The History of France has been divided into a series of separate historical articles navigable through the list to the right. "Ancient" redirects here For other uses see Ancient_(disambiguation. Prehistoric France is the period in the human occupation (including early hominins) of the geographical area covered by present-day France which extended through Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western For Gaul before the Roman conquest see Gaul. Roman Gaul consisted of an area of provincial rule in the Roman Empire, in modern day The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group The Merovingians (also Merovings) were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region (known as Francia in Latin France in the Middle Ages covers an area roughly corresponding to modern day France, from the death of Charlemagne in 814 to the middle of the 15th The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolings, or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family with its origins in the For a full history of the Capetian family see Capetian dynasty. See also France in the Middle Ages, Early Modern France Unexpected inheritance The Capetian dynasty seemed secure both during and Early Modern France is the Early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century (or from the French Renaissance See also France in the Middle Ages, Early Modern France Unexpected inheritance The Capetian dynasty seemed secure both during and See also France in the Middle Ages, Early Modern France Unexpected inheritance The Capetian dynasty seemed secure both during and The House of Bourbon is an important European Royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an The History of France from 1789 to 1914 ( The long 19th century) extends from the French Revolution to World War I and includes The First Republic in France, officially the French Republic (République française was proclaimed on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the Constitutional and legislative assembly The Executive Directory ( Directoire exécutif) was a body of 5 single-male Directors that held executive power in France following The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the The Empire of the French (1804-1814 also known as the Empire of France, Greater French Empire, First French Empire, French Empire, or Following the ousting of Napoleon I of France in 1814 the Allies restored the Bourbon Dynasty to the French throne The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution, saw the overthrow of King Charles X, the French The July Monarchy (1830-1848 was a period of liberal monarchy rule of France under Louis-Philippe The February 1848 Revolution in France ended the reign of King Louis-Philippe, and led to the creation of the French Second Republic (1848-1852 History Revolution of 1848 See also Mid-nineteenth century France The industrial population of the Faubourgs The Second French Empire or Second Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870 between the Second The French Third Republic (in French, La Troisième République, sometimes written as La IIIe The Paris Commune (La Commune de Paris was a Government that briefly ruled Paris from 18 March (more formally from 26 March) to 28 May The History of France from 1914 to the present includes the later years of the Third Republic (1871–1941 World War I (1914–18 Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 The Provisional Government of the French Republic ( gouvernement provisoire de la République française or GPRF was an interim government which governed The founding of the Fourth Republic (1944-47 See also Three Parties, Third Force (France European Unity The creation of the See also Government of France The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on The Kingdom of France was organised into Provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département This is a history of the economy of France. For more information on historical cultural demographic and sociological developments in France see the chronological As of January 1, 2008, 64473140 people live in the French Republic. The military history of France encompasses an immense panorama of conflicts and struggles extending for more than 2000 years across areas including modern France, greater France was a dominant empire in the world from the 1600s to the late 1960s possessing many colonies in various locations around the world For practical purposes the history of French art has been divided into a series of separate articles accessible through the template to the right This article is a general introduction to French literature For detailed information on French literature in specific historic periods see the separate historical articles in the The Culture of France and of the French people has been shaped by its geography, by profound historical events, and by foreign and This is a timeline of French history. To read about the background to these events see History of France. The chronological era articles (highlighted in blue) address broad French historical, cultural and sociological developments. The dynasty and regime articles deal with the specific political and governmental regimes in France. The history of other cultural topics such as French art and literature can be found on their own pages. For information on today's France, see France. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. For other information, go to Portal:France.
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Prehistory
The Neanderthals, a member of the homo genus, began to occupy Europe from about 200,000 BCE, but seem to have died out by about 30,000 years ago, presumably out-competed by the modern humans during a period of cold weather. The Neanderthal (neɪˈændərtɑːl also with /niː-/ and /-θɔːl/ or Neandertal, is an extinct member of the Homo genus that is known from Homo is the Genus that includes modern humans and their close relatives The earliest modern humans — Homo sapiens — entered Europe (including France) around 50,000 years ago (the Upper Palaeolithic). The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe Africa The caves paintings of Lascaux and Gargas (Gargas in the Hautes-Pyrénées) as well as the Carnac stones are remains of the local prehistoric activity. Lascaux is the setting of a complex of Caves in southwestern France famous for its prehistoric Cave paintings The original caves are located near Hautes-Pyrénées ( Occitan: Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus) is a department in southwestern France. The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of Megalithic sites around the French village of Carnac, in Brittany, consisting of alignments
Gaul
Covering large parts of modern day France, Belgium, and northwest Germany, Gaul was inhabited by many Celtic tribes whom the Romans referred to as Gauls and who spoke the Gaulish language. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts Gaulish or Gallic is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire became On the lower Garonne the people spoke an archaic language related to Basque, the Aquitanian language. The Aquitanian language was spoken in ancient Aquitaine (approximately between the Pyrenees and the Garonne, the region later known as Gascony The Celts founded cities such as Lutetia Parisiorum (Paris) and Burdigala (Bordeaux) while the Aquitanians founded Tolosa (Toulouse). Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city ( Gascon: Bordèu) is a port city in southwest France, with one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area at a 2008 estimate Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest
Long before any Roman settlements, Greek navigators settled in what would become Provence. Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm is a region of southeastern France The Phoceans founded important cities such as Massalia (Marseilles) and Nicaea (Nice), bringing them in to conflict with the neighboring Celts and Ligurians. This article is about the ancient city For the modern city see Foça Phocaea, or Phokaia, (Φώκαια (modern-day Foça Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ Nice (nis Niçard Occitan: Niça norm or Nissa, Italian: Nizza or Nizza Marittima, Greek The Phoceans were great navigators such as Pytheas who was born in Marseilles. Dates Pliny says that Timaeus (born about 350 BC believed Pytheas' story of the discovery of Amber. The Celts themselves often fought with Aquitanians and Germans, and a Gaulish war band led by Brennus invaded Rome circa 393 or 388 BC following the Battle of the Allia. Brennus (or Brennos) (d 279 BC was one of the leaders of the army of Gallic invasion of the Balkans, defeated the assembled Greeks at Thermopylae, and The Battle of the Allia was a battle of the first Gallic invasion of Italy However Gaulish tactics would not evolve and the Romans would learn to counter them, the Gauls would from then be defeated in battles such as Sentinum and Telamon. The Battle of Sentinum was the decisive battle of the Third Samnite War, fought in 295 BC near Sentinum (next to Sassoferrato The Battle of Telamon was fought between the Roman Republic and an alliance of Gauls in 225 BC.
When he fought the Romans, Hannibal Barca recruited several Gaulish mercenaries which fought on his side at Cannae. Hannibal (Pronounced in Phoenician: Hanniba'al means " Ba'al is my grace " or " Ba'al has given me grace " 247 BC &ndash For the 11th century battle in the Byzantine conquest of the Mezzogiorno, see Battle of Cannae (1018. It was this Gaulish participation that caused Provence to be annexed in 122 BC by the Roman Republic. The Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a Republican form of government a period which began with the overthrow of the Later, the Consul of Gaul - Julius Caesar - conquered all of Gaul. Despite Gaulish opposition led by Vercingetorix, the Overking of the Warriors, Gauls succumbed to the Roman onslaught; the Gauls had some success at first at Gergovia, but were ultimately defeated at Alesia. Vercingetorix (werkiŋˈɡetoriks in Latin) born around 82 BC died 46 BC was chieftain of the Arverni, originating from the Arvernian city of The Battle of Gergovia took place in 52 BC in Gaul at Gergovia the chief town of the Arverni. The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia took place in September 52 BC around the Gallic Oppidum of Alesia, a major town centre and The Romans founded cities such as Lugdunum (Lyon) and Narbonensis (Narbonne). ||-||} Lyon, also known as Lyons in English is a city in east-central France. Narbonne ( Narbona in Catalan and in Occitan, the Roman Narbo) is a commune in southwestern France in the
Roman Gaul
Gaul was divided into several different provinces. The Romans displaced populations in order to prevent local identities to become a threat to the Roman control. Thus, many Celts were displaced in Aquitania or were enslaved and moved out of Gaul. There was a strong cultural evolution in Gaul under the Roman Empire, the most obvious one being the replacement of the Gaulish language by Vulgar Latin. Gaulish or Gallic is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire became Vulgar Latin (in Latin sermo vulgaris, "folk speech" is a Blanket term covering the popular Dialects and Sociolects of the Latin It has been argued the similarities between the Gaulish and Latin languages favoured the transition. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Gaul remained under Roman control for centuries and the Celtic culture was then replaced by the Gallo-Roman culture. This article covers the culture of Romanized areas of Gaul. For the political history of the brief "Gallic Empire" of the 3rd century see Gallic Empire
Gauls became better integrated with the Empire with the passage of time. For instance Marcus Antonius Primus, an important general of the Roman Empire, and Emperor Claudius were both born in Gaul, as were general Gnaeus Julius Agricola and emperor Caracalla; Antoninus Pius also came from a gaulish family. Marcus Antonius Primus ( 30 / 35 -after 81) was a Roman Empire general Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I ( August 1, 10 BC &ndash October 13, AD 54 ( Tiberius Claudius Drusus from birth to Gnaeus Julius Agricola ( June 13, 40 &ndash August 23, 93) was a Roman general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Caracalla ( April 4 188 &ndash April 8, 217) born Lucius Septimius Bassianus and later Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus ( September 19, 86 &ndash March 7 161) generally known in English as Antoninus Pius In the decade following Valerian’s capture by the Persians in 260 Postumus established a short-lived Gallic Empire, which included the Iberian Peninsula and Britannia in addition to Gaul itself. For other uses see Valerian. Publius Licinius Valerianus (c 200 - after 260 commonly known in English as Valerian For the alleged son of this emperor also called Postumus see Postumus Junior; for the son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa see Agrippa Postumus The Gallic Empire (in Latin Imperium Galliarum) is the modern name for the independent realm that existed from 260 to 273, during the Germanic tribes, the Franks and the Alamanni, entered Gaul at this time. The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Main river ( Germany The Gallic Empire ended with Emperor Aurelian's victory at Chalons in 274. Lucius Domitius Aurelianus ( September 9, 214 or 215 &ndashSeptember or October 275 known in English as Aurelian, Roman Emperor (270&ndash275
A migration of Celts appeared in the 4th century in Armorica. Armorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany Peninsula and the territory between the They were led by the legendary king Conan Meriadoc and came from Britain. Conan Meriadoc (modern Breton Konan Meriadeg, Welsh Cynan Meiriadog; Latin Conanus Meridiadocus; died ca They spoke the now extinct British language which evolved into the Breton, Cornish, and Welsh languages. British was an ancient Celtic language spoken in much of southern and central Britain up to the central lowlands of Scotland and in Ireland. The Breton language ( Brezhoneg) formerly often called Armoric or Armorican, is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany For the Cornish-English dialect see West Country dialects and List of Cornish dialect words. Welsh ( cy Cymraeg or cy y Gymraeg, kəmˈrɑːɨɡ and {{IPA|[ə ɡəmˈrɑːɨɡ]}}, is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic
In 418 the Aquitanian province was given to the Goths in exchange for their support against the Vandals. Those Goths had previously sacked Rome in 410 and established a capital in Toulouse. The Roman Empire had difficulty responding to all the barbarian raids, and Flavius Aëtius had to use these tribes against each other in order to maintain some Roman control. Aëtius is also the name of several other persons Flavius Aëtius or simply Aëtius, (c He first used Huns against Burgundians and these mercenaries destroyed Worms, killed king Gunther, and pushed the Burgundians westward. The Huns were an early confederation of Central Asian equestrian nomads or semi-nomads with a Turkic core of aristocracy The Burgundians or Burgundes were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose Worms (voɐms is a City in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River Gunnar redirects here Gunnar is also a character from the 2000AD comic strip Rogue Trooper Gunther (Gundahar The Burgundians were resettled by Aëtius near Lugdunum in 443. The Huns, united by Attila became a greater threat, and Aëtius used the Visigoths against the Huns. The conflict climaxed in 451 at the Battle of Chalons, in which the Romans and Goths defeated Attila.
The Roman Empire was on the verge of collapsing. Aquitania was definitely abandoned to the Visigoths, who would soon conquer a significant part of southern Gaul as well as most of the Iberian Peninsula. The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East The Burgundians claimed their own kingdom, and northern Gaul was practically abandoned to the Franks. Aside of the Germanic peoples the Vascones entered Wasconia from the Pyrenees and the Bretons formed three kingdoms in Armorica: Domnonia, Cornouaille and Broërec. The Vascones (Latin singular VASCO) were an ancient people who at the arrival of the Romans, inhabited the region of present day Navarre The Duchy of Vasconia (also Wasconia, later the Duchy of Gascony) was originally a Frankish march formed in the seventh century to protect the Aquitanian The Bretons are a distinct Ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. Domnonée ( Breton: Domnonea) is the modern French version of the Latin name Dumnonia (or Domnonia which denoted a kingdom in northern Brittany founded Cornouaille is an historic region in Brittany, in northwest France. Broërec (also Bro Erec or Bro Ereg, or even Broerech) is a traditional French province in the south of Brittany.
Frankish kingdoms (486-987)
In 486,Clovis I, leader of the Salian Franks, defeated Syagrius at Soissons and subsequently united most of northern and central Gaul under his rule. Clovis I (c 466 &ndash 27 November 511) was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler Salians redirects here for the eleventh-century dynasty see Salian dynasty, for Roman priests see Salii. Flavius Afranius Syagrius (born 430 died 486 or 487 was the son of Aegidius, the last Roman Magister militum per Gallias The Battle of Soissons in the year 486 was fought between the Frankish forces under Clovis I, and the Gallo-Roman Kingdom Clovis then recorded a succession of victories against other Germanic tribes such as the Alamanni at Tolbiac. The Battle of Tolbiac was fought between the Franks under Clovis I and the Alamanni, traditionally set in 496. In 496, he adopted Christianity. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings This gave him greater legitimacy and power over his Christian subjects and granted him clerical support against the Visigoths. He defeated Alaric II at Vouillé in 507 and annexed Aquitaine, and thus Toulouse, into his Frankish kingdom. Alaric II, also known as Alarik Alarich and Alarico in Spanish and Portuguese or Alaricus in Latin (d The Battle of Vouillé or Campus Vogladensis was fought in the northern Marches of Visigothic territory at a small place near Poitiers ( Gaul The Goths retired to Toledo in what would become Spain. Toledo Spain locationpng|thumb|right|200px|Location of Toledo in Spain Clovis made Paris his capital and established the Merovingian Dynasty but his kingdom would not survive his death. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The Merovingians (also Merovings) were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region (known as Francia in Latin The Franks treated land purely as a private possession and divided it among heirs, so four kingdoms emerged: Paris, Orleans, Soissons, and Rheims. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city This article is about the French city of Orléans for other meanings see Orleans (disambiguation. Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardie in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about 100 Reims (alternative English spelling Rheims; riːmz in English and /ʁɛ̃s/ in French) is a city of the Champagne-Ardenne région of northern When the majordome of Austrasia Pepin of Herstal defeated his Neustrian counterpart at Tertry the Merovingian dynasty eventually lost effective power to their successive mayors of the palace (majordomes). Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval Title and Office, also called Majordomo, from the Latin title Maior domus ("superior Austrasia (rarely Austria, both meaning "eastern land" formed the north-eastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks, comprising Pepin (also Pippin, Pipin, or Peppin) of Herstal (c 635 &ndash 16 December 714) was the Mayor of the Palace The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new land" originated in 511 made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, The Battle of Tertry was an important engagement in Merovingian Gaul between the forces of Austrasia on one side and those of Neustria and The Merovingians (also Merovings) were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region (known as Francia in Latin Mayor of the Palace was an early medieval Title and Office, also called Majordomo, from the Latin title Maior domus ("superior The House of Herstal was to become the Carolingian dynasty. Herstal is a Municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege along the Meuse river. The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolings, or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family with its origins in the By this time Muslims invaders had conquered Hispania and were threatening the Frankish kingdoms. The Umayyad conquest of Hispania ( 711 – 718) began as an army of the Umayyad Caliphate consisting largely of Berbers inhabitants Duke Odo the Great defeated a major invading force at Toulouse in 721 but failed to repel a raiding party in 732. For the later duke of Aquitaine and also Gascony with the same name see Odo of Gascony. The Battle of Toulouse ( 721) was a victory of a Frankish army led by Duke Odo of Aquitaine over an Umayyad army besieging the city of The mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, defeated that raiding party at the Battle of Tours (actually the battle between Tours and Poitiers) and earned respect and power within the Frankish Kingdom. Charles "The Hammer" Martel (Carolus Martellus Charles "the Hammer" (ca The Battle of Tours (October 10 732 also called the Battle of Poitiers and in معركة بلاط الشهداء (ma‘arakat Balâṭ ash-Shuhadâ’ Battle of Court The assumption of the crown in 751 by Pippin the Short (son of Charles Martel) established the Carolingian dynasty as Kings of the Franks. Pepin or Pippin (714 &ndash 24 September 768) called the Short, and often known as Pepin the Younger or Pepin III, was
The new rulers' power reached its fullest extent under Pippin's son Charlemagne. Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his With Charlemagne German influences become paramount in France. Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his [1] In 771 Charlemagne reunited the Frankish domains after a further period of division, subsequently conquering the Lombards under Desiderius in what is now northern Italy (774), incorporating Bavaria (788) into his realm, defeating the Avars of the Danubian plain (796), advancing the frontier with Islamic Spain as far south as Barcelona (801), and subjugating Lower Saxony (804) after prolonged campaigning. Events By Place Europe December 4 — Carloman I King of the Franks, dies leaving his brother Charlemagne king of Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his The Lombards ( Latin Langobardi, whence the alternative names Langobards and Longobards) were a Germanic people originally from Desiderius (also known as Daufer or Dauferius; Didier in French and Desiderio in Italian) was the last king of the Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The history of Bavaria stretches from its earliest settlement and its formation as a stem duchy in the 6th century through its inclusion in the Holy Roman Empires The Caucasian Avars are a modern people of Caucasus, mainly of Dagestan. The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj Al-Andalus (الأندلس was the Arabic name given to those parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims or Barcelona ( Catalan bəɾsəˈlonə Spanish baɾθeˈlona is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia Lower Saxony ( German: Niedersachsen ch is pronounced before an s --> lies in north-western Germany and is second
In recognition of his successes and his political support for the Papacy, Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans, or Roman Emperor in the West, by Pope Leo III in 800. History See also History of the Papacy Catholics recognize the Pope as a successor to Saint Peter, who Jesus named as the "shepherd" and Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his Pope Leo III (died June 12, 816) was Pope from 795 to 816 Protected by Charlemagne from his enemies in Rome he subsequently strengthened Charlemagne's son Louis I (emperor 814-840) kept the empire united; however, this Carolingian Empire would not survive Louis I's death. Louis the Pious (778 &ndash 20 June 840) also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781 and co-Emperor Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term sometimes used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty. Two of his sons — Charles the Bald and Louis the German — swore allegiance to each other against their brother — Lothair I — in the Oaths of Strasbourg, and the empire was divided among Louis's three sons (Treaty of Verdun, 843). Charles the Bald ( 13 June 823 – 6 October 877) Holy Roman Emperor (875–877 as Charles II) and King of West Francia Louis (also Ludwig or Lewis) the German (also known as Louis II or Louis the Bavarian) (806 &ndash August 28, 876 Lothair I ( German: Lothar, French: Lothaire, Italian: Lotario) (795 &ndash 29 September 855) The Oaths of Strasbourg ( Modern French: les serments de Strasbourg, Modern German: die Straßburger Eide, Latin Sacramenta In the Treaty of Verdun of 843 the three surviving sons of Louis the Pious, Charlemagne 's grandsons divided his territories the Carolingian After a last brief reunification (884-887), the imperial title ceased to be held in the western realm which was to form the basis of the future French kingdom. The eastern realm, which would become Germany, elected the Saxon dynasty of Henry the Fowler.
