Montaigu

Montaigu lies in lower Poitou in western France. During the Hundred Years' War an English garrison occupied the town after the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360; French forces under Clisson and Bertrand du Guesclin recovered it in 1373. In 1473 Louis XI acquired the lordship amid his policy towards neighbouring Brittany.

During the Wars of Religion the town changed hands between Catholic and Protestant forces, including a siege in 1580. Its castle defences were dismantled in 1586. In March 1793, during the Vendée uprising, insurgents from surrounding communities took Montaigu and executed a number of republicans.