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, on the isle of Ré (near La Rochelle), in 1627. After three months of siege, the Marquis de Toiras and a relief force of French ships and troops managed to repel the Duke, who was forced to withdraw in defeat. The encounter followed another defeat for Buckingham, the 1625 Cádiz expedition, and is considered to be the opening conflict of the Anglo-French War of 1627–1629.

The Ernest Cognacq Museum (French: Musée Ernest Cognacq) is a French regional history museum, located in the city of Saint Martin de Ré, Île de Ré, France.The museum is housed in the "Hotel de Clerjotte", built in 1470-1480 by Louis Clergeat, taxman for Charles de France, Duke of Guyenne, and master of Île de Ré. Clergeat seems to have given his name to the building (the "House of Clergeatte") to become "Hotel de Clerjotte" today. The building was expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries, with two lateral constructions equipped with hallways and arcades. In 1684, Jean Gabaret, Lieutenant General of the Royal Navy and a Protestant, became the owner of the house. With the rise of nearby Rochefort as a key shipbuilding harbour for the Royal French Navy, Saint Martin de Ré was fortified following the designs of Vauban, and the Hotel de Clerjotte was acquired by Intendant Begon to become an arsenal. The building remained an arsenal until the 20th century. In 1929, it was designated as a historical monument, and, after some service for the Navy, was given to the city, which transformed it into a Museum. The Hotel de Clerjotte, currently under renewal, houses the Ernest Cognac Museum, named after Ernest Cognacq, founder of the La Samaritaine Department store and benefactor of the museum. A new contemporary wings houses various displays related to the history of the island. The garden behind the museum holds a monument with a statue of George Washington, first President of the United States. The base of the monument features a medallion representing Nicolas Martiau, a direct ancestor of George Washington. The monument was inaugurated on October 11, 2007, by the ambassador of the United States to France. The filiation between the two men is described on the monument: Nicolas Martiau (1591 Île de Ré - 1657 Yorktown) - Jane Berkely Elizabeth Martiau – Colonel George Reade (1608-1674) Mildred Reade – Colonel Augustine Warner (1642-1684) Mildred Warner – Laurence Washington (1661-1698) Colonel Augustine Washington – Mary Ball (1708-1789) George Washington (1732 Yorktown-1799 Yorktown)

The Canton of Île de Ré (French: canton de l'Île de Ré) is a canton on the Ré Island in the French department of Charente-Maritime, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, western France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Saint-Martin-de-Ré.It consists of the following communes:

The Naval battle of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (French:Bataille navale de Saint-Martin-de-Ré) took place on 27 October 1622, between the Huguenot fleet of La Rochelle under Jean Guiton, and a Royal fleet under Charles de Guise.Under Henry IV the city had enjoyed a certain freedom and prosperity until the 1620s, but the city entered in conflict with the central authority of King Louis XIII with the Huguenot rebellion of 1622. Louis XIII sent a small army for a Blockade of La Rochelle in 1621 and 1622.A fleet from La Rochelle fought a much larger royal fleet under the Charles de Guise in front of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, and managed to fight to a standstill on 27 October 1622. The battle lasted two hours, and as many as 20,000 cannon shots were exchanged, but the encounter remained inconclusive.A peace had been signed a few days earlier on 19 October 1622, the Peace of Montpellier, which encouraged the people of La Rochelle to end hostilities. Through the Peace of Montpellier, the fortifications of Montauban and La Rochelle could remain in place, although the fortress of Montpellier had to be razed.Conflicts would soon resume with the upraisal of the Huguenot leader Soubise together with La Rochelle against Royal authority in 1625, leading to the Capture of Ré island by Royal forces that year, and of course with the major Siege of La Rochelle in 1627-1628.

Le Bois-Plage-en-Ré (French pronunciation: [lə bwa plaʒ ɑ̃ ʁe]) is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France. It is situated on the Île de Ré.

The Recovery of Ré Island (French: Reprise de l'Île de Ré) was accomplished by the army of Louis XIII in September 1625, against the troops of the Protestant admiral Soubise and the Huguenot forces of La Rochelle, who had been occupying the Island of Ré since February 1625 as part of the Huguenot rebellions.

The Canton of Saint-Martin-de-Ré is a French former administrative division located in Île de Ré, Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes. It was disbanded following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. It consisted of 5 communes, which joined the new Canton of Île de Ré in 2015. Its chef-lieu was Saint-Martin-de-Ré. It had 13,196 inhabitants (2012).

La Flotte (French pronunciation: [la flɔt]; sometimes locally La Flotte-en-Re), is a commune on the isle of Ré off the western coast of France, administratively part of the department of Charente-Maritime within the larger Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.It is the largest municipality on the Île de Ré by area, and the second largest by population, second to Sainte-Marie-de-Ré on the southern tip of the island. La Flotte was declared one of the most beautiful villages in France by the eponymous independent tourism organization Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, and since 2011, the town has been a part of the departmental government's "Stone and Water Villages" tourism initiative to promote notable coastal and waterfront locales (i.e., where the stone (city) meets the water (sea, river etc.).

Île de Ré (French pronunciation: [il də ʁe]; variously spelled Rhé or Rhéa; Poitevin: ile de Rét; English: Isle of Ré, RAY) is an island off the Atlantic coast of France near La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait. Its highest point has an elevation of 20 metres (66 feet). It is 30 kilometres (19 miles) long and five kilometres (3 miles) wide. The 2.9 km (1.8 mi) Île de Ré bridge, completed in 1988, connects it to La Rochelle on the mainland.

La Couarde-sur-Mer (French pronunciation: [la kwaʁd syʁ mɛʁ], literally La Couarde on Sea) is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, New Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is situated on the Île de Ré.

The Church of Saint Catherine is a parish church located in Loix, in the department of Charente-Maritime, the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and the diocese of La Rochelle and Saintes.

Loix (French pronunciation: [lwa]) is a commune in the south-west of France, located on the north coast of the Île de Ré, in the department of Charente-Maritime (region Nouvelle-Aquitaine).