Under the Carolingians, the kingdom was ravaged by Viking raiders. The Siege of Paris of 885 to 886 was a Viking siege of Paris, then capital of the kingdom of the West Franks. In this struggle some important figures such as Count Odo of Paris and his brother King Robert rose to fame and became kings. For the Duke of Burgundy (956-965 please see Odo Duke of Burgundy. Robert I ( August 15, 866 &ndash June 15, 923) king of West Francia (922 &ndash 923 was the younger son of Robert the Strong This emerging dynasty, whose members were called the Robertines, was the predecessor of the Capetian Dynasty, who were descended from the Robertines. The Robertians, or Robertines, were a Frankish predecessor family of whatbecame the Capetians. For the Direct Capetians, who ruled France 987&ndash1328 see the House of Capet. Led by Rollo, the Vikings had settled in Normandy and were granted the land first as counts and then as dukes by King Charles the Simple. Rollo, occasionally known as Rollo the Viking, (c 860 - c 932 was the founder and first ruler of the Viking principality in what soon became known as The people that emerged from the interactions between Vikings and the mix of Franks and Gallo-Romans became known as the Normans.
See also:
- List of Frankish Kings
- Merovingians
- Carolingians
- Carolingian Empire
- Carolingian Renaissance
- Early Middle Ages
France in the Middle-Ages (987-1453)
France was a very decentralised state during the middle age. The Franks were originally led by dukes (military leaders and reguli (petty kings The Merovingians (also Merovings) were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region (known as Francia in Latin The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolings, or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family with its origins in the Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term sometimes used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty. The Carolingian Renaissance was a period of intellectual and cultural revival occurring in the late eighth and ninth centuries with the peak of the activities The Early Middle Ages is a period in the History of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire spanning roughly five centuries from AD 500 France in the Middle Ages covers an area roughly corresponding to modern day France, from the death of Charlemagne in 814 to the middle of the 15th The authority of the king was more religious than administrative. The eleventh century in France marked the apogee of princely power at the expense of the king when states like Normandy, Flanders or Languedoc enjoyed a local authority comparable to kingdoms in all but name. The Capetians, as they were descended from the Robertines, were former powerful princes themselves who had successfully removed the weak and unfortunate Carolingian kings. The Carolingians Kings had nothing more than a royal title when the Capetian Kings added their principality to that title. The Capetians in a way had this double status of King and Prince, as king they held the Crown of Charlemagne and as Count of Paris they held their personnal fief best known as Île-de-France. The Crown of Charlemagne was the ancient Coronation crown of Kings of France. Count of Paris ( Comte de Paris) was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times Île-de-France is one of the ancient Provinces of France, and the one that has been the centre of power during most of French history. The fact the Capetians both held lands as prince as well as the title of King gave them a complicated status, thus they were involved in the struggle for power within France as princes but also gave them a religious authority over the Church of France. The Church of France, sometimes called the "eldest daughter of the Church" owing to its early communion (second century with the bishop of Rome is part of the worldwide However and despite the fact the Capetians kings often treated other princes more as enemies and allies than subordonates his royal title was often recognised yet not often respected. The authority was so weak in some remote places that bandits were the effective power.
Some of the king's vassals would grow so powerful that they would be among the strongest rulers of western Europe. The Normans, the Plantagenets, the Lusignans, the Hautevilles, the Ramnulfids, and the House of Toulouse successfully carved lands outside of France for themselves. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. The House of Plantagenet (planˈtadʒɪnɪt also called the House of Anjou, or the First Angevin dynasty, was originally a noble The Lusignan family originated in the Poitou near Lusignan in western France in the early 10th century. The family of the Hauteville ( French: Maison de Hauteville, Italian: Casa d'Altavilla) was a petty baronial Norman family from the The Ramnulfids, or the House of Poitiers, were a French dynasty ruling the County of Poitou and Duchy of Aquitaine in the ninth through twelfth centuries The first comites ( counts) of Toulouse were the administrators of the city and its environs under the Merovingians No succession of such royal The most important of these conquests for French history was the Norman Conquest of England following the Battle of Hastings by William the Conqueror because it linked England to France through Normandy. The Battle of Hastings was the decisive Norman victory in the Norman Conquest of England. William I of England ( 1027 His reign which brought Norman culture to England had an enormous impact on the subsequent course of England in the Middle Ages Although the Normans were now both vassals of the French kings and their equals as King of England, their zone of political activity remained centered in France. [2] These Norman nobles then commissioned the Bayeux Tapestry. The Bayeux Tapestry (Tapisserie de Bayeux is a 50 cm by 70 m (20 in by 230 ft long embroidered cloth which explains the events leading up to the 1066 Norman invasion of An important part of the French aristocracy involved itself in the crusades. French knights founded and ruled the Crusader states. The Crusader states were a number of mostly 12th- and 13th-century feudal states created by Western European Crusaders in Asia Minor, Greece and An example of legacy left in the Mideast from these nobles is the Krak des Chevaliers' enlargement by the Counts of Tripoli and Toulouse. Krak des Chevaliers (kʁak de ʃəval'je transliterated Crac des Chevaliers, is a Crusader fortress in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval military Tripolis ( Arabic: طرابلس Ṭarābulus - also طرابلس الغرب Ṭarā-bu-lus al-Gharb Libyan vernacular: Toulouse ( pronounced in standard French, and in the local accent ( Occitan: Tolosa, pronounced) is a city in southwest
The Early Capetians (987 - 1165)
Hugh Capet was elected by an assembly summoned in Reims on 5 June 988. Hugh Capet (c 940 &ndash 24 October, 996) was the first King of France of the eponymous Capetian dynasty from his election to succeed the Reims (alternative English spelling Rheims; riːmz in English and /ʁɛ̃s/ in French) is a city of the Champagne-Ardenne région of northern Capet was previously "Duke of the Franks" and then became "King of the Franks" (Rex Francorum). He was recorded to be recognised king by the Gauls, Bretons, Danes, Aquitanians, Goths, Spanish and Gascons. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western The Bretons are a distinct Ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. The term Dane may refer to People with a Danish ancestral or ethnic identity whether living in Denmark, emigrants or the descendants of emigrants The Aquitani ( Latin for Aquitanians) were a people living in what is now southwestern France, between the Pyrenees and the Garonne The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s Gascony (Gascogne gaskɔɲ Gascon Occitan: Gasconha, pronounced) is an area of southwest France that constituted a province of France [3] The Danes here are certainly the Normans (of Normandy), and the Spanish entry probably refers to the Carolingian Spanish marches. Hugh Capet's reign was marked by the loss of the Spanish marches as they grew more and more independent. Count Borell of Barcelona called for Hugh's help against Islamic raids, but even if Hugh intended to help Borell, he was otherwise occupied in fighting Charles of Lorraine. Borrel II (died 992 was Count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 947 and Count of Urgel from 948 Charles of Lorraine ( Laon, 953&ndash993 in Orléans) was the son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony and younger brother of King The loss of other Spanish principalities then followed. Hugh Capet, the first Capetian king, is not a well documented figure, his greatest achievement being certainly to survive as king and defeating the Caroligian claimant, thus allowing him to establish what would become one of Europe's most powerful house of kings.
Hugh's son — Robert the Pious — was crowned king of France before Capet's demise. Robert II ( 27 March 972 &ndash 20 July 1031) called the Pious or the Wise, was King of France from 996 Hugh Capet decided so in order to have his succession secured. Robert II, as King of France, met Emperor Henry II in 1023 on the borderline. Saint Henry II ( May 6, 973 &ndash July 13, 1024) called the Holy or the Saint, was the fifth and last Holy They agreed to end all claims over each other's realm, setting a new stage of Capetian and Ottonian relationships. The reign of Robert II was quite important because it involved the Peace and Truce of God and the Cluniac Reforms. The Peace and Truce of God was a Medieval European movement of the Catholic Church that applied spiritual sanctions in order to limit the violence of Private war The Cluniac (Clunian Reform was a series of changes within medieval monasticism, focused on restoring the traditional Monastic life encouraging art and caring for Although a weak king in power Robert II's efforts were considerable. His surviving charters imply he was heavily relying over the church to rule France, much like his father did. Although he lived with a mistress —Bertha of Burgundy— and was excommunicated because of this, he was regarded as a model of piety for monks (hence his nickname, Robert the Pious). Bertha Princess of Burgundy (952 964 or 967 – 1010 16 January 1016 or 1035 was the daughter of Conrad the Peaceful, King of Burgundy and his wife Matilda daughter He crowned his son —Hugh Magnus— King of France to secure his succession, however Hugh Magnus rebelled against his father and died fighting him. Hugh (II Magnus of France (Hugues le Grand (1007 &ndash 17 September 1025) was co- King of France under his father Robert II, from 1017 The next King of France —Henry I— was crowned after Robert's death, which is quite exceptional for a French king of the times. Henry I ( 4 May 1008 &ndash 4 August 1060) was King of France from 1031 to his death
Henry I was one of the weakest King of France, his reign saw the rise of some very powerful nobles such as William the Conqueror. However his biggest source of concerns was his brother —Robert I of Burgundy— who was pushed by his mother to the conflict. Robert I Capet (1011 &ndash March 21 1076) was Duke of Burgundy between 1032 to his death Robert of Burgundy was made Duke of Burgundy by King Henry I and had to be satisfied with that title. From Henry I onward the Dukes of Burgundy were relatives of the King of France until the end of the Duchy proper. King Philip I, named by his Kievan mother with a typically Eastern European name, was no more fortunate than his predecessor. Philip I ( 23 May 1052 &ndash 29 July 1108) called the Amorous or the Fat, was King of France from 1060
It is from Louis VI onward that royal authority became more accepted. Louis VI ( 1 December 1081 – 1 August 1137) called the Fat (le Gros was King of France from 1108 until his death (1137 Louis VI was more a soldier and warmongering king than a scholar. The way the king raised money from his vassals made him quite unpopular, he was described as greedy and ambitious and that is corroborated by records of the time. His regular attacks on his vassals, although damaging the royal image, reinforced the royal power. From 1127 onward the royal advisor was a skilled politician — Abbot Suger —. Suger (c 1081 &ndash 13 January 1151) was one of the last French abbot-statesmen a historian and the influential first patron of Gothic architecture The abbot was the son of a minor family of knights however his policital advices would show extremely valuables to the king. Louis VI successfully defeated, both military and politically, many of the robber barons. The term robber baron (Raubritter dates back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries originally referring to certain Feudal Lords Louis VI often summoned his vassals to the court, those who did not show up often had their land possessions confiscated and then military campaigns were mounted against them. This drastic policy clearly imposed some royal authority on Paris and its surrounding areas. When Louis VI died in 1137 there still was a long way to go, however a lot of efforts had been done.
Thanks to Abbot Suger's political advices King Louis VII enjoyed the moral authority over France his predecessors should have got. Louis VII, called the Younger or the Young (Louis le Jeune 1120 – 18 September 1180) was King of France, the son and successor Even more powerful vassals such as Henry Plantagenet paid homage to the French king. [4] It was the Abbot who got Louis VII married with Eleanor of Aquitaine in Bordeaux. For other Eleanors of England see Eleanor of England (disambiguation Eleanor Duchess of Aquitaine (1122&ndash1 April 1204 Louis VII was then Duke of Aquitaine from his wedding with Eleanor and enjoyed considerable power. However the couple was not getting on well at all because of the burning of more than a thousand people in Vitry during the conflict against the Count of Champagne. King Louis VII was deeply horrified by such event and sought penitence by going to the holy land. Louis then involved the Kingdom of France in the Second Crusade but his relationship with Eleanor did not improve. The Second Crusade (1147&ndash1149 was the second major Crusade launched from Europe, called in 1145 in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the The marriage was ultimately annulated by the pope under the pretext of consanguinity and Eleanor soon married the Duke of Normandy —Henry Fitzempress— who would become King of England as Henry II two years later. Louis VII was once a very powerful monarch and was now facing a much stronger vassal, who was his equal as King of England and his strongest prince as Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine. Abbot Sugar's vision of construction became known as the Gothic Architecture during the later Renaissance. See also Gothic art Gothic architecture is a style of Architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere This style became standard for most French cathedrals built in the late middle-age.
The late Capetians (1165 - 1328)
The late direct Capetian kings were considerably more powerful and influential than the earliest ones. While Philip I could hardly control his Parisian barons Philip IV, on the other hand, could dictate popes and emperors. The late Capetians, although they often ruled for a shorter time than their earlier peers, were often much more influencials. This period also saw the rise of a complex system of international alliances and conflicts opposing, through dynasties, Kings of France and England and Holy Roman Emperor.
Philip II Augustus
The reign of Philip II Augustus marked an important step in the history of French monarchy. Philip II Augustus (Philippe Auguste ( 21 August[[ 165]] &ndash 14 July 1223) was the King of France from 1180 until his death His reign saw the French royal domain and influence greatly expanded. He had set the context for the rise of power to much more powerful monarchs like Saint Louis and Philip the Fair.
Philip II spent an important part of his reign fighting the so-called Angevin Empire, which was probably the greatest threat to the King of France since the rise of the Capetian dynasty. The term Angevin Empire describes a collection of states ruled by the Angevin Plantagenet dynasty During the first part of his reign Philip II tried using Henry II of England's son against him. He allied himself with the Duke of Aquitaine and son of Henry II —Richard Lionheart— and together they launched a decisive attack on Henry's castle and home of Chinon and removed him from power. Richard I (8 September 1157 &ndash 6 April 1199 was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death Chinon is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Richard replaced his father as King of England afterward. The two kings then went crusading during the Third Crusade however their alliance and friendship broke down during the crusade. The Third Crusade (1189&ndash1192 also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin The two men were once again at odds and fought each others in France and Richard was on the verge of totally defeating Philip II. Adding to their battles in France the Kings of France and England were trying to install their respective allies at the head of the Holy Roman Empire. If Philip II Augustus supported Philip of Swabia, member of the House of Hohenstaufen, Richard Lionheart supported Otto IV, member of the House of Welf. Philip of Swabia (1177 &ndash June 21, 1208) was king of Germany and duke of Swabia, the rival of the emperor Otto IV. Otto IV of Brunswick (1175 or 1176 – May 19, 1218) was one of two rival kings of the Holy Roman Empire from 1198 on sole king from 1208 on and emperor See also Elder House of Welf The House of Welf (or House of Guelph) is a European Dynasty that has included many German and British Otto IV had the upper hand and became the Holy Roman Emperor at the expense of Philip of Swabia. The crown of France was saved by Richard's demise after a wound he received fighting his own vassals in Limousin. Limousin ( Occitan: Lemosin) is a former Province of France around the city of Limoges in central France. John Lackland, Richard's successor, refused to come to the French court for a trial against the Lusignans and like Louis VI often did to his rebellous vassals Philip II confiscated John's possessions in France. John (24 December 1167 &ndash 19 October 1216 reigned as a King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death The Lusignan family originated in the Poitou near Lusignan in western France in the early 10th century. John's defeat was swift and his attempts to reconquer his French possession at the Battle of Bouvines showed being a complete failure. The Battle of Bouvines July 27, 1214, was a conclusive medieval battle ending the twelve year old War of Bouvines took ground exactly opposite in His allies, most notably Emperor Otto IV, were all defeated or captured and even as King of England he had no mean to reconquer Normandy and Anjou. Not only Philip II annexed Normandy and Anjou but he had captured the Counts of Boulogne and Flanders. Otto IV was overthrown by Frederick II, allied of Philip II of France and member of the House of Hohenstaufen. Frederick II ( December 26, 1194 &ndash December 13, 1250) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was a Pretender to the title The King of France however stopped before conquering Aquitaine and Gascony who remained loyal to the Plantagenet King. In addition to defeating John of England, Philip Augustus founded the Sorbonne and made Paris a city for scholars. John (24 December 1167 &ndash 19 October 1216 reigned as a King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death The historic University of Paris (Université de Paris first appeared in the second half of the 13th century Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Prince Louis (the future Louis VIII) was involved in the subsequent English civil war as French and English (or rather Anglo-Norman) aristocracies were once one and were now split between allegiances. Louis VIII the Lion ( 5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226) reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226 The First Barons' War ( 1215 &ndash 1217) was a combination of a Civil war in the Kingdom of England between on the one hand the forces of While the French kings were struggling against the Plantagenets, the Church called for the Albigensian Crusade. The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade (1209&ndash1229 was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Roman Catholic Church to eliminate the Cathar Southern France was then largely absorbed in the royal domains.
