Siege of Paris (1590)

Siege of Paris

Coat of arms of the city of Paris.

Date	May – September, 1590
Location	Paris, Kingdom of France
Result	Catholic and Spanish victory Paris was successfully relieved for the Catholics

Belligerents

French Royal Army

England

French Huguenot forces

City of Paris

Spain

Catholic League of France

Commanders and leaders

Henry IV of France

Peregrine Bertie

Duke of Parma
Duke of Nemours

Strength

12,000 rising to 25,000

Approx: 30,000–50,000

The Siege of Paris took place in 1590 during the French Wars of Religion when the French Royal Army under Henry of Navarre, and supported by the Huguenots, failed to capture the city of Paris from the Catholic League, and was finally successfully relieved by the Spanish army under the command of Don Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma.

After his victory over the Catholic forces commanded by Charles, Duke of Mayenne and Charles of Guise, Duke of Aumale at the Battle of Ivry on 14 March 1590, Henry of Navarre advanced with his troops on his main objective of Paris, possession of which would allow him to confirm his contested claim to the French throne. Paris at the time was a large walled city of around 200,000–220,000 people.

On 7 May, Henry's army surrounded the city, imposing a blockade and burning windmills to prevent a food supply from reaching Paris. Henry had at this point only around 12,000–13,000 troops, facing an enemy of around 30,000–50,000. Owing to the limited amount of heavy siege artillery that Henry had brought, it was likely that Paris could only be compelled to surrender through starvation. The city's defence was placed in the hands of the young Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Nemours.

Henry set up his artillery on the hills of Montmartre, and bombarded the city from there. In July his force was swelled by reinforcements to 25,000 and by August he had overrun all the outlying suburbs of the city. Henry tried to negotiate the surrender of Paris, but his terms were rejected and the siege continued.

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