FRANCE 



2302 



FRANCE 



succession down to the time of the Revolu- 

 tion; for France has never, as has England, 

 had a sovereign queen. 



By adding his own ducal possessions to 

 those of the Crown, Hugh Capet increased 

 somewhat the royal power, but the great 

 nobles continued practically independent un- 

 der him and his early successors. The later 

 Capetian kings were stronger, and aided by the 

 Crusades, during which many of the nobles 

 died or were impoverished, succeeded gradu- 

 ally and quietly in drawing more and more 

 territory and power into their own hands. 



The Kings of France. In a brief article such 

 as this it is impossible to give in detail the 

 events of every reign. All of the important 

 kings are treated in separate articles, however, 

 and by reading those in connection with the 

 general discussion here given a very clear idea 

 of French history in its main phases may be 

 obtained. The following list gives the rulers 

 of France, including the Presidents. 



RULER 



DATES OF REIGN 



Hugh Capet 987- 996 



Robert the Wise 996-1031 



Henry I 1031-1060 



Philip I 1060-1108 



Louis VI. the Fat 1108-1137 



Louis VII 1137-1180 



Philip Augustus 1180-1223 



Louis VIII 1223-1226 



Louis IX (Saint Louis) 1226-1270 



Philip III 1270-1285 



Philip IV, the Fair 1285-1314 



Louis X 1314-1316 



John I 1316 



Philip V, the Tall 1316-1322 



Charles IV 1322-1328 



Philip VI 1328-1350 



John II. the Good 1350-1364 



Charles V, the Wise 1364-1380 



Charles VI 1380-1422 



Charles VII 1422-1461 



Louis XI 1461-1483 



Charles VIII 1483-1498 



Louis XII 1498-1515 



Francis I 1515-1547 



Henry II 1547-1559 



Francis II 1559-1560 



Charles IX 1560-1574 



Henry III 1574-1589 



Henry IV. the Great 1589-1610 



Louis XIII 1610-1643 



Louis XIV 1643-1715 



Louis XV 1715-1774 



Louis XVI 1774-1793 



Republic 1793-1799 



Consulate 1799-1804 



Napoleon I. Emperor 1804-1814 



Louis XVIII 1814-1824 



Charles X 1824-1830 



Louis Philippe 1830-1848 



Republic, Louis Napoleon, President.. 1848-1852 



Napoleon III, Emperor 1852-1871 



Third Republic 



Thiers, Adolphe 1871-1873 



MacMahon, Marshal 1873-1879 



Grevy, Jules 1879-1887 



Carnot, Sadi 1887-1894 



Casimir-Perier 1894-1895 



Faure, Felix 1895-1899 



Loubet, Emile 1899-1906 



Fallieres, Clement Armand 1906-1913 



Poincarg, Raymond 1913- 



Growth of Royal Power. Of the later Cape- 

 tian kings the strongest by all means were 

 Philip Augustus, who nearly doubled the royal 

 dominions; Louis IX, chiefly remembered for 

 his part in the Crusades, but far more note- 

 worthy because of his strong rule at home and 

 his excellent personal qualities; and Philip IV. 

 The direct line came to an end in 1328 with the 

 death of Charles IV, and the branch line, the 

 House of Valois (which see), succeeded to the 

 throne in the person of Philip VI. The mon- 

 archy by this time was fairly well consoli- 

 dated, and it had need to be, for there were 

 troubled times ahead of it. Edward III of 

 England resented Philip's succession, claiming 

 the French throne for himself through his 

 mother, and there began that series of con- 

 flicts known as the Hundred Years' War (which 

 see). More than once it looked as though 

 France might become a mere dependency of 

 England, but through the heroic deeds of Joan 

 of Arc (which see) the tide turned, and 

 Charles VII found himself once more a king 

 with a kingdom. All of France, which had 

 been signed away to England by the insane 

 Charles VI, was regained, with the exception 

 of Calais, on the Strait of Dover, and France 

 began to recover from the desolation the war 

 had brought. 



Much power had slipped back into the hands 

 of the feudal nobles, but Louis XI, the first 

 king after the close of the Hundred Years' 

 War, was able to deal with such a state of 

 affairs. His methods were ruthless, but his 

 results were certain, and before the .close of 

 his reign he had laid the foundations for that 

 absolute monarchy which was the outstanding 

 characteristic of France in the centuries that 

 followed. Charles the Bold, Duke of Bur- 

 gundy, chief of the arrogant nobles, died in 

 1477, and his vast territories came to the 

 Crown. Charles VIII, Louis's successor, mar- 

 ried Anne of Brittany, and so gained that large 

 province; then he attempted to extend his do- 

 mains by an invasion of Italy. This was the 

 first of those expeditions into Italy on the 

 part of the French kings which had far-reach- 

 ing results. 



A Period of Wars. Under Francis I, one of 

 the most elegant and accomplished princes of 

 his time, France was very prominent in Euro- 

 pean affairs. The invasions of Italy were con- 

 tinued by him, at first with success, but when 

 Emperor Charles V took the field against him 

 Francis met defeat, and for a time was actu- 

 ally held a prisoner. To obtain his release he 



