Editing Calais (section)

==History== 

===Early history===
Sources on the early history of habitation in the area is limited. It is sometimes claimed that [[Ancient Rome|the Romans]] called the settlement ''Caletum'' and that it was the departure point for [[Julius Caesar]]'s invasion of Britain.<ref name="Historyws">{{Cite web |title=History |url=http://www.calais.ws/History.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207224409/http://www.calais.ws/History.html |archive-date=7 February 2012 |access-date=5 February 2012 |publisher=Calais.ws|first1=June|first2=Len|last1=Riddell|last2=Riddell}}</ref> However, the name ''Caletum'' does not appear in Caesar's accounts of the invasion.<ref name="deBelloGallico">{{cite web |url=http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/caesar/gall4.shtml |title=C. IVLI CAESARIS COMMENTARIORVM DE BELLO GALLICO LIBER QVARTVS |access-date=8 November 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108222131/http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/caesar/gall4.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Caesar describes his departure point as ''Portus Itius'', which is believed to have been near [[Boulogne]]. At that time Calais was an island in the North Sea.<ref name="Caesar_Goldsworthy">Adrian Goldsworthy ''Caesar'', page 338</ref>

Calais was an English outpost for many centuries while it was an island surrounded by marshes, and difficult to attack from the mainland.  At some time before the 10th century, it would have been a [[Dutch language|Dutch]]-speaking fishing village on a sandy beach backed by pebbles and a creek,<ref>Delattre, Ch., Mériaux, E. and Waterlot, M. (1973) ''Région du nord : Flandre, Artois, Boulonnais, Picardie'', Guides géologiques régionaux, Paris : Masson, {{ISBN|2-225-36795-7}}, Fig. 18</ref> with a natural harbour<ref name="Ltd1877">{{Cite book |last=Thomas Cook Ltd |url=https://archive.org/details/cookstouristsha08ltdgoog |title=Cook's tourist's handbook for Holland, Belgium, and the Rhine |publisher=[[Thomas Cook & Son]] |year=1877 |access-date=5 February 2012}}</ref> at the west edge of the early medieval estuary of the river [[Aa (France)|Aa]]. As the pebble and sand ridge extended eastward from Calais, the haven behind it developed into [[fen]], as the estuary progressively filled with silt and peat. Afterwards, canals were cut between [[Saint-Omer]], the trading centre formerly at the head of the estuary, and three places to the west, centre and east on the newly formed coast: respectively Calais, [[Gravelines]] and [[Dunkirk]].<ref>The pre-siltation counterpart of Dunkirk was [[Bergues]].</ref> Calais was improved by the [[Count of Flanders]] in 997 and fortified by the [[Count of Boulogne]] in 1224.<ref name="Historyws" /><ref name="Ltd1877" />

The first document mentioning the existence of this community is the town charter granted by [[Mathieu d'Alsace]], [[Count of Boulogne]], in 1181 to [[Gerard I, Count of Guelders|Gerard de Guelders]]; Calais thus became part of the county of Boulogne.<ref name="Historyws" /><ref name="Malo1898">{{Cite book |last=Malo |first=Henri |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cHAvAAAAMAAJ |title=Un grand feudataire, Renaud de Dammartin et la coalition de Bouvines: contribution a l'étude du règne de Philippe-Auguste |publisher=H. Champion |year=1898}}</ref> In 1189, [[Richard the Lionheart]] is documented to have landed at Calais on his journey to the [[Third Crusade]].<ref name="Historyws" />

