Download Key Events in French History

Key Events in French History
There is no single starting date for "French" history. Some textbooks start with prehistory, others with
the Roman conquest, others still with Clovis, Charlemagne or Hugh Capet (all mentioned below). While
I usually begun with Hugh Capet in 987, I have started this list earlier to ensure broad coverage.
Celtic Groups Start Arriving c.800 BCE
The Celts, an Iron Age group, began to immigrate into the region of modern France in great numbers
from c.800 BCE, and over the next few centuries dominated the area. The Romans believed that
‘Gaul’, which included France, had over sixty separate Celtic groups.
Conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar 58 – 50 BCE
Gaul was an ancient region which included France and parts of Belgium, West Germany and Italy.
Having seized control of the Italian regions and a southern coastal strip in France, Rome sent Julius
Caesar to conquer the region and bring it under control in 58 BCE, partly to stop Gallic raiders and
German incursions. Between 58-50 BCE Caesar fought the Gallic tribes which united against him under
Vercingetorix, who was beaten at the siege of Alésia. Assimilation into the Empire followed, and by the
mid first century CE Gallic aristocrats could sit in the Roman Senate.
Germans Settle in Gaul c.406 CE
In the early part of the fifth century groups of Germanic peoples crossed the Rhine and moved west
into Gaul, where they were settled by the Romans as self-governing groups. The Franks settled in the
north, the Burgundians in the south east and the Visigoths in the south west (although mainly in
Spain). The extent to which the settlers Romanized or adopted Roman political/military structures is
open to debate, but Rome soon lost control.
Clovis Unites the Franks c.481 - 511
The Franks moved into Gaul during the later Roman Empire. Clovis inherited the kingship of the Salian
Franks in the late fifth century, a kingdom based in northeast France and Belgium. By his death this
kingdom had spread south and west over much of France, incorporating the rest of the Franks. His
dynasty, the Merovingians, would rule the region for the next two centuries. Clovis selected Paris as
his capital and is sometimes regarded as the founder of France.
Battle of Tours/Poitiers 732
Fought somewhere, now precisely unknown, between Tours and Poitiers, an army of Franks and
Burgundians under Charles Martel defeated the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate. Historians are much
less certain now than they used to be that this battle alone stopped the military expansion of Islam
into the region as a whole, but the result secured Frankish control of the area and Charles’ leadership
of the Franks.
Charlemagne Succeeds to the Throne 751
As the Merovingians declined, a line of nobility called Carolingians took their place. Charlemagne,
which literally means Charles the Great, succeeded to the throne of a portion of the Frankish lands in
751. Two decades later he was sole ruler, and by 800 he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by the
Pope on Christmas Day. Important to the history of both France and Germany, Charles is often
labelled as Charles I in lists of French monarchs.
Creation of West Francia 843
After a period of civil war, Charlemagne’s three grandsons agreed a division of the Empire in the
Treaty of Verdun in 843. Part of this settlement was the creation of West Francia (Francia
Occidentalis) under Charles II, a kingdom in the west of the Carolingian lands which covered much of
the western part of modern France. Parts of eastern France came under the control of Emperor Lothar
I in Francia Media.
Hugh Capet becomes King 987
After a period of heavy fragmentation within the regions of modern France, the Capet family were
rewarded with the title “Duke of the Franks”. In 987 Hugh Capet, son of the first Duke, ousted rival
Charles of Lorraine and declared himself King of West Francia. It was this kingdom, notionally large
but with a small power base, which would grow, slowly incorporating the neighbouring areas, into the
powerful kingdom of France during the Middle Ages.
Reign of Philip II 1180–1223
When the English crown inherited the Angevin lands, forming what has been called the “Angevin
Empire” (although there was no emperor), they held more land in “France” than the French crown.
Philip II changed this, winning back some of the English crown’s continental lands in an expansion of
both France’s power and domain. Philip II (also called Philip Augustus) also changed the regal name,
from King of the Franks to King of France.
The Albigensian Crusade 1209 - 1229
During the twelfth century a non-canonical branch of Christianity called the Cathars took hold in the
south of France. They were deemed heretics by the main church, and Pope Innocent III urged both
the King of France and the Count of Toulouse to take action. After a papal legate investigating the
Cathars was murdered in 1208, with the Count implicated, Innocent ordered a crusade against the
region. Northern French nobles fought those of Toulouse and Provence, causing great destruction and
damaging the Cather church greatly.
The 100 Years War 1337 - 1453
A dispute over English holdings in France led to Edward III of England claiming the French throne; a
century of related warfare followed. The French low point occurred when Henry V of England won a
string of victories, conquered great chunks of the country and had himself recognised as heir to the
French throne. However, a rally under the French claimant eventually led to the English being thrown
out of the continent, with only Calais left of their holdings.
Reign of Louis XI 1461 - 1483
Louis expanded the borders of France, re-imposing control over Boulonnais, Picardy, and Burgundy,
inheriting control of Maine and Provence and taking power in France-Comté and Artois. Politically he
broke the control of his rival princes and began centralising the French state, helping transform it from
a medieval institution to a modern one.
Habsburg-Valois Wars in Italy 1494 - 1559
With royal control of France now largely secure, the Valois monarchy looked to Europe, engaging in a
war with the rival Habsburg dynasty – the de facto royal house of the Holy Roman Empire – which
took place in Italy, initially over French claims to the throne of Naples. Fought with mercenaries and
providing an outlet for the nobles of France, the wars were concluded with the Treaty of CateauCambrésis.