Saint Louis
It can be said that France became a truly centralised kingdom under Louis IX, who initiated several administrative reforms. Saint Louis has often been portrayed as a one dimensional character, a flawless representant of the faith and an administrator caring for the governed ones. However his reign was far from perfect for everyone, he made unsuccessful crusades and his expanding administrations raised oppositions. His jugdements were not often practical, although they seemed fair by the standards of the time. It appears Louis had a strong sense of justice and always wanted to judge people himself before applying any sentence. This was said about Louis and French clergy asking for excommunications of Louis' vassals:[5]
| “ | For it would be against god and contrary to right and justice if he compelled any man to seek absolution when the clergy were doing him wrong. | ” |
Louis IX was only twelve years old when he became King of France, his mother —Blanche of Castile— was the effective power although the King was indeed Louis IX. For other persons called Blanche of Castile see Blanca of Castile. Blanche's authority was strongly opposed by the French barons yet she could maintain her position as regent (although she did not formally use the title) until Louis was old enough to rule by himself. In 1229 the King had to struggle with a long lasting strike at the University of Paris, the Quartier Latin was strongly hit by these strikes. In 1229, a student riot at the University of Paris resulted in the deaths of a number of students and the ensuing "dispersion" or Student strike War was still going on in the County of Toulouse, the royal army was occupied fighting resistance in Languedoc and the kingdom was therefore vulnerable. Count Raymond VII of Toulouse finally signed the Treaty of Paris in 1229, in which he retained much of his lands to life, but his daughter, married to Count Alfonso of Poitou, produced him no heir and so the County of Toulouse went to the King of France. Raymond VII of Saint-Gilles (July 1197 &ndash 27 September 1249) was Count of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne and Marquis of Provence The Treaty of Paris was signed on April 12, 1229 between Raymond VII of Toulouse and Louis IX of France. Alfonso or Alphonse ( 11 November 1220 &ndash 21 August 1271) was the Count of Poitou from 1225 and Count of Toulouse King Henry III of England had not yet recognised the Capetian overlordship over Aquitaine and still hoped to recover Normandy and Anjou and reform the Angevin Empire. Henry III (1 October 1207 &ndash 16 November 1272 was the son and successor of John "Lackland" as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 He landed in 1232 at Saint-Malo with a massive force. Saint-Malo ( Breton: Sant-Maloù; Gallo: Saent-Malô) is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern Henry III's allies in Brittany and Normandy fell down because they did not dare fight their king who led the counterstrike himself. This evolved into the Saintonge War, Henry III was defeated and had to recognise Louis IX's overlordship although the King of France did not seize Aquitaine from Henry III. The Saintonge War was a feudal dynastic encounter that occurred in 1242 between forces of Louis IX of France and those of Henry III of England. Louis IX was now the most important landowner of France, adding to his royal title. There were some opposition to his rule in Normandy, yet it proved remarkably easy to rule, especially compared to the County of Toulouse which had been brutally conquered. The Conseil du Roi, which would evolve into the Parlement, was founded in these times. The Conseil du Roi or King's Council is a general term for the administrative and governmental apparatus around the king of France during the Ancien Régime This article is for the Ancien Régime institution For the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution see French Parliament.
Saint Louis also supported new forms of art such as Gothic architecture; his Sainte-Chapelle became a very famous gothic building, and he is also credited for the Morgan Bible. See also Gothic art Gothic architecture is a style of Architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. La Sainte-Chapelle (The Holy Chapel is a Gothic Chapel on the Île de la Cité in the heart of Paris, France. The Morgan Bible ( The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, Ms M After his conflict with King Henry III of England Louis established a cordial relation with the Plantagenet King. Henry III (1 October 1207 &ndash 16 November 1272 was the son and successor of John "Lackland" as King of England, reigning for fifty-six years from 1216 An amusing anecdote is about Henry III's attending the French Parlement, as Duke of Aquitaine, the King of England was always late because he liked to stop each time he met a priest to hear the mass, so Louis made sure no priest was on the way of Henry III. This article is for the Ancien Régime institution For the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution see French Parliament. Henry III and Louis IX then started a long contest in who was the most faithful up to the point none ever arrived anymore on time to the Parlement which was then allowed to debate in their absence. [6]
The Kingdom was involved in two crusades under Saint Louis: the Seventh Crusade and the Eighth Crusade. The Seventh Crusade was a Crusade led by Louis IX of France from 1248 to 1254. The Eighth Crusade was a Crusade launched by Louis IX, King of France, in Both proved to be complete failures for the French King. He died in the Eighth Crusade and Philip III became king. Philip the Bold Philip III ( 30 April 1245 &ndash 5 October 1285) called the Bold ( French: le Hardi) was Philip III took part in another crusading disaster: the Aragonese Crusade, which cost him his life. The Aragonese Crusade or Crusade of Aragón, a part of the larger War of the Sicilian Vespers, was declared by Pope Martin IV against the King of Aragón
More administrative reforms were made by Philip the Fair. This king was responsible for the end of the Templars, signed the Auld Alliance, and established the Parlement of Paris. The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici commonly known as the Knights Templar or the Order The Auld Alliance (Vieille Alliance auld-alliansen refers to a series of treaties offensive and defensive in nature between Scotland and France aimed specifically This article is for the Ancien Régime institution For the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution see French Parliament. Philip IV was so powerful that he could name popes and emperors, unlike the early Capetians. The papacy was moved to Avignon and all the contemporary popes were French such as Philip IV's puppet: Bertrand de Goth. In the History of the Roman Catholic Church, the Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1377 during which seven Popes all French, resided in Avignon Pope Clement V' (About 1264 &ndash April 20, 1314) born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled de Gouth and de
The early Valois Kings and the Hundred Years' War (1328 - 1453)
The tensions between the Houses of Anjou and Capet climaxed during the so-called Hundred Years' War (actually several distinct wars) when the English descendants of the former claimed the throne of France from the Valois. For the Direct Capetians, who ruled France 987&ndash1328 see the House of Capet. For a full history of the Capetian family see Capetian dynasty. Hugh Capet (c 940 &ndash 24 October, 996) was the first King of France of the eponymous Capetian dynasty from his election to succeed the Robert II ( 27 March 972 &ndash 20 July 1031) called the Pious or the Wise, was King of France from 996 Henry I ( 4 May 1008 &ndash 4 August 1060) was King of France from 1031 to his death Philip I ( 23 May 1052 &ndash 29 July 1108) called the Amorous or the Fat, was King of France from 1060 Louis VI ( 1 December 1081 – 1 August 1137) called the Fat (le Gros was King of France from 1108 until his death (1137 Louis VII, called the Younger or the Young (Louis le Jeune 1120 – 18 September 1180) was King of France, the son and successor Philip II Augustus (Philippe Auguste ( 21 August[[ 165]] &ndash 14 July 1223) was the King of France from 1180 until his death Louis VIII the Lion ( 5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226) reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226 Philip the Bold Philip III ( 30 April 1245 &ndash 5 October 1285) called the Bold ( French: le Hardi) was Louis X (October 1289 – 5 June 1316) called the Quarreller, the Headstrong, or the Stubborn (le Hutin el Obstinado was the John I ( 15 November 1316 &ndash 20 November 1316) called the Posthumous, was King of France and Navarre Philip V (1292/93 &ndash 3 January 1322) called the Tall (le Long was King of France and Navarre (as Philip II) and Charles IV (18/ 19 June 1294 – 1 February 1328) was the King of France and of Navarre (as Charles I) and The Hundred Years' War (Guerre de Cent Ans was a prolonged conflict lasting from 1337 to 1453 between two royal houses for the French throne vacant with the extinction of the senior This was also the time of the Black Death, as well as several civil wars. The French population suffered much from these wars. It has been argued that the difficult conditions the French population suffered during the Hundred Years' War awakened French nationalism, a nationalism represented by Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc (c 1412 Joan asserted that she had visions from God that told her to recover her homeland from English domination late in the Hundred Years' Although this is debatable, the Hundred Years War is remembered more as a Franco-English war than as a succession of feudal struggles. During this war, France evolved politically and militarily. Although a Franco-Scottish army was successful at Baugé, the humiliating defeats of Poitiers and Agincourt forced the French nobility to realise they could not stand just as armoured knights without an organised army. The Battle of Baugé, fought between the English and the Franco - Scots on March 21, 1421 in Baugé, France This article covers the battle during the Hundred Years' War. The Battle of Agincourt was an English victory against a larger French army in the Hundred Years' War. Charles VII established the first French standing army, the Compagnies d'ordonnance, and defeated the English once at Patay and again, using cannons, at Formigny. Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461 called the Victorious (le Victorieux or the Well-Served (le Bien-Servi was King of France from 1422 The Battle of Patay ( 18 June 1429) was a major battle in the Hundred Years' War between the French and English in north-central France The Battle of Formigny ( April 15, 1450) was a battle of the Hundred Years' War fought between England and France. The Battle of Châtillon was regarded as the last engagement of this "war", yet Calais and the Channel Islands remained ruled by the English crown. The Battle of Castillon of 1453 was the last battle fought between the French and the English during the Hundred Years' War. Calais (kaˈlɛ in English often kæˈleɪ traditional English pronunciation /ˈkælɨs/ Kales is a town in northern France. The Channel Islands ( Norman: Îles d'la Manche, French: Îles Anglo-Normandes or Îles de la Manche) are a group of Islands
French Kings:
English interlude (between Charles VI and VII)
See also:
- Capetian dynasty
- House of Capet
- House of Valois
- Angevin Empire
- Albigensian Crusade
- Saintonge War
- Auld Alliance
- Knights Templar
- Hundred Years' War
Important figures:
Early Modern France (1453-1789)
France evolved from a feudal country to an increasingly centralized state (albeit with many regional differences) organized around a powerful absolute monarchy that relied on the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings and the explicit support of the established Church. The Divine Right of Kings is a general term that refers to the philosophy and ideas used to justify the authority and legitimacy of Monarchs in Medieval and The Duke of Burgundy had assembled a large territory including his native duchy and the Burgundian Netherlands. In the history of the Low Countries, the Burgundian Netherlands refers to the period when the dukes of Burgundy ruled the area as well as Luxembourg and parts of King Louis XII faced Charles the Bold during Burgundian Wars and the French King was allied with the Old Swiss Confederacy. Louis XI ( July 3, 1423 – August 30, 1483) called the Prudent (le Prudent and the Universal Spider ( Middle Charles the Bold or Charles the Rash (Charles le Téméraire ( 21 November 1433 &ndash 5 January 1477) baptised Charles Martin The Burgundian Wars were a conflict between the Dukes of Burgundy and the Kings of France, later involving the Old Swiss Confederacy, which would play a The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland. The Duke of Burgundy was defeated at Morat, Battle of Grandson, Héricourt and ultimately defeated at Nancy in 1477. The Battle of Morat was a battle in the Burgundian Wars fought June 22, 1476 between Charles I Duke of Burgundy and a Swiss army at The Battle of Grandson, took place on 2 March 1476, was part of the Burgundian Wars, and resulted in a major defeat for Charles the Bold The Battle of Héricourt, fought in November 1474, was part of the Burgundian Wars, and resulted in a defeat for Burgundy and its allies The Battle of Nancy was the final and decisive battle of the Burgundian Wars, fought outside the walls of Nancy, France on The Duchy of Burgundy was annexed by France but the part of Burgundy that formed Franche-Comté was given to Philip I of Castile in 1493.
France engaged in the long Italian Wars (1494-1559), which marked the beginning of early modern France. Francis I faced powerful foes, and he was captured at Pavia. Francis I (September 12 1494 &ndash March 31 1547 was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547 The French monarchy then sought for allies and found one in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The Ottoman Admiral Barbarossa captured Nice on 5 August 1543 and handed it down to Francis I. Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha ( Turkish: Barbaros Hayreddin Paşa or Hızır Hayreddin Paşa; also Hızır Reis before being promoted to the Events 642 - Battle of Maserfield - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia. These times also gave birth to the Protestant Reformation, and John Calvin and his reformed doctrine challenged the power of the Catholic Church in France. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time John Calvin (or Jean Calvin) (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564 was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and During the 16th century, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs were the dominant power in Europe. In addition to Spain and Austria, they controlled a number of kingdoms and duchies across Europe. Charles Quint, as Count of Burgundy, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Aragon, Castile and Germany (among many other titles) encircled France. Charles V (24 February 1500 &ndash 21 September 1558 was The Spanish Tercio was used with great success against French knights and remained undefeated for a long time. The Tercio (Also known as Tercio Español, literally " Spanish tercio " and from tercio meaning "one-third" Finally on January 7, 1558 the Duke of Guise seized Calais from the English. Events 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental Francis II Prince of Joinville Duke of Guise Duke of Aumale ( February 17, 1519 &ndash February 24, 1563) called Balafré ("the
Despite the challenge to French power posed by the Habsburgs, French became the preferred language of Europe's aristocracy. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (born in 1500) said this about languages:
| “ | I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men, and German to my horse. Charles V (24 February 1500 &ndash 21 September 1558 was | ” |
Because of its international status, there was a desire to regulate the French language. Several reforms of the French language worked to uniformise it. The Renaissance writer François Rabelais (probably born in 1494) helped to shape the French language as a literary language, Rabelais' French is characterised by the re-introduction of Greek and Latin words. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Jacques Peletier du Mans (born 1517) was one of the scholars that reformed the French language. Jacques Peletier du Mans (1517 Le Mans – 1582 Paris) was a humanist, Poet and Mathematician of the French Renaissance He improved Nicolas Chuquet's long scale system by adding names for intermediate numbers (milliards instead of thousand million, etc. Nicolas Chuquet (1445 but some sources say c 1455 &ndash 1488 some sources say c The long and short scales are two different numerical systems used throughout the world Short scale is the English translation of the French . . ). During the 16th century the French kingdom also established colonies began to claim North American territories. French colonization of the Americas began in the 14th century and continued in the following centuries as France established a colonial empire in the Western Jacques Cartier was one of the great explorers who ventured deep into American territories during the 16th century. Jacques Cartier (December 31 1491&ndashSeptember 1 1557 was a French explorer who claimed what is now Canada for France The largest group of French colonies became known as New France, and several cities such as Quebec City, Montreal, Detroit and New Orleans were founded by the French. The Viceroyalty of New France (Nouvelle-France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Quebec City ( French: Ville de Québec, or simply Québec) (kwɨˈbɛk or /keˈbɛk/ is the Capital of the Canadian province Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana The Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano worked for the French crown and discovered New Angoulême which would later come to be known as New York City. Giovanni da Verrazzano (c 1485 &ndash c 1528 was an Italian Explorer of North America, in the service of the French crown. New Angoulême (Nouvelle-Angoulême was the name given to New York City in 1524 by Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano after Francis I of France, King The City of New York
Religious conflicts
Renewed Catholic reaction headed by the powerful duke of Guise, led to a massacre of Huguenots at Vassy in 1562, starting the first of the French Wars of Religion, during which English, German, and Spanish forces intervened on the side of rival Protestant and Catholic forces. Francis II Prince of Joinville Duke of Guise Duke of Aumale ( February 17, 1519 &ndash February 24, 1563) called Balafré ("the Wassy or Wassy-sur-Blaise is a commune of the Haute-Marne département, in France. The French Wars of Religion (1562 to 1598 between French Catholics and Protestants ( Huguenots involved both civil infighting In the most notorious incident, thousands of Huguenots were murdered in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572. The St Bartholomew's Day massacre ( Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy in French) was a wave of Roman Catholic Mob violence against the Huguenots The Wars of Religion culminated in the War of the Three Henrys in which Henry III assassinated Henry de Guise, leader of the Spanish-backed Catholic league, and the king was murdered in return. Henry III of France (Henri III Henryk ( September 19 1551 – August 2, 1589) Henry I Prince of Joinville Duke of Guise Count of Eu ( January 31, 1550 – December 23, 1588, Château de Blois) sometimes The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary (and modern Roman Catholics as the Holy League, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in Following this war Henry III of Navarre became king of France as Henry IV and enforced the Edict of Nantes (1598). Henry IV (Henri IV ( 13 December 1553 &ndash 14 May 1610) ruled as King of France from 1589 to 1610 and as Henry III The Edict of Nantes was issued on April 13, 1598 by Henry IV of France to grant the Calvinist Protestants of Religious conflicts resumed under Louis XIII when Cardinal de Richelieu forced Protestants to disarm their army and fortresses. For the cognac see Louis XIII de Rémy Martin. Louis XIII ( September 27, 1601 – May 14, 1643) This article is about a cardinal For information on the Russian also called The Red Eminence, see Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov. This conflict ended in the Siege of La Rochelle (1627-1628), in which Protestants and their English supporters were defeated. The Siege of La Rochelle was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627-1628 The following Peace of Alais confirmed religious freedom yet dismantled the Protestant defences. The Peace of Alais, sometimes called the Edict of Alès or the Edict of Grace, was a treaty signed between the Huguenots and King Louis This was also a time of philosophy. René Descartes sought answers to philosophical questions through the use of logic and reason and formulated what would be called Cartesian Dualism in 1641. In Philosophy of mind, dualism is a set of views about the relationship between mind and matter which begins with the claim that mental phenomena are in some
The religious conflicts that plagued France also ravaged the Habsburg-led Holy Roman Empire. The Thirty Years War eroded the power of the Catholic Habsburgs. For the Mauritanian Thirty Years' War see Char Bouba war. For the band see The 30 Years War. Although Cardinal Richelieu, the powerful chief minister of France, had previously mauled the Protestants, he joined this war on their side in 1636 because it was the raison d'état. This article is about a cardinal For information on the Russian also called The Red Eminence, see Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov. This article is about the generic foreign affairs term See The National Interest for the political journal Imperial Habsburg forces invaded France, ravaged Champagne, and nearly threatened Paris. Champagne is a historic province in the northeast of France, best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Richelieu died in 1642 and was replaced by Mazarin, while Louis XIII died one year later and was succeeded by Louis XIV. Jules Mazarin, born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino ( July 14 1602 &ndash March 9 1661) was an accomplished French statesman Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent France was served by some very efficient commanders such as Louis II de Bourbon (Condé) and Henry de la Tour d'Auvergne (Turenne). Louis II de Bourbon Prince de Condé ( 8 September, 1621 – 11 November, 1686) was a French general and the most famous representative Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne Vicomte de Turenne, often called simply Turenne ( September 11 1611 &ndash July 27 1675) was The French forces won a decisive victory at Rocroi (1643), and the Spanish army was decimated; the Tercio was broken. The Battle of Rocroi, fought on May 19 1643, resulted in a decisive victory of the French army under the Duc d'Enghien, against the The Truce of Ulm (1647) and the Peace of Westphalia (1648) brought an end to the war. The Truce of Ulm (Waffenstillstand von Ulm (also known as the Treaty of Ulm) was signed in Ulm on March 14, 1647 between France, The term Peace of Westphalia refers to the two peace treaties of Osnabrück and Münster, signed on May 15 and October 24 of But some challenges remained. France was hit by civil unrest known as the Fronde which in turn evolved into the Franco-Spanish War in 1653. La Fronde (1648–1653 was a Civil war in France, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635 The Franco-Spanish War was a military conflict between France and Spain. Louis II de Bourbon joined the Spanish army this time, but suffered a severe defeat at Dunkirk (1658) by Henry de la Tour d'Auvergne. The Battle of the Dunes, fought on June 14 (Gregorian calendar 1658 is also known as the Battle of Dunkirk. The terms for the peace inflicted upon the Spanish kingdoms in the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) were harsh, as France annexed Northern Catalonia. The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed in 1659 to end the war between France and Spain that had begun in 1635 during the Thirty Years' War.
