France has one of the most interesting and controversial political histories in the world. Going through 10 different monarchs throughout a three hundred year period, France endured territorial wars, political wars, a boom in art and Renaissance style architecture, young monarchs with unreasonable regents, assassinations, and more. During this three hundred year period, Charles VIII and his successor Louis XII of France waged wars to gain Italy, France experienced the revitalization of art by Francois I, saw the weak reign of Francis II, the reign of Charles IX and his regent, Catherine de Medicis, the failed attempts of Henry III to attack the Catholic League, the conversion to Catholicism by Henry IV, the reign of Louis XIII who exiled his own mother, the reign of Louis XIV, and the luxurious lifestyle of Louis XV.

The year 1494 is a good year to start exploring the political history of France. In the summer of 1494, Ludovico Sforza, an Italian prince who ruled Milan and the surrounding region of Lombardy from 1479 to 1499, invited King Charles VIII of France to come to Italy to fight some of Ludovico's enemies. Charles came, but with intentions benefiting himself and France, not Italy. His arrival began a series of foreign invasions. In 1499, a French invasion of Florence with some 30,000 forced Sforza to flee to Milan. The first stage of the attack of Florence was easier than most attacks because that same year Savonarola, a Dominican preacher, had exiled the ruling and very rich merchant family of the Medici, taking control of Florence. Savonarola made the mistake of handing Florence over to France in the hope that France would aid them in the creation of a democracy.

Once the French had control over Florence, they moved south passing through Milan and the Papal states without much trouble with the Neapolitan army retreating before them. Once the French reached Naples, they destroyed the Neapolitan army, securing all Italy.

In 1494, King Charles VIII died. His cousin, Louis XII succeeded him. In 1499, Louis XII and his army seized and conquered Milan with no problem except that in the midst of battle, the Italian leader Sforza escaped to Austria where he sought help from the Swiss. The Swiss provided Sforza with 10,000 troops who, in 1500, marched on the city. The troops, however, felt loyalty not to the Swiss, but to the French. They turned on Sforza who was sentenced to life in prison.

The next goal of Louis XII was to conquer Naples and eventually all of Italy. Knowing he could not accomplish this task alone, he worked in conjunction with the King Ferdinand of Aragon of Spain

In 1515, Francois I was crowned King of France. Francois revitalized France by inviting many Italian artists and designers such as Leonardo Da Vinci to France. Their influence assured the success of the Renaissance style, characterized by enlarged doors and windows, the great sophistications of the interiors. Francois I's Chateau of Fontainebleau are perfect examples of the Renaissance style, which combined defensive fortresses with luxurious palaces.

Francois I

Unfortunately, a life filled with peace and brilliant art by Da Vinci didn’t last too long. In 1562, the increasing number in Huguenots in France led to the Wars of Religion, between the Catholics and the Protestants.

Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa

In 1559 Francis II, grandson of Francois I, became king of France at the ripe old age of fifteen. Fully aware of a weak monarchy, three major noble families began to fight for control of France: the Guises in eastern France, the Bourbons in southern France, and the Montmorency-Chatillons in central France. Of the three, the Guises were both the most powerful and the most fanatical about Catholicism. The Bourbons and the Montmorency-Chatillons were mostly Catholics who–for political reasons–supported the Protestant cause.

Francis II

Francis II, almost 17, died in 1560 after only one year as king. It is said that Francis II died from an abscess formed in his brain as a result of an inflammation behind his ear.
After his death, Francis II’s younger brother, Charles IX assumed the throne. Because he was too young to serve as king, his mother, Catherine de Medicis became his regent, the ruler of a kingdom when the true king is incapable of ruling. Catherine was an extremely intelligent woman and leader. Knowing very well the power and threat of the Guises, she sought to gain the support of the Bourbons and the Montmorency-Chatillons. In seeking the support of the Bourbons and the Montmorency-Chatillons, that meant Catherine, a catholic, had to accept the religion associated with these two families, Protestantism (the Huguenots). While Catherine wanted to keep France catholic, she knew the only way to decrease the power of the Guises was to increase the power of the other two families.

