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a short history of France

Brief History of France

There's much evidence that France has been populated since as early as the Neolithic period. Such evidence is mainly found in the Dordogne region, which is rich in caves which were used as habitation or temples and still offer a glimpse of interesting paintings of animals and hunters. The written history of the country, however, began between the years 118 and 50 BC, when the area was conquered by the Romans led by Julius Caesar, and became part of the Roman Empire. Today, many years after the fall of that empire, many traces of the Roman presence can still be seen in the routes, Roman circuses and Catholic Churches. Christianity came to the area around the 2nd and 3rd Centuries AD, to become truly established during the 5th Century.

It was in the 4th Century that the Gaul region was conquered by Germanic tribes, mainly the Franks. The name for France, however, came when the Capetian Kings dominated the area around Paris. The existence of France as a separate country began in the year 843, thanks to the Treaty of Verdun when the Carolingian Empire was divided into an East, Middle and Western Francia. Western Francia later became France as we know it today. The Carolingian Dynasty ruled France until 987, when the Duke of France and Count of Paris Hugh Capet was proclaimed King of France. Centuries later, the kings descendants the House of Valois and the House of Bourbon unified the country through a series of wars and inheritances.

The height of the monarchy was reached during the 17th Century when Louis XIV was on the throne. At that time, France had one of the largest populations in Europe and a great influence over the politics, economy and culture on the continent. An interesting fact is that during that period, French became a common language for diplomacy and international affairs.

At the end of 1917, right after the Bolshevik Revolution which shook Russia, Finland declared its independence. The Finns voted for non-socialists parties but in 1918 a violent wing of social democratic party was formed, that lead to a brief but severe Cold War. Finland became a presidential republic and elected its first president in 1919.

At the end of the 18th Century, in 1789 the country was shaken by the French Revolution. The king at that time, Louis XVI, and his wife Marie Antoinette were publicly executed and the country was in very unstable condition. When the situation settled and after many governmental organizations couldn't make it, control over the Republic was seized by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799, proclaiming himself First Counsul and later Emperor of the First Empire that lasted from 1804 until 1814. Napoleon was a very talented warrior and his armies succeeded in conquering a great part of Europe, while members of his family were announced as monarchs in the newly formed kingdoms. The militaristic ambitions of Napoleon finally led to his defeat, when in 1815 his army was crushed at Waterloo by the Prussian and British armies.

After Napoleon's downfall, the French monarch was re-established but this time it had various limitations by the constitution. Several years later, in 1830, there was a civil uprising which established the constitutional July Monarchy, which lasted until 1848. The Second Republic ended in 1852 when Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon, proclaimed the foundation of the Second Empire. After the defeat of the country in the Franco Prussian War of 1870, the regime of Louis-Napoleon ended and the Third Republic was formed. During that period, the industrialization of the country began, along with the foundation of railway transport in France. France turned out to a victor in the First World War, but despite that it suffered many losses, both human and material.

When the Second World War started, France made several rescue campaigns in Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands, but they were unsuccessful. In the early summer of 1940, France refused the proposal for a Franco-British Union and the Germans established their regime in the country, placing Marshal Philippe Petain in charge, pursuing a collaboration policy with the Nazi regime. This led to the formation of various forces outside and inside of the country, aiming to free France. In 1944, the country was liberated with the help of the United Kingdom and the United States, Canada and the Free French Forces.

After the end of the Second World War, the Fourth Republic was established. Though the situation in the world had changed completely, France insisted on keeping its colonies which resulted in a fierce conflict and was with Indochina and later with Algeria. These conflicts led to difficult times in France and an unstable political situation. In 1958, France established the Fifth Republic, with a strengthened presidency in the face of Charles de Gaulle. In the decades that followed, which were marked by the Cold War and its end, France cooperated with Germany, which resulted in the formation of the European Union and in 1999, the introduction of the common currency, the Euro. Besides being one of the founders of the European Union, France is also a member of the Airbus project, the Eurocorps, NATO.