Before I begin, France has A LOT of history. I can’t cover it in detail (this is, after all, only one blog post), but I’ll do my best to do it justice. This will be a very brief sum up of France’s history. If anything interests you, I encourage you to look deeper into it. I encourage it in general. And please, if you feel like anything in this post needs a follow up, post it in the comments below! I would love to read it!
During BCE (before common era), France is split into several groups: the Gauls, the Aquitani, the Greeks, and the Belgae. The Romans, under Julius Caesar, conquered the Gallic region of France in the Gallic Wars. The war lasted from 58-51 BCE. France went through several wars in which they gained and lost land under several leaders. One of the more significant conflicts is the Hundred Year’s War, a series of wars that lasted from 1337-1453. It began after Charles IV of France died, leaving no blood heir other than Edward III of England. Edward III was Charles IV’s nephew and Phillip IV of France’s grandson which made him the last living male member of the House of Capet (aka House of France). Edward III’s Mother Isabella of France was unable to claim the throne due to a principle established in 1316 that made it impossible for women to succeed the throne so Isabella claimed it for her son. The French rejected this claim, stating that Isabella didn’t have the right to assert a ruler of France. The French wanted the House of Valois to control France, and so the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet went to war to decide who would rule over France. Joan of Arc entered the war in 1429, helped retake the city of Orléans, France, inspired the takeback of several other cities, and then was killed by the English in 1430. In the end, the French won, and Charles VII (aka Charles the Victorious) remained King of France. The most notable changes that came from the Hundred Year’s War were: the democratization of the French army, the modernization of weapons and the creation of French nationalism. During the Hundred Year’s War, the Black Death broke out (between 1348-1353). The Black Death is one of the most catastrophic pandemics; a plague that resulted in the death of something between 75-200 million people (worldwide).
More wars over land and religion ensued. One of those was a war with Italy, the First Italian War (over land and power), in which they lost but became inspired by the Italian Renaissance so they came home and started the French Renaissance. The French Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th-17th centuries. Most notably what came from the French Renaissance was the spread of humanism, exploration of the “New World,” the development of art, an elaboration of etiquette and the urbanization of Paris. More wars happened. Louis XIV created the idea of an absolute monarchical rule, known as the divine right of kings, which made the monarch more powerful than everyone, except for God. This means he was better than, and therefore didn’t have to listen to the people, the aristocracy, or even the church. More wars followed that made France the primal power in Europe.
In 1754, conflicts over territories in North America with the English led to the Seven Year War. The English won in 1763 which led to the French losing “New France” which consisted of territories in North America, Spanish Florida, several islands in the West Indies, the colony of Senegal on the West African coast, and superiority over the French trading outposts in India. This loss also meant that France was no longer the primal power in Europe anymore. Upset about this, the French assisted the Americans in their upheaval against the British in the American Revolutionary War. They did this hoping that it would help them gain back some of the land they lost in the Seven Year War, however it left them in further debt, and they gained very little from it.
After the recent wars (Seven Year War and American Revolutionary War) left the French bankrupt, a highly inefficient tax system screwed over the poor, years of bad harvests lead to increased food prices, malnutrition, and hunger, the rich couldn’t give a damn about the majority of France’s problems. All of which led to the French Revolutionary War. Notable events that occurred during the French Revolutionary War were: the storming of the Bastille (will cover in greater detail later), the curtailment of the church powers (this law reorganized the French Catholic Church, made it so the salaries of the priests would be paid by the state, abolished the Church’s authority to levy a tax on crops, and again cancelled some privileges for the clergy), and the creation of a constitutional monarchy (the King has to share power with an elected legislative assembly). Napoleon Bonaparte was a military and political figure that came to rise during the French Revolutionary War. Napoleon did a lot, however, the biggest impacts he had were: he shifted more power to Paris so that all decisions about France would be made in Paris, decreased hostility between the government and the church, came up with a modernized, more efficient tax system, made it so any man could serve in the army rather than the aristocrats choosing for them, and most importantly, helped create the Napoleonic Code (According to Wikipedia: “The Code recognized the principles of civil liberty, equality before the law, and the secular character of the state. It discarded the old right of primogeniture (where only the eldest son inherited) and required that inheritances be divided equally among all the children. The court system was standardized; all judges were appointed by the national government in Paris.”). After Napoleon died, France became politically unstable with the government changing every few months (even during peaceful times).
