CALMS, a seaport and manufacturing town of northern France, in the department of Pas-de-Calais, '22 m. E.S.E. of Dover, and 185 m. N. of Paris by the Northern railway. Pop. 59,382. The old town stands on an island hemmed in by the canal and the harbour basins which divide it from the much more extensive manufacturing quarter of St. Pierre, enveloping it on the east and south. The demolition of the ramparts of Old Calais was followed by the construction of a new circle of de fences now obsolete. Calais was a fishing-village with a natural harbour until the end of the loth century. It was first improved by Baldwin IV., count of Flanders, in 997, and in 1224 was regu larly fortified by Philip Hurepel, count of Boulogne. It was besieged in 1346, after the battle of Crecy, by Edward III. and taken after resisting for nearly a year. The city remained in the hands of the English till 1558, when it was taken by Francis, duke of Guise, from the ill-provided English garrison. From this time the Calaisis or territory of Calais was known as the Pays Reconquis. It was held by the Spaniards from to 1598, but was restored to France by the treaty of Vervins. In the centre of the old town is the Place d'Armes, in which stands the former hotel-de-ville (rebuilt in 1740, restored in 1867). It was much damaged by bombardment (1914-16). The belfry belongs to the and early 17th centuries. Close by is the Tour du Guet, or watchtower, used as a lighthouse until 1848. The church of Notre-Dame built during the English occupancy shows the in fluence of English Gothic. A gateway flanked by turrets (14th century) is a relic of the Hotel de Guise, built as a guild hall for the English woolstaplers, and given to the duke of Guise as a reward for the recapture of Calais. Calais has a board of trade arbitrators, a tribunal and a chamber of commerce.
Calais is the principal port for the continental passenger and mail traffic with England carried on by the S.R. and the French railways. The principal exports are woven goods, glass-ware, lace and metal-ware. Imports include petroleum, timber, raw wool, cot ton yarn. The main industry of Calais is the manufacture of lace, for which it is the chief centre in France. The lace machines are driven by electrical power, a large export being to the United States. Saw-milling, boat-building and the manufacture of arti ficial ice, biscuits, soap, submarine and telephone cables is also carried on. Deep-sea and coast fishing for cod, herring and mack erel are also important. The tonnage of the port almost dou bled between 1913 and 1918, in spite of the stoppage of civilian traffic, owing to the enormous quantity of war material that was dealt with. The port equipment was much improved to cope with military needs; a quay, 28o metres long, was finished in 1918, and the new west dock has a depth of from 26 ft. to 3o ft. on the sill. Work on the entrance to the port was resumed in 1921, and the west jetty completed. By the construction of an elevator, canal boats of 30o tons can reach the large canal dock. The harbour is connected with the river Aa and the navigable waterways of the department.