world hist-france became united under powerful kings

8/8/2019 World Hist-france Became United Under Powerful Kings

1/25

FRANCESearch for Liberty, Equality, Fraternity


2/25

G EOG RAPHICALSETTING

N otice on the map thatFrance is roughly six-sided. On five sides,boundaries are formed

by seas and mountains:the English Channel onthe north, the Bay of Biscay on the west, thePyrenees Mountains on

the southwest, theMediterranean Sea onthe south, and the Alpson the East


3/25

Four great rivers of France: (1) the Loire; (2) the Seine;(3) the Garonne; and (4) the Rhone

THE LOIRE THE SEINE


4/25

The most important French ports are Le Havre,Bordeaux and Marseilles found at or near the mouths

of the rivers.


5/25

While a number of industrial towns have grown up near themines in the northeast, agriculture remains the backboneof the French economy. In the rich soil of the great plainthat stretches from the Bay of Biscay to Germany,farmers raise wheat, potatoes, apples, and sugar beets.

Grapes for wine are grown in the vineyards of Burgundy,Bordeaux, and champagne. Famous cheeses are madefrom the milk of cows, goats and sheep. N orthern France

has a mild, damp marine climate, but winds from Africagive the south the hot, dry summers and mild winters of a Mediterranean climate


6/25

FRANCE BECAME UNITED UNDER POWERFUL KING S

Roman, Frank, and Norman invaders shaped the storyof France

Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, the Celtslived in the region that is now France. They belongedto the same group of people as the Celtic invaders of the British Isles.

About a half-century before the birth of Christ, theRomans invaded the territory and conquered the

Celtic tribes. They began to rule this region, whichthey called GAUL.


7/25

The Romans built immense buildings, roads, bridges,and aqueducts, many of which were so wellconstructed that they are still standing.

During the centuries of Roman rule, Latin became thecommon language of Gaul, so that the Celtics

language almost disappeared except in the remotewestern section now called Brittany.

In spite of the German and Celtic influence, however,the French language chiefly based on Latin.

Here are some examples:Father: pater,pere Sister: soror, soeur

Mother: mater, mere Brother: fraters, frre


8/25


9/25

Gaul came to be known as France, or the land of theFranks. An outstanding king of the Franks was Clovis.This name, which later was changed in form to Louis,is one, that many kings of France have had. Clovismade his headquarters in Paris whose wife Clotilda

was a Christian.

W hen Clovis died early in the 6 th century, his kingdomwas divided among his sons. The first successors of

Clovis continued to conquer new lands until theterritory of the Franks extended far into what is nowcentral Germany.


10/25

The chief offices of the government were the counts,who represented the king in the various localterritories into which the kingdom was divided. Theterritories became known as countries because the

local rulers were counts.Finally, in the middle of the 8 th century the king s

minister, Pepin grew so powerful that he was able tosweep away the old line of kings begun by Clovis.

The Pope agreed that Pepin should become king of France with an agreement that he would at least intheory a representative of the Pope and the church.


11/25

Here we see the beginning of the divine right idea.Pepin , as the new king of the Franks strengthenedhis kingdom and passed it on to his famous son,Charlemagne.

Under the Feudalism system, he established schools,encouraged the arts, and strengthened the church.To keep the local governments of the country firmlyunder his power he sent officials into the countries. It

was their job to hold counts, to hear appeals, and tosee that justice was done throughout the kingdom.


12/25

The people in France benefited by the peace and orderCharlemagne brought to the country. But whenCharlemagne died in the early years of the 9 thcentury, his empire began to go to pieces.

In the last part of the 9 th century, about twentythousand N orsemen, in 700 ships landed on thenorthern shores of France and began to takepossession of the country. In a few years theN orsemen, or N ormans, had become so strong innorthern France that the French king, Charles the Fat(884-7), decided it would be better to make theN ormans his friends.


13/25

He made the N orman leader, Rollo, one his vassals andgave him rich farming lands in northern France as afief. That land is still called N ormandy. To strengthenRollo s loyalty, Charles gave him a French princess in

marriage.

W hen the nobles decided to get rid of the king who

was descended from Charlemagne, they chose Capetto be king.


14/25

During the 12 th and 13 th centuries, the Crusadesprovided an excellent opportunity for the Frenchkings to strengthen their position.

In the later Middle Ages, trade increased in France as itdid in many other parts of Europe. Money came intocirculation. The cities and towns gained greaterfreedom. A new middle class made up of tradesmen,

bankers, and other businessmen appeared. Theywanted peace and security.


