LA ROCHELLE AND THE PROTESTANTS

Evening Star, Issue 22560, 30 January 1937, Page 12

LA ROCHELLE AND THE PROTESTANTS

Sixty-four streets and squares in La Rochelle are named after Protestants. La, Rochelle is a city of Protestant souvenirs, and its museums are full of interesting documents and relics of a troubled past. In the days of Louis XIII. and Cardinal de Richelieu, familiar to readers of ‘ The Three Musketeers,’ La Rochelle underwent a terrible siege, when the Cardinal built a huge boom across the river to prevent food from England reaching its defenders. The cruel siege began on September 10, 1627, and the town, placed under the command of Admiral Jean Guiton, repulsed every attack. But the opposing troops gradually cut off the town from the outside, and it was not until 14 months later that the starving survivors surrendered. When the siege began the inhabitants numbered 28,000. When La Rochelle surrendered they had dwindled to 5,500, of whom more than 1,000 died in the following three months. All the privileges of the town were abolished and its defences razed to the ground. Protestants are numerous to-day in La Rochelle, which is one of the most picturesque ports of the Atlantic coast of France, and they play an important role in the municipal council and commerce of the town. English visitors never fail to be impressed by the warm welcome they receive at La Rochelle. When they learn its history they understand why. —‘ News From France,’