History of France

Premodern history

Inhabited since the Paleolithic era, the territory of Metropolitan France was settled by Celtic tribes known as Gauls during the Iron Age. Rome annexed the area in 51 BC, leading to a distinct Gallo-Roman culture that laid the foundation of the French language. The Germanic Franks arrived in the fifth century and formed the Kingdom of Francia, which became the heartland of the Carolingian Empire. The Treaty of Verdun in 843 partitioned the empire, with West Francia becoming the Kingdom of France in 987. Since then, France has seen the rule of different dynasties, eventually leading to the Bourbon dynasty coming into power during the 16th century. By then, France started to establish a burgeoning worldwide colonial empire.

Philippine period (1715-1794)

Rule of Philip VII (1714-1763)

French Succession Crisis of 1714

The unfortunate death of Louis the Great Dauphine, King Louis XIV's eldest son, had caused changes in the French line of succession. Next in line was the Great Dauphine's brother, Philip d'Anjou. Initially having a claim to the throne of Spain, the Spanish had installed Carlos III as King. Philip d'Anjou thus retained his right to inherit the French throne.

Upon his father's death in 1714, Philip d'Anjou became King of France, ruling as Philip VII. France under his rule would see an increased resentment against the British and the Austrians, whom he believed had manipulated and strong-armed him out of his right to inherit the Spanish throne. Under his rule, France's colonial ventures in North America were expanded. More settlers were sent to prevent French claimed territory from being absorbed by Britain and the Dutch Republic.

France in the Great Silesian War

Main article: Great Silesian War

Relations with the Prussians

Philip VII also sought closer ties with Prussia, a burgeoning German power that threatened and challenged Austria. In 1748, Prussia's Frederick II had confided to Philip VII about his desire of taking the region of Silesia from the Austrians. Philip VII pledged his support to Frederick II, eventually leading to the Great Silesian War (1750-1755) and the ultimate demise of France and Philip VII's prestige.

Augustinian period (1795-1815)

French Revolution

Main article: French Revolution

The French Revolution was a revolutionary movement that hit France in the late 18th century. Crown Prince Henri was proclaimed by the National Assembly as the new King of France. However, he was executed after the Assembly revealed that he was in correspondence with Austria to restore the old regime.

The position of the king was dissolved and the National Assembly's President, Augustine Spiga, proclaimed himself as Director of the French Republic in 1795. His younger brother, to become King Louis XV, fled to New France and re-established the French monarchy in the city of Quebec in 1795.

First War of Deliverance (1795-1798)

Spiga would then start a revolutionary campaign to expand French influence and propel French territorial ambitions. Under his rule, France subjugated the Dutch Republic, Austria, and the various German principalities with the aid of the Russians. The fall of the Dutch Republic directly caused the independence of New Netherland and unrest in several Dutch colonies.

After news of the murders hit London and Vienna, the allies decided that France had to be put down. Britain and Austria declared war on France. As a response, Rossignol had sent the National Army to occupy the Bishopric of Liege and the Dutch Republic in the spring of 1795. Marshal Rossignol's forces were met with very little resistance, and the Dutch had even welcomed the French as their liberators. On 4 April 1795, the Dutch Republic government was dissolved, and a new republic had been established - the Batavian Republic, which had a semi-autonomous government under the umbrella of the French Republic.

French Expansion from 1795 to 1798

The Kew Letters

William, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, had crossed the channel and found refuge in Britain. In the Dutch House of southern England's Kew Palace, he had written the infamous Kew Letters, ordering the colonies of the Dutch Republic to be transferred to Great Britain for safekeeping. These letters were wildly unpopular among most of the Dutch colonies, especially in New Netherland. The letters triggered an anti-Orangist coup in New Netherland, with the leaders denouncing William as a traitor. Great Britain attempted to invade New Netherland in 1796, and had led to the the New Netherland Independence War. The New Netherland government was recognized and supported by France. However, the situation in Europe forced Britain to sign a peace treaty with the New Netherland government. In the winter of 1796, New Netherland's independence was recognized by Britain.

Treaty of Maastricht (1798)

Britain and Austria declare war on France. In Europe, the situation for the British and Austrians had gotten worse. In 1798, the French forced Britain and Austria to sign the Treaty of Maastricht, which formalized the creation of the Batavian Republic and the French annexation of the Spanish Low Countries, the Bishopric of Liege, and the historically tense region of Franche-Comte.

Fall of Spiga and end of the First Republic

Treaty of Vienna (1814)

France would face defeat at the hands of the Ottoman Empire after an unsuccessful French campaign to conquer the city of Constantinople. The Treaty of Vienna was signed in 1814. Despite France's defeat, the revolution had shaken up the old order of Europe and redrew its boundaries. The German Confederation would be created, and the kingdoms of Hanover, Saxony, and Pomerania would be restored and expanded. The Kingdom of the Netherlands was also established.

