Sit of Paris (1588)

The head office of Paris during the wars of religion is a long succession of military operations carried out by two kings, Henri III and Henri IV successively to reconquer their capital, of 1588 to 1594.

Henri III

May 13rd, 1588, Henri III is obliged to flee Paris, following the Journée of the Barricades. After the assassination of the duke of Own way (December 1588), it takes refuge in Tours, and its only ally is king de Navarre. The king of France preserves only some cities and a province faithful. They however manage to open the road of the capital, by successively taking Étampes, Pithiviers and Pontoise. However the city is fanaticized by the sermons, and the Sorbonne raised of its duty of obedience the subjects of the king. Henri III is assassinated and dies during the investment of Paris.

Henri IV

With his advent, Henri IV sees many gentlemen making him defection, and its army is reduced by 40 to 18.000 men. It divides it, trustful with Longueville the Valois and the Picardy and with the marshal of Aumont the Champagne: these provinces which surround Paris could supply it. Moreover, it protects these provinces from which come from many noble which joined with him.

It gives up the seat, is folded up on Dieppe, there receives reinforcements, subsidies and ammunition of England and beats the duke of Mayenne, left Paris with quadruple forces as of his, with Arques (September 21st, 1589). It returns as of October under the walls of Paris, takes some cities of the neighborhoods, tries an attack on the Saint-Germain door, which fails. It raises the seat again, and leaves to occupy Beauce, in order to control the provisioning of the city, then takes the control of the Normandy, all the cities capitulating to him, except for Rouen.

Spain sends reinforcements of the Spanish Netherlands (current Belgium) and the duke of Mayenne makes an exit in March 1590, in order to take again the control of zones of provisioning. Henri IV starts the seat of Évreux to close the valley of the the Eure and to protect Normandy, when Mayenne arrives on its backs. It is the Bataille of Ivry: after a furious combat with against two, the royal army puts in rout the Members of a league, who flee towards Chartres, Mayenne going even to Nantes. The captive lansquenets are massacred, the Swiss ones are saved.

This rout does not discourage the Parisian leaders. They hide it initially, then announce it like a divine punishment. Those which speak about peace are thrown to the Seine. After the catch of Mantes, Paris is completely invested, and an attack is tried in May. The royal army undergoes heavy losses. Processions and preachings maintain the moral one Parisian with an elevated level. August 20th, one counts close to 30 000 died by famine (on approximately 300 000 inhabitants). Henri IV lets leave women, children, old men and beggars. The duke of Nemours opens negotiations, after having consulted Théologie NS to know if that is authorized: Henri IV asks for the immediate rendering, which is rejected.

August 30th, a Spanish army ordered by Alexandre Farnèse joined that of Mayenne with Meaux. By the catch of some cities (Lagny, Saint-Maur, Charenton and Corbeil), and avoiding any combat, it makes it possible Paris to be supplied. January 20th, the king tries to take Paris by trick, by sending his men disguised out of carriers of flour: they are arquebuses. In February 1591, Taxis and Don Diego de Ibarra enter Paris with a Spaniard army and the Neapolitan ones.

April 19th, 1591, Chartres is taken by the king. At the end of 1591, the duke of Mayenne returns to Paris, and makes hang more the extremists of the Members of a league.

All year 1592 occurs in negotiations: Spain sends a million ecus to Mayenne to buy the princes and to place the infante Isabelle on the throne of France. Mayenne negotiates in parallel with Henri IV, and pushes his own candidacy near the princes.

The conversion of Henri IV

In fact the General states of 1593 untie the situation. Convened illegally by Mayenne, they meet on January 26th, 1593. They are only 100 on the five hundreds waited: the royalists, the wait and see advocator did not come. Henri IV made block the roads and the bridges to prevent the others from coming. The day of opening of the session, a proposal for a negotiation of the royalists reaches them. Accepted, they lead to the abjuration of the king, after instruction by the priests of Paris.

Abjuration, marked with the abbey of Saint-Denis on July 25th, spontaneously does not open the doors of Paris to him. Is needed that it is crowned, on February 27th in Chartres, so that a plot can open the doors of the city to him. It is directed by Charles of Thimble, the governor of the city. The duke of Mayenne is convinced to leave the city; the Spanish governor, the duke of Feria, does not learn anything. In the night from March 21st to 22nd 1594, the doors New and Saint-Denis are cleared and opened: the royal troops enter, take to the control of the Châtelet S. the Spaniards negotiate their departure: they leave the city with weapons and luggage, ensigns with the wind.

People of Paris allured east: the king touches the scrofula and some are cured.

See too

Eighth war of religion

External bonds and documents

Sources

p 353-354 and 365-391

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