And you know what happened next! More wars over land and religion! Eventually the French railway system became popular which led to the modernization of French rural cities, and helped facilitate the rise of the industrial revolution. In 1869, the French said “NON” to the possible candidate to the throne of Spain, Prince Leopold von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. The war over that (the Franco-Prussian War) ended with the Treaty of Frankfurt which meant the newly formed German Empire could keep Alsace and Lorraine (previously French provinces). Franz Ferndinand, an Austrian archduke, was shot and a shit ton of countries went to war with each other (World War I). Eventually France joined in, partly out of obligation, partly because they were hoping to get the provinces back that they had lost in the Franco-Prussian War. The Great Depression finally hit France around 1931, though not nearly as hard as it hit some other countries.
Germany invaded Poland in 1939 which forced Britain and France to declare war on Germany even though they REAAAAAALLLLLLLYYYY didn’t want to. In 1940, Germany defeated and occupied France but the Allies (the side France was on) won in 1945. After World War II, France was financially and socially messed up. Charles de Gaulle stepped up to put France’s shit back in order. He founded the fifth republic (France’s current system of government), initiated the “Politics of Grandeur” which stated that France shouldn’t rely on other countries for national protection and prosperity, withdrew the French military from NATO, and restored Franco-German relations.
The dissolution of the Soviet Union lessened tension in France leading to the reduction in their nuclear arsenal. Although nuclear threat went down, terrorism became more prevalent. To this day, terrorism in France remains a highly controversial topic. But when it does happen, the French remain strongly unified. Vive la France!
Or if watching videos is more your thing, check out Suibhne’s sum up of French history! It’s magnificent!:
And if you want to hear more about World War II, feel free to watch Eddie Izzard’s bit about it (he curses a lot):
Additional Reading:
http://www.expatica.com/fr/about/30-interesting-facts-about-France_109142.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_France
What’s up, this weekend is nice in favor of me,
since this time i am reading this impressive informative article here at my
residence.
Wonderful post however , I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this subject?
I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit more.
Thanks!
Your style is really unique in comparison to other people I’ve read stuff from.
Thanks for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess
I will just book mark this blog.
I enjoy what you guys tend to be up too. Such clever work and reporting!
Keep up the terrific works guys I’ve included you
guys to our blogroll.
May I simply just say what a relief to discover somebody that actually knows what they’re discussing on the web.
You actually understand how to bring an issue to light and make it important.
More people should check this out and understand this side of your story.
It’s surprising you aren’t more popular since you definitely possess
the gift.
Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts
as long as I provide credit and sources back to your blog?
My blog site is in the very same niche as yours and my visitors would definitely benefit from a lot of the information you provide here.
Please let me know if this alright with you. Thank you!
I’m really enjoying the design and layout of
your blog. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to come here
and visit more often. Did you hire out a developer to create your theme?
Superb work!
Hi, I do believe this is a great website. I stumbledupon it 😉 I
may revisit once again since I book marked it.
Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to help other people.
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you make this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it
for you? Plz answer back as I’m looking to design my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from.
many thanks
I really like it whenever people come together and share views.
Great site, stick with it!
Great weblog right here! Additionally your web site lots up fast!
What host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link for
your host? I wish my web site loaded up as quickly as
yours lol
I just could not depart your web site before suggesting that I
extremely enjoyed the usual information an individual supply to
your guests? Is gonna be again frequently in order
to inspect new posts
Thanks for a marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed reading it, you could
be a great author. I will be sure to bookmark your blog and will come back in the future.
I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great writing, have a nice day!
I have read so many articles about the blogger lovers however this article
is really a good piece of writing, keep it up.
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but
after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear.
Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Regardless, just wanted to say
fantastic blog!
Greetings! Very helpful advice within this post! It is the little changes that make the largest changes.
Thanks for sharing!
Good info. Lucky me I ran across your website by accident (stumbleupon).
I’ve saved it for later!
This blog was… how do you say it? Relevant!!
Finally I have found something which helped me. Appreciate it!
Your mode of describing all in this piece of writing
is in fact good, every one be capable of effortlessly know it, Thanks a
lot.
You could certainly see your expertise in the work you write.
The world hopes for more passionate writers like you who are not afraid
to mention how they believe. Always go after your heart.
I am sure this piece of writing has touched all the internet people, its really really nice paragraph on building up new
blog.
Good replies in return of this difficulty with solid arguments and
explaining everything on the topic of that.
