| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
Calais is a city in northern France, located at 50°57N 1°52E. It is in the département of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sous-préfecture. It has a population of about 80,000 people. It overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the English Channel, which is only 34 km (21 miles) wide here, and is the closest French town to England. The white cliffs of Dover can easily be seen on a clear day.
The old part of the town, Calais proper (or Calais-Nord), is situated on an artificial island surrounded by canals and harbours. The modern part of the town, St-Pierre, lies to the south and southeast.
Calais was beseigned and captured by King Edward III of England in 1347, after a siege of eleven months. The angry king demanded reprisals against the town's citizens for holding out for so long and ordered that the town's population be killed en masse. He agreed to spare them on the condition that six of the principal citizens would come to him, bareheaded and barefooted and with ropes around their necks, and give themselves up to die. When they came, he ordered that they should be executed, but he pardoned them when his queen, Philippa of HainaultPhilippa of Hainault (~ 1314 August 15, 1369) was the Queen consort of Edward III of England. Philippa was born in Flanders (modern Belgium) and was the daughter of William III, Count of Hainaut and Jeanne de Valois, the grandaughter of Philip III of Fran, begged him to spare their lives. He drove out most of the French, however, and settled the town with people from England, so that it might serve as a gateway to France. In 1360Events Treaty of Bretigny King Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark seizes Scania (from 1658 a Swedish province). Births Nuno Alvares Pereira, Portuguese general Zhu Di (Emperor Yongle), Second Ming Emperor of China Deaths Elizabeth de Clare Gregoras Nicephorus 1 the Treaty of BrétignyThe Treaty of Bretigny concluded on May 8 1360, between Edward III of England and John II of France, marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War (1337 1453). The Treaty of Bretigny (a village near Chartres) marked the high water of English assigned Guines, Marck and Calais - collectively the "Pale of Calais" - to English rule in perpetuity, but this was only informally and partially implemented.
The town came to be called the "brightest jewel in the English crown" due to its great importance as the gateway for the tin, lead, cloth and wool trades (or "staples"). Its customs revenues amounted at times to a third of the English government's revenue, with wool being the most important element by far. Out of its population of about 12,000 people, as many as 5,400 were recorded as having been connected with the wool trade. The governorship or Captaincy of Calais was a lucrative and highly prized public office; the famous Dick WhittingtonDick Whittington is a character in British pantomime, very loosely based on the real-life Richard Whittington. There are several versions of the traditional story, which tells how Dick, a boy from a poor family, sets out for London to make his fortune, ac was simultaneously Lord Mayor of LondonThe Right Honourable The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayor of the City of London and head of the Corporation of London. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while th and Mayor of the Staple in 1407Events November 20 A solemn truce between John, Duke of Burgundy and Louis of Valois, Duke of Orleans is agreed under the auspicies of John, Duke of Berry. November 24 Duke of Orleans assassinated war breaks out again between Burgundians and followers of.
Calais was regarded for many years as being an integral part of England, with its representatives sitting in the English ParliamentAlternative meanings: Parliamentary system, Parliament (band), Parliament (cigarette). A parliament is a legislative body, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system derived from that of the United Kingdom.. Over one of its gates was inscribed:
This was, however, an unfortunate example of hubris. The reality was that the continued English hold on Calais depended on expensively-maintained fortifications, as the town lacked any natural defences. Maintaining Calais was a costly business that was frequently tested by the forces of France and Burgundy, with the Franco-Burgundian border running nearby. The length of its survival was to a large extent the result of the feud between Burgundy and France, under which both sides coveted the town but preferred to see it in the hands of the English rather than their deadly rivals. The stalemate was broken by the eventual victory of the French crown over Burgundy, and the incorporation of the latter into France.
The end of English rule over Calais came on January 7, 1558 when the French under Francis I, 2nd Duke de Guise, took advantage of a weakened garrison and decayed fortifications to retake it. The loss was regarded by Queen Mary I of England as a dreadful misfortune. When she heard the news, she reportedly said "When I am dead and opened, you shall find 'Calais' lying in my heart" (Holinshed's Chronicles, IV, 1808).
The town was captured by the Spanish in 1596 but it was returned to France under the Treaty of Vervins in 1598.
During the 18th century, Calais achieved an unusual scientific claim to fame. When the meter was originally defined in terms of the size of the Earth, it was based on the distance from Calais to Perpignan. This is close to the longest continuous north-south line segment within France.
Somewhat ironically, Calais became a major British base once again during World War I, due to its proximity to the front lines in Flanders. The town was virtually razed to the ground during World War II. It was the scene of a last-ditch defence in 1940 that allowed the defeated British forces to be evacuated from nearby Dunkirk in the Battle of Dunkirk. 3,000 British and 800 French troops, assisted by Royal Navy warships, held out from 22-27 May 1940 against two German panzer divisions. The town was flattened by round-the-clock bombing and only 30 of the 3,800-strong defencing force were evacuated before the town fell.
During the ensuing German occupation, it became the command post for German forces in the Pas-de-Calais/Flanders region and was very heavily fortified, as it was generally believed by the Germans that the Allies would invade at that point. In the event, the invasion took place well to the west in Normandy. Calais was nonetheless very heavily bombed and shelled in a successful effort to persuade the Germans that the D-Day landings were a feint in advance of the "real" invasion of the Pas-de-Calais. It was liberated by Canadian forces in October 1944.