(Vendue pour $21.0)

1643, Royal France, Louis XIII. Nice Copper Double Tournois Coin. VF-

Mint year: 1643 Mint Place: Paris (A) References: KM-127.1. Denomination: Double Tournois Condition: Lightly pitted by corrosion, otherwise a nice VF! Material: Copper Diameter: 20mm Weight: 2.23gm

Obverse: Laureate bust of Louis XIII left. Legend: LVD . XIII . D . G . FR . ET . NAV . REX Reverse: Royal french arms (three lis). Legend: DOVBLE . TOVRNOIS . I643 . A .

La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.

Because of its western location, which saved days of sailing time, La Rochelle enjoyed successful fishing in the western Atlantic and trading with the New World, which served to counterbalance the disadvantage of not being at the mouth of a river (useful for shipping goods to and from the interior). Its Protestant shipowning and merchant class prospered in the Sixteenth Century until the Wars of Religion devastated the city.

The period following the wars was a prosperous one, marked by intense exchanges with the New World (Nouvelle France in Canada, and the Antilles). La Rochelle became very active in triangular trade with the New World, dealing in the slave trade with Africa, sugar trade with plantations of the Antilles, and fur trade with Canada. This was a period of high artistic, cultural and architectural achievements for the city.

The city eventually lost its trade and prominence during the decades spanning the Seven Years' War, the French revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. During that period France lost many of the territorial possessions it had in the new World, and also saw a strong decrease in its sea power in the continuing conflicts with Britain, ultimately diminishing the role of such harbours as La Rochelle.

em>.

Louis XIII (27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) reigned as King of France and Navarre from 1610 to 1643.

Following the death of Luynes, Louis determined that he would rule by council. His mother returned from exile and entered this council in early 1622. In the council, Henry II de Bourbon, prince de Condé recommended violent suppression of the Huguenots. The 1622 campaign, however, followed the pattern of the previous year: royal forces won some early victories, but were unable to complete a siege, this time at the fortress of Montpellier.

The rebellion was ended by the Treaty of Montpellier, signed by Louis XIII and Henri, duc de Rohan in October 1622. This treaty confirmed the tenets of the Edict of Nantes: several Huguenot fortresses were to be razed, but the Huguenots retained control of Montauban and La Rochelle.

Louis ultimately dismissed Noël Brûlart de Sillery and Pierre Brulart, vicomte de Puisieux in 1624 because of his displeasure with how they handled the diplomatic situation over the Valtellina with Spain. Valtellina was an area with Catholic inhabitants under the suzerainty of the Protestant Grisons. It served as an important route to Italy for France. Spain was constantly interfering in the Valtellina, which angered Louis.

Cardinal Richelieu played a major role in Louis XIII's administration from 1624, decisively shaping the destiny of France for the next eighteen years. As a result of Richelieu's work, Louis XIII became one of the first examples of an absolute monarch. Under Louis and Richelieu, the crown successfully intervened in the Thirty Years' War against the Habsburgs, managed to keep the French nobility in line, and retracted the political and military privileges granted to the Huguenots by Henry IV (while maintaining their religious freedoms). In addition, Louis had the port of Le Havre modernized and built a powerful navy.

Unfortunately time and circumstances never permitted King and Cardinal to attend to the administrative reforms (particularly of France's tax system) which were urgently needed.

Louis also worked to reverse the trend of promising French artists leaving for Italy to work and study. He commissioned the artists Nicolas Poussin and Philippe de Champaigne to decorate the Louvre. In foreign matters, Louis organized the development and administration of New France, expanding its settlements westward along the Saint Lawrence River from Quebec City to Montreal.