1-157-143 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Siege of Poitiers, French Religious Wars, 24 July-7 September 1569 (1570). The Huguenots under Gaspard de Coligny (1519-1572) besieged the city but the defenders held them off with the aid of heavy artillery and a small troop of cavalry, and by flooding the surrounding meadows. The French Religious Wars between the Catholics and the Protestant Huguenots took place between 1562 and 1598. The conflict ended when Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes, granting Protestants and Catholics equal rights.