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French History 101
Renaissance
Submitted by France.com on February 23, 2003 - 4:06pm.
In the early 16th century, after a series of Italian wars, Francois I strengthened the French Crown and welcomed to France many Italian artists and designers such as Leonardo da Vinci. Their influence assured the success of the Renaissance style characterized by enlarged doors and windows, the great sophistications of the interiors.
Grand Siècle
Submitted by France.com on February 22, 2003 - 4:22pm.
The 17th century was marked by a period of exeptional power and glamour for the French Monarchy. Starting with King Louis XIII and the Cardinal Richelieu who together transformed the feudal French Monarchy to an Absolute Monarchy, by controlling the opposition of the "Grands" (the Lords) and the growing power of the Protestant (siege of La Rochelle, 1628). Mazarin, Louis XIV's regent, ended the popular revolts of La Fronde.
Revolution Era
Submitted by France.com on February 21, 2003 - 4:33pm.
The 18th century's Enlightment brought thinkers such as Voltaire and Rousseau to struggle against the principles of the old regime and absolutism. In 1789, the state's financial crisis brought social turmoil, triggering the Revolution. On July 14th, a Parisian mob revolted and stormed the Bastille prison, symbol of the old regime.Napoleonic Era
Submitted by France.com on February 20, 2003 - 4:38pm.
The Revolution ends in 1799 when Napoleon Bonaparte entered Paris and was crowned First Consul at the age of thirty. A brilliant politician and a military genius, he took the title of emperor Napoleon I in 1804.
19th Century
Submitted by France.com on February 19, 2003 - 4:50pm.
In 1870, the Franco-Prussian war erupted, Paris fell to the Germans and France lost the Alsace and Lorraine regions. Following the defeat, Napoleon III was exiled and France's Third Republic marked the definite end of centuries of monarchy.
20th Century
Submitted by France.com on February 18, 2003 - 4:59pm.
The First World War erupted in 1914 in northeast France and after two years of German victories, fell into the horrors of trench warfare. The United States entered the war in 1917 and helped France to victory. The Allies demanded generous restitutions and payments from the Germans, who resented the humiliation for years, and was one of the factors which sparked WWII.
