Timeline of the Hundred Years' War
This is a timeline of the Hundred Years' War between England and France from 1337 to 1453 as well as some of the events leading up to the war. (The Hundred Years' War actually spanned for 116 years.)
The Battle of Castillon is generally considered the end of the Hundred Years' War as Henry VI's insanity and the Wars of the Roses left England in no position to wage war in France. However Calais remained an English possession until 1558 and the title of King of France was not omitted from the English royal style until 1 January 1801 ( after the Battle of Castillon).
Hundred Years' War (1337–1360)
The confiscation of Gascony by Philip VI precipitated the war in 1337. In response, Edward's strategy was for the English in Gascony to hold their position while his army would invade France from the north. The English forces would be supplemented by a grand alliance of continental supporters whom he promised payment of over £200,000. To pay for the war Edward had to raise large amounts of money for his own forces and also his allies on the continent. It was unlikely that the English parliament could raise the requisite sums quickly, so in the summer of 1337 a plan was developed to make virtually all the nation's wool stock available to help finance the war. 30,000 sacks would be sold by the English merchants, and the sum (estimated at £200,000) would be lent to Edward. To pay the fees promised to his allies, Edward was also forced to borrow heavily from the great banking houses of Bardi and Peruzzi. Late in 1338, when he had exhausted the funds from the banking houses, William de la Pole, a wealthy merchant, came to the kings rescue by advancing him £110,000. Much of the money that William de la Pole lent the king was raised from other English merchants. Edward also borrowed money from merchants in the Low Countries, who charged extortionate rates of interest and demanded more solid guarantees of repayment. In 1340 the Earls of Derby and Northampton were held as surety for the repayment of loans. In the summer of 1339, Edward had asked the Commons for a grant of £300,000. In early 1340 they offered the grant in return for concessions from the king. Edward, delayed by his money raising efforts, was temporarily unable to proceed with his invasion plans.