LA ROCHELLE, a seaport of France, capital of the depart ment of Charente-Inferieure, 90 m. S. by E. of Nantes on the railway to Bordeaux. Pop. (1931) 41,478. La Rochelle stands on the Atlantic coast on an inlet opening off the great bay in which lie the islands of Re and Oleron. Its fortifications have a circuit of 31 m. with seven gates. Towards the sea are three towers, of which the oldest (1384) is that of St. Nicholas. The 14th century Chain Tower is so called from the chain which closed the harbour; the entrance to the tidal basin was at one time spanned by a pointed arch between the two towers. The lantern tower 76), surmounted by a spire, was once used as a lighthouse. Of the ancient gateways only one has been preserved in its entirety, that of the "Grosse Horloge," a square tower of the i4th or cen tury. The cathedral of La Rochelle (St. Louis or St. Bartholo mew) is a heavy Grecian building (1742-1762) with an old 14th century tower, the only remnant of the old church of St. Bartholo mew on the same site, destroyed in the i6th century. Externally the town-hou.se is in the Gothic style of the latter years of the 15th century. In the old episcopal palace (which was in turn the residence of Sully, the prince of Conde, Louis XIII., and Anne of Austria, and the scene of the marriage of Alphonso VI.
of Portugal with a princess of Savoy) accommodation has been provided for a library, a collection of records and a museum of art and antiquities. Of the old houses, the most interesting is one built in the middle of the i6th century and wrongly known as that of Henry II. The parade-ground, which forms the principal public square, occupies the site of the castle demolished in 159o.
The inlet of La Rochelle is protected by a mole built by Riche lieu. The harbour, one of the safest on the coast, is entered by a channel 2,73o yd. long, and comprises an inner harbour, an interior dock and a larger exterior dock, outside which is the outer port. A large number of sailing ships are engaged in the fisheries, and the fish market of La Rochelle is the most important on the west coast. La Rochelle imports grain, coal, pitch, kaolin, wood and foreign wines, and its exports are French wines, oysters, pit props etc. The harbour is, however, inaccessible to the largest vessels, for the accommodation of which the port of La Pallice was created. Lying about 3 m. W.S.W. of La Rochelle, this port
opens into the bay opposite the eastern extremity of the island of Re. Vessels drawing 20 ft. are able t6 enter during three hours of each tide. The tidal basin is now open, and the outer basin breakwater is in course of construction. The outer port, pro tected by two jetties, has an area of 31 ac. and a depth of 181 ft. below lowest tide-level. La Pallice has regular communication with South America, England, America, West Africa, Egypt and the Far East. La Pallice imports coal, pitch, grain, dried cod fish, nitrates, pyrites, jute, petroleum, gas, oil, wood pulp and phosphates. The exports are wines and brandy.
Known in the Loth century as Rupella, it belonged to the barony of Chatelaillon, which was annexed by the duke of Aqui taine and succeeded Chatelaillon as chief town in Aunis. Cap tured by Louis VIII. in 1224, it was restored to the English in 136o, but it returned to France when Du Guesclin recovered Saintonge. During the 14th, 15th and i6th centuries La Rochelle, then an almost independent commune, was one of the great mari time cities of France. The salt-tax provoked a rebellion at Ro chelle which Francis I. repressed in person; in i568 the town, secured exemption by the payment of a large sum. At the Ref ormation La Rochelle became one of the chief centres of Calvin ism, and during the religious wars it armed privateers which preyed on Catholic vessels. In 1571 a synod of the Protestant churches of France was held within its walls under the presidency of Beza for the purpose of drawing up a confession of faith. After the massacre of St. Bartholomew, La Rochelle was unsuccessfully be sieged by the Catholic army. The peace of 1573, signed by the people of La Rochelle in the name of all the Protestant party, granted the Calvinists full liberty of worship in several places of safety. Under Louis XIII. it put itself again at the head of the Huguenot party. Its vessels blockaded the mouth of the Gironde and stopped the commerce of Bordeaux, and also seized the islands of Re and Oleron and several vessels. Richelieu then subdued the town. During this investment Richelieu raised the celebrated mole which cut off the town from the open sea. La Rochelle then be came the principal port between France and the colony of Can ada. But the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) deprived it of some thousands of its most industrious inhabitants, and the loss of Canada by France for a time ruined its commerce.