The village was created and named in honour of Henri IV in 1609 by Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully to be the capital of the principality of Boisbelle and possibly a refuge for the protestants of the region.

The hamlet of La Borne is home to a restored tradition of stoneware pottery, attracting world-renowned artists and writers to stay there.

The inhabitants of Boisbelle were free from any taxes or services and could not be conscripted into the armed forces, but were however subject to the requirements of the Roman Catholic Church.

As the French Treasury had challenged the tax-exempt position of Boisbelle, Sully obtained from Henri IV letters patent of 11 July 1606 and 27 October 1606 which confirmed its sovereign status and the immunity of its inhabitants.

To lay out the town, he called on the civil engineer Claude Chastillon, while the design of the buildings was entrusted to the architect Salomon de Brosse.