Louis XIV
The Sun King wanted to be remembered as a patron of the arts, like his ancestor Louis IX. Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent He invited Jean-Baptiste Lully to establish the French opera. Jean-Baptiste de Lully ( Giovanni Battista di Lulli) (ʒɑ̃batist də lyˈli in French (November 28 1632 &ndash March 22 1687 was a French Composer of Italian French opera is one of Europe's most important operatic traditions containing works by composers of the stature of Lully, Rameau, Berlioz, Bizet A tumultuous friendship was established between Lully and Molière. Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also known by his Stage name, Molière, ( January 15, 1622 – February 17 1673) was a French Jules Hardouin Mansart became France's most important architect of the period. Jules Hardouin-Mansart (Paris April 16, 1646 &ndash Marly-le-Roi, France May 11, 1708) was a French Architect whose Louis XIV's long reign saw France involved in many wars that drained its treasury. His reign began during the Thirty Years' War and during the Franco-Spanish war. His military architect, Vauban, became famous for his pentagonal fortresses, and Jean-Baptiste Colbert supported the royal spending as much as possible. Sébastien Le Prestre Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban ( May 15, 1633 – March 30, 1707) commonly referred to Jean-Baptiste Colbert ( August 29, 1619 — September 6, 1683) served as the French minister of finance from 1665 to 1683 under France fought the War of Devolution against Spain in 1667. The War of Devolution ( 1667 &ndash 1668) saw Louis XIV 's French armies overrun the Hapsburg controlled Spanish Netherlands and France's defeat of Spain and invasion of the Spanish Netherlands alarmed England and Sweden. With the Dutch Republic they formed the Triple Alliance to check Louis XIV's expansion. "United Netherlands" redirects here For the "Kingdom of the United Netherlands" see United Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Triple Alliance ( 1668) of England, Sweden, and the United Provinces was formed to halt the expansion of Louis XIV 's France Louis II de Bourbon had captured Franche-Comté, but in face of an indefensible position, Louis XIV agreed to a peace at Aachen. Franche-Comté ( Franc-Comtois: Fràntche-Comté; Franco-Provençal: Franche-Comtât) the former "Free County" of Burgundy The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle or Treaty of Aachen was signed on May 2, 1668 in Aachen. Under its terms, Louis XIV did not annex Franche-Comté but did gain Lille. Lille (lil Rijsel is a city in northern France. It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest Metropolitan area in the country
Peace was fragile, and war broke out again between France and the Dutch Republic in the Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678). The Franco-Dutch War (1672&ndash1678 was a War fought between the Kingdom of France, Münster-->, Cologne--> and Kingdom of England Louis XIV asked for the Dutch Republic to resume war against the Spanish Netherlands, but the republic refused. France attacked the Dutch Republic and was joined by England in this conflict. Through targeted inundations of polders by breaking dykes, the French invasion of the Dutch Republic was brought to a halt. A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity meaning it has no connection with The Dutch Admiral Michiel de Ruyter inflicted a few strategic defeats on the Anglo-French naval alliance and forced England to retire from the war in 1674. Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter ( 24 March 1607 – 29 April 1676) is one of the most famous Admirals in Dutch history The Treaty of Westminster of 1674 was the Peace treaty that ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Because the Netherlands could not resist eternally, it agreed to peace in the Treaties of Nijmegen, according to which France would annex France-Comté and acquire further concessions in the Spanish Netherlands. The Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen ( Négotiations de Nimegue or Négotiations de la Paix de Nimègue) were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city On 6 May 1682, the royal court moved to the Palace of Versailles, which Louis XIV had greatly expanded. Events 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. The Palace of Versailles, or simply Versailles, is a royal Château in Versailles, in France 's Île-de-France region Peace did not last, and war between France and Spain again resumed. The War of the Reunions broke out (1683-1684), and again Spain, with its ally the Holy Roman Empire, was easily defeated. The War of the Reunions (1683&ndash1684 was a small conflict between Louis XIV 's France and Spain and her allies Meanwhile, in October 1685 Louis signed the Edict of Fontainebleau ordering the destruction of all Protestant churches and schools in France. The Edict of Fontainebleau (October 1685 was an Edict issued by Louis XIV of France, also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes of Its immediate consequence was a large Protestant exodus from France.
France would soon be involved in another war, the War of the Grand Alliance. The Nine Years' War (1688–97 – often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg – was a major war of the late 17th This time the theatre was not only in Europe but also in North America. Although the war was long and difficult (it was also called the Nine Years War), its results were inconclusive. The Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 confirmed French sovereignty over Alsace, yet rejected its claims to Luxembourg. The Treaty of Ryswick was signed on 20 September 1697 and named after Ryswick (now known as Rijswijk) in the Dutch Republic. Alsace (Alsace alzas Alsatian and Elsass pre-1996 German: Elsaß; Alsatia is one of the 26 Regions of France, located on the eastern Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by Louis also had to evacuate Catalonia and the Palatinate. Catalonia (Cataluña Catalunya Aranese: Catalonha) is an Autonomous Community in the northeast part of Spain. This peace was considered a truce by all sides, thus war was to start again. In 1701 the War of the Spanish Succession began. In the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714 several European powers combined to stop French succession to the Spanish throne and what would likely have been a resulting The Bourbon Philip of Anjou was designated heir to the throne of Spain. Philip V of Spain ( December 19, 1683 - July 9, 1746) born Philippe de France, Fils de France and duc d'Anjou The Habsburg Emperor Leopold opposed a Bourbon succession, because of the power that such a succession would bring to the Bourbon rulers of France, and claimed the Spanish thrones for himself. Early life He was a younger brother of Ferdinand IV of Hungary and Mariana of Austria. England and the Dutch Republic joined Leopold against Louis XIV and Philip of Anjou. The allied forces were led by John Churchill and by Prince Eugene of Savoy. This article refers to the Austrian Habsburg military leader for the stepson of Napoleon Bonaparte see Eugène de Beauharnais. They inflicted a few resounding defeats to the French army; the Battle of Blenheim in 1704 was the first major land battle lost by France since its victory at Rocroi in 1643. The Battle of Blenheim (referred to in some countries as the Second Battle of Höchstädt) fought on 13 August 1704 was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession Yet, after the extremely bloody battles of Ramillies and Malplaquet, Pyrrhic victories for the allies, they had lost too many men to continue the war. The Battle of Ramillies ( was a major engagement of the War of the Spanish Succession fought on 23 May 1706 The Battle of Malplaquet, fought on September 11 1709, was one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession, which opposed the Bourbons A Pyrrhic victory (ˈpɪrɪk is a victory with devastating cost to the victor Led by Villars, the French forces recovered much of the lost ground in battles such as Denain. Claude Louis Hector de Villars Prince de Martigues Marquis and Duc de Villars and Vicomte de Melun ( May 8, 1653 – June 17, 1734) was the The Battle of Denain was fought on July 24, 1712, as part of the War of the Spanish Succession, and resulted in a French victory under Marshal Finally, a compromise was achieved with the Ultrecht in 1713. The Treaty of Utrecht that established the Peace of Utrecht, rather than a single document comprised a series of individual peace treaties signed in the Dutch Philip of Anjou was confirmed as Philip V, king of Spain, and Emperor Leopold did not get the throne, but Philip V was barred from inheriting France.
Colonial struggles and the dawn of the revolution
Louis XIV died in 1715 of gangrene. Please do not add warnings to this page about the pictures Wikipedia is not censored for taste and has a guideline preventing such warnings - WikipediaNo disclaimers in articles In 1718 France was, once again, at war as Philip II of Orleans's regency joined the War of the Quadruple Alliance against Spain. Philippe II Duke of Orléans ( August 2, 1674 &ndash December 2, 1723) was a member of the royal family of France The War of the Quadruple Alliance ( 1718 – 1720) was a result of the ambitions of King Philip V of Spain, his wife Isabella Farnese and his chief King Philip V of Spain had to withdraw from the conflict confronted with the reality that Spain was no longer a great power of Europe. Philip V of Spain ( December 19, 1683 - July 9, 1746) born Philippe de France, Fils de France and duc d'Anjou Under Fleury's administration, peace was maintained as much as possible. André-Hercule de Fleury Bishop of Fréjus WikipediaNaming conventions (Clergy. However, in 1733 another war broke in central Europe, this time about the Polish succession, and France joined the war against the Austrian Empire. The War of the Polish Succession ( 1733 - 1738) was sparked by a Polish Civil war over the succession to Augustus II, King of Poland This time there was no invasion of the Netherlands, and Britain remained neutral. As a consequence, Austria was left alone against a Franco-Spanish alliance and faced a military disaster. Peace was setted in the Treaty of Vienna (1738), according to which France would annex, through inheritance, the Duchy of Lorraine. The Treaty of Vienna or Peace of Vienna was signed on November 18, 1738. Two years later war broke out over the Austrian succession, and France seized the opportunity to join the conflict. The War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748 involved nearly all the powers of Europe The war played out in North America and India as well as Europe, and inconclusive terms were agreed to in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748). The second Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ( Aachen) of 1748 ended the War of the Austrian Succession. Once again, no one regarded this as a peace but rather as a mere truce. Prussia was then becoming a new threat as it had gained substantial territory from Austria. Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state This led to the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, in which the alliances seen during the previous war were mostly inverted. The Diplomatic Revolution of 1756 is a term applied to the reversal of longstanding diplomatic alliances which were upheld until the War of Austrian Succession and then reversed France was now allied to Austria and Russia while Britain was now allied to Prussia. In the North American theatre, France was allied with various Native American peoples during the Seven Years' War and, despite a temporary success at the battles of the Great Meadows and Monongahela, French forces were defeated at the disastrous Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec. The Seven Years' War (1756&ndash1763 involved all of the major European powers of the period causing 900000 to 1400000 deaths The Battle of the Great Meadows, also known as the Battle of Fort Necessity was a battle of the French and Indian War fought on July 3, The Braddock expedition (also called "Braddock's campaign" was a failed British attempt to capture the French Fort Duquesne in the summer of The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the French and Indian War, the North American theatre of the In Europe, Russia was on the verge of crushing Prussia, and the Anglo-Prussian alliance was saved by The miracle of the House of Brandenburg, while the French suffered naval defeats against British fleets at Lagos and Quiberon Bay. The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg refers to the death of Russia 's Empress Elizabeth (at the age of 52 at the beginning of 1762. The naval Battle of Lagos took place on August 19 1759 during the Seven Years' War off the coasts of Spain and Portugal, and is named The naval Battle of Quiberon Bay took place on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War in Quiberon Bay off the coast of France near Finally peace was concluded in the Treaty of Paris (1763), and France lost most of its North American empire. The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on February 10, 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain In 1768 the French Kingdom bought Corsica from Genoa. Corsica (Corse Corsican and Italian: Corsica) is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily Genoa ( Genova, ˈdʒɛːnova in Italian; Zena in Genoese and Ligurian; Genua in Latin and archaically in English
Having lost its colonial empire, France saw a good opportunity for revenge against Britain in assisting insurgeant troops in the American Revolutionary War. France, despite its financial difficulties used the occasion of the American Revolutionary War (1776–1781 to weaken its arch-rival in European and world In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" Spain, allied to France by the Family Compact, and the Netherlands also joined the war on the American side. The Pacte de Famille (Family Compact in English Pacto de Familia in Spanish is one of three separate but similar alliances between the kings of France and Spain Admiral de Grasse defeated a British fleet at Chesapeake Bay while Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau and Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette joined American forces in defeating the British at Yorktown. François Joseph Paul marquis de Grasse Tilly comte de Grasse (1722 – January 14 1788 in Paris) was a French Admiral. Background After a strategically indecisive campaign in the southern states, in the summer of 1781 British troops under Lord Cornwallis headed to the coast at Yorktown Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau ( July 1, 1725 &ndash May 10, 1807) was a French The Siege of Yorktown or Battle of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington The war was concluded by the Treaty of Paris (1783), under which Britain lost its former American colonies. The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, and approved by the Congress of the Confederation on January 14, 1784, formally
While the state expanded, new ideas broke on the role of the king and the powers of the state. Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu described the separation of powers. Charles-Louis de Secondat baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (Eng Separation of powers, a term ascribed to French Enlightenment Political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, is a model for the Governance Many French other philosophers and intellectuals gained influence, such as: Voltaire, Denis Diderot and, most importantly, Jean-Jacques Rousseau with his The Social Contract, Or Principles of Political Right. François-Marie Arouet ( 21 November 1694 30 May 1778) better known by the Pen name Voltaire, was a French Denis Diderot ( October 5, 1713 – July 31, 1784) was a French Philosopher and writer The Social Contract Or Principles of Political Right (1762 by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is the book in which Rousseau theorized about Social contracts Science, mathematics and technology also flourished. French scientists such as Antoine Lavoisier worked to replace the archaic units of weights and measures by a coherent scientific system, commissioned by king Louis XVI. Louis XVI ( 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) Louis-Auguste de France, ruled as King of France and Navarre Lavoisier also formulated the law of Conservation of mass and discovered Oxygen and Hydrogen. The law of conservation of mass/matter, also known as law of mass/matter conservation (or the Lomonosov - Lavoisier law says that the Mass of Oxygen (from the Greek roots ὀξύς (oxys (acid literally "sharp" from the taste of acids and -γενής (-genēs (producer literally begetteris the Hydrogen (ˈhaɪdrədʒən is the Chemical element with Atomic number 1
The Early Modern period in French history spans the following reigns:
- House of Valois
- House of Bourbon
- Henry IV the Great
- the Regency of Marie de Medici
- Louis XIII the Just and his minister Cardinal Richelieu
- the Regency of Anne of Austria and her minister Cardinal Mazarin
- Louis XIV the Sun-King and his minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert
- the Régence of Philip II of Orleans
- Louis XV the Beloved and his minister Cardinal Fleury
- Louis XVI
See also:
- French Renaissance
- French colonization of the Americas
- French Opera
- Separation of powers
- Wars of Religion
- Ancien Régime in France
- Age of Enlightenment
France in modern times I (1789–1914)
From the Revolution to World War I. See also France in the Middle Ages, Early Modern France Unexpected inheritance The Capetian dynasty seemed secure both during and Louis XI ( July 3, 1423 – August 30, 1483) called the Prudent (le Prudent and the Universal Spider ( Middle Charles VIII, called the Affable (l'Affable 30 June 1470 &ndash 7 April 1498 was King of France from 1483 to his death Louis XII ( June 27, 1462 – January 1, 1515) called "the Father of the People" (Le Père du Peuple was the thirty-fifth king Francis I (September 12 1494 &ndash March 31 1547 was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547 Henry II (Henri II (31 March 1519 &ndash 10 July 1559 of the House of Valois and the son and successor of Francis I, was King of France from 31 Catherine de' Medici (April 13 1519 &ndash January 5 1589 was born in Florence, Italy as Caterina Maria Romula di Lorenzo de' Medici. Francis II (François II (19 January 1544 &ndash 5 December 1560 King-consort of Scotland (1558&ndash1560 and King of France (1559 &ndash 1560 was born Charles IX (27 June 1550 &ndash 30 May 1574 born Charles-Maximilien, was King of France, ruling from 1560 until his death Henry III of France (Henri III Henryk ( September 19 1551 – August 2, 1589) The House of Bourbon is an important European Royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Henry IV (Henri IV ( 13 December 1553 &ndash 14 May 1610) ruled as King of France from 1589 to 1610 and as Henry III Marie de' Medici ( April 26, 1575 &ndash July 3, 1642) was Queen consort of France. For the cognac see Louis XIII de Rémy Martin. Louis XIII ( September 27, 1601 – May 14, 1643) This article is about a cardinal For information on the Russian also called The Red Eminence, see Mikhail Andreyevich Suslov. For the queen consort of Sigismund III of Poland see Anna of Austria (1573-1598 For the queen consort of Philip II of Spain see Anna of Austria Jules Mazarin, born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino ( July 14 1602 &ndash March 9 1661) was an accomplished French statesman Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent Jean-Baptiste Colbert ( August 29, 1619 — September 6, 1683) served as the French minister of finance from 1665 to 1683 under The Régence is the period in French history between 1715 and 1723, when King Louis XV was a minor and the land was governed Philippe II Duke of Orléans ( August 2, 1674 &ndash December 2, 1723) was a member of the royal family of France Louis XV (15 February 1710 &ndash 10 May 1774 ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774 André-Hercule de Fleury Bishop of Fréjus WikipediaNaming conventions (Clergy. Louis XVI ( 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) Louis-Auguste de France, ruled as King of France and Navarre French Renaissance is a recent term used to describe a cultural and artistic movement in France from the late 15th century to the early 17th century French colonization of the Americas began in the 14th century and continued in the following centuries as France established a colonial empire in the Western French opera is one of Europe's most important operatic traditions containing works by composers of the stature of Lully, Rameau, Berlioz, Bizet Separation of powers, a term ascribed to French Enlightenment Political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu, is a model for the Governance The French Wars of Religion (1562 to 1598 between French Catholics and Protestants ( Huguenots involved both civil infighting The Ancien Régime, a French term rendered in English as “Old Rule” “Old Kingdom” or simply “Old Regime” refers primarily to the aristocratic The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century
The Revolution
The immediate trigger for the Revolution was Louis XVI’s attempts to solve the government’s worsening financial situation. The History of France from 1789 to 1914 ( The long 19th century) extends from the French Revolution to World War I and includes The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an The Storming of the Bastille in Paris occurred on 14 July 1789. Events 1223 - Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father Philip II of France. Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common In February 1787 his finance minister, Loménie de Brienne, convened an Assembly of Notables, a group of nobles, clergy, bourgeoisie, and bureaucrats selected in order to bypass the parlements. This group was asked to approve a new land tax that would, for the first time, include a tax on the property of nobles and clergy. The assembly did not approve the tax, instead demanding that Louis XVI call the Estates-General. In August 1788 the King agreed to convene the Estates-General in May of 1789. During their first meetings, however, there was little representation from the other two Estates (clergy and nobles). On June 10, 1789, the Abbot Sieyès moved that the Third Estate proceed with verification of its own powers and invite the other two estates to take part, but not to wait for them. Events 1190 - Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the Sally River while leading an army to Jerusalem Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Estates of the realm were the broad divisions of society usually distinguishing Nobility, Clergy, and Commoners recognized in the Middle Ages They proceeded to do so, and then voted a measure far more radical, declaring themselves the National Assembly, an assembly not of the Estates but of "the People. The National Assembly is either a Legislature, or the Lower house of a Bicameral legislature in some countries " In an attempt to keep control of the process and prevent the Assembly from convening, Louis XVI ordered the closure of the Salle des États where the Assembly met. After finding the door to their chamber locked and guarded, they met nearby on a tennis court and pledged the Tennis Court Oath on June 20, 1789, binding them "never to separate, and to meet wherever circumstances demand, until the constitution of the kingdom is established and affirmed on solid foundations". The Tennis Court Oath (serment du jeu de paume was a pivotal event during the French Revolution. Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common They were joined by some members of the second and first estates.
