Editing Calais (section)

===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>