Recovery Of Ré Island
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The Recovery of Ré Island (French: ''Reprise de l'Île de Ré'') was accomplished by the army of
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. ...
in September 1625, against the troops of the
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
admiral
Soubise Soubise can refer to: * Soubise, a salpicon of cooked and pureed rice and onions; used primarily "au gratin". (steaks, tournedos) * Soubise sauce, based on Béchamel sauce, with the addition of a ''soubise'' of onion and rice purée * Soubise, Ch ...
and the
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
forces of
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') 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 Departments of France, department. Wi ...
, who had been occupying the Island of Ré since February 1625 as part of the
Huguenot rebellions The Huguenot rebellions, sometimes called the Rohan Wars after the Huguenot leader Henri, Duke of Rohan, Henri de Rohan, were a series of rebellions of the 1620s in which French people, French Calvinist Protestants (Huguenots), mainly located in ...
.


Background

The Protestants had been resisting the central Royal government with the 1620–1622 Protestant rebellion, leading to the Naval battle of Saint-Martin-de-Ré on 27 October 1622 between the naval forces of La Rochelle and a Royal fleet under
Charles de Guise Charles de Lorraine, duc de Mayenne (26 March 1554 –3 October 1611) was a French noble, governor, military commander and rebel during the latter French Wars of Religion. Born in 1554, the second son of François de Lorraine, duke of Guise ...
. An uneasy peace was made with the
Treaty of Montpellier The Treaty of Montpellier (or the Peace of Montpellier) was signed in Montpellier on 18 October 1622 between King Louis XIII of France and Duke Henry II of Rohan. The treaty followed the siege of Montpellier and ended hostilities between French ...
, but frustrations remained on both sides. In February 1625, the Protestant
Benjamin de Rohan, duc de Soubise Benjamin de Rohan, duc de Soubise (1580–1642), was a French Huguenot leader. Son of René II, Viscount of Rohan, and younger brother of Henri, duc de Rohan, Henri de Rohan, he inherited the lordship of Soubise through his mother Catherine de P ...
, led a
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
revolt against the French king Louis XIII, and, after publishing a manifesto, invaded and occupied the island of Ré. He seized Ré with 300 soldiers and 100 sailors. From there he sailed up the coast to Brittany where he led a successful attack on the royal fleet in the
Battle of Blavet The Battle of Blavet (French: ''Bataille du Blavet'') was an encounter between the Huguenot forces of Benjamin de Rohan, duc de Soubise, Soubise and a French fleet under the Charles I, Duke of Mantua, Duke of Nevers in Blavet harbour (''Port de ...
. Soubise then returned to Ré with 15 ships and soon occupied the
Ile d'Oléron Ile or ILE may refer to: Ile * Ile, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino aci ...
as well, thus taking control of the Atlantic coast from
Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
to
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
. Through these deeds, he was recognized as the head of the reform, and named himself "Admiral of the Protestant Church". The French Navy, by contrast, was depleted, leaving the central government very vulnerable. The Huguenot city of
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') 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 Departments of France, department. Wi ...
voted to join Soubise on 8 August 1625.


Encounter and capture of the island

Charles, Duke of Guise Charles de Lorraine, 4th Duke of Guise and 3rd Prince of Joinville (20 August 1571 – 30 September 1640), was the son of Henry I, Duke of Guise and Catherine of Cleves, and succeeded his father as Duke of Guise in 1588. Initially part of the Cat ...
, organized a landing in order to re-capture the islands, using 20 borrowed Dutch warships as well as seven English ships under the
Duke of Montmorency Duke of Montmorency was a title of French nobility that was created several times for members of the Montmorency family, who were lords of Montmorency, near Paris. History The first creation was in 1551 for Anne de Montmorency, Constable of ...
.


