most of western Europe. When Charlemagne
died, however, his empire was
divided into three parts. After 843 the
western section became known as the
kingdom of France.
Wars over Land and Religion
In 1066 the French duke of Normandy
conquered England. Because of that
connection to France, English kings
later claimed parts of France for themselves.
This led to many battles between
the two countries.
One particularly difficult period was the
Hundred Years’War, which began in
1337. France was close to defeat when a
peasant girl named Joan of Arc led the
French army to victory. By the end of
the war in 1453, the English had lost
nearly all of their land in France.
about 50 BC AD 768 1337 1789 1815 1940 1993
Ancient Rome
conquers Gaul.
Charlemagne
becomes king
of the Franks.
The Hundred
Years’ War
with England
begins.
The French
Revolution
begins.
Emperor
Napoleon I is
defeated.
Germany
invades France
during World
War II.
France joins
the European
Union.
T I M E L I N E
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA France 59
During the 1500s Protestantism spread
across Roman Catholic France.Wars
broke out between Protestants (known
as Huguenots) and Roman Catholics.
Peace came in 1598 when King Henry
IV signed the Edict of Nantes, which
granted Protestants some rights.
French Revolution and Napoleon
During the 1600s France became the
greatest power in Europe. Louis XIV,
who reigned from 1643 to 1715, raised
the power of the king to new heights.
In the 1700s, however, France lost a
series of costly foreign wars. At home,
political disorder and public anger
resulted in the French Revolution in
1789. This uprising by the French
people led to the end of the French
monarchy. After the revolution France
became a republic.
After a period of weak government
France fell into the hands of General
Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. He
named himself emperor of France in
1804. Napoleon set out to conquer
Europe. He was finally defeated in 1815.
Afterward the monarchy was restored,
but it fell in 1870. France once again
became a republic.
WorldWars
Germany invaded France in 1914, at the
beginning of WorldWar I. France and
its allies narrowly defeated Germany
during that war. Less than 30 years later,
however, Germany again invaded
France, during WorldWar II. While
occupied by Germany, France was led by
a French government that worked with
the Germans. But part of the French
army, called the Free French, escaped to
England under General Charles de
Gaulle. Free French, U.S., and British
forces drove the Germans out of France
in 1944.
Postwar France
In the 1950s and 1960s France lost its
colonies in Vietnam and Algeria after
fighting costly wars in those regions.
Nevertheless, France’s political and economic
power grew. In 1993 France
became one of the original members of
the European Union.
..More to explore
Alps, The • De Gaulle, Charles
• European Union • Frank • French
Revolution • Huguenots • Joan of Arc
• Napoleon • Paris • Pyrenees •World
War I •WorldWar II
A glass pyramid is a modern addition to
the Louvre, an art museum in Paris, France.
Facts About
FRANCE
Population
(2008 estimate)
62,028,000
Area
210,026 sq mi
(543,965 sq km)
Capital
Paris
Form of
government
Republic
Major cities
Paris, Marseille,
Lyon, Toulouse,
Nice
60 France BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Frank
The Franks were a group of people who
lived in Europe more than a thousand
years ago. The country of France was
named after them. The Franks moved
to the land that became France from a
region that is now in Germany. They
spoke a language that is related to
German.
In ancient times the Romans ruled what
is now France as part of the Roman
Empire. The land was then called Gaul.
The Roman Empire lost power in the
AD 400s. Franks and other Germanic
peoples moved into Gaul during this
time.
King Clovis I was the first important
Frankish king. He brought several
groups of Franks together under his
leadership. In the late 400s Clovis
started to follow the religion of Christianity.
His followers became Christians,
too, which helped to unite them as a
people. By the early 500s Clovis ruled
most of Gaul.
A later king named Charles became
known as Charlemagne, which means
Charles the Great. Charlemagne added
to the lands ruled by the Franks. Charlemagne
also spread Christianity. In 800
the pope (leader of the Christians in
Rome) rewarded Charlemagne by giving
him the title of emperor. Charlemagne’s
empire became known as the Holy
Roman Empire.
Charlemagne’s sons and grandsons were
unable to hold the Frankish empire
together after Charlemagne died. The
Frankish lands in the east continued as
the Holy Roman Empire. The Frankish
lands in the west became France.
#More to explore
Charlemagne • France • Holy Roman
Empire • Rome, Ancient
Frank, Anne
DuringWorldWar II a young Jewish
girl, Anne Frank, kept a diary for two
years while hiding from the Nazis with
her family. Anne and her family were
victims of the Holocaust, which was
Nazi Germany’s campaign to destroy the
Jews. From the diary, readers have found
out what Jewish people experienced and
felt during the time of the Holocaust.
Early Life
Anne Marie Frank was born on June 12,
1929, in Frankfurt, Germany. In 1933