After the king fired his finance minister, Jacques Necker, for giving his support and guidance to the Third Estate, worries surfaced that the legitimacy of the newly-formed National Assembly might be threatened by royalists. Jacques Necker ( September 30, 1732 &ndash April 9, 1804) was a French statesman of Swiss origin and finance Paris was soon consumed with riots, anarchy, and widespread looting. The mobs soon had the support of the French Guard, including arms and trained soldiers, because the royal leadership essentially abandoned the city. On July 14, 1789 the insurgents set their eyes on the large weapons and ammunition cache inside the Bastille fortress, which also served as a symbol of royal tyranny. Events 1223 - Louis VIII becomes King of France upon the death of his father Philip II of France. Year 1789 ( MDCCLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Insurgents seized the Bastille prison, killing the governor and several of his guards. The Storming of the Bastille in Paris occurred on 14 July 1789. The French now celebrate July 14th each year as a symbol of the shift away from the Ancien Regime to a more modern democratic state. Ancien Régime ( pronounced: /ɑ̃sjɛ̃ ʁeʒim/ refers primarily to the aristocratic social and political system established in Gilbert du Motier, hero of American independence, took command of the National Guard, and the king was forced to recognize the Tricolour Cockade. A cockade is a knot of ribbons or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colors which is usually worn on a Hat. Although peace was found, several nobles did not regard the new order as acceptable and migrated to push neighbouring kingdoms to war against the new rule. Because of this new period of instability, the state was struck for several weeks in July and August of 1789 by the Great Fear, a period of violent class conflict. The "Great Fear" (la Grande Peur occurred from July 20 to August 5 1789 in France at the start of the French Revolution.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was adopted by the National Assembly in August 1789 as a first step in their effort to write a constitution. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining Considered to be a precursor to modern international rights instruments and using the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a model, it defined a set of individual rights and collective rights of all of the estates as one. The United States Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4 1776 announcing that the thirteen American colonies then Influenced by the doctrine of natural rights, these rights were deemed universal and valid in all times and places, pertaining to human nature itself. The Assembly also replaced France's historic provinces with eighty-three départements, uniformly administered and approximately equal to one another in extent and population. On 4 August 1789 the Assembly abolished feudalism, in what is known as the August Decrees, sweeping away both the seigneurial rights of the Second Estate and the tithes gathered by the First Estate. In the course of a few hours, nobles, clergy, towns, provinces, companies, and cities lost their special privileges. The Assembly abolished the symbolic paraphernalia of the Ancien Régime, armorial bearings, liveries, etc. , which alienated the more conservative nobles. Amidst these intrigues, the Assembly continued to work on developing a constitution. A new judicial organization made all magistracies temporary and independent of the throne. The legislators abolished hereditary offices, except for the monarchy itself. Jury trials started for criminal cases. The King would have the unique power to propose war, with the legislature then deciding whether to declare war. The Assembly abolished all internal trade barriers and suppressed guilds, masterships, and workers' organizations: any individual gained the right to practice a trade through the purchase of a license; strikes became illegal.
The Revolution brought about a massive shifting of powers from the Roman Catholic Church to the state. Under the Ancien Régime, the Church had been the largest landowner in the country. Legislation enacted in 1790 abolished the Church's authority to levy a tax on crops, cancelled special privileges for the clergy, and confiscated Church property. The Assembly essentially addressed the financial crisis in part by having the nation take over the property of the Church.
The republican government also enforced the Système International d'Unités, commissioned by Louis XVI, which became known as the Metric System. Charles-Augustin de Coulomb and André-Marie Ampère's works on electricity and electromagnetism were also recognised, and their units are integrated into the Metric System. Charles Augustin de Cock (June 14 1736 Angoulême France – August 23 1806 Penis France was a French Physicist. André-Marie Ampère (20 January 1775 &ndash 10 June 1836 was a French Physicist and Mathematician who is generally credited as one of the main discoverers
When a mob from Paris attacked the royal palace at Versailles in October 1789 seeking address of severe poverty conditions, the royal family was forced to move to the Tuileries Palace in Paris. Later in June 1791 the royal family secretly fled Paris in disguise for Varennes near France's northeastern border to seek royalist support the king sensed he could trust, but they were soon discovered en route. They were brought back to Paris, after which they were essentially kept under house-arrest at the Tuileries.
Factions within the Assembly began to clarify. The opposition to revolution sat on the right-hand side of the Assembly. The "Royalist democrats" or monarchiens inclined toward organizing France along lines similar to the British constitutional model. The "National Party", representing the centre or centre-left of the assembly represented somewhat more extreme views. The increasingly middle-class National Guard under Lafayette also slowly emerged as a power in its own right. With most of the Assembly still favoring a constitutional monarchy rather than a republic, the various groupings reached a compromise that left Louis XVI little more than a figurehead. He had perforce to swear an oath to the constitution, and a decree declared that retracting the oath, heading an army for the purpose of making war upon the nation, or permitting anyone to do so in his name would amount to de facto abdication. Under the Constitution of 1791, France would function as a constitutional monarchy. The short-lived French Constitution of 1791 was the first written Constitution of France. The King had to share power with the elected Legislative Assembly, but he still retained his royal veto and the ability to select ministers.
The Legislative Assembly first met on 1 October 1791, and degenerated into chaos less than a year later. The Legislative Assembly consisted of about 165 Feuillants (constitutional monarchists) on the right, about 330 Girondists (liberal republicans) and Jacobins (radical revolutionaries) on the left, and about 250 deputies unaffiliated with either faction. Early on, the King vetoed legislation that threatened the émigrés with death and that decreed that every non-juring clergyman must take within eight days the civic oath mandated by the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Over the course of a year, disagreements like this would lead to a constitutional crisis, leading the Revolution to higher levels.
On the foreign affairs front, in the Declaration of Pillnitz of August 1791 Emperor Leopold II, Count Charles of Artois and King William II of Prussia made Louis XVI's cause theirs. The Declaration of Pillnitz on August 27, 1791, was a statement issued at the Castle of Pillnitz in Saxony (south of Dresden) by the Leopold II (May 5 1747 March 1 1792 born Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1790 to 1792 and Grand Duke Charles X (9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836 ruled as King of France and Navarre from 20 May 1824 until the French Revolution of 1830, when he abdicated Frederick William II (Friedrich Wilhelm II September 25 1744 &ndash November 16 1797) was the fourth King of Prussia, reigning from These noblemen also required the Assembly to be dissolved through threats of war, but, instead of cowing the French, it infuriated them. The borderlines were militarised as a consequence. Under the Constitution of 1791 the solution of a constitutional monarchy was adopted, and the king supported a war against Austria to increase his popularity, starting the long French Revolutionary Wars. The short-lived French Constitution of 1791 was the first written Constitution of France. The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts from 1792 until 1802 fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states On the night of the 10th of August the Jacobins, who had mainly opposed the war, suspended the monarchy. With the Prussian army entering France, more doubts were raised against the aristocracy, and these tensions climaxed during the September Massacres. September Massacres were a wave of Mob violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution. After the first great victory of the French revolutionary troops at the Battle of Valmy on 1792 September 20, the French First Republic was proclaimed the day after on 1792 September 21. The Battle of Valmy, also known as the Cannonade of Valmy, was a tactically indecisive artillery engagement but strategically it ensured the survival of the French Events 451 - The Battle of Chalons takes place in North Eastern France. The First Republic in France, officially the French Republic (République française was proclaimed on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. Events 1217 - The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu of Lehola was killed in a battle against Teutonic Knights. The French Republican Calendar was enforced. The French Republican Calendar or French Revolutionary Calendar was a Calendar proposed during the French Revolution, and used by the French government
When the Brunswick Manifesto of July 1792 threatened once more the French population from Austrian (Imperial) and Prussian attacks, Louis XVI was suspected of treason and taken along with his family from the Tuileries Palace in August 1792 by insurgents supported by a new revolutionary Paris Commune. The Brunswick Manifesto was a proclamation issued by Charles William Ferdinand Duke of Brunswick, commander of the Allied Army (principally Austrian and Prussian on 25 The King and Queen ended up prisoners, and a rump session of the Legislative Assembly suspended the monarchy. Little more than a third of the deputies were present, almost all of them Jacobins. The King was later tried and convicted and on 21 January 1793 was guillotined. Events 1189 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade. Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Marie Antoinette, would follow him to the guillotine on 16 October.
What remained of a national government depended on the support of the insurrectionary Commune. When the Commune sent gangs into prisons to try arbitrarily and butcher 1400 victims, and addressed a circular letter to the other cities of France inviting them to follow this example, the Assembly could offer only feeble resistance. This situation persisted until a National Convention, charged with writing a new constitution, met on 20 September 1792 and became the new de facto government of France. During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the Constitutional and legislative assembly The next day it abolished the monarchy and declared a republic.
When war went badly, prices rose and the sans-culottes (poor labourers and radical Jacobins) rioted; counter-revolutionary activities began in some regions. This encouraged the Jacobins to seize power through a parliamentary coup, backed up by force effected by mobilising public support against the Girondist faction, and by utilising the mob power of the Parisian sans-culottes. An alliance of Jacobin and sans-culottes elements thus became the effective centre of the new government. Policy became considerably more radical. In September of 1793 a period known as the Reign of Terror ensued for approximately 12 months. Saint justjpg|thumbnail|200px| Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just]] The Reign of Terror' (5 September 1793 &ndash 28 July 1794 or simply The Terror (la Terreur was The Committee of Public Safety, set up by the National Convention on April 6, 1793, formed the de facto executive government of France. The Committee of Public Safety (Comité de salut public le Haut Comité de la santé publique which is an entirely unrelated present-day institution--> set up by the Under war conditions and with national survival seemingly at stake, the Jacobins under Maximilien Robespierre centralized denunciations, trials, and executions under the supervision of this committee of twelve members. Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (maksimiljɛ̃ fʁɑ̃swa maʁi izidɔʁ də ʁɔbɛspjɛʁ ( 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) At least 18,000 people met their deaths under the guillotine or otherwise, after accusations of counter-revolutionary activities. In 1794 Robespierre had ultra-radicals and moderate Jacobins executed; in consequence, however, his own popular support eroded markedly. On 27 July 1794, the Thermidorian Reaction led to the arrest and execution of Robespierre. The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. The new government was predominantly made up of Girondists who had survived the Terror, and after taking power, they took revenge as well by banning the Jacobin Club and executing many of its former members in what was known as the White Terror.
After the stated aim of the National Convention to export revolution, the guillotining of Louis XVI of France, and the French opening of the Scheldt, a military coalition was formed and set up against France. Spain, Naples, Great Britain and the Netherlands joined Austria and Prussia in the The First Coalition (1792–1797), the first major concerted effort of multiple European powers to contain Revolutionary France. The First Coalition ( 1792 – 1797) was the first major concerted effort of multiple European powers to contain Revolutionary France. It took shape after the wars had already begun. The Republican government in Paris was radicalised after a diplomatic coup from the Jacobins and said it would be the Guerre Totale and called for a Levée en masse. Total war is a conflict of unlimited scope in which a Belligerent engages in a total mobilization of all available resources at his disposal Levée en masse (literally "Rise in (a Mass" is defined in Article 4 letter A paragraph 6 of the Third Geneva Convention. Royalist invading forces were defeated at Toulon in 1793, leaving the French republican forces in an offensive position and granting a young officer, Napoleon Bonaparte, a certain fame. The Siege of Toulon ( 18 September - 18 December 1793) was an early Republican victory over a Royalist rebellion in the Southern French Following their victory at Fleurus, the Republicans occupied Belgium and the Rhineland. In the Battle of Fleurus ( June 26, 1794) French forces under Jourdan defeated an Austrian army under Saxe-Cobourg in one An invasion of the Netherlands established the puppet Batavian Republic. The Batavian Republic (Bataafse Republiek was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. Finally a peace agreement was found between France, Spain and Prussia in 1795 at Basel. See Treaty of Basel for the 1499 treaty The Peace of Basel of 1795 consists of three peace treaties involving
The Convention approved a new "Constitution of the Year III" on 17 August 1795; a plebiscite ratified it in September; and it took effect on 26 September 1795. The new constitution created the Directory and created the first bicameral legislature in French history. The parliament consisted of 500 representatives — le Conseil des Cinq-Cents (the Council of the Five Hundred) — and 250 senators — le Conseil des Anciens (the Council of Elders). Executive power went to five "directors," named annually by the Conseil des Anciens from a list submitted by the le Conseil des Cinq-Cents. The nation desired rest and the healing of its many wounds. Those who wished to restore Louis XVIII and the Ancien Régime and those who would have renewed the Reign of Terror were insignificant in number. The possibility of foreign interference had vanished with the failure of the First Coalition. Nevertheless, the four years of the Directory were a time of arbitrary government and chronic disquiet. The late atrocities had made confidence or goodwill between parties impossible. As the majority of French people wanted to be rid of them, they could achieve their purpose only by extraordinary means. The Convention habitually disregarded the terms of the constitution, and, when the elections went against them, appealed to the sword. They resolved to prolong the war as the best expedient for prolonging their power. They were thus driven to rely upon the armies, which also desired war and were becoming less and less civic in temper. The Directory lasted until 1799 when Napoleon staged a coup and installed the Consulate. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe.