Naval battle of Pertuis Breton

The Dutch fleet of 20 warships was supplied under the terms of the 1624 Franco-Dutch Treaty of Compiègne, and was under the command of Admiral
Willem Haultain de Zoete Willem de Zoete, Heer Haultain (1565 – 26 September 1637, Sluis) was a Dutch people, Dutch admiral of the 17th century. He served as a lieutenant-admiral from 1601 to 1627. Biography During the Eighty Years' War he directed Dutch fleets in v ...
. It would be withdrawn from French service in February 1626 after a resolution of the States-General in December 1625. The English king
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
and
Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham, referring to the market town of Buckingham, England, is an extinct title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There were creations of double dukedoms of Bucki ...
had negotiated with the French regent,
Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...
, for English ships to aid Richelieu in his fight against the French Protestants (
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
s), in return for French aid against the Spanish occupying the
Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...
(Mansfeld expedition of 1624-25), an agreement which led to great trouble with the English parliament, which was horrified by the help given to France against the Huguenots. Seven English ships were delivered by Captain Pennington after many misgivings, and were employed in the conflict, although they were essentially manned by French crews, as most of the English crews had refused to serve against their coreligionaries and had disembarked in Dieppe. The English ships duly saw action against La Rochelle, however. On 16 July 1625, Soubise managed to blow up the Dutch ship under Vice-Admiral Philipps Van Dorp, with a loss of 300 Dutch sailors.


Naval battle of Saint-Martin de Ré and landing

In September 1625, Montmorency led his large fleet out of
Les Sables d'Olonne Les Sables-d'Olonne (; French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne"; Poitevin: ''Lés Sablles d'Oloune'') is a seaside resort and port on the Atlantic coast of western France. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, Pays de la Loi ...
, and finally defeated the fleet of
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') 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 Departments of France, department. Wi ...
, commanded by Jean Guiton and Soubise, in front of
Saint-Martin-de-Ré Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, "St Martin of Île de Ré, Ré"; Saintongeais dialect, Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'', before 1962: ''Saint-Martin'') is a Communes of France, commune in the western French Departments of France, department of Char ...
on 15 September 1625. Two elite
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...
s of royal troops under Toiras were landed on the island, defeating Soubise with his 3,000 men. The island of Ré was invested, forcing Soubise to flee to England with his few remaining ships. Montmorency thus managed to recover both Île de Ré and
Ile d'Oléron Ile or ILE may refer to: Ile * Ile, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino aci ...
.


Aftermath

After long negotiations, a peace agreement, the
Treaty of Paris (1626) The Treaty of Paris (1626) was a peace agreement between king Louis XIII and the Huguenots following the outbreak of the Second Huguenot rebellion and the Capture of Ré island. The Treaty of Paris was signed between the city of La Rochelle an ...
, was finally signed between the city of La Rochelle and King Louis XIII on 5 February 1626, preserving religious freedom but imposing some guaranties against possible future upheavals: La Rochelle was prohibited from keeping a war fleet and had to destroy a fort in Tasdon. The contentious Fort Louis under Royal control near the western gate of the city was supposed to be destroyed "in reasonable time". The French officer Toiras was named as Governor of the island, and he started to reinforce fortifications in view of future attacks, especially at the Fort de La Prée and
Saint-Martin-de-Ré Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, "St Martin of Île de Ré, Ré"; Saintongeais dialect, Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'', before 1962: ''Saint-Martin'') is a Communes of France, commune in the western French Departments of France, department of Char ...
. An English offensive to capture the island would again take place in 1627 to support the
Siege of La Rochelle The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) 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. The siege marked the height of Huguenot rebellions, the struggle between ...
, leading to the second
Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré The siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, or siege of St. Martin's (French: ''siège de Saint-Martin-de-Ré''), was an attempt by English forces under George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, to capture the French fortress-city of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, ...
led by the
Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham, referring to the market town of Buckingham, England, is an extinct title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There were creations of double dukedoms of Bucki ...
against Toiras. The conflict clearly showed the dependence of France on foreign navies. This led Richelieu to launch ambitious plans for a national fleet.''Champlain'' by Denis Vaugeois, p.22
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Recovery Of Re Island Conflicts in 1625 1625 in France Re Island Battles involving the Dutch Republic History of Charente-Maritime Île de Ré