===14th–15th century; the Pale of Calais===
{{Main|Pale of Calais}}
[[File:LeDevouementDesBourgeoisDeCalais.jpg|thumb|upright|"Le Devouement des Bourgeois de Calais 1347", "The Devotion of the Burghers of Calais". [[Philippa of Hainault]] begs King Edward III to spare the lives of the six volunteers for martyrdom. 19th-century mural in Council Chamber, ''Hôtel de Ville'', Calais.]]
[[Medieval English wool trade|English wool trade]] interests and King [[Edward III of England|Edward III]]'s claims to be heir to the Kingdom of France, led to the [[Battle of Crécy]], between England and France, in 1346,<ref name="Tucker2009">{{Cite book |last=Tucker |first=Spencer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5_tSnygvbIC&pg=PA304 |title=A global chronology of conflict: from the ancient world to the modern Middle East |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-85109-667-1 |page=304}}</ref> followed by Edward's siege and capture of Calais, in 1347.<ref name="Philadelphia.)1856">{{Cite book |last=Baldwin |first=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sd0TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA332 |title=Lippincott's pronouncing gazetteer: a complete pronouncing gazetteer or geographical dictionary of the world ... |publisher=J.B. Lippincott |year=1856 |page=332}}</ref> Angered, the English king demanded reprisals against the town's citizens for holding out for so long ("obstinate defence") and ordered that the town's population be killed ''en masse''.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} He agreed, however, to spare them, on condition that six of the principal citizens would come to him, bareheaded and barefooted and with ropes around their necks, and give themselves up to death.<ref name="Goodrich1861">{{Cite book |last=Goodrich |first=Samuel Griswold |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RmAAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA124 |title=A pictorial history of France |publisher=E.H. Butler & Co. |year=1861 |page=124}}</ref> On their arrival, he ordered their execution, but [[pardon]]ed them when his queen, [[Philippa of Hainault]], begged him to spare their lives.<ref name="Larrington2004">{{Cite book |last=Larrington |first=Carolyne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T2sCEpD4dLEC&pg=PA180 |title=Women and Writing in Medieval Europe: A Sourcebook |publisher=Taylor and Francis |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-203-35824-5 |page=180}}</ref><ref name="TresemerSchiappacasse2007">{{Cite book |last1=Tresemer |first1=David Ward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yfUdccGRmdIC&pg=PT277 |title=Star wisdom & Rudolf Steiner: a life seen through the oracle of the solar cross |last2=Schiappacasse |first2=Robert |publisher=SteinerBooks |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-88010-574-3 |page=277}}</ref> This event is commemorated in ''[[The Burghers of Calais]]'' (''Les Bourgeois de Calais''), one of the most famous sculptures by [[Auguste Rodin]], erected in the city in 1895.<ref name="ElsenJamison2003">{{Cite book |last1=Elsen |first1=Albert Edward |url=https://archive.org/details/rodinsartrodinco00else |title=Rodin's art: the Rodin Collection of the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University |last2=Jamison |first2=Rosalyn Frankel |last3=Barryte |first3=Bernard |last4=Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University |date=13 March 2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-513381-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/rodinsartrodinco00else/page/65 65] |access-date=5 February 2012 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Though sparing the lives of the delegation members, King Edward drove out most of the French inhabitants, and settled the town with English. The municipal charter of Calais, previously granted by the [[Countess of Artois]], was reconfirmed by Edward that year (1347).<ref name="Finance and Trade Under Edward Iii.">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cA0NAQAAIAAJ&pg=PR12 |title=Finance and Trade Under Edward Iii. |publisher=Manchester University Press ND |year=1965 |page=12 |id=GGKEY:ZB8KKXHK4QY |access-date=5 February 2012}}</ref>
[[File:VlaanderenArtesie1477.png|left|thumb|220x220px|Map showing the situation of 1477, with Calais, the English Pale and neighbouring counties]]
In 1360, the [[Treaty of Brétigny]] assigned [[Guînes]], [[Marck, Pas-de-Calais|Marck]] and Calais—collectively the "[[Pale of Calais]]"—to English rule in perpetuity, but this assignment was informally and only partially implemented.<ref name="Grummitt2008">{{Cite book |last=Grummitt |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yIthoIVk1lgC&pg=PA143 |title=The Calais Garrison: war and military service in England, 1436–1558 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer Ltd |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84383-398-7 |page=143 |access-date=5 February 2012}}</ref> On 9 February 1363 the town was made a [[The staple|staple port]].<ref name="Rose2008">{{Cite book |last=Rose |first=Susan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BTN3CkBigm8C&pg=PA44 |title=Calais: an English town in France, 1347–1558 |publisher=Boydell & Brewer Ltd |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84383-401-4 |page=44}}</ref> It remained part of the [[Diocese of Thérouanne]] from 1379, keeping an ecclesiastical tie with France.<ref name="Patourel1984">{{Cite book |last=Patourel |first=John Le |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aGlLTOOeBG0C&pg=RA1-PA53 |title=Feudal empires: Norman and Plantagenet |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-907628-22-4 |page=1 |access-date=5 February 2012}}</ref>

