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
This contained some excellent tips and tools. Great blog publication.
Hello. Great job. I did not expect this on a Wednesday. This is a great story. Thanks!
Greetings… your blog is very interesting and beautifully written.
Glad to be one of many visitants on this amazing site : D.
These are some of the most important issues we’ll face over the next few decades.
It is perfect time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I want to suggest you some interesting things or suggestions. Perhaps you can write next articles referring to this article. I wish to read more things about it!
I Am Going To have to come back again when my course load lets up – however I am taking your Rss feed so i can go through your site offline. Thanks.
Our communities really need to deal with this.
These are some of the most important issues we’ll face over the next few decades.
you may have an ideal blog here! would you prefer to make some invite posts on my blog?
I like this weblog very much so much great info .
You are a very smart person! 🙂
Surprisingly good post. I really found your primary webpage and additionally wanted to suggest that have essentially enjoyed searching your website blog posts. Whatever the case I’ll always be subscribing to your entire supply and I hope you jot down ever again soon!
This is definitely a wonderful webpage, thanks a lot..
Thanks for another great post. Where else may anybody get that type of info in such an ideal way of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I’m at the search for such information.
Clear, concise and easy to access.
I really like your writing style, excellent info , thanks for putting up : D.
This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your fantastic post. Also, I have shared your website in my social networks!
These kind of posts are always inspiring and I prefer to read quality content so I happy to find many good point here in the post. writing is simply wonderful! thank you for the post
Hello there I am so delighted I found your weblog, I really found you by mistake, while I was searching on Google for something else, Anyhow I am here now and would just like to say cheers for a remarkable post and a all round exciting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to browse it all at the moment but I have book-marked it and also included your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a lot more, Please do keep up the superb work.
I encountered your site after doing a search for new contesting using Google, and decided to stick around and read more of your articles. Thanks for posting, I have your site bookmarked now.
Your idea is outstanding; the issue is something that not enough persons are speaking intelligently about. I’m very happy that I stumbled throughout this in my seek for one thing regarding this.
Some truly nice stuff on this website , I like it.
Woah this is just an insane amount of information, must of taken ages to compile so thanx so much for just sharing it with all of us. If your ever in any need of related information, just check out my own site!
This will be helpful for my family.
[url=http://provigil.cfd/]how to get provigil prescription[/url]
This is my first time i visit here. I found so many helpful stuff in your website especially its discussion. From the tons of responses on your posts, I guess I am not the only one having all the enjoyment here! keep up the excellent work
Well, I don’t know if that’s going to work for me, but definitely worked for you! 🙂 Excellent post!
[url=https://diflucan.xyz/]diflucan cream over the counter[/url]
[url=http://valtrex.click/]buy valtrex online usa[/url] [url=http://erectafil.site/]erectafil online[/url] [url=http://lisinopril.beauty/]cheap lisinopril 40 mg[/url] [url=http://vardenafil.men/]levitra online rx[/url]
[url=http://nexium.guru/]cost of nexium[/url] [url=http://baclofen.business/]10 mg baclofen[/url] [url=http://vermox.site/]buy vermox canada[/url] [url=http://singulair.site/]singulair medicine buy online[/url] [url=http://buspar.site/]buspar pill 15 mg[/url] [url=http://plavix.site/]plavix coupon[/url] [url=http://valtrex.click/]where to buy valtrex[/url] [url=http://ciprofloxacin.site/]ciprofloxacin where can i buy[/url]
Can I simply just say what a relief to uncover somebody who
truly knows what they’re talking about on the net. You definitely realize how to bring an issue to light and make
it important. More people ought to read this and understand this side of your story.
I was surprised you’re not more popular because you certainly possess the gift.
Hmm it seems like your blog ate my first comment (it was super long) so
I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying
your blog. I too am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to
the whole thing. Do you have any recommendations for newbie blog writers?
I’d really appreciate it.
I have been browsing online more than three hours today, yet
I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth
enough for me. In my view, if all web owners and bloggers made good
content as you did, the web will be a lot more useful than ever before.
We are a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community.
Your web site offered us with valuable information to work
on. You’ve done an impressive job and our entire community will be thankful
to you.
It is not my first time to visit this website, i am browsing this site dailly and get fastidious data from here every day.
Hey! I know this is kinda off topic but I’d figured I’d ask.
Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest writing a blog post or vice-versa?
My blog covers a lot of the same topics as yours and I think we could greatly benefit from
each other. If you are interested feel free to send me an e-mail.
I look forward to hearing from you! Superb blog by the way!
I’ll right away clutch your rss feed as I can not in finding your
e-mail subscription hyperlink or e-newsletter service. Do you’ve
any? Please allow me understand so that I could subscribe.
Thanks.
Howdy very cool web site!! Man .. Excellent ..
Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your web site and take the feeds additionally?
I’m satisfied to search out numerous useful information here in the post, we want work out more techniques in this regard, thank you for sharing.
. . . . .
Simply desire to say your article is as amazing.
The clarity in your post is simply excellent and i could assume you’re an expert on this subject.
Well with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to keep updated with forthcoming post.
Thanks a million and please continue the gratifying work.
Hello to all, how is everything, I think every one is getting more from this site, and your views are good in favor
of new visitors.
Undeniably believe that which you said. Your favorite justification appeared to
be on the web the easiest thing to be aware of.
I say to you, I certainly get irked while people consider worries
that they just do not know about. You managed to
hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people could take a signal.
Will probably be back to get more. Thanks
Hello, i think that i saw you visited my web site so i came to “return the favor”.I’m trying to find
things to enhance my website!I suppose its ok to use a few of your
ideas!!
Hi there would you mind letting me know which web host you’re utilizing?
I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different internet browsers
and I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most.
Can you suggest a good internet hosting provider at a reasonable price?
Thanks, I appreciate it!
Aw, this was a really good post. Finding the time and actual effort to make a really good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a whole lot and never manage to get nearly anything done.
I was recommended this website by my cousin. I am not sure whether this
post is written by him as no one else know such detailed about my
trouble. You’re wonderful! Thanks!
Oh my goodness! Impressive article dude! Thanks, However
I am encountering difficulties with your RSS. I don’t know the
reason why I can’t subscribe to it. Is there anyone else getting similar RSS issues?
Anyone who knows the answer will you kindly respond?
Thanx!!
Hi there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative.
I’m going to watch out for brussels. I will appreciate if you continue this in future.
Numerous people will be benefited from your writing.
Cheers!
It’s really a nice and helpful piece of information. I am glad that you
shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi to every one, since I am truly eager of reading this blog’s post to
be updated on a regular basis. It carries fastidious data.