 The 16th and 17th centuries marked a pause in the expansion of the village which went into a long period of lethargy and decline.The religious wars starting from the 1560s, the disastrous consequences of the Siege of La Rochelle in 1627-1628, then the exile of the Protestants, following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, had a lasting impact on Aigrefeuille and the region.It was also a time of economic slump with a drop in sales of "Aunis" wines which competed with those from "Bordeaux".