Editing Calais (section)

===<FONT COLOR="#3366FF">'''14th and 15th Centuries'''</FONT>===
Its speciality in the ferry trade with Dover gave it a strategic position which made it of key interest for the growing power of the kingdom of England and the town was besieged and captured by King Edward III of England in 1347, after a siege of eleven months following the Battle of Crécy. Following the death of his uncle, Charles IV of France in 1328, Edward saw himself as the Capetian Dynasty heir to the kingdom of France but the French chose to follow an all male line of descent from his Philip III of France. This introduced the Valois Dynasty, House of Valois to the French throne. Since England was Edward's power base, the English and Welsh were involved in his military sweep through northern France. The town came to be called the "brightest jewel in the English crown" owing to its great importance as the gateway for the tin, lead, cloth and wool trades (or "staples"). Its customs revenues amounted at times to a third of the English government's revenue, with wool being the most important element by far. Maintaining Calais was a costly business that was frequently tested by the forces of France and the Duchy of Burgundy, with the Franco-Burgundian border running nearby.