ukley, who had been for some time in the French service, betrayed to the authorities in London some French plans for the capture of Calais, to be followed by a descent upon England.] Stukley himself might have been the author of these plans. However, the reprieve for English rule in Calais was momentary.
Six years later, in early January 1558, the French under Francis, Duke of Guise took advantage of a weakened garrison and decayed fortifications to retake Calais.[ When the French attacked, they were able to surprise the English at the critical strong point of Fort Nieulay and the sluice gates, which could have flooded the attackers, remained unopened. The loss was regarded by Queen Mary I of England as a dreadful misfortune. When she heard the news, she reportedly said, "When I am dead and opened, you shall find 'Philip' [her husband] and 'Calais' lying in my heart." The region around Calais, then-known as the Calaisis, was renamed the Pays Reconquis("Reconquered Country") in commemoration of its recovery by the French. Use of the term is reminiscent of the Spanish Reconquista, with which the French were certainly familiar— and, since it occurred in the context of a war with Spain (Philip II of Spain was at the time Queen Mary's consort), might have been intended as a deliberate snub.] After that time the Dutch speaking population was forced to speak French.
The town was captured by the Spanish on April 24, 1596 in an invasion mounted from the nearby Spanish Netherlands by Archduke Albert of Austria, but it was returned to France under the Treaty of Vervins in May 1598.
19th century to World War II
Calais was also on the front lines of France's conflict with the United Kingdom during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1805, it hosted part of Napoleon's army and invasion fleet for several months before his aborted invasion of Britain. From October to December 1818, the British army used Calais as their departing port to return home after
