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La Rochelle is a city of western France, and a seaport on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the préfecture (capital) of the Charente-Maritime département(17). The city is connected to the Île de Ré ( island) by a 2.9 km bridge, completed in 1988. Its harbour opens into a protected strait, the Pertuis d'Antioche.
La Rochelle was founded during the 10th century, and became an important harbour from the 12th century. In 1137, Guillaume X, Duke of Aquitaine essentially made La Rochelle a free port. Fifty years later, and for the first time in France, a city mayor was named for La Rochelle, Guillaume de Montmirail . Until the 15th century14th century 15th century 16th century other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. Events Renaissance affects philosophy, science and art. The New Monarchs come to power i, La Rochelle was to be the largest French harbour on the Atlantic coast, dealing mainly in wine and salt.
During the RenaissanceLeonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, an example of the blend of art and science during the Renaissance The Renaissance was a great cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern Eur, La Rochelle adopted reformist ideas, and from 1568 became a center for the Huguenots, initiating a period of freedom and prosperity until the 1620s. The city finally entered in conflict with the central authority of the King Louis XIII, when cannon shots were exchanged on September 10th 1627 with Royal troops. This resulted into the Siege of La RochelleThe Siege of La Rochelle was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627- 1628. In the Edict of Nantes, Henri IV of France had given the Huguenots extensive rights. La Rochelle had bec in which Cardinal RichelieuFor other uses of Richelieu see Richelieu (disambiguation). Armand-Jean du Plessis, Cardinal and Duc de Richelieu ( September 9, 1585 December 4, 1642) was a French Cardinal, Duke, and politician. He was a prominent theorist of nationalism. Richelieu serv blockaded the city for 14 months, until the city surrendered and lost its mayor and its privileges. The growing persecution of the Huguenots culminated with the revocation of the Edict of NantesThe Edict of Nantes was issued on April 13, 1598 by Henry IV of France to grant French Protestants (also known as Huguenots) substantial rights in a Catholic nation. The main concern was civil unity, and the Edict separated civil from religious unity, tre by Louis XIV. Many Huguenots emigrated, founding such cities as New Rochelle in the vicinity of today's New York in 1689.
The following period was a prosperous one, marked by intense exchanges with the New World ( Nouvelle France in Canada, and the Antilles). La Rochelle became very active in triangular trade with the New World, dealing in the slave trade with Africa, sugar trade with plantations of the Antilles, and fur trade with Canada. This was a period of high artistical, cultural and architectural achievements for the city.
The city eventually lost its trade and prominence during the decades spanning the Seven Years War, the French revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. During that period France lost many of the territorial possessions it had in the new World, and also saw a strong decrease in its sea power in the continuing conflicts with Britain, ultimately diminishing the role of such harbours as La Rochelle.
During the Second World War, Germany established a submarine naval base at La Rochelle, which became the setting for the movie Das Boot. A German stronghold, La Rochelle was the last French city to be freed at the end of the War.