15/25

CAPET IAN KIN GSLouis VI (the Fat) 1108-37- to enlarge his kingdom he

arrange a marriage between his eldest son, who becameLouis VII, and Eleanor of Aquitaine, the heiress to a vastfeudal estates in southwestern France.

Philip II 1180-1223-W

hen Eleanor of Aquitaine, who hadbeen divorced from Louis VII married the English kingHenry II, her lands became part of England s territory inFrance. So more than half of France came under theEnglish control. After Henry died, and while his successor

Richard the Lionhearted was fighting in the Holy land,Philip recovered most of the English lands in France.Thus, leader Philip II France emerged as a majorEuropean power


16/25

Louis IX 1226-707- pious, unselfish, and just ruler. He madethe monarchy popular with the French people. After hewas killed while leading a crusade in the Holy land, hewas declared a saint.

Philip the Fair 1285-1314- tried to strengthen the Frenchmonarchy by introducing a number of new taxes. Butwhen he tried to tax the clergy he came into conflict withthe Pope. To win the support of the people in his quarrelwith the Pope Philip met with the Estates-General, a kindof Congress made up of representatives from the nobility,the clergy, and the townsmen. The Estates-Generalsupported him, and Philip succeeded in setting the seatof papal authority moved to Avignon in southern France.


17/25

Louis X died without leaving a son to inherit the throne.

He left a daughter, but the nobles did not want her asa ruler. They decided to obey an old law of one of theearly tribes, known as the Salic law. It said no womancould inherit the throne of France.

So Philip V, brother of Louis X, declared himself king of France in 1317. In the meantime the English king,Edward III (whose mother had been a Frenchprincess), decided to press his own slight claim to thethrone of France. He hoped to win for himself thesupport of some of the French nobles and to annex toEngland additional lands in France.


18/25

HUN DRED YEAR SW AR ( 1337-1453)

1. The French and the English each wanted to have allthe fishing rights in the English Channel and N orthSea.

2. The two nations were trade rivals as well. Flanderswas at that time the greatest manufacturing centerof woolen cloth, and the weaving industrydepended on the importation of English wool.W hen the French interfered with the Flemish wooltrade, the laborers and manufacturers of Flandersunited with the English against the French.


19/25

JOAN OF ARCIt was Joan of Arc, a simple peasant girl. Though still in

her teens, Joan felt sure that she could aid the causeof France. She believed that she had the power tohelp the French dauphin or heir become king.

She begged the dauphin to let her lead a force againstthe English, who were trying to capture the city of Orleans just south of Paris. Orleans was saved butthe English looked at her as a witch. Joan standing by

him, the dauphin was crowned Charles VII, king of France. But since the king was weak Joan continuedto resist the English and was taken as a prisoner.


20/25

The English turned Joan over to the church to be triedfor heresy, or violating church teachings. The trialtook place in the city of Rowen on the River Seine.Joan was condemned to death in the old marketplace of Rowen. She was chained to a stake. Fuel waspiled high about her and the torch applied. Accordingto legend, one of the English soldiers who had come

to rejoice at the death of an enemy was heard to cryout, we are lost- we have burned a saint!


21/25

During the crisis in the early part of the 100 years warthe Estates-General gained considerable power inthe French government. Because the king needed itssupport so desperately, the Estates-General was ableto demand the right to levy all taxes and to get a fullaccounting of how the money was spent. But by the

end of the war the assembly had lost all of its power.For the next three centuries it had almost noinfluence in government.

In the reign of Louis XIII early in the seventeenth

century there was a brilliant and ruthless royalminister named Richelieu. He finished the job of making the king all-powerful by taking ones the localgovernment of all the provinces of France.


22/25

He left the governors with no power except inunimportant local affairs. He cut down the power of the nobles. It was Richelieu who started the policy of getting the nobles to stay at the count. There it waseasy to keep an eye on them and to stop any ideas of rebellion.

Louis XIV

About the middle of 17 th c., a five year old lad inheritedthe French throne. His reign of seventy-two years isthe longest of any monarch in European history.


23/25

Like James I of England, Louis XIV believed in the divineright to rule. He said I am the state . The nobleswho had once spent most of their time fighting theking were now content to live at the palace in hisfavor. Thus, the French king had become powerfuland had united the nation. But the extravagance andselfishness of divine-right monarchs were boundfinally to lead to dissatisfaction and rebellion inFrance just as they had in England. Louis XIV came tobe known as the Grand Monarch, the Sun King.


24/25

KING LOUIS XIV


25/25

PALACE OF VERSAILLES

world hist-france became united under powerful kings

Documents