The Napoleonic Era
During the War of the First Coalition the Directoire had replaced the National Convention. The Executive Directory ( Directoire exécutif) was a body of 5 single-male Directors that held executive power in France following Five directors then ruled France. As Great Britain was still at war with France, a plan was made to take Egypt from the Ottoman Empire, a British ally. The French Invasion of Egypt (1798-1801 was Napoleon Bonaparte 's unsuccessful campaign in Egypt and Syria to protect French trade This was Napoleon's idea and the Directoire agreed to the plan in order to send the popular general away from the mainland. Napoleon captured Malta from the Knights of Saint John on the way to Egypt. Malta, officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta is a European Microstate, comprising an Archipelago of three islands The Knights Hospitaller (also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The French army met Ottoman forces during the Battle of the Pyramids and defeated them. The Battle of the Pyramids, also known as the Battle of Embabeh was a battle fought on July 21, 1798 between the French army in While the land campaign was so far a success, the British fleet, led by Admiral Nelson, destroyed the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson 1st Viscount Nelson 1st Duke of Bronté, KB (29 September 1758– 21 October 1805 was a British The Battle of the Nile or Aboukir Bay (August 1-2 1798 saw a British fleet under Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson defeat a French Hearing of the French defeat, the Ottoman Empire gathered armies to attack Napoleon in Egypt, and Napoleon again adopted a policy of attack. An invasion of Syria was planned but failed during the Siege of Acre, and Napoleon had to return to Europe, leaving a significant part of his army behind. The Siege of Acre of 1799 was an unsuccessful French Siege of the Ottoman -defended walled city of Acre (now Akko in modern Israel These men were supposed to be given honourable terms by the British forces, yet Admiral Keith decided to attack them anyway with a Mameluk force, although this force was defeated at Heliopolis in March 1800. Modern Heliopolis ( مصر الجديدة, transliterated: Maṣr el-Gedīdah &ndash literally "New Egypt" or "New Cairo" Cairo is Disease had hit the French troops to such a point they were forced to surrender. The Rosetta Stone was discovered during this campaign and Champollion translated it. The Rosetta Stone is an Ancient Egyptian artifact (حجر رشيد in Arabic which was instrumental in advancing modern understanding of hieroglyphic writing Jean-François Champollion ( 23 December 1790 – 4 March 1832) was a French classical scholar, philologist
When Napoleon came back to France, the Directoire was threatened by the Second Coalition. The " Second Coalition " ( 1799 &ndash 1802) was the second attempt by other European powers to contain or eliminate Revolutionary Royalists and their allies still dreamed of restoring the monarchy to power, while the Prussian and Austrian crowns did not accept their territorial losses during the previous war. The Russian army expelled the French from Italy in battles such as Cassano while the Austrian army defeated the French in Switzerland at Stockach and Zurich. The battle of Cassano d'Adda was a battle in the French Revolutionary Wars that was fought on April 27, 1799 near Cassano d'Adda. The First Battle of Stockach was a battle of the War of the Second Coalition, fought between the French Directory and the Habsburg Austria. The Helvetic Republic in 1798 became a battlefield of the French Revolutionary Wars. Napoleon then seized power through a coup and established the Consulate in 1799. The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the The Austrian army was defeated at Marengo in 1800 and again at Hohenlinden. In the Battle of Marengo was fought on 14 June 1800 between French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria The Battle of Hohenlinden was fought on December 3 1800 during the French Revolutionary Wars, near Munich, modern Germany. While at sea Admiral Louis-René Levassor de Latouche Tréville had some success at Boulogne against a British fleet. Louis-René Levassor de Latouche Tréville ( June 3, 1745 – August 19, 1804) was a French admiral and a hero of the American The British Admiral Nelson would destroy an anchored Danish and Norwegian fleet at Copenhagen because the Scandinanian kingdoms were against the British blockade on France. The Second Coalition was beaten and peace was settled in two distinct treaties: The Treaty of Lunéville and the Treaty of Amiens. The Treaty of Lunéville was signed on February 9 1801 between the French Republic and the Holy Roman Empire by Joseph Bonaparte and The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended the hostilities between France and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1803 Napoleon sold French Louisiana to the American government, a territory he considered indefensible. For the film see Louisiana Purchase (film. The Louisiana Purchase (French Vente de la Louisiane "Louisiana Sale"
On 21 March 1804 the Napoleonic Code was applied over all the territory under French control, and on May 18 Napoleon was titled Emperor by the senate, thus founding the French Empire. Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. Year 1804 ( MDCCCIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The Napoleonic Code, or Code Napoléon (originally called the Code civil des Français) is the French Civil code, established under The Empire of the French (1804-1814 also known as the Empire of France, Greater French Empire, First French Empire, French Empire, or Technically Napoleon's rule was constitutional, and although autocratic, it was much more advanced than other European monarchies of the time. The proclamation of the French Empire was met by the Third Coalition. The War of the Third Coalition in 1805 saw the defeat of an alliance of Austria, Portugal, Russia, and others by France and its client states The French army was renamed the Grande Armée in 1805 and Napoleon used propaganda and nationalism to control the French population. The French army achieved a resounding victory at Ulm, where an entire Austrian army was captured. The Battle of Ulm ( October 16 - 19, 1805) was a series of minor skirmishes at the end of Napoleon Bonaparte's Ulm Campaign, culminating A Franco-Spanish fleet was defeated at Trafalgar and all plans to invade Britain were then made impossible. The Battle of Trafalgar ( 21 October 1805) was a historic sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the Despite this naval defeat, it was on the ground that this war would be won, Napoleon inflicted the Austrian and Russian Empires one of their greatest defeats at Austerlitz, destroying the third coalition. The Battle of Austerlitz (Bitva u Slavkova also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories effectively destroying the The peace was settled in the Treaty of Pressburg, the Austrian Empire lost the title of Holy Roman Emperor and the Confederation of the Rhine was created by Napoleon over former Austrian territories. The Peace of Pressburg refers to four peace treaties concluded in Pressburg (today Bratislava, Slovakia) The Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation (Rheinbund États confédérés du Rhin officially and Confédération du Rhin in practice) lasted
The destruction of the Holy Roman Empire and the dramatic Austrian defeat caused Prussia to join Britain and Russia, thus forming the Fourth Coalition. The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in The Fourth Coalition against Napoleon's French Empire was defeated in a war spanning 1806&ndash1807 Although the Coalition was joined by other allies, the French Empire was also not alone since it now had a complex network of allies and submitted states. Largely outnumbered, the Prussian army was crushed at Jena-Auerstedt in 1806, Napoleon captured Berlin and went as far as Eastern Prussia. The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt (older name Auerstädt were fought on October 14, 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. There the Russian Empire was defeated at the Battle of Friedland. The Battle of Friedland ( June 14, 1807) saw Napoleon's French army decisively defeat Bennigsen's Russian army about twenty-seven Miles Peace was dictated in the Treaties of Tilsit, in which Russia had to join the Continental System and Prussia handed down half of its territories to France. The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by Napoleon I of France in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland in the town of Tilsit The Continental System was the Foreign policy of Napoleon I of France in his struggle against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the The Duchy of Warsaw was formed over these territorial losses, and the Polish troops entered the Grande Armée in significant numbers. The Duchy of Warsaw (Księstwo Warszawskie Duché de Varsovie Herzogtum Warschau Варшавское герцогство was a Polish state established by Napoleon
Freed from his obligation in the east, Napoleon then went back to the west, as the French Empire was still at war with Britain. Only two countries remained neutral in the war: Sweden and Portugal, and Napoleon then looked toward the latter. In the Treaty of Fontainebleau, a Franco-Spanish alliance against Portugal was sealed as Spain eyed Portuguese territories. The Treaty of Fontainebleau was signed on October 27, 1807 in Fontainebleau between Charles IV of Spain and Napoleon I of France. French armies entered Spain in order to attack Portugal, but then seized Spanish fortresses and took over the kingdom by surprise. Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, was made King of Spain after Charles IV's abdication. Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte King of Naples and Sicily, King of Spain (during a time) and the Indies (never de facto and never de iure Charles IV ( November 11, 1748 - January 20, 1819) was King of Spain from December 14, 1788 until his abdication This occupation of the Iberian peninsula fueled local nationalism, and soon the Spanish and Portuguese would fight the French using guerilla tactics, defeating the French forces at the Battle of Bailén. Guerrilla warfare is the unconventional warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes raids etc The Battle of Bailén was contested between the Spanish regular army, led by Generals Francisco Castaños and Theodor von Reding, and Britain sent a short-lived ground support force to Portugal, and French forces evacuated Portugal as defined in the Convention of Sintra following the Allied victory at Vimeiro. The Convention of Sintra (or Cintra was an agreement signed on August 30, 1808 during the Peninsular War. In the Battle of Vimeiro ( August 21 1808) the British under General Arthur Wellesley defeated the French under Major-General France was only controlling Catalonia and Navarre and could have been definitely expelled from the Iberian peninsula had the Spanish armies attacked again, but the Spanish did not. Catalonia (Cataluña Catalunya Aranese: Catalonha) is an Autonomous Community in the northeast part of Spain. Another French attack was launched on Spain, led by Napoleon himself, and was described as "an avalanche of fire and steel. " However, the French Empire was no longer regarded as invincible by European powers. In 1808 Austria formed the War of the Fifth Coalition in order to break down the French Empire. The War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 pitted a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon 's French Empire and The Austrian Empire defeated the French at Aspern-Essling, yet was beaten at Wagram while the Polish allies defeated the Austrian Empire at Raszyn. In the Battle of Aspern-Essling ( 21 May – 22 May, 1809) Napoleon attempted a forced crossing of the Danube near Vienna In the Battle of Wagram ( 5 – 6 July 1809) Napoleon Bonaparte 's French forces defeated Archduke Charles' Austrian The first Battle of Raszyn was fought on April 19, 1809 between armies of the Austrian Empire and the Duchy of Warsaw as a part of the War Although not as decisive as the previous Austrian defeats, the peace treaty caused Austria to lose a large amount of territories, reducing it even more. The Treaty of Schönbrunn (Traité de Schönbrunn Friede von Schönbrunn sometimes known as the Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria
In 1812 it was with Russia that war broke, engaging Napoleon in the disastrous Patriotic War. The French invasion of Russia in 1812 was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon assembled the largest army Europe had ever seen, including troops from all submitted states, to invade Russia, which had just left the continental system and was gathering an army on the Polish frontier. Following an exhausting march and the bloody but inconclusive Battle of Borodino, near Moscow, the Grande Armée entered and captured Moscow, just to find it burning, as part of the Russian scorched earth tactics. The Battle of Borodino (Бородинская битва Borodinskaja bitva, Bataille de la Moskowa) fought on September 7, 1812, was A scorched earth policy is a military strategy or operational method (possibly more often referred to as a tactic but this is not entirely correct as there is a difference between Although there still were battles such as Maloyaroslavets the Napoleonic army left Russia decimated most of all by the Russian winter, exhaustion and scorched earth warfare. The Battle of Maloyaroslavets took place on October 24 1812, between the Russians under Marshal Kutuzov, and part of the corps of Eugène On the Spanish front the French troops were defeated at Vitoria and then at the Battle of the Pyrenees. In the Battle of Vitoria ( June 21 1813) General Arthur Wellesley Marquess of Wellington, and his Portuguese and Spanish allies finally The Battle of the Pyrenees was a large-scale offensive launched on 25 July 1813 by Marshal Nicolas Soult from the Pyrénées region on Napoleon’s Since the Spanish guerrillas seemed to be uncontrollable, the French troops eventually evacuated Spain. France having been defeated on these two fronts, the states controlled and previously conquered by Napoleon saw a good opportunity to strike back. The Sixth Coalition was formed and the German states of the Confederation of the Rhine switched sides, finally opposing Napoleon. In the War of the Sixth Coalition (1812–1814 a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and a number Napoleon was largely defeated in the Battle of the Nations and was overwhelmed by much larger armies during the Six Days Campaign, although, because of the much larger amount of casualties suffered by the allies, the Six Days Campaign is often considered a tactical masterpiece. The Battle of the Nations (or Battle of Leipzig or Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig) on 16–19 October 1813 was one of the most decisive defeats suffered by Napoleon The Six Days Campaign ( 10 - 14 February 1814) was a final series of Napoleon Bonaparte 's victories as the War of the Sixth Coalition
Napoleon abdicated on April 6, 1814, and was exiled to Elba. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Year 1814 ( MDCCCXIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Elba (Ilva is an island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The conservative Congress of Vienna reversed the political changes that had occurred during the wars. The Conservative Order is a term applied to European Political history after the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of the major powers of Europe, chaired by the Austrian statesman Clemens Wenzel von Metternich Napoleon's attempted restoration, a period known as the Hundred Days, ended with his final defeat at Waterloo in 1815. The Hundred Days was the period between Napoleon Bonaparte 's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the restoration In the Battle of Waterloo (Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo Belgium The monarchy was subsequently restored and Louis XVIII became king. Louis XVIII (17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824 Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, was a King of France and Navarre.
The Restored Monarchy and the Second Empire
This period of time is called the Bourbon Restoration and was marked by conflicts between reactionary Ultra-royalists and more liberal movements. Following the ousting of Napoleon I of France in 1814 the Allies restored the Bourbon Dynasty to the French throne The term Ultra-Royalists or simply Ultras refers to a Reactionary faction which sat in the French parliament from 1815 On 12 June 1830 Polignac, King Charles X's minister, exploited the weakness of the Algerian Dey by invading Algeria and establishing French rule in Algeria. Events 1381 - Peasants' Revolt: in England, rebels arrive at Blackheath. For the game see 1830 (board game. Year 1830 ( MDCCCXXX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display Jules Auguste Armand Marie Prince de Polignac ( Versailles, 14 May 1780 Paris, 2 March 1847 was a French Statesman. Charles X (9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836 ruled as King of France and Navarre from 20 May 1824 until the French Revolution of 1830, when he abdicated French rule of Algeria lasted from 1830 to 1962 under a variety of governmental systems The news of the fall of Algiers had barely reached Paris when Charles X was deposed and replaced by King Louis-Philippe during the July Revolution. Louis Philippe ( 6 October 1773 &ndash 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution, saw the overthrow of King Charles X, the French Louis-Philippe's "July Monarchy" (1830–1848) is generally seen as a period during which the haute bourgeoisie was dominant. Anarchism, as formulated by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, began to take root in France. Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (ˈpruːd ɒn in British English, dɔ̃ in French) ( 15 January 1809 – 19 January 1865) was To honour the victims of the July Revolution, Hector Berlioz composed a Requiem; he also worked on what would become the French national anthem, La Marseillaise. The Grande Messe des morts, Op. 5 (or Requiem) by Hector Berlioz was composed in 1837. " La Marseillaise " (la maʁsɛˡjɛz in English The Song of Marseille) is the National anthem of France.
In 1838 the French government declared war on Mexico after a French pastry cook in Mexico accused Mexican officers of looting his shop. The Mexican government was defeated in the short Pastry War. The Pastry War (Guerra de los pasteles was an invasion of Mexico by French forces in 1838. Finally, the last King of France abdicated, and the French Second Republic was proclaimed. History Revolution of 1848 See also Mid-nineteenth century France The industrial population of the Faubourgs Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was elected president and proclaimed himself President for Life following a coup that was confirmed and accepted in a dubious referendum. Napoléon III, also known as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (full name Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte) (20 April 1808 9 January 1873 was the first President Napoleon III of France took the imperial title in 1852 and held it until his downfall in 1870.
The era saw great industrialization, urbanization (including the massive rebuilding of Paris by Baron Haussmann) and economic growth, but Napoleon III's foreign policies were not so successful. Georges-Eugène Haussmann ( March 27, 1809 &ndash January 11, 1891) who called himself Baron Haussmann, was a French In 1854, The Second Empire joined the Crimean War, which saw France and Britain opposed to the Russian Empire, who were decisively defeated at Sevastopol in 1855 and at Inkerman. The Crimean War, also known in Russia as the Eastern War (Восточная война Vostochnaya Vojna) (March 1854–February 1856 was fought The Battle of Inkerman, a battle of the Crimean War, was fought on November 5, 1854 and resulted in a British and French victory under General In 1856 France joined the Second Opium War on the British side against China; a missionary's murder was used as a pretext to take interests in southwest Asia in the Treaty of Tientsin. The Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war of the United Kingdom Several documents titled " Treaty of Tien-tsin " ( Traditional Chinese: 天津條約 Simplified Chinese: 天津条约 Pinyin: Tiānjīn Tiáoyuē
In 1859 the Second Italian War of Independence broke out between Italian states and Austria. The Second War of Italian Independence, Franco-Austrian War, or Austro-Sardinian War was fought by Napoleon III of France and the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia The Second French Empire joined the war on the Italian side, which was concluded by an Austrian defeat at Solferino. The Battle of Solferino was fought on June 24, 1859 and resulted in the victory of the allied French Army under Napoleon III and Sardinian In return for this intervention, the French government acquired the city of Nice, while in March 1860 Savoy was annexed by similar means. Nice (nis Niçard Occitan: Niça norm or Nissa, Italian: Nizza or Nizza Marittima, Greek For the two French départements of the region of Savoy see Savoie and Haute-Savoie Savoy ( French In 1861 Napoleon III largely supported Maximilian in his claim to Mexico, a move that was also supported by Britain and Spain but condemned by the U. Maximilian I Emperor of Mexico (Emperador Maximiliano I de México (6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867 (born Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph was a member of Austria S. This led to the French intervention in Mexico, which turned out to be a failure. The French intervention in Mexico, also known as the Maximilian Affair and The Franco-Mexican War, was an invasion of Mexico by the army of the
When France was negotiating with The Netherlands about purchasing Luxembourg, the Prussian Kingdom threatened the French government with war. This came as a shock to French diplomats as there previously was an agreement between the Prussian and French governments about Luxembourg. Napoleon III suffered stronger and stronger criticism from Republicans like Jules Favre, and his position seemed more fragile with the passage of time. Jules Claude Gabriel Favre ( March 21, 1809 – January 20, 1880) was a French statesman France was looking for more interests in Asia and interfered in Korea in 1866 taking, once again, missionaries' murders as a pretext. The French campaign against Korea of 1866 is also known as Byeong-in yangyo ( Western disturbance of the byeong-in year) The French finally withdrew from the war with little gain but war's booty. The next year a French expedition to Japan was formed to help the Tokugawa shogunate to modernise its army. The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the, and the, was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the Shoguns of However, Tokugawa was defeated during the Boshin War at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi by large Imperial armies. The was a Civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the The occurred between pro-Imperial and Tokugawa shogunate forces during the Boshin War in Japan
Rising tensions about a possible Prussian succession in Spain raised the scale of animosity between the two states, and finally the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) broke out. The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War ( 19 July, 1870 — 10 May, 1871 German nationalism united the German states, with the exception of Austria, against Napoleon III. The French Empire was defeated decisively at Metz and Sedan. The Siege of Metz lasting from September 3 &ndash October 23 1870 was a crushing defeat for the French during the Franco-Prussian War. The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War on 1 September 1870 The last straw was the Siege of Paris. The Siege of Paris, lasting from September 19, 1870 &ndash January 28, 1871, brought about French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War The newly-formed German Empire subsequently annexed Alsace-Lorraine in the Treaty of Frankfurt. Alsace-Lorraine (Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen generally Elsass - Lothringen) was a territorial entity created by the German Empire in 1871 The Treaty of Frankfurt (Le traité de Francfort Friede von Frankfurt was a Peace treaty signed in Frankfurt on May 10, 1871, at the end of
The Third Republic and the Belle Epoque
The French legislature established the Third Republic, which was to last until the military defeat of 1940 (longer than any government in France since the Revolution). The French Third Republic (in French, La Troisième République, sometimes written as La IIIe Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The birth of the republic saw France occupied by foreign troops, the capital in a popular socialist insurrection — the Paris Commune (which was violently repressed by Adolphe Thiers) — and two provinces (Alsace-Lorraine) annexed to Germany. The Paris Commune (La Commune de Paris was a Government that briefly ruled Paris from 18 March (more formally from 26 March) to 28 May Louis-Adolphe fr Thiers ( Marseille, 16 April 1797&ndash3 September 1877 was a French politician and Historian. Alsace-Lorraine (Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen generally Elsass - Lothringen) was a territorial entity created by the German Empire in 1871 Feelings of national guilt and a desire for vengeance ("revanchism") would be major preoccupations of the French throughout the next half century. Revanchism (from French revanche " Revenge " is a term used since the 1870s to describe a political manifestation of the will to reverse territorial The repression of the Commune was bloody. Hundreds were executed in front of the Communards' Wall in the Père Lachaise cemetery, while thousands of others were marched to Versailles for trials. The Communards’ Wall ( F: Mur des Fédérés) at the Père Lachaise Cemetery is where on May 28 1871, one-hundred Père Lachaise Cemetery (Cimetière du Père-Lachaise officially cimetière de l'Est, "East Cemetery" is the largest Cemetery in the city of Paris Versailles (vɛʀsaj in French) formerly de facto capital of the kingdom of France, is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important The number killed during La Semaine Sanglante (The Bloody Week) can never be established for certain, but the best estimates are 30,000 dead, many more wounded, and perhaps as many as 50,000 later executed or imprisoned; 7,000 were exiled to New Caledonia. For the former North American fur-trading district see New Caledonia (Canada, and for the Scottish colony in Panama see Darien scheme. Thousands of them fled to Belgium, England, Italy, Spain and the United States.
