Pale of Calais
Pale of Calais | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1347–1558 | |||||||||
| Motto: Veritas Temporis filia "Truth, the daughter of Time" | |||||||||
The Pale of Calais (yellow) in 1477. | |||||||||
| Status | Exclave of England | ||||||||
| Capital | Calais | ||||||||
| Common languages | English, Dutch, and French | ||||||||
| Religion | Official: Catholic (until 1534); (from 1553) Church of England (1534–1553) Others: Judaism | ||||||||
| Lord | |||||||||
• 1347–1377 | Edward III (first) | ||||||||
• 1553–1558 | Mary I (last) | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
• 1353 | Reynold Cobham (first) | ||||||||
• 1553–1558 | Thomas Wentworth (last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Late Middle Ages | ||||||||
| 3 August 1347 | |||||||||
| 8 May 1360 | |||||||||
| 8 January 1558 | |||||||||
| 2 May 1598 | |||||||||
| Currency | Sterling | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | France | ||||||||
The Pale of Calais was an exclave and parliamentary borough of England across the Strait of Dover from 1347 to 1558. The land enclosing Calais was taken following the Battle of Crécy in 1346 and the subsequent Siege of Calais, and was confirmed at the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360, in the reign of Edward III of England. It became an important market for English wool, an industrial hub for Europe's textile trade centred in Flanders, and the English gateway to Europe.
The Pale also defended England as the outermost, permanently fortified stronghold at the narrowest point between Britain and Europe. Its proximity allowed England to garrison, reinforce and supply it quickly across the Channel. The exclave was bilingual with English and Flemish commonly spoken. It was represented in Parliament by the Calais constituency and participated in the English Reformation.
During the reign of Mary I of England, the Pale was unexpectedly retaken by the French following a siege in 1558 during their campaigns against the Spaniards (whose king was also married to Queen Mary) in the County of Flanders. Subsequently, the English textile trade abandoned Calais and moved to the Habsburg Netherlands.