Second Republic (1874-1877)

Communard Revolution

New egalitarian ideas compilled into an ideology called communardism rocked France in the 1870s. Coming from France's intellectual circles, the concept of communardism would win over the French public's following and lead to the bloody murder of King Louis in 1873. The heir died shortly after due to a falling accident. With the Bourbon line dying out, the radical communard party Société des Amis de la République (often shortened to the Société) occupied the power vacuum. The party leader, Étienne Thévenet, declared the establishment of the Communard Republic of France, espousing hardline communard ideals and rejecting all forms of religion and aristocracy. Thévenet envisions a united Europe that transcends racial and linguistic boundaries, united under the ideals of communardism.

As the first step to achieve this, Thévenet looked to the tiny principality of Belgique to the northeast. Belgique was a pre-dominantly French-speaking Wallonian principality and already had a growing communard movement within. Thévenet supported Belgique's communard insurrection in late 1874 with the French treasury, and the revolution became successful. Belgique was incorporated as a new département of France by Christmas eve of 1874. The Christmas Uprising is a regional holiday in the present-day French département of Belgique.

1877 Coup and British intervention

Great Britain began to grow worried about the new government's success. In 1876, attempts by the Société to spread the revolution to central Europe and the Italian states were made but were stopped by an alliance of European powers led by Austria and Britain. By early 1877, the radical Société des Amis de la République was removed out of power by the Parti Communard de France (PCF), a moderate Communard faction, with the support of Great Britain. The PCF established the 3rd French Republic and sought peaceful coexistence with the British and other European powers. This led to a mending of relations between the British and France.

During the crisis, Great Britain was able to occupy several French possessions in the Caribbean and India. However, the new government was allowed to keep its new département of Belgique, as was the will of the local Walloon populace.

Third Republic la véritable (1877-1908)

Loosely built on communard ideals, the new government would continue to lead France. The Communard Republican government of France entered the new century with a handful of colonies around the world - parts of Africa, Kampuchea, Brunei, and the French Pacific.

French colonial holdings in the early 20th century.

Dictatorial period (1908-1939)

While technically the later half of the Third Republic era, Dictatorial France strayed greatly from the republic's original communard values.

The shift towards authoritarianism

Term of President Saunier

In Europe, France's diplomatic situation was precarious. By 1900, they were still friendly and indebted to the British for helping them establish their government in the 1870s. However, constant British intervention in areas of France's sphere of interest started to strain relations. This was further exacerbated when Britain sanctioned and supported the Venetian annexation of the Papal Adriatic in 1908. This catalysed the shift towards an anti-British political climate only a few months before the French National Elections.

In November 1908, Hervé Saunier, a staunch anti-British writer and professor from Paris, was proclaimed as France's new president. Saunier was known as more of a theorist than a statesman, more concerned with the ideological aspects of running France. As such, Saunier often delegated duties and appointed fellow party members to run the government's various institutions, also creating new ones during his tenure.

Rule of Desmarais (1910-1928)

In 1910, Saunier appointed François Desmarais as the Grand Marshal of the French Republican Military. Desmarais was a political ally of Saunier, who previously served as Governor-General of Kampuchea before returning to France in 1909. Saunier believed that a robust military apparatus was required to protect France's republican institutions. Ironically, Desmarais' appointment saw the increase of the military's role in French governance. Desmarais put down political opposition against Saunier or the Communard Party. Intimidation and political coercion were commonplace throughout the 1910s. During the 1914 elections, Hervé Saunier was reelected to the presidency, but his victory was widely contested. It was widely believed that Desmarais had intimidated his opponents and the tallying committee to secure his power. Regardless of this, Desmarais' was still widely popular among the public.

In 1919, Desmarais and Saunier had a feud over Desmarais' increasing influence. Shortly after this falling out, Desmarais founded Le Avant Garde, a political alliance consisting of anti-British, pro-military nationalists. The political tensions culminated in a coup d'etat staged by Desmarais and the army on September 2, 1919, only a year before the next elections. Desmarais abolished the presidency. Desmarais' popularity with the French people gave him his legitimacy to rule. He would lead as the Grand Marshal of France until his ultimate demise in 1928.

Raspberry Rule (1928-1939)

Grand Marshal of France, Camille Laframboise.

Before his death, he appointed Camille Laframboise, a military general and political ally of Desmarais, to succeed him as Grand Marshal. Camille Laframboise's domestic policies proved to be harsher than his predecessor, alienating some supporters of Le Avant Garde. Despite this, he was still moderately popular among the communards of France.

He was known to be more diplomatically-minded than Desmarais. Under his rule, France warmed relations with Austria due to the common threat of British influence in the European mainland (primarily Italy). Laframboise was known to the west as Le Maréchal; he and his strongman persona was commonly the subject of political mockery and caricature in British and Italian spheres of influence.

The Great War

Main article: French role in the Great War