I. Gaul and Rome - Bronze Age, Iron Age and Dark Ages - The ancient culture of the Celts
had settled in many European countries including France; Part of Roman Empire
II. 768 – 987 Early kings - Charlemagne rules as King of the Franks and is crowned as Holy
Roman Emperor Hugh Capet founds the Capetian dynasty
III. 1066 – Guillaume, Duc de Normandie, invades England and wins the Battle of Hastings
defeating King Harold and turning English into a romance language.
IV. 1099 – 1270 Crusades ( The People's Crusade). Jerusalem is re-taken from the Muslims on
the urging of Pope Urban II. 1st Crusade led by Count Raymond IV of Toulouse and
proclaimed by many wandering preachers, notably Peter the Hermit. The Knights
Templar founded to protect Jerusalem and European pilgrims on their journey to the city.
Second Crusade led by Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III and by King Louis VII of France
Third Crusade 3rd Crusade led by Richard the Lionheart of England, Philip II of France, and
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. Saladin manages to unite the Muslim world and
recapture Jerusalem, sparking the fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade and the French/Flemish advanced on Constantinople but the Christians fail to
recapture Jerusalem
The Children's Crusade led by a French peasant boy, Stephen of Cloyes
Other crusades follow including the eighth crusade led by Louis IX of France - but the armies
still fail to capture Jerusalem
V. 1337 - 1443 - Hundred Years' War with England 1346 The French defeated at Crecy
VI. 1348 The Black Death ravages Europe for the first of many times. An estimated 1/3 of the
population is thought to have died within the first year 1356 The French defeated at Poitiers
VII. 1415 Battle of Agincourt Henry V of England becomes also King of France (briefly)
VIII. 1429 Joan of Arc lifts the siege of Orleans for the Dauphin of France, enabling him to
eventually be crowned at Reims 1430 Capture, trial, and execution of Joan of Arc
IX. 1434 The Medici family rises to prominence in Florence 1453 The Hundred Years War
ends. Calais is the only English possession on Continental Europe 1494 1494 - 1559 - Italian
Wars- France and Austria fight over Italian lands
X. 1515 François I crowned French King – Renaissance in France
1547 1547 - 1559: Reign of Henry II 1572 Massacre of Protestants in Paris on St.
Bartholomew's Eve by Catholics. 200,000 Huguenots fled France
1589 1593 - Henri
IV becomes 1st French Catholic Bourbon King
XI. 1534 Jacques Cartier discovers Great Lakes & St. Lawrence River –Exploration by the
French:
1603 March 15: Samuel de Champlain set sail for Quebec from Honfleur, France
following in the path of Jacques Cartier to the St Lawrence River and Tadoussac
1605 Samuel de Champlain establishes the first successful New France Colony at Port
Royal 1608 Founding of Quebec 1672 New France expansion into Canada under Louis de
Frontenac 1758 French power in Canada declines as the British capture Ft. Louisburg
XII. 1617 Louis XIII crowned at the age of 17 1624 Cardinal Richelieu becomes French
principal minister 1643 1643 - 1715 - Louis XIV becomes king; Mazarin becomes
French Prime Minister LE ROI SOLEIL
XIII. VIVE LA RÉVOLUTION 1715 Louis XV accedes the throne on 5 May 1789 King
Louis XVI called a meeting of the Estates-General at Versailles to obtain support for new
taxes sewing the seeds of the French Revolution as the nobles and church were not
subject to taxes1789 June 1789 The commoners declared themselves a National
Assembly giving themselves the power to write a new French constitution 1789 14 July:
The Bastille stormed by the people of Paris 1792 King Louis and Queen MarieAntoinette are executed and a republic set up in France
XIV. 1793 Napoleon Bonaparte promoted to general during the war with Prussia and Austria
1799 1799 - 1814: Napoleon seizes control of France and begins building a French
empire. 1815 Napoleon defeated at Waterloo by the British and exiled.
XV. The Bourbons were returned to the French throne1824 Charles X becomes king 1830 July:
Charles X overthrown during the July Revolution of 1830 1848 Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, a
nephew of Napoleon, was elected to a four-year term as French president 1815 Louis Napoleon
Bonaparte seizes power 1852 Louis Napoleon Bonaparte declares himself Emperor Napoleon
III of France 1870 France declares war on Prussia and Emperor Napoleon III is overthrown
XVI. 1914 1914-1918 World War I - Germany invades France
XVII. 1939 3 September: France and the United Kingdom declare war on Germany starting
World War 2 1940 14 June: German troops enter Paris 1944 25 August: Allied troops regain
Paris and Charles De Gaulle becomes head of a provisional French government
1945 August: The United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
XVIII. 1945 – 1980
XIX. 1981 – 2013