Download History of France

History of France
France was first called Gaul when it was inhabited by numerous tribes. However, in 52
BC, Caesar conquered the entire region and Gaul became part of the Roman Empire.
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Clovis conquered Gaul. He was the leader of
the Franks, from whom the name of France is taken. In 800, Charlemagne became
Emperor, crowned by the Pope himself. He largely expanded the territory. That was the
beginning of the kingdom of France.
France went through numerous wars, many of those against England. The longest was
the Hundred Years’ War, during which Joan of Arc led the French during the fourteenth
century. There was also endless tension between the Catholics and the Protestants,
which culminated in the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre in 1572.
Louis XIV, the Sun King, continued to involve France in many wars, but he also
patronized the arts and built the magnificent Château de Versailles. The French people
eventually grew tired of being governed and heavily taxed under a monarchy. In 1789,
they decided to revolt against the monarchy. They wrote the Declaration of the Rights of
Man and Citizens, explaining fundamental principles at the base of the French Republic.
The Revolution was followed by a period of political instability until Napoléon
Bonaparte’s coup. He made himself Emperor and conquered most of Europe.
Napoléon’s legacy is still important nowadays, as many of the laws, the Napoleonic
Code, which he created, are actually still used in France. The Emperor was
nevertheless defeated in 1815, and France went back to a monarchy. It wasn’t until
1870 that a state republic was permanently established.
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