The siege of Privas was undertaken 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 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 14 May 1629, and the city of

Privas Privas (; oc, Privàs , also ) is a city located in France, in the department of Ardèche. With its 8,465 inhabitants (2019), it is the least populated prefecture (capital of a department). It was the location of the 1629 Siege of Priva ...

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 de Rohan, were a series of rebellions of the 1620s in which French Calvinist Protestants (Huguenots), mainly located in southwestern France, revolted agains ...

(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''; oc, La Rochèla ) 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 department. With ...

. Louis XIII then moved to eliminate the remaining Huguenot resistance in the south of France. With

Alès Alès (; oc, Alès) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie regions of France, region in southern France. It is one of the Subprefectures in France, su ...

and

Anduze Anduze (; oc, Andusa) is a commune in the Gard 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 Cevennes range, in the limestone ...

, the city of Privas was at the center of a string of Protestant strongholds in the

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) 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 ...

, stretching from

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

and

Uzès Uzès (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. In 2017, it had a population of 8,454. Uzès lies about north-northeast of Nîmes, west of Avignon and south-east of Alès. History Originally ''Ucetia ...

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 (administ ...

and

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...

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

and

. The city was defended by Alexandre du Puy-Montbrun, a leading Protestant from

Montbrun-les-Bains Montbrun-les-Bains (; oc, Montbrun) is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. The commune is well known for its spa treatments for managing respiratory disease and other medical disorders. The village is also very popular wi ...

in the

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) 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 originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

, 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 or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

, Richelieu reported the destruction in wording that minimized active responsibility on the part of royal Catholic forces: Prise de Privas Louis XIII et le cardinal de Richelieu entrant dans la ville occupee par Saint-Andre-Montbrun le 28 mai 1629

Prise de Privas Louis XIII et le cardinal de Richelieu entrant dans la ville occupee par Saint-Andre-Montbrun le 28 mai 1629

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 The siege of Alès was undertaken by Louis XIII of France, and the city captured on 17 June 1629. The siege The siege of Alès followed the disastrous capitulation of the main Protestant stronghold of La Rochelle, in the siege of La Rochelle. Hug ...

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 the

Peace 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 principles of the Edi ...

(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.''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

Abraham Bosse Abraham Bosse ( – 14 February 1676) was a French artist, mainly as a printmaker in etching, but also in watercolour.Château de Richelieu The Château de Richelieu was an enormous 17th-century château (manor house) built by the French clergyman, nobleman, and statesman Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) in Touraine. It was demolished for building materials in 1805 and almost nothing ...

References

{{Authority control 1629 in France Privas, Siege of Conflicts in 1629 Huguenot rebellions

History of Ardèche

Context

The siege

Aftermath

See also

References