The inhabitants, though pressed with the greatest rigors of famine, still refused to submit; being supported, partly by the lectures of their zealous preachers, partly by the daily hopes of relief from England.

After Buckingham's death, the command of the fleet and army was conferred on the earl of Lindesey; who, arriving before Rochelle, made some attempts to break through the mole, and force his way into the harbor: but by the delays of the English, that work was now fully finished and fortified; and the Rochellers, finding their last hopes to fail them, were reduced to surrender at discretion, even in sight of the English admiral.
Of fifteen thousand persons shut up in the city, four thousand alone survived the fatigues and famine which they had undergone.[*] * Rushworth, vol.1.p.

636.
This was the first necessary step towards the prosperity of France.
Foreign enemies, as well as domestic factions, being deprived of this resource, that kingdom began now to shine forth in its full splendor.

By a steady prosecution of wise plans, both of war and policy, it gradually gained an ascendant over the rival power of Spain; and every order of the state, and every sect, were reduced to pay submission to the lawful authority of the sovereign.

The victory, however, over the Hugonots, was at first pushed by the French king with great moderation.