Terrific article! That is the type of information that should be
shared around the net. Disgrace on Google for not positioning this submit higher!
Come on over and talk over with my site . Thank you =)
My spouse and I absolutely love your blog and find most of your post’s to be just what I’m
looking for. Would you offer guest writers to write content for yourself?
I wouldn’t mind publishing a post or elaborating on many of the subjects you write regarding here.
Again, awesome web log!
Hi there! This is kind of off topic but I need some help from an established blog.
Is it very hard to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things
out pretty quick. I’m thinking about creating my own but
I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any points or suggestions?
Thank you
Truly when someone doesn’t be aware of after that its up to other visitors that they will assist, so here it occurs.
It’s very trouble-free to find out any topic on net
as compared to textbooks, as I found this paragraph at this website.
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your
weblog and wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts.
In any case I’ll be subscribing for your feed and I’m hoping
you write again very soon!
What’s up to every body, it’s my first pay a visit of this blog; this web site contains amazing
and truly excellent material in favor of visitors.
Howdy! This blog post could not be written any better! Looking at this article reminds me of
my previous roommate! He continually kept talking about this.
I most certainly will forward this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a great read.
I appreciate you for sharing!
Hello there, I discovered your blog by the use of Google at the same time as searching for a comparable subject, your site came up, it appears to be like great.
I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
Hello there, just was aware of your weblog thru Google, and located that it is really informative.
I’m gonna watch out for brussels. I will be grateful when you continue this in future.
Many folks might be benefited from your writing.
Cheers!
I read this post fully regarding the resemblance of latest and
preceding technologies, it’s amazing article.
Very good post. I am experiencing some of these issues as well..
fantastic publish, very informative. I ponder why the other specialists of this sector don’t notice
this. You must proceed your writing. I’m sure, you have
a huge readers’ base already!
hello there and thank you for your info – I’ve definitely picked up anything new from right here.
I did however expertise several technical points using this website,
since I experienced to reload the site a lot of times
previous to I could get it to load correctly. I had been wondering if your hosting
is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances
times will often affect your placement in google and can damage your quality score
if ads and marketing with Adwords. Anyway I am adding this RSS to my email and could look out for much
more of your respective fascinating content.
Ensure that you update this again soon.
There is definately a lot to find out about this issue. I like all
the points you made.
I want to to thank you for this great read!! I absolutely
loved every little bit of it. I’ve got you saved as a favorite to look at new things you post…
It’s perfect time to make a few plans for the longer
term and it’s time to be happy. I’ve learn this put up and if I may just I want to suggest you few interesting issues or suggestions.
Perhaps you could write next articles relating to this article.
I wish to read more issues about it!
This is my first time pay a visit at here and i am really impressed to read all at
single place.
Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your site
and in accession capital to assert that I get in fact enjoyed account your blog posts.
Anyway I will be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently rapidly.
What’s up, after reading this awesome article
i am too glad to share my knowledge here with friends.
Hi there would you mind letting me know which web host you’re using?
I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different internet browsers and I
must say this blog loads a lot faster then most. Can you suggest a good internet hosting provider at a reasonable price?
Many thanks, I appreciate it!
I have been surfing online more than 2 hours today, yet I
never found any interesting article like
yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be a lot more
useful than ever before.
If you wish for to grow your familiarity only keep visiting this web site and
be updated with the newest information posted here.
Fantastic site. Lots of helpful information here. I’m sending it to some friends ans additionally sharing in delicious.
And naturally, thank you on your effort!
Hello There. I discovered your blog the use of msn. That is a really neatly written article.
I will be sure to bookmark it and return to learn more of your
useful information. Thanks for the post. I will certainly comeback.
Fastidious answers in return of this question with solid arguments and explaining
everything regarding that.
Peculiar article, just what I was looking for.
Everything published was actually very reasonable.
However, what about this? what if you composed a catchier
title? I am not suggesting your information isn’t solid, but what if you added something that grabbed a person’s attention? I mean A Brief History of France – Bryanna
Vs The World is a little vanilla. You might peek at Yahoo’s front page
and note how they create news titles to grab people to
click. You might add a related video or a related
pic or two to grab readers interested about what you’ve written.
In my opinion, it might bring your website a little bit more interesting.
Usually I do not read post on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very forced me to take a look at
and do it! Your writing style has been amazed me.
Thanks, very nice article.