The town came to be called the "brightest jewel in the English crown" owing to its great importance as a gateway port for the [[tin]], [[lead]], [[cloth]] and [[wool]] trades (or "staples").<ref name="Froude1870">{{Cite book |last=Froude |first=James Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rl8JAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA75 |title=History of England from the fall of Wolsey to the defeat of the Spanish Armada |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co |year=1870 |page=75}}</ref> Its customs revenues amounted at times to a third of the English government's revenue, with wool being the most important element by far. Of its population of about 12,000 people, as many as 5,400 were recorded as having been connected with the wool trade. The governorship or [[Captaincy of Calais]] was a lucrative and highly prized public office; the famous [[Richard Whittington|Dick Whittington]] was simultaneously [[Lord Mayor of the City of London]] and Mayor of the Staple in 1407.<ref name="Arnold-Baker2001">{{Cite book |last=Arnold-Baker |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VNAMjuMw_5kC&pg=PA220 |title=The companion to British history |publisher=Routledge |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-415-18583-7 |page=220}}</ref>

[[File:MarchesOfCalaisTempHenryVIII.jpg|thumb|220x220px|The Marches of Calais in the time of Henry VIII. (Top: south, bottom: north): "Cales Market" within citadel, shown at bottom, top "[[Guînes|Gyenes Castel]]", bottom left "[[Gravelines|Graveling]]", bottom right "[[Sangatte|Sand Gat]]"]]
Calais was an integral part of the English trading economy, though not regarded as being a part of the [[Kingdom of England]] until the days of [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry VIII]], from which time the Pale of Calais sent two members to the English [[Parliament of England|Parliament]]. The continued English hold on Calais however depended on expensively maintained fortifications, as the town lacked any natural defences. 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.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lvjtoAmUIToC&pg=PA262 |title=The Chronicles of Enguerrand de Monstrelet |year=1853 |page=262}}</ref> The British historian [[Geoffrey Elton]] once remarked "Calais—expensive and useless—was better lost than kept".<ref>Rose (2008), p.172</ref> The duration of the English hold over Calais was, to a large extent, the result of the feud between Burgundy and France: both sides coveted the town, but preferred to see England control it rather than their domestic rivals. The stalemate was broken by the victory of the French crown over Burgundy following [[Joan of Arc]]'s final battle in the [[siege of Compiègne]] in 1430, and the later incorporation of the duchy into France.<ref name="VillalonKagay2005">{{Cite book |last1=Villalon |first1=L. J. Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=apzpiXLLy48C&pg=PA430 |title=The Hundred Years War: a wider focus |last2=Kagay |first2=Donald J. |publisher=BRILL |year=2005 |isbn=978-90-04-13969-5 |page=430}}</ref>

===16th century===
[[File:Borough of Calais arms.svg|right|140px|The arms of English Calais recorded in the College of Arms]]
In 1532, the English King [[Henry VIII]] visited Calais and his men calculated that the town had about 2,400 beds and stabling to keep some 2.000 horses.<ref name="Calais1846">{{Cite book |last=Calais |url=https://archive.org/details/chronicleofcalai00turprich |title=The chronicle of Calais, in the reigns of Henry vii, and Henry viii |publisher=Camden society |year=1846 |editor-last=[[John Gough Nichols]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/chronicleofcalai00turprich/page/26 26] |access-date=5 February 2012}}</ref> Following the royal visit, the town's governance was reformed in 1536, aiming to strengthen ties with England. As part of this move, Calais became a [[Calais (Parliament of England constituency)|parliamentary borough]] sending [[burgess (title)|burgesses]] to the [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]] of the [[Parliament of England]].<ref>[http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/constituencies/calais "Calais"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411134858/http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1509-1558/constituencies/calais |date=11 April 2021 }}; in {{cite book |last1=Bindoff |first1=S.T. |title=The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558 |date=1982 |publisher=Boydell and Brewer}}</ref>

In September 1552, the English adventurer [[Thomas Stukley]], 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.<ref name="Froude1860">{{Cite book |last=Froude |first=James Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Mc9AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA453 |title=History of England from the fall of Wolsey to the death of Elizabeth |publisher=Parker |year=1860 |page=453}}</ref> Stukley himself might have been the author of these plans.

