizabeth is determined that she will show them no hint of regret. And instead, she’ll present the Treaty of Troyes as a victory that has brought the long conflict over Calais to a bloodless and profitable end—though in truth the fate of the town was sealed when François de Lorraine led his men past the English defenses and reconquered the port for France on January 7th, 1558.

Outro

Next on History Daily. January 8th, 1800. A child is discovered in the woods of southern France who has lived alone in the wild for seven years.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Rob Scragg.

Edited by Scott Reeves.

Managing producer, Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.