French Wars of Religion 1562 - 1598
A political struggle between noble houses exacerbated a growing sense of hostility between the French
Protestants, called Huguenots, and Catholics. When men acting on the orders of the Duke of Guise
massacred a Huguenot congregation in 1562 civil war erupted. Several wars were fought in quick
succession, the fifth triggered by massacres of Huguenots in Paris and other towns on the eve of Saint
Bartholomew's Day. The wars ended after the Edict of Nantes granted religious toleration to the
Huguenots.
Government of Richelieu 1624 - 1642
Armand-Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu, is perhaps best known outside France as one of the "bad
guys" in adaptations of The Three Musketeers. In real life he acted as chief minister of France, fighting
and succeeding to increase the monarch’s power and break the military strength of the Huguenots and
nobles. Although he didn’t innovate much, he proved himself a man of great ability.
Mazarin and the Fronde 1648 - 1652
When Louis XIV succeeded to the throne in 1642 he was a minor, and the kingdom was governed by
both a regent and a new Chief Minister: Cardinal Jules Mazarin. Opposition to the power that Mazarin
wielded led to two rebellions: the Fronde of the Parliament and the Fronde of the Princes. Both were
defeated and royal control strengthened. When Mazarin died in 1661, Louis XIV took over full control
of the kingdom.
Adult Reign of Louis XIV 1661–1715
Louis was the apogee of French absolute monarchy, a vastly powerful king who, after a regency while
he was a minor, ruled personally for 54 years. He re-ordered France around himself and his court,
winning wars abroad and stimulating French culture to such an extent that the nobilities of other
countries copied France. He has been criticised for allowing other powers in Europe to grow in strength
and eclipse France, but he has also been called the high point of French monarchy. He was nicknamed
"The Sun King" for the vitality and glory of his reign.
The French Revolution 1789 - 1802
A financial crisis prompted King Louis XVI to call an Estates General to pass new tax laws. Instead, the
Estates General declared itself a National Assembly, suspended tax and seized French sovereignty. As
France’s political and economic structures were reshaped, pressures from inside and outside France
saw first the declaration of a republic and then government by Terror. A Directory of five men plus
elected bodies took charge in 1795, before a coup brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power.
Napoleonic Wars 1802 - 1815
Napoleon took advantage of the opportunities offered by both the French Revolution and its
revolutionary wars to rise to the top, seizing power in a coup, before declaring himself Emperor of
France in 1804. The next decade saw a continuation of the warfare which had allowed Napoleon to
rise, and at the start Napoleon was largely successful, expanding the borders and influence of France.
However, after the invasion of Russia failed in 1812 France was pushed back, before Napoleon was
defeated finally at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The monarchy was then restored.
Second Republic and Second Empire 1848 - 1852, 1852 - 1870
An attempt to agitate for liberal reforms, coupled with growing dissatisfaction in the monarchy, led to
an outbreak of demonstrations against the king in 1848. Faced with the choice of deploying troops or
fleeing, he abdicated and fled. A republic was declared and Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, relative of
Napoleon I, was elected president. Only four years later he was proclaimed emperor of a “Second
Empire” in a further revolution. However, a humiliating loss in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, when
Napoleon was captured, shattered confidence in the regime; a Third Republic was declared in a
bloodless revolution in 1870.
Paris Commune 1871
Parisians, angered by a Prussian siege of Paris, the terms of the peace treaty which ended the FrancoPrussian war and their treatment by the government (which tried to disarm the National Guard in Paris
to stall trouble), rose in rebellion. They formed a council to lead them, called the Commune of Paris,
and attempted reform. The government of France invaded the capital to restore order, prompting a
short period of conflict. The Commune has been mythologized by socialists and revolutionaries ever
since.
The Belle Époque 1871 - 1914
A period of rapid commercial, social and cultural development as (relative) peace and further industrial
development wrought even greater changes upon society, bringing in mass consumerism. The name,
which literally means "Beautiful Age", is largely a retrospective title given by the wealthier classes who
benefitted most from the era.
World War 1 1914 - 1918
Refusing a demand from Germany in 1914 to declare neutrality during a Russo-German conflict,
France mobilised troops. Germany declared war and invaded, but was stopped short of Paris by AngloFrench forces. A great swathe of French soil was turned into a trench system as the war bogged down,
and only narrow gains were made until 1918, when Germany finally gave way and capitulated. Over a
million Frenchmen died and over 4 million were wounded.
World War 2 and Vichy France 1939 - 1945 / 1940 - 1944
France declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939; in May 1940 the Germans attacked France,
skirting the Maginot Line and quickly defeating the country. Occupation followed, with the northern
third controlled by Germany and the south under the collaborative Vichy regime headed by Marshal
Pétain. In 1944, after Allied landings at D-Day, France was liberated, and Germany finally defeated in
1945. A Fourth Republic was then declared.
Declaration of the Fifth Republic 1959
On January 8, 1959 the Fifth Republic came into being. Charles de Gaulle, hero of World War 2 and
heavy critic of the Fourth Republic, was the chief driving force behind the new constitution which gave
the presidency more powers compared to the National Assembly; de Gaulle became the first president
of the new era. France remains under the government of the Fifth Republic.
Riots of 1968
Discontent exploded in May 1968 as the latest in a series of rallies by radical students turned violent
and was broken up by the Police. Violence spread, barricades went up and a commune was declared.
Other students joined the movement, as did striking workers, and soon radicals in other cities
followed. The movement lost ground as leaders became afraid of causing too extreme a rebellion, and
the threat of military support, coupled with some employment concessions and de Gaulle’s decision to
hold an election, helped bring events to a close. Gaullists dominated the election results, but France
had been shocked at how quickly events had occurred.