As Laurent and I drove out of the Limousin and towards the Atlantic coast in the Charente-Maritime département, or state, where La Rochelle is located, I thought of how much I liked the Limousin. The porcelain from Limoges was a big draw revealing my Anglo-Saxon heritage.
On the way
to La Rochelle, we passed the chateaus of Chalus (where Richard the Lionheart
died during a siege), Rochouart, and Rochefoucauld. We kept crossing the path Richard the
Lionheart (1157 – 1199), which had me planning travel itineraries for upcoming
years.
We stopped
in Cognac and ate salads for lunch at an outdoor café. The sun beat down on us as we toured the
circular downtown area. Tasting cognac
and driving do not mix, so we continued on towards the coast without going into
one of the tasting rooms.
Our drive
westward took us into the Poitou-Charente region, which includes the
Charente-Maritime département. Regions
existed before departments; many were royal provinces. Today there are 27
regions and 101 départements that make up France according to the CIA Factbook
(www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html). La Rochelle is a city located in
Charente-Maritime. Charente-Maritime is a
département located in the Poitou-Charente region.
La Rochelle
is famous in French history for the Siege of La Rochelle, which pitted Catholic
forces under Louis XIII (1601 – 1643) of France against the French Protestant
Huguenot forces of La Rochelle with their English allies during 1627 – 1628.
Wars and
battles often define culture as the defeat of the Huguenots of La Rochelle
proved in the Peace of Alais (1629). The
Huguenots lost everything but their religious freedom guaranteed by the Edict
of Nantes (1598) that Henri IV (1553 – 1610) had promulgated. However, with the Huguenots weakened, it
became easy to take away their rights.
Louis XIV (1638 – 1715) revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, making it
illegal to be a Protestant in France for centuries.
Today La
Rochelle is known more as a fun summer destination. During our stay in Charente-Maritime, the
Francofolies were taking place there.
This event is a series of concerts devoted to French-language
contemporary music. It was sold out, and
the crowds were in the streets of La Rochelle despite an impending storm.
By Ruth Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
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