Calais, France

Early 1517

Since 1347 the city of Calais had been held by the English, until the recent English Civil War saw the city yielded to France in repayment for French support for Richard de la Pole, soon to become the King of England in a shocking turn of events.

The scenes of the events of 1515 are written on the memory of the city's remaining denizens. Richard de la Pole had claimed the city guard and marched them onto boats awaiting in the small harbor, the wool aboard them being tossed overboard or unloaded back onto the docks. They sailed north, towards where on a good day one might barely see the English coast. Then, the word began to spread: French flags had been sighted in the south. English traders began to realize the deal that had been struck: Richard had ceded the city to France, and taken those who guarded the ramparts of Henry VII's new ring of castles with him to ensure the transfer went smoothly.

Though the French army remained busy in Italy, a small contingent of local French soldiers sourced from Boulogne and St-Pol and led by François de Bourbon-Vendôme-- whose mother remained Comtesse de St-Pol-- marched on through the unoccupied ring of fortifications and right to the gates of Calais. In any other circumstance this laughable contingent of levies and gate guards would have been sent to meet God in minutes, numbering so few and so lightly equipped as they were. Now, though, there was no one to loose the arrows.

François sat astride a grey courser, dressed in fine plate-and-mail, and stood in his stirrups. Looking at the parapet, he called, "Awake, good Calais, and return to France!"

Within the town there was a furor. Englishmen packed what gold and possessions they could into oxcarts or wheelbarrows and raced to the harbor. At first traders sought to charge extortionate fees to the desperate English traders, but when they did the conditions turned riotous. After one shipmaster was thrown into the water and his ship loaded down until its gunwale nearly touched the water, the traders opted for a more charitable tack. Possessions were thrown overboard or kept on the docks by deckhands, and the first overloaded ship cast off and made for England. In an unfortunate scene the aforementioned ship, whose master clambered onto the docks, scarcely made it out into the unprotected waters of La Manche before the waves washed over the gunwale and swamped the boat, spilling the panicked merchants into the cold water where many perished and others clung to flotsam before being pulled to safety by French fishermen-- erstwhile their neighbors-- who leapt to action upon seeing the boat founder.

Elsewhere in Calais the French inhabitants did not debate long before a committee of sorts formed and climbed the gatehouse, where they heeded François de Bourbon-Vendôme's call. After a short parlay in which the Calais merchants secured a promise that there would be no sack of their city-- not that the meager host assembled to assume control of it was even capable of such-- they laboriously opened the gates, admitting the first Frenchmen under arms within the city for decades.

François organized a party of Boulogne men to take to the battlements and cut down any English banner they could find. He ordered the fleur-de-lis to be flown from the gatehouse in the name of the then-new King Philippe VII, whose royal father had died scarce months before. For his part, François took the remainder of the host, his mother's St-Pol men, to the keep and performed the same task in Calais' ancient square castle, marked by its six turrets. One-by-one the English banners were cut down and cast to the ground. Up went the fleur-de-lis.

Two years later, the Kingdom of France was once again at peace. The realm was being set to rights in the twilight of the regency of King Philippe VII, due to end soon, and an outstanding issue remained Calais. A series of decrees from Blois returned Calais and its surrounds to the Comté de Boulogne, a part of the royal domain, and an influx of royal money entered the city, whose trade had become moribund after the departure of the English and the swift reduction of Calais' economic importance.

Rebirth of Calais as a Territory of France

As summer drew to a close in the year 1517 festivities were planned to welcome Calais back into France, now that its administrative position had been determined. A cavalcade of French knights escorted a trio of standards to the castle-- those of the Kingdom of France, the Comté de Boulogne, and the personal arms of Jeanne d'Arc, the great French heroine. At long last her dream of France freed of English occupation had been realized!

The royal standard was hoisted atop the gates of the castle, and a day of festivity was declared by a representative of the King. Feasting and drinking followed, with the knights-- all veterans of the Italian Wars and celebrating the final victory over England perhaps even moreso than their latest victory over the Italians-- providing the main amusement. Organizing a sort of pas d'armes on the bridge leading to the castle of Calais, the knights dueled each other all day for the honor of holding the castle, and onlookers made bets or bestowed tokens upon their favored men. A local knight, hailing from Boulogne, was the favorite of the crowds and carried the day, left standing battered and exhausted when the sun at last set.

On the second day more substantive series of announcements was made. The Crown would be investing in the revitalization of the textile industry of Calais, funding the construction of a textile mill in Calais itself and two great sheep farms, which would supply wool to the clothmakers. This would, ideally, form the basis of the economy of Calais for years to come as France asserted its dominance in the European textile industry. Additionally, the Crown would finance the relocation of skilled tradesmen to Calais to assist in getting the textile mill off the ground, as well as subsidize the repopulation of Calais with French citizens after the exodus of Englishmen left a dearth of both in the city.

Of less import to Calais directly but still related to its liberation from English domination, there was one major political change. In recognition of the essential contributions of the Maison de Bourbon-Vendôme in the reunion of Calais with France-- notwithstanding the outstanding efforts of Charles de Bourbon-Vendôme in Italy-- by royal decree the Comté de Vendôme would be elevated to the rank of a Duché. Subsequently, Charles de Bourbon-Vendôme would be within his rights to style himself the Duc de Vendôme.

tl;dr

In and around Calais, the Kingdom of France is paying for the construction of:

1x Clothmaker 2x Sheep Farm

Additionally the Kingdom will fund the repopulation of Calais with French citizens and tradesmen that'll make the new holdings work.

Finally, the Comté de Vendôme will be elevated to the rank of Duché.