1360: Treaty of Brétigny, Ransom, and New Territorial Division

The Treaty of Brétigny (1360) marks a major pause in the first phase of the Hundred Years’ War. To free John II and stabilize the kingdom, France accepts a peace that is very costly.

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⛓️ Peace Born of Captivity

After Poitiers, the monarchy negotiates under constraint: the king’s captivity, peace proposals discussed in London, and exhaustion caused by raids make a provisional exit necessary. The peace is thus built both on the battlefield and in internal crisis.

🔍 Zoom – 1356–1360: John II’s Captivity, Treaties of London, and the Road to Brétigny

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🗺️ Peace of Territory

The treaty redraws the map of sovereignty. England obtains a vast principality in full sovereignty in the west and southwest, around Guyenne/Gascony, and retains key points like Calais. Added to this are regions and territorial clusters that durably strengthen English control (Poitou, Périgord, Limousin, Angoumois, Saintonge, Agenais and neighboring lands).

In mirror, Edward III renounces several claims and, above all, renounces claiming the crown of France: the agreement seeks to defuse the conflict’s heart by separating territorial sovereignty from dynastic claim.

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💰 Peace of Ransom

The royal ransom weighs on finances: it obliges the levying of resources and organization of transfers. In the agreement, the ransom is fixed around three million crowns, guaranteed by hostages delivered to England.

Peace does not erase social tensions: it displaces them onto the question of fiscal policy, currency management, and the state’s capacity to pay without provoking political explosion.

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🕊️ A Long, But Fragile Truce

Brétigny opens a truce of about nine years. But the ransom is poorly paid, borders remain contested, and the war continues in other forms (companies, raids, diplomatic pressures) before open resumption of the conflict.

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🧠 To Remember

• 1360: Brétigny puts the ransom at the heart of politics.
• Peace is a long truce, but not the end of war.