The siege of Morlaix took place from 6 September to 17 September 1594 during the
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mil ...
and the
Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604).
[MacCaffrey pp 193] The siege was fought between the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
Royal army under
Jean VI d'Aumont reinforced by an
English contingent under Sir
John Norreys who besieged the town of Morlaix, which was held by the combined forces of
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
and the
Catholic League of France.
[Hadfield & Hammond p 42-43] A relief force of Spanish troops under the
Juan del Águila and another of Leaguers under the
Duke of Mercœur were turned back by an English force under John Norreys.
[Nolan pp 210-13] With the arrival of a fleet of English ships under
Martin Frobisher the garrison swiftly surrendered.
[Bicheno pp 279-80]
Background
Since 1562 France had been in the grip of the
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mil ...
, in which Spain had regularly intervened in favour of the Catholic League of France.
[Horne pp.82–83] King
Henry IV of France (
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
: ''Henri de Bourbon'') had been fighting for the
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
cause, but in 1594 had converted to Catholicism in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
on March 22, 1593.
The example of Paris was followed by other towns and cities with several chiefs of the League coming over to the king. Henry now directed his chief attention to the fortified towns of
Picardy and
Champagne from their contiguity to the
Spanish Netherlands. From there he received the forced or voluntary submission of the most considerable and at last began to think seriously of his engagements to
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
Eli ...
of England.
[Clowes p 503]
Marshal Jean d'Aumont was sent into
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...
to join the English army under John Norreys which had already been fighting there.
Several towns enlightened by the presence of d'Aumont with a large body of troops voluntarily declared for the king. The castle of the town of Morlaix was the key to the area which the Catholic Leaguers and Spanish troops held.
Siege
A combined force of Leaguers and Spaniards under the Duke of Mercoeur and Juan d'Aguila respectively decided to come to Morlaix's relief.
D'Aumont had already joined the English under Norreys - Elizabeth had demanded beforehand that Morlaix should be granted to the English as a place of retreat. D'Aumont however decided to evade it by a condition that Catholics alone should be admitted.
D'Aumont learned that his position and of the Leagues made a looming battle inevitable. Mercour sent a force of Leaguers to Morlaix to make forced marches, and made at least ten
leagues in a day hoping to join up with a Spanish force under Juan Del Aguila. Norreys with his force however moved down the coast to block their path so that they wouldn't link up with the Spanish.
[McDermott pp 411-12] His approach unnerved Mercour who immediately withdrew from the area to fortified positions not far from Morlaix. Norreys sent 700 English troops to demonstrate before Mercour and hastened him to abandon his advantageous positions.
Aguila marched his troops and were close to linking up with Mercour's force but their relief column ran into segments of the detached English. Aguila thought he was up against a much larger force - the Spaniards believed that they totalled 6,000 men but didn't realise that the English was a mere detachment. Aguila fearing being overwhelmed then decided to withdraw his men to
Blavet on September 17, which meant that Mercour could not relieve the castle of Morlaix.
Tensions reached boiling point soon after with Aguila and Mercour both blaming each other for the failure.
Soon matters of the garrison turned for the worse when they spotted an English fleet under Sir
Martin Frobisher carrying the siege train of heavy guns for Norreys.
On seeing the English ships with their guns run out and on hearing the news of that relief force was not forthcoming from either Mercour or Aguila, the garrison surrendered.
Aftermath
The garrison marched out and the English and French force entered in triumph.
The English force under Norreys had dispersed two larger forces; one League and one Spanish and placed them both on the defensive and ultimately forced their retreat. D'Aumont gave high praise to Norreys and allowed him to enter the town first satisfying Elizabeth's order.
As a result of the capture many more towns soon joined the King's side.
Soon after
Quimper and
Guingamp were captured by Norreys - but the real prize was
Brest; in particular the Spanish fort on the headland commanding the
Gironde. The fort was
taken in a brutal assault which cost the entire garrison but also nearly a quarter of the besieging force which included Martin Frobisher and denied the Spanish a major base there.
English troops left France in February the following year and Elizabeth was able to redeploy her troops back to the Netherlands.
[Thornton p 126]
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Morlaix, Siege of, 1594
Morlaix
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Battles of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)
History of Catholicism in France
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1594 in France
Military history of Brittany
History of Finistère