France has faced periods of great triumph as well as times of turmoil from its beginnings as a disunified Frankish Empire to the more recent tragedy that struck during the great wars in the former half of the 20th century. Located along the Atlantic Coast of Western Europe, France has a unique geography. It is mostly surrounded by water, but in the Southwest it borders Spain and in the East runs along the coveted Rhone Valley.

Before the 12th century, France faced a series of harsh Barbarian invasions and frequent divisions in the empire. Charlemagne, famous for his vast European empire, expanded France greatly and the divisions after his death helped to definitively separate the areas that would later be modern day France and Germany. After the Capetian Dynasty came to power during the beginning of the 12th century, France quickly grew hostile with it's neighbor in the North, England. Battles over land custody eventually led to the Hundreds Year War, which ended in France's favor.

In the 16th century after the war, Protestants began migrating to France establishing what the French called the Huguenot community. This was a hostile enemy to a devout Catholic state and led to a long lasting religious divide within the country. Religious toleration was introducted by the Edict of Nantes issued by Henri of Navarre, but it was later revoked by Catholic king Louis XIV, famously known as the Sun King. Under Louis XIV, France participated in many wars against most of the established European powers which resulted in short-lived expansion and the costs of war were long-lasting.

The period known as the French Revolution is one of the most fascinating and frequently studied events in European history. It began in 1789, and ultimately led to a bloody series of events as well as the dissolution of the monarchy. The revolution resulted in the creation of the first French Republic and marked the end of centralized power. France was left in a state of chaos after the revolution, and it was Emperor Napoleon who sought to make France a great nation once again. His empire, like Charlemagne's, spanned all across Europe and it wasn't until the Congress of Vienna in 1814 that France was forced to give back what it had gained.

20th Century Europe was a dark time for France, as it faced a series of devestating blows during the two World Wars that ensued. The territories of Alsace-Lorraine along the Rhine river were highly desired, and were taken from France during both wars by Germany. Additionally, France was occupied for nearly four years by Nazi Germany during the 1940s. It wasn't until the Americans landed on the beaches of Normandy in 1944 that the French were able to take back Paris, the rest of France, and Alsace-Lorraine.

 

Clovis began his rule in 481 and by the turn of the 6th century the Merovingian dynasty dominated most of what would later develop into France.

 

After his death in 511, Clovis divided his empire amongst his four sons. They further expanded the empire to include the Kingdom of Burgundy and the Ostrogoths, as well as lands in the Northeast and Southwest. By 561 the borders expanded quite a bit.

 

By 561, France was divided into three territories: Neustria, Austrasia, and Burgundy. Aquitaine in the Southwest was being inhabitated by Arabs and wouldn't be reclaimed until the Battle of Poitiers in 732.

 

In 561 after the Kingdom had been greatly expanded, Clovis' four grandsons divided the Kingdon once more amongst one another.

 

Charlemagne was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III in 800 and ruled until his death in 814. He greatly expanded French power and his empire spanned over most of Western Europe. He created a highly decentralized form of government that could only be maintained through constant travel and continued military campaigns.

 

After his death, Charlemagne divided his empire among his three sons in 817. He was succeeded by Louis the Pious and the Treaty of Verdun in 843 created a triparte division of his empire. It was divided between Louis the German, Charles the Bald, and Emperor Lothar I and definitively separated the areas that would later become France and Germany.

 

After Lothar's death in 855, his kingdom was divided between his two sons Louis II and Charles.

 

The Frankish Empire, ruled by Charles the Bald is partitioned first in 870 by the Treaty of Mersen and later in 880 by the Treaty of Ribemont.

 

The Carolingian Dynasty faced a series of barbarian invasions from all directions. By 888, it had lost a great deal of prestige due to its inability to deal with the Vikings, it's most frequent invaders.

 

During the 10th Century, France lost control of several lands to the Vikings. In the West, Brittany and Normandy. In the North, Flanders and in the South, Aquitaine and Burgundy.

 

In 987 when Hugh Capet began the reign of the Capetian Dynasty, France was currently a patwork of small states. He transfered most of the power into local hands by introducing feudalism, and by 1000 most property was owned by feudal lords. The church dominated the system and controlled roughly 1/3 of the land.

 

By the 12th Century, Henry II of England inherited land along the Westcoast of France. By 1154, his possessions ran from Normandy to the Pyrenees. He gained control of Brittany in 1171 after the marriage of his son to the Constance of Brittany.

 

During the early 13th Century, Phillip II Augustus reclaimed some lands previously under English control. Under the reign of St. Louis IX, the Treaty of Paris in 1259 forced Henry III of England to recognize all former English possessions, with the exception of Guyenne, as Capetian annexations

 

In 1337, a feudal dispute between Philip VI of France and Edward IV of England began the Anglo-Franco war, better known as the Hundred Years War. It lasted until 1453, when England conceded to defeat and only maintained their holding of Calais.

 

Charles VII and his son Louis XI help rebuild France after the Hundred Years War. It continued to rapidly expand from the end of the war in 1453 to 1491.

 

The Middle Kingdom of Burgundy ran between France and Germany and was established by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. By 1477, most of the Burgundian holdings in the North had been conquered by the French.

 

The Italian wars began in 1493 when Charles VIII marched Southward into Italy. The French retained a constant presence in Italy until 1559, when the war ended with the Treaty of Cateau-Cambreis. France acquired Calais and the "Three Bishoprics"; Toul, Metz and Verdun.

 

During the latter half of the 16th Century, Huguenot communites are introduced and tranformed France's geography. They gained control of the Rhone Valley, the Cevennes in the Southeast through Bearn, the Bordelais, Poitou, and Normandy in the Northwest. The Edict of Nantes, issued by Henri IV of Navarrre introduced religious toleration and was active until later revoked by Louis XIV.

The 17th Century marked the growth of ministerial power in the goverment. Cardinal Minister Mazarin controlled the council 1642-61 while Louis XIV was still too young to gain full monarchial power. Mazarin extended the French borders during his period in power and gained control of many areas along the Rhine.

The War of Devolution was between 1667 and 1668, it resulted in gaining some small towns in the Spanish Netherlands by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

The Dutch War was between 1672 and 1678, Louis XIV gained the Franche-Comte in the Southeast and lands in the North between Artois and Flanders by the Peace of Nijmegen. However, despite his gains he lost some land in the Spanish Netherlands that had been previously gained during the War of Devolution.

During the Nine Years War, which lasted from 1688 until 1697, France invaded Germany and seized the papal territory of Avignon in Southern France. The war didn't end in France's favor, and in 1697 by the Treaty of Ryswick, Louis was forced to lose much of what he had gained. He gave up his territories in Germany, the Spanish Netherlands, Northern Spain and returned Avignon back to the Pope.

The War of Spanish Succession lasted between 1701 and 1713. Louis XIV gained small amounts of valuable territory along France's Eastern border but the costs of war were immense to France. It ended with the Peace of Utrecht, in which France lost the Spanish Netherlands and lands in Canada and the Carribean. Overall, Louis' government was innovative in its early years but failed to benefit the good of France.

When France was on the cusp of a revolution, religion proved to still be a major source of conflict. In November 1789, the Civil Constitution of the Clergy introduced an ecclesiastical reorganization which nationalized church lands. It divided French priests and believers, sketching out a religious geography.

The Committee of Public Safety formed in April 1793 and cleared French soil of foreign armies by mid-1794 which allowed French power to spread. France annexed new territories in Southeastern France and occupied other regions in the same area. It also set up puppet regimes in neighboring states, and by the late 1790s France had become "La Grande Nation".

The guillotine was introduced as a more humane way of execution during the French Revolution. It was used throughout France as the most common way of executing those condemned during the Reign of Terror between 1792 and 1794. The city of Paris had the most executions, as did other big cities such as Lyon, Nantes, Angers, and La Roche-s-Yon. Executions were also frequent throughout areas in the Northwest and Southeast.

In 1804, Napoleon deemed himself Emperor of France. He rapidly began French expansion by conquering most of central Europe. Direct rule over his Empire extended along the Eastern coast of Italy including Rome, the Illyrian Provinces even farther East, and the Netherlands in the North.

Napoleon's gains were divided into the French Empire. Dependant states, such as Northern Italy, were ruled by appointed members of the Bonaparte family. Not too soon after, he formed the Grande Duchy of Warsaw and placed it under the rule of one of his vassals, the German king of Saxony. His final designation to one of his foreign satellites was the appointment of his brother Joseph as king of Spain in 1808, who was later deposed in 1813.

Western German States of the Holy Roman Empire allied with France against Austria. Napoleon organized them into the Confederation fo the Rhine, a loose association of roughly sixteen German states. He appointed himself as "Protector", unlike the rest of his dependent satellites which he appointed rulers to.

Though Napoleon wasn't completely defeated until the battle of Waterloo in June 1815, the Congress of Vienna met in 1814 and decided the fate of European borders. The conference of ambassadors from important European states settled the border issues that arose from the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, as well as the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. France lost several territories along the Rhine, such as Savoy.

During the 19th Century, a second colonial empire was attempted to expand beyond even that of Napoleon's. By the latter half of the century, France had gained territories in Northwestern Africa and control over the Dominican Republic.

In August 1914, Germany invaded France through Belgium, a neutral state, marking French involvment in the First World War. It's effects on France's population were devestating. Between 1914 and 1917, the Germans occupied and controlled the Western Front of France along the Rhine.

It wasn't until the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919 that ensured German reparations and the demilitarization of the Rhineland. This created the Maginot line along the Western border and granted France control of Alsace-Lorraine once again.

In 1940, the Nazi Germans charged through the Maginot line and took Paris in June. Alsace and Lorraine were restored the Reich. By 1941, Germany occupied all of Northern France as well as the Western coast all the way down to the Spanish border.

After the invasion, Vichy became the new "capital" of France while Southern France remained in a state of chaos. In 1942, Germany invaded and occupied the Southern zone of France. Vichy was transformed into a Nazi Police state until 1944.

In June 1944, American Allies stormed the beaches of Normandy. This marked the end of Nazi domination and the allies took back Paris, the rest of France, and the territories of Alsace-Lorraine from the Germans.