On 7 January 1558, King [[Henry II of France]] sent forces led by [[Francis, Duke of Guise]], who laid [[Siege of Calais (1558)|siege to Calais]].<ref name="Groot2005">{{Cite book |last=Groot |first=Wim de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5rqlZeWQIUC&pg=PA25 |title=The seventh window: the king's window donated by Philip II and Mary Tudor to Sint Janskerk in Gouda (1557) |publisher=Uitgeverij Verloren |year=2005 |isbn=978-90-6550-822-5 |page=25}}</ref> When the French attacked, they were able to surprise the English at the critical strongpoint of Fort Nieulay and the sluice gates, which could have flooded the attackers, remained unopened.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jj8KAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA15 |title=The London encyclopaedia: or Universal dictionary of science, art, literature, and practical mechanics, comprising a popular view of the present state of knowledge |year=1829 |page=15}}</ref> 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 II of Spain|Philip]]' [her husband] and 'Calais' lying in my heart."<ref>Holinshed, Raphael (1808) [1586] ''Holinshed's chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland'', Vol. 4 (England), Ellis, Sir H. (ed.), London : J. Johnson ''et al.'', 952 p.</ref> The region around Calais, then-known as the ''[[Calaisis]]'', was renamed the ''Pays Reconquis'' ("Reconquered Country") in commemoration of its recovery by the French.<ref name="TurpynBritain)1846">{{Cite book |last=Turpyn |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1v0UAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR24 |title=The chronicle of Calais: in the reigns of Henry VII. and Henry VIII. to the year 1540 |publisher=British Library, Printed for the Camden Society by J.B. Nichols |year=1846 |page=24 |access-date=5 February 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Larousse(Firm)1960">{{Cite book |last=Larousse |first=Pierre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ft9MAQAAIAAJ |title=Grand Larousse encyclopédique |publisher=Librarire Larousse |year=1960 |page=59}}</ref>

The town was [[Siege of Calais (1596)|captured by the Spanish]] on 24 April 1596 in an invasion mounted from the nearby [[Spanish Netherlands]] by Archduke [[Archduke Albert, sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands|Albert of Austria]], but it was returned to France under the [[Treaty of Vervins]] in May 1598.<ref name="CWStc" /><ref name="Crowe1830">{{Cite book |last=Crowe |first=Eyre Evans |url=https://archive.org/details/historyoffrance01crowiala |title=The history of France |publisher=Printed for Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, & Green |year=1830 |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyoffrance01crowiala/page/368 368] |access-date=5 February 2012}}</ref>

===17th century to World War I===
[[File:The Official Visits To the Western Front, 1914-1918 Q9825.jpg|thumb|[[George V]] of the United Kingdom meets French and Belgian officers in Calais in 1918.]]
Calais remained an important maritime city and smuggling centre throughout the 17th century. However, during the next century, the port of Calais began to stagnate gradually, as the nearby ports of [[Boulogne]] and [[Dunkirk]] began to rise and compete.

The French revolution at the end of the 18th century did not disturb Calais and no executions took place.<ref>{{Cite web |year=1827 |title=The Edinburgh gazetteer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VeL5EHRiGC4C&q=%22peace+of+Vervins%22+%22calais%22+%22dutch%22&pg=PA25}}</ref>

In 1805, Calais hosted part of Napoleon's army and invasion fleet for several months before his [[Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom|aborted invasion of Britain]].<ref name="Whitfield2005">{{Cite book |last=Whitfield |first=Dr. Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WS4jgVqnck8C&pg=PA57 |title=Cities of the world: a history in maps |publisher=University of California Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-520-24725-3 |page=57}}</ref> From October to December 1818, the British army used Calais as their departing port to return home after occupying post-Waterloo France. [[George Murray (British Army officer)|General Murray]] appointed Sir [[Manley Power]] to oversee the evacuation of British troops from France. Cordial relations had been restored by that time and on 3 December, the mayor of Calais wrote a letter to Power to express thanks for his "considerate treatment of the French and of the town of Calais during the embarkation."<ref name="powerfile">Herefordshire Record Office, [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/A2A/records.aspx?cat=044-e60&cid=-1&Gsm=2008-06-18#-1 Reference E60/IV/14], The Old Barracks, Harold Street, [[Hereford]], HR1 2QX</ref>

The population in 1847 was 12,580, many of whom were English.<ref>''The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Vol.IV'', (1848), London, Charles Knight, p.19</ref> It was one of the main ports for British travellers to Europe.

