British Calais

Actually thats a very good point (rather than just an aside) as it requires England to get something in every war that France cares about and wants back - it would be interesting to examine if THAT was Mary I's mistake. I know bugger all about her reign to be honest, she is my dead zone in the 16th century

She burned people...thats about it, but even then she didnt do it personally

Bring back smoking in pubs! It smells right...

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

Well, essentially we got dragged into a war against France by her husband Phillip II of Spain, and Calais was the bit given to France due prevent a bit of Spain being given. So, perhaps Phillip is slightly more sucessfull?
 
Everyone's seems to be focussing on France, but the big reason why the English were able to hold onto Calais for so long OTL was because of the rivalry between Burgundy and France. Both sides would rather have Calais in English hands than their rival's. Once the Burgundians were sufficiently dealt with, then it became inevitable that France would eventually take over Calais.

What if some other power, such as the HRE in the Netherlands, were to replace Burgundy as France's rival, and also expresses interest in Calais. That would give the English a somewhat reasonable chance on holding onto the city for a couple or so centuries more.
 
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