Besides this defeat, the Republican movement also had to confront counterrevolutionaries who rejected the legacy of the 1789 Revolution. Republicanism is the Ideology of governing a nation as a Republic, with an emphasis on Liberty, Rule of law, Popular sovereignty A counter-revolutionary is anyone who opposes a Revolution, particularly those who act after a revolution to try to overturn or reverse it in full or in part Both the Legitimist and the Orleanist royalists rejected republicanism, which they saw as an extension of modernity and atheism, breaking with France's traditions. Legitimists are Royalists in France who believe that the King of France and Navarre must be chosen according to the simple application of the The Orléanists were a French Right-wing / Center-right Political faction or party which arose out of the French Revolution Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment preservation or restoration of a Monarchy as a Form of government in a nation Modernity is a term that refers to the Modern era. It is distinct from Modernism, and in different contexts refers to cultural and intellectual movements of the Atheism This lasted until at least the 16 May 1877 crisis, which finally led to the resignation of royalist Marshal MacMahon in January 1879. Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de Mac-Mahon, 1st Duc de Magenta, Marshal of France (13 June 1808 - 17 October 1893 was a French The death of Henri, comte de Chambord in 1883, who, as the grandson of Charles X, had refused to abandon the fleur-de-lys and the white flag, thus jeopardizing the alliance between Legitimists and Orleanists, convinced many of the remaining Orleanists to rally themselves to the Republic, as Adolphe Thiers had already done. Henri V of France and Navarre ( Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné d'Artois de France – September 29, 1820 – August 24, 1883 The fleur-de-lys (or fleur-de-lis, plural fleurs-de-lis ˌfləː(rdəˈliː (ˌfləː(rdəˈlɪs in Quebec) translated from French as "lily White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale Louis-Adolphe fr Thiers ( Marseille, 16 April 1797&ndash3 September 1877 was a French politician and Historian. The vast majority of the Legitimists abandoned the political arena or became marginalised. Some of them founded Action Française in 1898, during the Dreyfus Affair, which became an influent movement through-out the 1930s, in particular among the intellectuals of Paris' Quartier Latin. The Action Française is a French Monarchist ( Orléanist) Counter-revolutionary movement and periodical founded by Maurice Pujo and Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Dreyfus Affair a Political scandal which divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s In 1891, Pope Leo XIII's encyclic Rerum Novarum brought legitimacy to the Social Catholic movement, which in France could be traced back to Hughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais' efforts under the July Monarchy. Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Pope Leo XIII ( March 2, 1810 – July 20, 1903) born Count Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, was the 256th Pope Rerum Novarum (Translation Of New Things) is an Encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on May 16 1891. Christian socialism generally refers to those on the Christian left whose politics are both Christian and Socialist and who see these two philosophies as Hughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais, also known as Frédéric de La Mennais ( June 19, 1782 - February 27, 1854) was
The initial republic was in effect led by pro-royalists, but republicans (the "Radicals") and bonapartists scrambled for power. The Radical Party ( Parti Radical, Rad also known as Parti radical valoisien) is a liberal and centrist political party in France In French political history Bonapartism has two meanings In a strict sense this term refers to people who The period from 1879–1899 saw power come into the hands of moderate republicans and former "radicals" (around Léon Gambetta); these were called the "Opportunists". Léon Gambetta (2 April 1838 Cahors, Lot - 31 December 1882 Paris) was a French statesman prominent after the Franco-Prussian War The newly found Republican control of the Republic allowed the vote of the 1881 and 1882 Jules Ferry laws on a free, mandatory and laic public education. The Jules Ferry laws are a set of French laws which established first Free education ( 1881) then mandatory and laic education ( 1882 Laïcité (laisiˈte is the French concept of a Secular society, connoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs Public education is education mandated for or offered to the children of the general public by the Government, whether national regional or local provided by an institution
The moderates however became deeply divided over the Dreyfus Affair, and this allowed the Radicals eventually to gain power from 1899 until World War I. The Dreyfus Affair a Political scandal which divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s The Radical Party ( Parti Radical, Rad also known as Parti radical valoisien) is a liberal and centrist political party in France During this period, crises like the potential "Boulangist" coup d'état (see Georges Boulanger) in 1889, showed the fragility of the republic. The Radicals' policies on education (suppression of local languages, compulsory education), mandatory military service, and control of the working classes eliminated internal dissent and regionalisms. Their participation in the Scramble for Africa and in the acquiring of overseas possessions (such as French Indochina) created myths of French greatness. The Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa, was the proliferation of conflicting European claims to African territory during the New First French interventions See also France-Vietnam relations France-Vietnam relations started as early as the 17th century with the mission of the Jesuit Both of these processes transformed a country of regionalisms into a modern nation state. For the online game see Jennifer Government NationStates. The nation-state is a certain form of State that derives its legitimacy Conflicts between the Chinese Emperor and the French Republic over Indochina climaxed during the Sino-French War, Admiral Courbet destroyed the Chinese fleet anchored at Foochow. The Sino-French War ( Chinese:, French: Guerre franco-chinoise, Vietnamese: Chiến tranh Pháp-Thanh) was a limited conflict fought Admiral Anatole-Amédée-Prosper Courbet (1828&ndash1885 who won a series of important land and naval victories during the Sino-French War (August 1884&ndashApril 1885 French sovereignty over Tonkin and Annam was confirmed. Tonkin (Đông Kinh in Vietnamese) also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of
In an effort to isolate Germany, France went to great pains to woo Russia and the United Kingdom to its side, first by means of the Franco-Russian Alliance of 1894, the 1904 Entente Cordiale with the U. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Franco-Russian Alliance was a Military alliance between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire that ran from 1892 to 1917 Flag of the United Kingdomsvg|right|70px]] The Entente cordiale is a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom K, and finally, with the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907 which became the Triple Entente and eventually led Russia and the U. The Anglo-Russian Entente or the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 was an accord signed on 31 August 1907 in St The Triple Entente (" entente " — French for "agreement" was the name given to the loose alignment of the United Kingdom, the K. to enter World War I as Allies. In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose France still had interests in Asia and looked for alliances and found in Japan a possible ally. During his visit to France, Iwakura Tomomi asked for French assistance in reforming Japan. was a Japanese Statesman who played an important role in the Meiji Restoration, influencing opinions of the Imperial Court. French military missions were sent to Japan in 1872-1880, in 1884-1889 and the last one much later in 1918-1919 to help modernize the Japanese army.
Distrust of Germany, faith in the army and native French anti-semitism combined to make the Dreyfus Affair (the unjust trial and condemnation of a Jewish military officer for treason) a political scandal of the utmost gravity. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility The Dreyfus Affair a Political scandal which divided France from the 1890s to the early 1900s The nation was divided between "dreyfusards" and "anti-dreyfusards," and far-right Catholic agitators inflamed the situation even when proofs of Dreyfus' innocence came to light. The writer Emile Zola published an impassioned editorial on the injustice, and was himself condemned by the government for libel. Émile François Zola ( (2 April 1840 &ndash 29 September 1902 was an influential French Writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of Once Dreyfus was finally pardoned, the progressive legislature enacted the 1905 laws on laïcité, which created a complete separation of church and state and stripped churches of most of their property rights. Laïcité (laisiˈte is the French concept of a Secular society, connoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs The 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and State ( French: Loi du 9 décembre 1905 concernant la séparation des Églises et de l'État) was passed by
The period at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century is often termed the belle époque. The Belle Époque (bɛːl e'pɔk French for "Beautiful Era" was a period in European history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until Although associated with cultural innovations and popular amusements (cabaret, can-can, the cinema, new art forms such as Impressionism and Art Nouveau), France was nevertheless a nation divided internally on notions of religion, class, regionalisms and money, and on the international front France came repeatedly to the brink of war with the other imperial powers, including Great Britain (the Fashoda Incident). Impressionism was a 19th-century Art movement that began as a loose association of Paris -based Artists exhibiting their art publicly in the 1860s Art Nouveau ( nu vo anglicised /ˈɑːt nuːvəu/ ( French for 'new art' also known as Jugendstil ( German for 'youth style' is an international The Fashoda Incident (1898 was the climax of imperial territorial disputes between the United Kingdom and France in Eastern Africa. World War I was inevitable, but its human and financial costs would be catastrophic for the French. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All
In 1889 the Exposition Universelle took place in Paris, and the Eiffel Tower was built as a temporary gate to the fair. The Exposition Universelle of 1889 was a World's Fair held in Paris, France from May 6, to October 31, 1889. The Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel /tuʀ ɛfɛl/ is an Iron Tower built Meant to last only a few decades, the tower was never removed and became France's most iconic landmark.
See also:
- French Revolution
- Causes of the French Revolution
- Estates-General of 1789
- National Assembly
- Storming of the Bastille
- National Constituent Assembly
- Legislative Assembly
- The Legislative Assembly and the fall of the French monarchy
- National Convention
- Reign of Terror
- Directory
- Consulate
- Glossary
- Timeline
- Wars
- List of people associated with the French Revolution
- List of historians of the French Revolution
- First Empire of Napoleon, Napoleonic Wars, Continental System
- Restoration of Louis XVIII and Charles X
- July Revolution (1830) and the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe (often treated as a continuation of the Restoration)
- 1848 Revolution
- French Second Republic
- Second Empire of Napoleon III
- Franco-Prussian War, Paris Commune
- French Third Republic
France in modern times II (1914-today)
World War I
On June 28, 1914 a Bosnian member of the Black Hand assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungary throne, in Sarajevo, the capital of the Austrian province of Bosnia in Serbia. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an The cause of the French Revolution is a significant subject of Historical debate The Estates-General (or States-General) of 1789 (Les États-Généraux de 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General The National Assembly of France is the lower legislative house under the French Fifth Republic. The Storming of the Bastille in Paris occurred on 14 July 1789. The National Constituent Assembly (Assemblée nationale constituante was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the The French Revolution was a period in the History of France covering the years 1789 to 1799, in which republicans overthrew the Bourbon The Civil Constitution of the Clergy divided the French people During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from October 1 1791 to September 1792. The French Revolution was a period in the History of France covering the years 1789 to 1799 in which republicans overthrew the Bourbon monarchy During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the Constitutional and legislative assembly Saint justjpg|thumbnail|200px| Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just]] The Reign of Terror' (5 September 1793 &ndash 28 July 1794 or simply The Terror (la Terreur was The Executive Directory ( Directoire exécutif) was a body of 5 single-male Directors that held executive power in France following The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the This is a glossary of the French Revolution. It generally does not explicate names of individual people or their political associations those can be found in List of people associated The following is a Timeline of the French Revolution Events preceding but pertinent to the French Revolution The Enlightenment, which led to many The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts from 1792 until 1802 fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states This is a partial '''list''' of people associated with the French Revolution, including supporters and opponents The French Revolution stretches back over two hundred years prior to the event itself The Empire of the French (1804-1814 also known as the Empire of France, Greater French Empire, First French Empire, French Empire, or Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions The Continental System was the Foreign policy of Napoleon I of France in his struggle against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the Following the ousting of Napoleon I of France in 1814 the Allies restored the Bourbon Dynasty to the French throne Louis XVIII (17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824 Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, was a King of France and Navarre. Charles X (9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836 ruled as King of France and Navarre from 20 May 1824 until the French Revolution of 1830, when he abdicated The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution, saw the overthrow of King Charles X, the French The July Monarchy (1830-1848 was a period of liberal monarchy rule of France under Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe ( 6 October 1773 &ndash 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the The February 1848 Revolution in France ended the reign of King Louis-Philippe, and led to the creation of the French Second Republic (1848-1852 History Revolution of 1848 See also Mid-nineteenth century France The industrial population of the Faubourgs The Second French Empire or Second Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870 between the Second Napoléon III, also known as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (full name Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte) (20 April 1808 9 January 1873 was the first President The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War ( 19 July, 1870 — 10 May, 1871 The Paris Commune (La Commune de Paris was a Government that briefly ruled Paris from 18 March (more formally from 26 March) to 28 May The French Third Republic (in French, La Troisième République, sometimes written as La IIIe The History of France from 1914 to the present includes the later years of the Third Republic (1871–1941 World War I (1914–18 World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Black Hand ( Serbian: Црна рука / Crna Ruka) officially Unification or Death ( Serbian: Уједињење или смрт Ujedinjenje Franz Ferdinand ( December 18, 1863 &ndash June 28, 1914) was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Prince Imperial of This event ultimately triggered a complex set of formal and secret military alliances between European states, causing most of the continent, including France, to be drawn into war within a few short weeks. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia in late July, triggering Russian mobilization. On August 1st both Germany and France ordered mobilization. Germany was much better prepared militarily than any of the other countries involved, including France. Later on that day the German Empire, as an ally of Austria, declared war on Russia, when it heard no response to its request for Russia's demobilization. France was allied with Russia and Serbia and so was ready to commit to war against the German Empire. Germany occupied Luxembourg on August 2nd and gave neutral Belgium an ultimatum: let German armies pass through on their way to invade France or face invasion itself. The German occupation of Luxembourg in World War I was the first of two Military The Belgians refused, so Germany invaded and declared war on France. Britain entered the war on August 4th, although was relatively unprepared militarily and thus couldn't assist France much until August 7th. (See main entry for World War I for more detailed background about events leading up to France's entry into the war. )
The war on the Western Front was fought largely in France and characterized by extremely violent battles, often with new and more destructive military technology. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914 the German army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining Famous battles in France include First Battle of the Marne, Battle of Verdun, Battle of the Somme and the Second Battle of the Marne. The First Battle of the Marne (also known as the Miracle of the Marne) was a World War I battle fought from 5 September to 12 September 1914 The Battle of Verdun was one of the most critical battles in World War I on the Western Front, fought between the German and French The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, fought from July to November 1916 was among the largest battles of the First World War The Second Battle of the Marne, or Battle of Reims ( July 15 to August 5, 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front Germany's plan (see Schlieffen Plan) was to defeat the French quickly and then shift from defense to offense against Russia on the Eastern Front. For the French counter-plan see Plan XVII The Schlieffen Plan was the German General Staff 's early 20th century overall strategic The Germans captured Brussels by August 20th and soon had taken over a large portion of northern France. The original plan was to continue southwest and attack Paris from the west. By early September they were within 40 miles of Paris, and the French government had relocated to Bordeaux. The Allies finally stopped the advance northeast of Paris at the Marne River. This was the farthest push west by the Germans during the entire war.
On the Western Front the small improvised trenches of the first few months rapidly grew deeper and more complex, gradually becoming vast areas of interlocking defensive works. The land war quickly became dominated by the muddy, bloody stalemate of Trench warfare, a form of war in which both opposing armies had static lines of defense. Trench warfare is a form of warfare where both combatants have fortified positions and fighting lines are static The war of movement quickly turned into a war of position. Attack followed counterattack after counterattack. Neither side advanced much, but both sides suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties. German and Allied armies produced essentially a matched pair of trench lines from the Swiss border in the south to the North Sea coast of Belgium. Trench warfare prevailed on the Western Front from September 1914 until the Germans launched their "Spring Offensive", Operation Michael, in March 1918. The space between the opposing trenches was referred to as "no man's land" (for its lethal uncrossability) and varied in width depending on the battlefield. On the Western Front it was typically between 100 and 300 yards (90-275 m), though sometimes much less. The common infantry soldier had four weapons to use in the trenches: the rifle, bayonet, shotgun, and hand grenade.
Britain introduced the first tanks to the war, while Renault enhanced the concept by adding a turret. The British Mark I was the world's first combat Tank, entering service in the middle of World War I, born of the need to break the domination of trenches and The Renault FT 17 or Automitrailleuse à chenilles Renault FT modèle 1917 was a French light Tank; it is among the most revolutionary and influential The use in large quantity of these light tanks by Jean-Baptiste Estienne can be considered a decisive evolution in World War I's strategies. Jean-Baptiste Eugène Estienne (7 November 1860 - 2 April 1936 was a general of Artillery and a specialist in military Engineering, one of the founders of modern --89.242.194.251 (talk) 18:23, 1 May 2008 (UTC) When Russia exited the war in 1917 due to revolution, the Central Powers controlled all of the Balkans and could now shift military efforts to the Western Front. The Central Powers ( German: "Mittelmächte" Hungarian: "Központi hatalmak" Turkish: "İttifak The U. S. had entered the war also in 1917, so the Central Powers hoped this could be achieved mostly prior to America's delivery of military support. In March 1918 Germany launched the last major offensive on the Western Front. By May Germany had reached the Marne again, as in September 1914, and was again close to Paris. In Second Battle of the Marne, however, the Allies were able to defend and then shift to offense due in part to the fatigue of the Germans and the arrival of more Americans. The Second Battle of the Marne, or Battle of Reims ( July 15 to August 5, 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front The Germans were ultimately pushed back toward the German border. Other Central Power strongholds in Europe had fallen, and in early October, when a new government assumed power in Germany, it asked for an armistice.
Peace terms were agreed upon in the Treaty of Versailles on November 11th, largely negotiated by Georges Clemenceau for French matters. The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. Georges Benjamin Clemenceau ( Mouilleron-en-Pareds ( Vendée) 28 September 1841 24 November 1929 was a French statesman physician and Journalist Germany was required to take full responsibility for the war and to pay war reparations; and the German industrial Saarland, a coal and steel region, was occupied by France. War reparations refer to the monetary compensation intended to cover damage or injury during a war Saarland (ˈzaːɐ̯lant in German; French: Sarre) is one of the 16 federal states (German Bundesländer) of Germany. The German African colonies were partitioned between France and Britain such as Cameroons. British Cameroons was a British Mandate territory in West Africa, now divided between Nigeria and Cameroon. Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France, and the German Empire lost eastern territories such as the Danzig Corridor. Background Giving Poland access to the sea was one of the guarantees proposed by the United States President Woodrow Wilson in his Fourteen Ferdinand Foch wanted a peace that would never allow Germany to be a threat to France again. Ferdinand Foch OM GCB (2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929 was a French soldier military theorist and writer credited with possessing "the most original After the peace was signed he said, This is not a peace. It is an armistice for 20 years. The war brought great losses of troops and resources. Fought in large part on French soil, the war led to approximately 1. 4 million French dead including civilians (see World War I casualties), and four times as many casualties. The number of World War I casualties, both From the remains of the Ottoman Empire, France acquired the Mandate of Syria and the Mandate of Lebanon. The French Mandate of Syria was a League of Nations Mandate created after the First World War and the Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The French Mandate of Lebanon was a League of Nations Mandate created at the end of World War I.
Les années folles
Ferdinand Foch supported Poland in the Greater Poland Uprising and in the Polish-Soviet War and France also joined Spain during the Rif War. The Greater Poland Uprising of 1918&ndash1919, or Wielkopolska Uprising of 1918&ndash1919 ( Polish: powstanie wielkopolskie 1918&ndash19 roku; The Rif War of 1920, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain (later assisted by France) and the Moroccan Rif This period of time is also called the Great Depression. The Great Depression affected France from about 1931 through the remainder of the decade Leon Blum, leading the Popular Front was elected Prime Minister from 1936 to 1937 and became the first Jew to lead France. André Léon Blum (9 April 1872 30 March 1950 was a French politician usually identified with the moderate left and three times the Prime Minister of France. The Popular Front (French Front populaire) was an alliance of left-wing movements including the French Communist Party (PCF the Socialist During the Spanish Civil War he did not support the Spanish Republicans because of the French internal political context of complex alliances and risk of war with Germany and Italy. The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict in Spain that started after an attempted Coup d'état committed by parts of the army against the government of In the 1920s, France established an elaborate system of border defences (the Maginot Line) and alliances (see Little Entente) to offset resurgent German strength and in the 1930s, the massive losses of the war led many in France to choose a policy guaranteeing peace, even in the face of Hitler's violations of the Versailles treaty and (later) his demands at Munich in 1938; this would be the much maligned policy of appeasement. The Maginot Line (IPA, Ligne Maginot named after French Minister of Defense André Maginot, was a line of concrete Fortifications tank obstacles artillery The Little Entente was an alliance formed in 1920 and 1921 by Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia with the purpose of common defense against Hungarian Édouard Daladier refused to go to war against Germany and Italy without British support as Neville Chamberlain wanted to save peace at Munich. Édouard Daladier (18 June 1884 - 10 October 1970 was a French Radical politician and Prime Minister of France at the start of the Second World Arthur Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869 &ndash 9 November 1940 was a British Conservative Politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The Munich Agreement (Mnichovská dohoda Mníchovská dohoda Münchner Abkommen Accords de Munich was an agreement regarding the Sudetenland, which were areas along borders
World War II
The Invasion of Poland finally caused France and Britain to declare war against Germany. The military history of France during World War II covers the period from 1939 until 1940 which witnessed French military participation under the Third Republic, and the period The Invasion of Poland (1939 precipitated World War II. It was carried out by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small German-allied But the allies did not launch massive assaults and kept a defensive stance: this was called the Phoney War in Britain or Drôle de guerre - the funny sort of war - in France. The Phoney War, also called the Twilight War by Winston Churchill, der Sitzkrieg in German ("the sitting war" a It did not prevent the German army from conquering Poland in a matter of weeks with its innovative Blitzkrieg tactics. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Blitzkrieg (German for "lightning war" is a popular name for an Offensive operational-level Military doctrine which involves an initial When Germany had its hands free for an attack in the west, the Battle of France began in May 1940, and the same tactics proved just as devastating there. In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries The Wehrmacht bypassed the Maginot Line by marching through the Ardennes forest. Wehrmacht (literally "defense force" was the name of the unified Armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945 The Maginot Line (IPA, Ligne Maginot named after French Minister of Defense André Maginot, was a line of concrete Fortifications tank obstacles artillery A second German force was sent into Belgium and the Netherlands to act as a diversion to this main thrust. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands In six weeks of savage fighting the French lost 90,000 men. [7] Many civilians sought refuge by taking to the roads of France: some two million refugees from Belgium and Holland were joined by between eight and ten million French civilians, representing a quarter of the French population, all heading south and west. This movement may well have been the largest single movement of civilians in history prior to 1947.