In [[World War I]] the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|British Expeditionary Force]] or BEF arrived in Calais on its way to the nearby frontline cutting through [[Nord-Pas-de-Calais]] and [[Flanders]]. Calais was a key port for the supply of arms and reinforcements to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].<ref name="Halpern1995">{{Cite book |last=Halpern |first=Paul G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6hwb6ovvYCcC&pg=PA349 |title=A naval history of World War I |publisher=Psychology Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-1-85728-498-0 |page=349}}</ref> In the 1930s, the town was known for being a politically socialist stronghold.<ref name="Perry2007">{{Cite book |last=Perry |first=Matt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=okNGTtMQFL8C&pg=PA146 |title=Prisoners of want: the experience and protest of the unemployed in France, 1921–45 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7546-5607-4 |page=146}}</ref>

===World War II===

[[File:Monument to Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill in Calais.jpg|thumb|Monument to Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill in Calais]]
[[File:Old bunkers at Calais 1 (Piotr Kuczynski).jpg|thumb|right|World War II bunkers at Calais]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-383-0337-19, Frankreich, Calais, zerstörte Fahrzeuge.jpg|thumb|right|Debris from the siege of Calais]]

Calais was virtually razed to the ground during [[World War II]].<ref name="Michelin2010">{{Cite book |last=Michelin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SQB7D5ILi4sC&pg=PA412 |title=Michelin Green Guide France |publisher=Michelin Apa Publications |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-906261-78-8 |page=412}}</ref> In May 1940, it was a key objective of the invading [[Germany|German]] forces and became the scene of a last-ditch defence—the [[Siege of Calais (1940)|siege of Calais]]—which diverted a sizable amount of German forces for several days immediately prior to the [[Battle of Dunkirk]]. A total of 3,000 British and 800 French troops, assisted by [[Royal Navy]] warships, held out from 22 to 27 May 1940 against the [[10th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|10th Panzer Division]]. The town was flattened by artillery and precision [[dive bombing]] and only 30 of the 3800-strong defending force were evacuated before the town fell. This may have helped [[Operation Dynamo]], the evacuation of Allied forces at Dunkirk, as 10th Panzer would have been involved on the Dunkirk perimeter had it not been busy at Calais.<ref name="Mitcham2008">{{Cite book |last=Mitcham |first=Samuel W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DW66ejQS2xoC&pg=PA325 |title=The rise of the Wehrmacht: the German armed forces and World War II |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-275-99659-8 |page=325}}</ref> Between 26 May and 4 June 1940, some 330,000 Allied troops escaped from the Germans at Dunkirk.<ref name="Apple2006">{{Cite book |last=Apple |first=David J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMVSVumHzHUC&pg=PA118 |title=Sir Harold Ridley and his fight for sight: he changed the world so that we may better see it |publisher=SLACK Incorporated |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-55642-786-2 |page=118}}</ref>

During the ensuing German occupation, it became the command post for German forces in the Pas-de-Calais/Flanders region and was very heavily fortified, as the Germans generally believed  that the Allies would invade there.<ref name="Rider2005">{{Cite book |last=Rider |first=Nick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jwG65xpOh9oC&pg=PA32 |title=Short Breaks Northern France, 2nd |publisher=New Holland Publishers |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-86011-183-9 |page=32}}</ref> It was also used as a launch site for [[V1 flying bomb]]s and for much of the war, the Germans used the region as the site for [[railway gun]]s to bombard the south-eastern corner of England. In 1943 they built massive bunkers along the coast in preparation for launching missiles on the southeast of England.<ref name="KirschFlint2011">{{Cite book |last1=Kirsch |first1=Scott |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M__6c49rdz4C&pg=PA160 |title=Reconstructing Conflict: Integrating War and Post-War Geographies |last2=Flint |first2=Colin |publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-4094-0470-5 |page=160}}</ref> Despite heavy preparations for defence against an amphibious assault, the Allied invasion took place well to the west in [[Normandy]] on [[D-Day]]. Calais was very heavily bombed and shelled in a successful effort to disrupt German communications and persuade them that the Allies would target the Pas-de-Calais for invasion (rather than Normandy). The town, by then largely in ruins, was [[Operation Undergo|laid siege to]] and liberated by [[Daniel Spry|General Daniel Spry]]'s [[3rd Canadian Infantry Division]] between 25 September and 1 October 1944.<ref name="Chant1986">{{Cite book |last=Chant |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MNcNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA312 |title=The encyclopedia of codenames of World War II |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |year=1986 |isbn=978-0-7102-0718-0 |page=312}}</ref> On 27 February 1945 Calais experienced its last bombing raid—this time by [[Royal Air Force]] bombers who mistook the town for Dunkirk, which was at that time still occupied by German forces.<ref name="Vance2011">{{Cite book |last=Vance |first=Mark A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QsA1cH8gBswC&pg=PA157 |title=Flight of the Forgotten |publisher=Mark Alan Vance |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-615-47376-5 |page=157}}</ref> After the war there was little rebuilding of the historic city and most buildings were modern ones. {{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