Catherine de Medicis 1519-1589

The balance of power Catherine envisioned was not happening the way she had hoped. While she originally feared the growing power of the Guise power, she later became more concerned with the growing power of the Montmorency-Chatillon family. Catherine, faced with having to choose sides (catholic or protestant), chose to help the Guises plot the assassination of Gaspard de Coligny, a Montmorency-Chatillon family member who was one of the major leaders of the French Huguenots. The assassination was a failure. While Gaspard de Coligny was shot, he was not killed. This failed attempt at an assassination caused the Huguenots and Coligny to be extremely angry with both Catherine and the Guises. Fearing a Huguenot uprising, Catherine convinced Charles IX, her second son with Henry II, that the Huguenots were plotting his overthrow under the leadership of Coligny. On August 24, 1572, the day before St. Bartholomew's Day, royal forces hunted down and executed over three thousand Huguenots, including Coligny, in Paris.

Murder of Coligny and St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

In 1576, Henry III, third son of Catherine de Medicis and Henry II and youngest brother of Francis II and Charles IX, ascended to the throne. Like his mother, Henry tried to stay neutral during the conflicts between the Catholics and the Huguenots. But Henry angered the Catholics when he granted Huguenots new privileges. After these actions, the Catholic people created the "Catholic League" (sometimes referred to as the "Holy League") under the rule of Henri, Duke de Guise, which was also aided by Philip II of Spain who dedicated his monarchy to overthrowing the Protestant churches of other countries. In 1588, Henry III attempted to attack the Catholic League, a league. His attempts failed. The League forced Henry to renew war against the Huguenots, take away the privileges he had given them and exiled him from Paris In exile, Henry III struck up an alliance with his Huguenot cousin, Henry of Navarre. Henry of Navarre believed the peace and security of France was far more important than imposing a religion on the people. But before the two Henrys had the opportunity to attack Paris, a fanatical Dominican friar, Jacques Clément, stabbed Henry III to death in 1589. Since Henry III had no children, Henry of Navarre, as next in line to the throne, became King of France as Henry IV (ruled 1589-1610).

Henry IV

Henry understood that the only way that France would find peace is if it were ruled by a tolerant Catholic king, so on July 25, 1593, he rejected his Protestant faith and officially converted to Catholicism. On April 13, 1598, Henry IV ended the long and tiring religious wars in France by proclaiming the Edict of Nantes. This Edict granted the Huguenots the right to worship in public, to occupy public office, to assemble, to gain admission to schools and universities, and to administer their own towns.

Louis XIII succeeded his father, Henry IV, to the throne of France under the regency of his mother, Marie de’ Medici. Even after being declared of age in 1614, he was excluded from affairs of state by his domineering mother. In 1617, after coming to the conclusion that his mother’s political decisions were influenced too much by Concino Concini, Maréchal of Anchor, Louis XIII arranged for the assassination of Concini, with the aid of his own favorite, Charles d'Albert, duc de Luynes. Marie de' Medici was forced into retirement. After exiling his mother, Louis XIII brought her protégé, Cardinal Richelieu in to power.

Cardinal Richelieu 1585 - 1642

Cardinal Richelieu rose to become France's Secretary of State for foreign affairs in 1616, and then on to head the royal council as prime minister of France in 1624. Even before becoming Prime Minister, Richelieu's political views were well-defined. He had a clear idea of how society should function. Everyone played a specific role in the system, making their unique contributions: the clergy through prayer; the nobility with arms under the control of the king, and the common people through obedience. Richelieu believed in the divine right of the king, whose role it was to promote peace and order in society.

Louis XIII was the eldest child of Henry IV and Marie de Medicis. His mother became regent after the murder of Henry IV in 1610, when Louis was only nine years old. Louis, whose mother paid him little attention and affection, confided in Charles d’Albert, future Duke de Luynes. Although Louis XIII considered Richelieu as his mother’s protégé, (being on extremely bad terms with his mother at the time) the King admitted him to the royal council and within a few months, allowed Richelieu supreme control of the government. In 1627 Richelieu set out to secure the authority of the crown through force and political repression. By 1631 he had crushed Huguenot resistance, severely punished nobles who plotted against the king, and replaced his enemies in the government.