French leaders surrendered to Nazi Germany on June 24, 1940, after the British Expeditionary Force was evacuated from Dunkirk. Events 972 - Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces takes place Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The British Expeditionary Force ( BEF) was the British army sent to the Western Front in France and Belgium on the outbreak of Dunkirk ( French: Dunkerque, dœ̃kɛʀk or; Dutch:; is a harbour city and a commune in the northernmost part of France, in the Nazi Germany occupied three fifths of France's territory, leaving the rest in the south east to the new Vichy government. Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 This regime sought to collaborate with Germany. It was established on July 10, 1940. Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Vichy Regime was led by Philippe Pétain, the aging war hero of First World war. Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951 generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain ( Maréchal Pétain) It was originally intended to be a temporary, care-taker regime, to supervise French administration before the soon-expected defeat of Britain. Instead, it lasted four years and imposed a tyrannical regime on the French people. It was unique among the various collaborating regimes of wartime Europe in that it was established constitutionally, through the French parliament, and not imposed by the Nazis. However, Charles de Gaulle declared himself by radio from London the head of a rival government in exile, gathering the Free French Forces around him, finding support in some French colonies and recognition from Britain and the USA. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres FFL) were French fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces
The Vichy regime adopted violent, repressive anti-semitic policies on its own initiative, without direction from Nazi Germany, as has been highlighted by the historian Robert Paxton [8]. During the German occupation 76000 Jews would be deported, often with the help of the Vichy French authorities, and murdered in the Nazi's extermination camps. Extermination camps were two types of facilities that Nazi Germany built during World War II for the systematic killing of millions of people in what has become After the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir in 1940, where the British fleet destroyed a large part of the French navy, still under command of Vichy France. The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir, also known as Operation Catapult, was a hostile engagement off the coast of French Algeria where a British Royal Navy Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 This attack that killed about 1,100 sailors, and there was nationwide indignation and a feeling of distrust in the French forces, leading to the events of the Battle of Dakar. The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar Eventually, several important French ships such as the Richelieu and the Surcouf joined the Free French Forces. Design Derived from the ''Dunkerque'' class Richelieu and ''Jean Bart'', as well as the unfinished Clemenceau and Gascogne, Early career The Washington Naval Treaty had placed strict limits on naval construction by the major naval powers but submarines had been omitted On the Eastern Front the USSR was lacking pilots and several French pilots joined the Soviet Union and fought the Luftwaffe in the Normandie-Niemen squadron. The Normandie-Niemen squadron (Нормандия-Неман was a fighter squadron of the French Air Force. Within France proper, very few people organised themselves against the German Occupation in the summer of 1940. However, their numbers grew as Vichy's true nature became more apparent and the decline of Nazi Germany more obvious. Isolated opposers eventually formed a real movement: the Resistants. The French Resistance is the collective name used for the French Resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German [9] The most famous figure of the French resistance was Jean Moulin. Jean Moulin ( June 20, 1899 – July 8, 1943) was a high-profile member of the French Resistance during World War II He was tortured by Klaus Barbie (the butcher of Lyon). Klaus Barbie ( October 25, 1913 &ndash September 25, 1991) was an SS - Hauptsturmführer, Soldier Increasing repression culminated in the complete destruction and extermination of the village of Oradour-sur-Glane, at the height of the Battle of Normandy. Oradour-sur-Glane (Orador de Glana is a town and commune in the Haute-Vienne département of central-western France. There were also Frenchmen that joined the SS, they were known as the Charlemagne Division, knowing they would not survive would Germany be defeated; they were among the last ones to surrender at Berlin. The 33 Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS Charlemagne (französische Nr For the bombing campaign on Berlin by the RAF from November 1943 to March 1944 see Battle of Berlin (air.
Whilst recognising this extensive collaboration, the British historian Simon KItson has shown that the Vichy regime engaged in an extensive programme of arresting German intelligence agents in the unoccupied zone[10]. Around 2000 were arrested and some were subsequently executed. Vichy's purpose in this respect was to preserve its sovereignty and to centralise collaboration.
In November 1942 Vichy-France was finally occupied by German forces, because the war in North-Africa was coming to an end; the Germans foresaw a threat in southern Europe by the allied forces.
On 6 June 1944 the allied landed on Normandy while on 15 August they landed on Provence. D-Day may also refer to Decimal Day in the United Kingdom. D-Day is a term often used in Military parlance to denote Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France, on 15 August, 1944, as part of World War II. General Leclerc freed Paris and Strasbourg and later, along with the battleship Richelieu, represented France at Tokyo during the Japanese surrender. Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque ( November 22, 1902 – November 28, 1947) was a French general during World War II The Liberation of Paris' (also known as Battle for Paris) took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was the written agreement that established the Armistice ending the Pacific War and with it World War II. The Vichy-regime fled to Germany.
France was liberated by allied forces in 1944. After the war ended, the West German government had to pay reparations (large sums of money) to France as compensation for invading and occupying France and to any civilians killed, being starved, sent into forced labour, or left homeless by the war. The day Germany surrendered French forces were involved in the Sétif massacre in Algeria. The Sétif massacre refers to widespread disturbances in and around the Algerian market town of Setif located to the west of Constantine in 1945
Cold War
After a short period of provisional government initially led by General Charles de Gaulle, a new constitution (October 13, 1946) established the Fourth Republic under a parliamentary form of government controlled by a series of coalitions. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French Events 54 - Nero ascends to the Roman throne 409 - Vandals and Alans crossed the Pyrenees Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The founding of the Fourth Republic (1944-47 See also Three Parties, Third Force (France European Unity The creation of the During the following 16 years the French Colonial Empire would disintegrate.
Israel was established in 1948 and France was one of the fiercest supporter of the Jewish state, supplying it with extensive weaponry it used during 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The French Republic needed an alliance with Israel to secure the Suez Canal from potential threats in a context of decolonisation. The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation
In Indochina the French government was facing the Viet Minh, socialist rebels, and lost its Indochinese colonies during the First Indochina War in 1954 after the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The Việt Minh (abbreviated from Việt Nam Ðộc Lập Ðồng Minh Hội, English "League for the Independence of Vietnam" was a National liberation The First Indochina War (also known as the French Indochina War, the The Anti-French War, the Franco-Vietnamese War, the Franco-Vietminh War, The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (Bataille de Diên Biên Phu Chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ was the climactic battle of the First Indochina War between French Union Vietnam was divided in two states while Cambodge and Laos were made independent. Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially The Kingdom of Cambodia ( formerly known as Kampuchea (, transliterated: Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchea) is a country in South East Laos (ˈlɑːoʊs or /ˈlaʊs/ officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a Landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma France left Indochina to be replaced by the USA there, themselves engaged in the long Vietnam War. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
In 1956 another crisis struck French colonies, this time in Egypt. The Suez Canal had been built by the French government, belonged at 56% to the French Republic and was operated by the Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez. The Universal Suez Ship Canal Company ( French: Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez, or simply Compagnie de Suez for short was the French Great-Britain had bought the Egyptian share from Isma'il Pasha and was the second largest owner of the canal before the crisis. Isma'il Pasha, known as Ismail the Magnificent (إسماعيل باشا ( December 31, 1830 &ndash March 2, 1895) was Wāli The Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalised the canal despite French and British opposition; he estimated a European answer was most unlikely to happen. Gamal Abdel Nasser (جمال عبد الناصر Gamāl ‘Abd an-Nāṣir; - January 15 1918 September 28 1970) was the second President Great-Britain and France attacked Egypt and built an alliance with Israel against Nasser. Israel attacked from the east, Britain from Cyprus and France from Algeria. Egypt, the most powerful Arab state of the time, was defeated in a mere few days. This caused an outcry of indignation in the entire Arab world and Saudi Arabia set an embargo on oil on France and Britain. The US President Dwight D. Eisenhower forced a ceasefire when he threatened to sell all American shares of British Pounds and to crash the British economy. Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14 1890 – March 28 1969 was President of the United States from 1953 until 1961 and a five-star general The British forces were retired from the conflict and Israel, having seized interests in the Sinai region, withdrew soon leaving France alone in Egypt. Under stronger political pressures the French government ultimately evacuated its troops from Suez. This was a major political defeat for France and the American threats during the war were received with indignation by the French popular opinion. This led directly, and was used as a point, to the French withdrawal from the integrated military command of NATO in 1966. The North Atlantic Treaty Another consequence of this was the French loss of geopolitical interests in the region; this meant an alliance with Israel was no longer of any use for French diplomacy. General de Gaulle was elected president in 1958 and made the French Force de Frappe, the nuclear power, a priority of the French Defence. The force de frappe (literally Strike Force; meant for dissuasion, i France then adopted the dissuasion du faible au fort doctrine which meant a Soviet attack on France would only bring total destruction to both sides. Mutual assured destruction ( MAD; sometimes written as mutually assured destruction) is a Doctrine of military Strategy in which a full-scale
| “ | Within ten years, we shall have the means to kill 80 million Russians. I truly believe that one does not light-heartedly attack people who are able to kill 80 million Russians, even if one can kill 800 million French, that is if there were 800 million French. | ” |
The May 1958 seizure of power in Algiers by French army units and French settlers opposed to concessions in the face of Arab nationalist insurrection led to the fall of the French government and a presidential invitation to de Gaulle to form an emergency government to forestall the threat of civil war. Algiers (الجزائر Algerian Arabic: Dzayer ( (From kabyle pronunciation Kabyle: Ledzayer, Alger) is the Capital and largest
In May 1968 students revolted, with a variety of demands including educational, labor and governmental reforms, sexual and artistic freedom, and the end of the Vietnam War. For other events in May 1968 see 1968. The student protest movement quickly joined with labor and mass strikes erupted.
Post Cold War
After the fall of the USSR and the end of the Cold War potential menaces to mainland France appeared considerably reduced. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the France began reducing its nuclear capacities and conscription was abolished in 2001. In 1990 France, led by François Mitterrand, joined the short lived Gulf War against Iraq, the French participation to this war would be called the Opération Daguet. François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand ( 26 October 1916 8 January 1996 served as President of France from 1981 to 1995 elected as representative of the Socialist Opération Daguet (French for Brocket deer) was the codename for French operations during the 1991 Gulf War (also called the Persian Gulf
However, despite the end of the cold war and the fact future conflicts would be fought away from home, there were still menaces against mainland France in the form of terrorism. In 1994 Air France Flight 8969 was hijacked by islamic terrorists with the suspected intent to crash the plane over Paris. Air France Flight 8969 was an Air France flight that was hijacked on December 24, 1994 at Algiers The hijacking was a failure for the terrorist group, known as the GIA after an intervention from the GIGN in Marseille, where the plane was grounded. The Armed Islamic Group ( GIA, al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah al-Musallaha, from French Groupe Islamique Armé; Arabic الجماعة الإسلامية The National Gendarmerie Intervention Group, commonly abbreviated GIGN (Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale is the French Gendarmerie 's Elite More terrorist attacks would happen and these culminated into the 1995 Paris Metro bombing. The 1995 bombings in France were carried out by the Armed Islamic Group (GIA who were broadening the Algerian Civil War to France Important leaders of the GIA in France fell afterward: Khaled Kelkal was killed in Lyon by the EPIGN and Rachid Ramda was arrested in London although it took ten years for the French justice to have him extraded. Khaled Kelkal (خالد كلكال ( April 28 1971 – September 29, 1995) was a French terrorist of Algerian origin affiliated The Parachute Intervention Squadron of the National Gendarmerie (Escadron Parachutiste d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale (EPIGN is the parachute-trained intervention squadron Rachid Ramda (born September 29 1969 Algeria Rachid Ramda was born in El Ogla on September 29 1969 in the East of Algeria
Jacques Chirac assumed office as president on May 17, 1995, after a campaign focused on the need to combat France's stubbornly high unemployment rate. Events 1521 - Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for Treason. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 While France continues to revere its rich history and independence, French leaders increasingly tie the future of France to the continued development of the European Union. In 1992 France ratified the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union. The Maastricht Treaty (formally the Treaty on European Union, TEU) was signed on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht, the Netherlands after final The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in In 1999, the Euro was introduced to replace the French franc. Please update other articles as well to avoid contradiction within Wikipedia e Beyond membership in the European Union, France is also involved in many joint European projects such as Airbus, the Galileo positioning system and the Eurocorps. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in Airbus SAS (ˈɛərbʌs in English, Airbus2ogg|/ɛʁbys/]] in French, and /ˈɛːɐbʊs/ in German) is an aircraft manufacturing Galileo is a Global navigation satellite system currently being built by the European Union (EU and European Space Agency (ESA Eurocorps is a multinational army corps within the framework of European Union and NATO common defence initiatives
The French have stood among the strongest supporters of NATO and EU policy in the Balkans to prevent genocide in Yugoslavia. The North Atlantic Treaty The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian French troops joined the 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia (code-named Operation Allied Force) was NATO 's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that France has also been actively involved against international terrorism. In 2002 Alliance Base, an international Counterterrorist Intelligence Center, was secretly established in Paris. Alliance Base is the cover name for a secret Western Counterterrorist Intelligence Center (CTIC established in 2002 in Paris. A Counterterrorist Intelligence Center ( CTIC) is according to a Washington Post November 18, 2005 Front page article by Dana The same year France contributed to the toppling of the Taliban-regime in Afghanistan, but it strongly rejected the 2003 invasion of Iraq, even threatening to veto the US proposed resolution. The War in Afghanistan, which began on October 7 2001 as the U Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia
Jacques Chirac was reelected in 2002, mainly because his socialist rival Lionel Jospin was defeated by the extreme right wing candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Lionel Jospin (born 12 July 1937 is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France, during the third " cohabitation " Jean-Marie Le Pen (born June 20, 1928, La Trinité-sur-Mer, Brittany, France) is a French far-right Nationalist France was struck by a long period of civil unrest in 2005 after the death of two teenagers. The 2005 civil unrest in France of October and November was a series of Riots and violent clashes involving mainly the burning At the end of his second term Jacques Chirac chose not to run again at the age of 74.
The cabinet minister and rival Nicolas Sarkozy was elected and took office on May 16, 2007. Nicolas Sarkozy (pronounced, Events 1204 - Baldwin IX Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The problem of high unemployment has yet to be resolved. In 2008, France was one of the first states to recognise Kosovo as an independent nation.
See also
- French Third Republic
- Vichy France
- French Fourth Republic
- First Indochina War
- Algerian War of Independence
- French Fifth Republic created by Charles de Gaulle
- List of French monarchs
- Bourbon Dynasty
- Kings of France family tree
- List of Presidents of the French Republic
- Timeline of French history
- Military history of France
Further reading
General Texts
- André Maurois, A History of France
20th Century France
- Robert Gildea, France Since 1945
- Tyler Stovall, France since the Second World War. The French Third Republic (in French, La Troisième République, sometimes written as La IIIe Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 The founding of the Fourth Republic (1944-47 See also Three Parties, Third Force (France European Unity The creation of the The First Indochina War (also known as the French Indochina War, the The Anti-French War, the Franco-Vietnamese War, the Franco-Vietminh War, The Algerian War ( French: Guerre d'Algérie; 1954-1962 also known as Algerian War of Independence, led to Algeria 's independence from See also Government of France The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, which was introduced on Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French List of Queens and Empresses of France Wikipedia_talkFeatured_lists#Proposed_change_to_all_featured_lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below The House of Bourbon is an important European Royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. This is the Kings of France family tree, including all kings from Charlemagne to the advent of the Republic Second French Republic (1848-1852 President of the Provisional Government of the Republic Jacques Charles Dupont de l'Eure (24 February 1848 This is a timeline of French history. To read about the background to these events see History of France. The military history of France encompasses an immense panorama of conflicts and struggles extending for more than 2000 years across areas including modern France, greater
External links
- History of France by French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- History of France, from Middle Ages to XIXe century (in French)
- History of France: Primary Documents (English interface)
- Websites about History of France (in French)
- A History of France (in English)
- Voices in the Dark - Paris in World War II (in English)
- Simon Kitson's Vichy web-page [1]
Notes
- ^ H. H. Howorth. The Ethnology of Germany. Part V. The Jutes and Fomorians // The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 10. (1881), p. 183.
- ^ David Carpenter The Struggle for Mastery. The Penguin history of Britain 1066-1284 page 91: "In the first place, after 1072 William was largely an absentee. Of the 170 months remaining of his reign he spent around 130 in France, returning to England only on four occasions. This was no passing phase. Absentee kings continued to spend at best half their time in England until the loss of Normandy in 1204. . . But this absenteeism solidified rather than sapped royal government since it engendered structures both to maintain peace and extract money on the king's absence, money which was above all needed across the channel".
- ^ Richerus Liber IV: 12. (987, Jun. 1. ) Promotio Hugonis in regnum. Hac sententia promulgata et ab omnibus laudata, dux omnium consensu in regnum promovetur, et per metropolitanum aliosque episcopos Noviomi coronatus, Gallis, Brittannis, Dahis, Aquitanis, Gothis, Hispanis, Wasconibus, rex Kalendis Jun. The text is available here in the paragraph 12, from the Latin Library.
- ^ Capetian France 937 - 1328 page 64: Then in 1151 Henry Plantagenet paid homage for the duchy to Louis VII in Paris, homage he repeated as king of England in 1156.
- ^ Capetian France page 265.
- ^ Capetian France page 264.
- ^ Joel Blatt (ed), The French Defeat of 1940 (Oxford, 1998)
- ^ Robert O. Paxton, Vichy France, Old Guard and New Order, New York, 1972
- ^ H. R. Kedward, In Search of the Maquis Italic text(Oxford, 1993)
- ^ Simon Kitson, Vichy et la Chasse aux Espions Nazis, Paris, Autrement, 2005; Simon Kitson, The Hunt for Nazi Spies, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2007