===21st century – migration issues===
{{main|Migrants around Calais}}
Since 1999 or earlier, an increasingly large number of [[illegal immigrant]]s and [[asylum seeker]]s started to arrive in the vicinity of Calais, living in the [[Calais jungle]], the nickname given to a series of [[Tent city|makeshift camps]]. The people lived there while attempting to enter the [[United Kingdom]] by [[stowing away]] on lorries, ferries, cars, or trains travelling through the [[Port of Calais]] or the [[Eurotunnel Calais Terminal]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 July 2015 |title='Hundreds' of migrants now target Eurotunnel every night |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33649334 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=11 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211134006/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33649334 |url-status=live }}</ref> or while waiting for their [[Asylum in France|French asylum]] claims to be processed.<ref>Francesca Ansaloni, 'Deterritorialising the Jungle: Understanding the Calais camp through its orderings' in ''Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space'' (25/02/20) doi.org/10.1177/2399654420908597</ref> The people were a mix of [[asylum seeker]]s and [[economic migrant]]s from [[Darfur]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Syria]], [[Iraq]], [[Eritrea]] and other [[Least Developed Countries|underdeveloped]] or conflict-stricken countries in Africa and Asia.

The [[Calais migrant crisis]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=31 July 2015 |title=Cameron expects migrant crisis to last all summer |publisher=RTÉ News |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0731/718369-migrant-crisis/}}</ref> led to escalating tension between the UK and France in the summer of 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Angelique Chrisafis |title=The Calais migrant problem: a continual drip of poison in Anglo-French relations |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/29/calais-migrant-problem-poison-anglo-french-relations |website=The Guardian|date=29 July 2015 }}</ref> The UK blamed France for not doing enough to stop migrants from entering the Channel Tunnel or attempting to scale fences built along the border. The [[British Prime Minister]] [[David Cameron]] released a statement saying that illegal immigrants would be removed from the UK even if they reached the island.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Josh Halliday |title=Cameron chairs Cobra meeting after overnight standoff in Calais |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/31/calais-crisis-david-cameron-chairs-cobra-meeting-as-mod-role-discussed |website=The Guardian |date=31 July 2015 |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=22 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122000846/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/31/calais-crisis-david-cameron-chairs-cobra-meeting-as-mod-role-discussed |url-status=live }}</ref> To discourage migrants and refugees from jumping on train shuttles at Calais, the UK government supplied fencing to be installed around the Eurotunnel complex, where the vehicles are loaded onto train shuttles in Calais.

On 26 October 2016, French authorities announced that the camp had been cleared.<ref>{{Cite web |title=French Authorities Confirm 'the Jungle' Refugee Camp Is Empty |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/french-authorities-confirm-jungle-refugee-020209875.html |website=uk.news.yahoo.com |date=27 October 2016 |access-date=14 November 2019 |archive-date=27 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727060855/https://uk.news.yahoo.com/french-authorities-confirm-jungle-refugee-020209875.html |url-status=live }}</ref> By January 2017, 500–1,000 migrants, mostly [[unaccompanied minor]]s, had returned and were [[Homelessness|living rough]] in Calais<ref>{{cite report |author1=[[Marta Welander]] |author2=Fee Mira Gerlach |date=2020 |title=Refugees and displaced people in northern France: a brief timeline of the human rights situation in the Calais area |url=https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/History-Of-Calais_Refugee-Rights-Europe.pdf |publisher=Refugee Rights Europe |access-date=16 April 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416124613/https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/History-Of-Calais_Refugee-Rights-Europe.pdf|archive-date=16 April 2020}}</ref> and there has been a presence ever since.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Malfatto |first1=Emilienne |title=Four years after it became a symbol of Europe's failures, migrants are still stranded in Calais |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/calais-jungle-migrants-channel-crossings/ |access-date=31 January 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=14 December 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |author1=[[Marta Welander]] |author2=Fee Mira Gerlach |author3=Camille Boittiaux |date=2020 |title=A brief timeline of the human rights situation in Northern France |url=https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/RRE_Northern-France-Timeline-2020.pdf |publisher=Refugee Rights Europe |access-date=31 January 2021|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131182353/https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/RRE_Northern-France-Timeline-2020.pdf|archive-date=31 January 2021}}</ref>