Louis XIII

Louis XIV was born on September 5, 1638 of Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria. Louis XIII died in 1643, and Anne aided by her Prime minister, Cardinal Mazarin, ruled as regents in place of Louis XIV in France. He was called the Sun King. Not only for his achievements at home, but mostly abroad. His goals were to glorify France and lock out Habsburg ambitions in Austria and Spain.Two revolts in 1648 and 1653 forced Louis to bring reform to France. The first war was against Spain. Louis married his cousin, Marie-Therese of Spain in 1660 due to the terms of the Treaty of the Pyrenees. Louis went to war with Spain claiming his wife's right to inheritance to the Spanish throne in 1667 by invading the Spanish Netherlands. The Franco-Spanish treaty ended France's war with Spain and gave them land in the south. France's predominance in Europe had begun. Mazarin died in 1661, and Louis XIV shocked France by naming himself as his first minister. Louis ruled personally until his death in 1715. His reign was one of the most notable in French history.

Louis XIV

The last major struggle of Louis XIV was the War of the Spanish Succession from 1701 to 1714. A previous problem in Europe earlier was who was to succeed Charles II of Spain. The heir to the throne was connected to either the Austrian Habsburgs or the French Bourbons. France did not want the new king to be Austrian because that would make Spain and Austria, two of France's traditional enemies, powerful allies. England did not want the new King to be Bourbon because that would make France and Spain allies, which Britain did not want. King William III of England and Louis XIV decided that the new king should be a Habsburg prince of Bavaria, who would have to agree to never join forces with Austria.

Louis XV

Louis XV was born at Versailles, France. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of 5. His reign began peacefully, though the government had accumulated a large debt under Louis XIV. Philippe, Duke of Orleans, a relative of the young king, ruled on his behalf until 1723. In 1726, Louis's former tutor, Andre Hercule Cardinal de Fleury, became the real head of the government. Fleury worked to revive the weak economy of France. Louis XV was a king of France who contributed to the decline of royal authority. During his reign, France fought a number of expensive and disastrous wars. France suffered military and diplomatic problems, narrowly escaping serious setbacks in the War of Austrian Succession and losing most of its colonial empire to Britain in The Seven Years’ War. Louis also led a scandalous personal life. For these reasons, many French people hated him, and his reign did much to bring on the French Revolution (1789-1799)

FRANCE’S RULERS

http://www.scotlandroyalty.org/france.html

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Paul F. Grendler, "Sforza, Ludovico," World Book Online Americas Edition, http://www.aolsvc.worldbook.aol.com/wbol/wbPage/na/ar/co/718327

2. ibid

3. http://library.thinkquest.org/C005356/Essays/4%20-%20The%20Italian%20wars.doc

4. Donald A. Bailey, "Francis I," World Book Online Americas Edition, http://www.aolsvc.worldbook.aol.com/wbol/wbPage/na/ar/co/208781

5. http://www.france.com

6. ibid

7. http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/WARS.HTM

8. http://home.earthlink.net/~zzz12/daup.htm

9. ibid

10. http://www.publius-historicus.com/cathmedi.htm

11. ibid

12. http://www.lepg.org/wars.htm

13.Encyclopedia Americana: International Edition, Grolier, Danbury CT, ©2001. p.102

14.http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/archives/dossiers/140ministres.gb/henri3_4/chrono.html.

15. http://saint-esprit.freeservers.com/cgi- in/b/726/64/dXNlcmJhbm5lcg==/is/220/?ns_5060

16. ibid

17.http://translate.google.com/translate_c?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Metro/7070/B2.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3DLouis%2BXIII%26hl%3Den

18. "Louis XIII, king of France." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. © 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002 on Infoplease.com.© 2002 Learning Network.

19. http://www.lucidcafe.com/lucidcafe/library/95sep/richelieu.html

20. ibid

21. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13047a.htm

22. Op. Cid.

23. http://saint-esprit.freeservers.com/cgi-bin/b/726/64/dXNlcmJhbm5lcg==/is/220/?ns_5060

24. ibid

25. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Styx/56/History/Documents/louis_xiv.html

26. ibid

27. Encyclopedia Americana: International Edition, Grolier, Danbury CT, ©2001, p. 773

28. Maarten Ultee, "Louis XV," World Book Online Americas Edition, http://www.aolsvc.worldbook.aol.com/wbol/wbPage/na/ar/co/331687, March 9, 2002.

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