Nègrepelisse massacre
The Nègrepelisse massacre was a 1622 siege and massacre by troops of the young French king Louis XIII against the Protestant stronghold of Nègrepelisse in France. This siege followed the siege of Montauban, in which Louis XIII had failed against the Huguenot city.
Nègrepelisse massacre (1622) | |||||||
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Part of the Huguenot rebellions | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Kingdom of France | French Huguenot forces | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Louis XIII | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
800 citizens[1] | |||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
800[2] |
The city was captured after a short siege, but all the inhabitants were massacred, without distinction of age or sex; practically all women were raped and the city was looted and burnt to the ground.[3][4] This severe treatment was due to the false claim that a French Royal Army regiment left in garrison in the city by the Duke of Mayenne had been exterminated by the citizens.[5][6] The king had ordered:
I command you to give no quarter to any man, because they have irritated me, and shall be served as they have treated the others.
— Louis XIII.[7]
References
- Violence, vulnerability and embodiment by Shani D'Cruze p. 171
- Violence, vulnerability and embodiment by Shani D'Cruze p. 171
- A History of the Huguenots by William Shergold Browning, p. 237
- Violence, vulnerability and embodiment by Shani D'Cruze p. 171
- A History of the Huguenots by William Shergold Browning, p. 237
- Huguenot warrior by Jack Alden Clarke p. 101
- Quoted in A History of the Huguenots by William Shergold Browning, p. 238