Download Timeline / 1000 to 1700 / FRANCE

Timeline / 1000 to 1700 / FRANCE
Date
Country | Description
1047 A.D.
France
Saracen raid on the Lerins Islands (the most significant of a series of raids on the
Provençal coast). The monks taken are bought back through the Abbey of SaintVictor.
1096 A.D.
France
Start of the First Crusade, preached by Pope Urban II at Clermont. The People’s
Crusade is mostly annihilated, but the Princes’ Crusade reaches Palestine and
takes Jerusalem in 1099, establishing the Frankish Kingdom in the east.
1108 A.D.
France
Start of the reign of Louis VI. Establishment and growth of the commune
movement in France.
1146 A.D.
France
Preaching of the Second Crusade, in particular by Saint Bernard. King Louis VII
returns defeated to France, and Jerusalem is taken back by the Muslims in 1187.
1187 A.D.
France
Preaching of the Third Crusade, which is joined by the King of France Philip
Augustus and Richard the Lionheart. Having returned to France Philip Augustus
defeats the troops of Emperor Otto at Bouvines and greatly extends his kingdom.
1208 A.D.
France
Albigensian Crusade against Cathars established in southern France triggers the
conquest of the Languedoc by barons from the north of France. The Kingdom of
France experiences an unprecedented period of economic and cultural expansion.
1246 A.D.
France
Charles of Anjou, brother of the King of France, marries Beatrice, heir to the Count
of Provence. Sailors from Marseilles become special allies of the Angevins in
southern Italy.
1270 A.D.
France
Death of Louis IX at the gates of Tunis during the Eighth Crusade following an
initial defeat in Egypt (Seventh Crusade). Louis IX will be canonised in 1297.
1285 A.D.
France
Philip the Fair, surrounded by his ‘jurists’, consolidates the authority of the King of
France. Levying taxes on Jews and ‘Lombards’ and confiscating the riches of the
Date
Country | Description
Knights Templar, he enters into a conflict with the papacy which is only resolved in
1305 with the election of a French pope.
1348 A.D.
France
A devastating outbreak of the plague compounds the misery of renewed famine
and a disastrous war with England.
1392 A.D.
France
The King of France, Charles VI, is afflicted by madness. France falls into civil war,
and the Treaty of Troyes recognises Henry V of England as the heir to the French
throne.
1429 A.D.
France
Charles VII is crowned in Reims, having been proclaimed the true king of France
by Joan of Arc. A gradual reconquest of the kingdom begins, to be completed
towards the end of the 15th century.
1446 A.D.
France
Jacques Cœur, based in the south of France, begins profitable trading with
countries in the Near East, particularly Egypt.
1481 A.D.
France
Provence becomes part of France. The Kings of France inherit the claims of the
Angevins. Start of the Italian Wars.
1515 A.D.
France
Beginning of the reign of Francis I. Continuation of the Italian Wars, marked by
victory at Marignano and defeat at Pavia (1526). The King of France effects a
reconciliation with the Turks, creating a scandal in the Christian world.
1535 A.D.
France
The Capitulations afford French ships and subjects the freedom of the Ottoman
Empire. French consuls gain the right to judge their compatriots in criminal and civil
courts. Trade is greatly facilitated.
1543 A.D.
France
Barbarossa’s fleet comes to the aid of the French in their struggle against Charles
V.
1589 A.D.
France
The assassination of Henry III ends the reign of the Valois, which was marked
by Wars of Religion between Catholics and Protestants. The Catholic League’s
recognition of Henry IV, now converted to Catholicism, allows the kingdom to be
reunited.
Date
Country | Description
1598 A.D.
France
The Edict of Nantes ends the Wars of Religion, affording protestants considerable
rights in the Kingdom of France.
1604 A.D.
France
Further Capitulations allow subjects of Western Christian nations (particularly
Spanish, Portuguese and Neapolitan) to trade within the Ottoman Empire ‘with
the consent and protection of the banner of France’. The alliance with the ‘Grand
Seigneur’ is renewed in 1597.
1643 A.D.
France
Cardinal Jules Mazarin becomes prime minister to the regent, Anne of Austria. He
clashes with the ruling classes in the Frondes and emerges victorious.
1648 A.D.
France
The Treaties of Westfalia end the wars between the King of France and the
Emperor of Germany waged since 1636.
1659 A.D.
France
The Treaty of the Pyrenees ends the Franco-Spanish war and confirms French
possession of Roussillon. The union between Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse lays
the foundation for a solid alliance, despite the King of France renouncing his and
his successors’ right to the Spanish throne.
1669 A.D.
France
After the town is forcibly taken by the King of France in 1660, Colbert grants the
Marseilles Chamber of Commerce a special statute, giving it the power to authorise
French subjects to establish themselves in the Ports of the Levant, and he pays his
‘consuls’ by levying a 20% tax on goods carried by foreign ships.
1673 A.D.
France
Renewal of the Capitulations by Louis XIV. The galleys run by each power ‘must
not cause any damage’ to the other.