French territorial gains (green) and losses (red) from 985 to present-day (Colonial Empire not shown, see below)
The mayor of the palace, Charles Martel, defeated a Muslim invasion from Hispania at the Battle of Tours (732) and earned respect and power within the Frankish Kingdoms. His son Pippin the Short eventually seized the crown of Francia from the discredited Merovingians and founded the Carolingian dynasty. Pippin's son Charlemagne reunited the Frankish Kingdoms and built a vast empire across Western and Central Europe.
Proclaimed "Roman Emperor" by the Pope, Charlemagne tried to revive the Western Roman Empire and its cultural grandeur, from its Palace of Aachen. The efficient administration of this immense empire was ensured by high civil servants, carrying the, still non-hereditary, titles of counts, dukes, marquis, etc. Charlemagne's son Louis I (emperor 814–840) kept the empire united; however, this Carolingian Empire would not survive Louis I's death. The Empire was divided between Louis' three sons, with the Treaty of Verdun (843), into East Francia to Louis the German, Middle Francia to Lothair I and West Francia to Charles the Bald. Western Francia approximated the area occupied by modern France and was the precursor to modern France.[32] Constantly threatened by Viking invasions, France became a very decentralised state : the nobility's titles and lands became hereditary, the authority of the king became more religious than effective and constantly challenged by powerful noblemen. Thus was established the feudal system in France. Some of the king's vassals would grow so powerful that they would become a threat to the king. By example, after the Battle of Hastings, in 1066, the Duke of Normandy added "King of England" to his titles, becoming vassal (as Duke of Normandy) and equal (as king of England) to the king of France.
The Carolingian dynasty ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of France.His descendants, the Direct Capetians, the House of Valois and the House of Bourbon, progressively unified the country through a series of wars, such as the Saintonge War, and dynastic inheritance into a Kingdom of France. The Albigensian Crusade was launched in 1209 to eliminate the heretical Cathars in the south-western area of modern-day France. In the end, the Cathars were exterminated and the autonomous County of Toulouse was annexed. Later Kings expanded their territory to cover over half of modern continental France, including most of the North, Centre and West of France. French knights took also an active part in the various Crusades that were fought, between 1095 and 1291, to restore Christian control over the Holy Land. Meanwhile, the royal authority became more and more assertive, centred around a hierarchically conceived society distinguishing nobility, clergy, and commoners.
Charles IV (The Fair) died without an heir in 1328.Under the rules of the Salic Law adopted in 1316, the crown of France could not pass to a woman, nor could the line of kinship pass through the female line.Accordingly, the crown passed to the cousin of Charles, Philip of Valois, rather than through the female line to Charles' nephew, Edward, who would soon become Edward III of England. In the reign of Philip of Valois, the French monarchy reached the height of its medieval power. However, Philip's seat on the throne was contested by Edward III of England and in 1337, on the eve of the first wave of the Black Death, England and France went to war in what would become known as the Hundred Years' War.The exact boundaries changed greatly with time, but French landholdings of the English Kings remained extensive for centuries. With charismatic leaders, such as Joan of Arc and La Hire, strong French counterattacks won back all English continental territories, except Calais which was captured in 1558 by the French.
The French Renaissance saw a long set of wars, known as the Italian Wars, between the Kingdom of France and the powerful Holy Roman Empire It saw also the first standardization of the French language, which will become the official language of France and the language of Europe's aristocracy. French explorers, such as Jacques Cartier or Samuel de Champlain, claimed lands in the Americas for France, paving the way for the expansion of the First French colonial empire. The rise of Protestantism in Europe led France to a civil war know as the French Wars of Religion, where, in the most notorious incident, thousands of Huguenots were murdered in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 1572.[38] The wars of Religion were ended in France by Henry IV's Edict of Nantes which granted some freedom of religion to the Huguenots. Henry IV was eventually murdered by a Catholic fanatic.
The monarchy reached its height during the 17th century and the reign of Louis XIV. By turning powerful feudal lords into courtiers in Versailles, Louis XIV's personnal power became unchallenged. Remembered for his numerous wars, he made France the leading European power. At this time, France possessed the largest population in Europe (see Demographics of France) and had tremendous influence over European politics, economy, and culture. Since the 18th century, French was the most used language in diplomacy, science, literature and international affairs, before English took the lead in the 20th century. In addition, France obtained many overseas possessions in the Americas, Africa and Asia.
Under Louis XV, while the continental territory of France kept growing, with notable acquisitions such as Lorraine (1766) and Corsica (1770), most of its overseas possessions were lost after the French defeat during the Seven Years' War, which ended in 1763.
Louis XVI actively supported the Americans seeking independence from Great Britain (realized in the 1783 Treaty of Paris). The example of the American Revolution was one of the many contributing factors to the French Revolution.
Much of the Enlightenment occurred in French intellectual circles, and major scientific breakthroughs and inventions, such as the automobile (1771) and the first hot air balloon carrying passengers (1783), were achieved by French scientists in the 18th century. The Enlightenment philosophy, in which reason was advocated as the primary source for legitimacy and authority, undermined the Absolute monarchy and prepared the French Revolution
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar