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Timeline of French Rule

1422-1461: Charles VII


Charles VII revived the monarchy and France. He did so by first reconciling and ending civil war,
expelling the British from all of French Soil. In addition he put more power in the hands of
bankers and lawyers by creating the royal council and established the gabelle salt tax and taille
land tax. He also created the first permanent royal army the army was then improved upon by his
son Louis XI.

1461-1483: Louis XI
Louis XI the spider king also used the army to curb the powers of the militia of the nobility. The
French Monarchy was further strengthened by the marriage of Louis XII and Anne of Brittany
which created large territorial advances and the Concordat of Bologna which allowed for the
French Ruler to select bishops and abbots of the church furthering the influence of the French on
the churches political policies

1483-1498: Charles VIII

1498-1515: Louis XII

1515-1547: Francis I

1547-1559: Henri II
Henry II was opposed to the spread of Calvinism but it was his two sons who weakened the
French Monarchy.

1559-1560: Francis II
Both Francis II and Charles IX were governed largely by their mother Catherine de Medici.

1560-1574: Charles IX
Both Francis II and Charles IX were governed largely by their mother Catherine de Medici.
Constantly flip flopped between Huguenot and Catholic support.

1574-1589: Henri III
Henry IIIs reign Catherines control ceased although he still frequently bounced between
Huguenot and Catholic allegiance

1589-1610: Henry IV
Famous for being a polotique converted to Catholicism to appease the masses. Henry IV was
able to reconstruct France when it was a disaster. He did so by keeping France out of wars for the
majority of his rein. In addition he issued the Edict of Nantes to prevent a major religious conflict.
He was also able to lessen the burden of Peasants who were already suffering from poor harvests
by reducing taxes sharply. These actions set the stage for the transition from France having a new
monarch to absolutism.

1610-1643: Louis XIII
Cardinal Richelieu was able to control Frances government during the reign of Louis XIII and his
actions allowed Louis XIV run one of the most successful absolutist states. Cardinal Richelieu was
able to increase the use of the Intendant system which recruited men for the army, supervised the
collection of taxes, helped administer local law, checked local nobility, and regulate economic
activities. In addition he worked to decrease the influence of Protestantism France. He did this
through the siege of La Rochelle and important Protestant base. Although Cardinal Richelieu
acted against Protestantism internally he acted for Frances best political interests in his foreign
policy. This was demonstrated in his actions against the Hapsburgs (predominantly catholic)
during the Thirty Years War.


1643-1715: Louis XIV The Sun King
Louis wanted France to be unified in its religious views and to do so he continued Cardinal
Richelieus policy of Protestants prosecution in France. In 1685 Louis revoked the Edict of
Nantes. This ordered the destruction of Huguenot churches, the closing of schools the Catholic
baptism of Huguenots, and the jailing of those who didnt convert to Catholicism.
Colberts (Louiss financial manager) primary goal was to have the wealth and economy of France
serve the state. He did this through the application of mercantilism policies to the French
economy. Mercantilism is based on the idea that nations international power is based on its wealth
in gold and silver, this is accumulated through exporting more than imported. In order to enforce
this policy Colbert believed that France should produce all goods it needs. At the same time to
increase exports Colbert supported old industries and created new ones such as the textile industry.
To reinforce this Colbert decreased domestic tariffs while greatly increasing tariffs on exported
goods.
By having Nobles at Versailles and always waiting on him he allowed himself to have complete
control over the Nobles preventing any rebellion and discord. In addition the ceremony and rituals
increased the belief in the divine right of Louis XIV
The wars of Louis XIV were initially successful but eventually proved to be disastrous for
Frances economy. Louis kept France at war for 33 of his 54 years as king. Luckily his secretary
of state for war, Francois de Tellier was very skilled and built a professional army that was to be
rivaled by few. Louis objectives in his wars were to expand France to what he believed to be its
natural borders. Louiss first war was the War of Devolution in which Louis was able to claim the
Spanish Netherlands in 1667. In addition he fought more wars against the Dutch, the Holy Roman
Empire, the Spanish. Finally the Peace of Nijmegen (1678) established the furthest limit to the
expansion under Louis XIV. One of the most important and last war Louis XIV reined during was
the War of Spanish Succession. This was fought by opposing claims to the Spanish throne after
Carlos II death, Louis XIV grandson Philips claim to the throne was also claimed by Leopold
Hapsburgs son. The winner of this war would be able to get Spain, Spains possessions in Europe,
and Spains overseas colonies with its vast wealth. The war was fought between Spain and France
against England, HRE, and the Dutch and lead to a bloody stalemate. This war was ended with the
Treaty of Utrecht which allowed Phillip V to become the King of Spain however preventing the
combining of the French and Spanish holdings or thrones. England received Gibraltar, Minorca
and of Spanish slave trade, Newfoundland, Hudson Bay, and Nova Scotia. The elector of
Brandenburg also now became the King of Prussia. The eventual results of all of these wars was
that France lost many of its talented generals and found its economic situation to be unsound due
to increasing taxation.

1715-1774: Louis XV
After the death of Louis XIV the nobility gained back the power that was previously restricted
from them by the absolutist rule of Louis XIV. In addition the high courts regained the right to
evaluate public decrees before they were given the force of law. This contrasted every principle of
absolutist rule. Louis XV had to struggle to re-establish absolutism in order to finance wars.
Louis XV had no effective way of dealing with the financial crisis. He was too weak of a kind to
declare partial bankruptcy and capitalize on lenders, couldnt print money and create inflation, and
had no central bank or currency.

1774-1792: Louis XVI
1787 Louis XVI tried to impose a general sweeping tax on all landed property. Because this tax
was set to effect those who had never before had to pay taxes the people declared that Louis must
call the Estates General and that if he didnt the act would be considered void and null.
Because Louis had called the Estates General into a spring session in order to address his new
emergency tax first each estate had to elect delegates and prepare a list of grievances that was to
be discussed in the estates general. This preparation of grievances led to wide spread debate as
well as the general consensus on the need for reform.
After Louis and Mary had attempted to flee from Paris and were caught in the action of being a
traitor to France they were quickly imprisoned. Furthermore as war started between Austria and
Prussia and France Louis was imprisoned and down went the Monarchy. Soon there after the
National Convention established France as a republic in which the people held sovereign power.
At the beginning of the French Revolution the National Convention was primarily Republicans
and almost all fell under the Jacobin Party- after the murder of Louis XVI the split between the
Gerondists and the Mountain began to become present.

1799-1814: Napoleon Bonaparte
After 10 years of turbulence and instability in France the French people craved a stable leader and
a strong dictatorship was craved. Many people felt dissatisfied with the Directory as a weak
dictatorship. When Napoleon took charge he named himself the first council of France and used
his popularity and charisma to maintain order and end civil strife. He developed the Napoleonic
Code which reasserted two of the fundamental principles of the Revolution of 1789; equality of all
male citizens before the law and absolute security of wealth and private property. He healed the
Catholic Church in France so that it could serve as a bulwark of social stability. This however
brought back the authoritarian rule and dismissed the roles of women as well as established
censorship over the press.
The first thing that happened when Napoleon took charge was to end the second coalition by
sending peace offering towards Austria and Great Britain. Napoleon then attempted to get the
majority of Germany to side with him lessening Austrian power as well as restrict British Trade.
After battles with Horatio Nelson the 3rd Coalition that finally fell apart leading to the eventual
demise of the Holy Roman Empire.
Napoleon was then eager to attack Alexander I of Russia who had publicly gone against the
continental system. During this war Napoleon was struck by the Russian winter and forced to
abandon and retreat without any supplies. This led to general dissatisfaction with Napoleon
oppression eventually leading to his abdication.

1814-1815: Louis XVIII

1815-1815: Napoleon I and II (100 days)

1814-1824: Louis XVIII

1824-1830: Charles X
A true reactionary who wanted to re-establish the old order in France. Forced to flee after he
attempted to repudiate the Constitutional Charter

1830-1848: Louis- Philippe
Readopted the Charter of 1814, and admitted that he was merely the king of the French people.
Despite his words the situation in France remained fundamentally unchanged.

1848-1870: Napoleon Bonaparte or Emperor Napoleon III
Won in a landslide victory after the failed revolutions of 1848 in France due universal suffrage
and widespread popular support. His support was gained in part due to his name which had created
the legend of Napoleon. He also provided strong leadership craved by the middle class and
peasantry. When he was elected to a 4 year term along with the conservative National Assembly.
He initially took some conservative steps in order to gain support form the National Assembly. He
then called on the French people to legalize his actions and make him emperor.
As Emperor Napoleon received considerable success as he encouraged investment banks and the
Industrial Revolution. His government support programs of public works as well as programs
which helped general economic expansion. He hoped that economic success domestically would
help reduce social and economic tensions.
His ruling began to disintegrate in the 1860s when he received increasing criticism from his
Catholic and Nationalistic supporters. He responded to critics by liberalizing his empire by giving
the National Assembly greater powers. Once again he granted another constitution which allowed
for a parliamentary regime with a hereditary emperor.
Ruled ended when France was defeated during the Franc-Prussian war leading to the humiliation
of Napoleon III
1871-1919: Georges Clemenceau
Established a virtual dictatorship during World War I allowing him to pounce of strikes and jail
without trial those who suggested a compromise peace with Germany

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