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- This timeline of France starts with the timeline of Western and Northern France. The sub-sections give an outline of the history of Southern and Central France (400s-1793), Corsica (400s-1796), South East France (410s-1791), Burgundy and Lorraine (843-1766, until 925 with Alsace) and Alsace (925-1918).
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- 600 BC: Greeks found the colony of Massalia on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. At the same time, some Gallic Celtic tribes (Gauls) penetrate parts of present-day France, and this settling spreads to the rest of France between the 5th and 3rd century BC.
- 390 BC: The Gauls invade present-day Italy and defeat Rome.
- 245 BC: The Gauls and Rome enter into a peace treaty. But the Romans and the Gauls will remain adversaries for the next several centuries.
- 125 BC: The south of Gaul is conquered by Roman Empire.
- before 58 BC: The Germanic Suebes settle in Northern Gaul, arriving from Germany.
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Roman Republic
- 58 BC: The Suebic king Ariovistus is defeated by the Roman proconsul Gaius Iulius Caesar and are driven over the Rhine. Gaius Iulius Caesar commences the Gallic Wars against the Gauls.
- 51 BC: Most of Gaul is conquered by the Roman Empire. The Celtic chieftain Vercingetorix is defeated by Gaius Iulius Caesar.The Gauls mix with Roman settlers and a Gallo-Roman population develops.
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Roman Empire
- 27 BC: Gaius Octavianus becomes sole ruler of Rome and as Augustus the first emperor.
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Gallic Empire
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Gallic Empire
- 270: The Gallic Empire is limited to Northern Gaul and Germania.
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Roman Empire
- 270: The Roman Empire reconquers southern Gaul.
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- 410s: After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Brittany remains outside Francia. Celts from Britain settle in Brittany. Various entities come to existence.
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- 410: Rome is sacked by the Visigothic king Alareiks, which turns out to be a decisive event in the decline of the Western Roman Empire. The Romans gradually abandon Gaul. Various Germanic tribes enter Gaul and establish their entities. Among them are the Franks, the Visigoths and the Burgundians.
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Franks
- 410: Rome is sacked by the Visigothic king Alareiks, which turns out to be a decisive event in the decline of the Western Roman Empire. The Romans gradually abandon Gaul. The Franks conquer part of Gaul.
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Roman Kingdom
- 457: The Roman Kingdom of Soissons replaces the Western Roman Empire in Gaul, led by Aegidius and since 464 his son Syagrius. Gaul gets divided into several Germanic kingdoms and this Roman Kingdom.
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- 451: The Huns, who conquered large areas north of the Roman border and invaded are defeated by an alliance of Romans and various Germanic nations, including the Visigoths and the Franks.
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Kingdom of the Franks
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- 558: Neustria and Austrasia are united under king Chlotarius.
- 561: After the death of Chlotarius I Francia is partitioned into sub-kingdoms. Guntram becomes king of the Burgundians, Chilpericus I in Neustria, Charibertus I In Paris and Sigebertus I becomes king in Austrasia.
- 567: Charibertus I dies, Paris falls to Chilpericus I.
- 592: Guntram dies, Burgundy falls to Childebertus II in Austrasia.
- 595: Childebertus II dies, Theudericus II becomes king of Burgundy and Theudebertus II becomes king of Austrasia.
- 612: Theudericus II becomes king in Austrasia.
- 613: King Sigibertus II of Austrasia and Burgundy is overthrown by Chlotharius II of Neustria and Francia is reunited as the Kingdom of the Franks.
- 623: Chlotarius II appoints his son Dagobertus I as king in Austrasia.
- 629: Chlotaris II dies, Francia is reunited under with king Dagobertus I.
- 634: Dagobertus I appoints his son Sigebertus III as king in Austrasia.
- 662: Childebertus dies, Francia is reunited under king Chlotharius III.
- 663: Chlotharius III appoints his brother Childericus II as king in Austrasia.
- 673: Childericus II displaces Theudericus III as king in Neustria.
- 675: After the death of Childericus II, Theudericus III regains the throne of Neustria. Chlodovecus III becomes king of Austrasia.
- 679: After the death of king Dagobertus II Neustria falls to Theudericus III and Francia is reunited. During the rule of Theudericus III and his successors the position of the Mayor of the Palace develops into the power of the throne.
- 687: Pippin is installed as mayor over the entire realms of Neustria and Austrasia, further dwindling Merovingian power.
- 718: The civil war after the death of Pippin, ends, Carolus Martellus becomes mayor of the palace and the real ruler of Francia.
- 732: Carolus Martellus [[Battle of Tours|halts the Arab advance.
- 734: Carolus Martellus defeats the Frisian ruler Bubo and annex Frisia west of the Lauwers.
- 737: Carolus Martellus becomes acting king.
- 741: Childericus III becomes king.
- 751: Pippinus III, son of Carolus Martellus, overthrows Childericus III and becomes king of the Franks, the first from the Carolingian dynasty.
- 768: The son of Pippinus III, Carolus or Charlemagne becomes – until 711 together with his brother Carlomannus I - king of the Franks.
- 772: The Franks annex Frisia east of the Lauwers and start the conquest of Saxony. The Saxons are led by Widukind.
- 774: Carolus conquers the Kingdom of the Lombards with Corsica.
- 778: Carolus conquers Bavaria.
- 788: Carolus conquers part of the Carantania and of the Avar Khaganate.
- 793: A final uprising of the Frisians is surpressed by Carolus.
- 795: In the north-east of Hispania the Ummayads are defeated by the Franks, who establish the Marca Hispanica, a set of Frankish counties.
- 800: Carolus is raised to Emperor of the Romans.
- 804: Saxony is incorporated into Francia by emperor Carolus. The Avar Khaganate is destroyed by the Franks.
- 811: Carolus and king Hemming of Denmarksetthe southern boundary of Denmark at the Eider River.
- 824: Pamplona secedes from Francia.
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Kingdom of the West Franks
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Kingdom of Brittany
- c. 851: Erispoe becomes king of Brittany, established by Bretonic tribes.
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- 907: Vikings conquer parts of West Francia. They defeat the ruler of Bretagne, Gourmaelon.
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County of Normandy[1]
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- 911: King Carolus III becomes also king in Lotharingia.
- 919: An Hungarian army enters through Lotharingia and France. Carolus III retreats, and lets them to plunder his realm.
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- 922: Carolus III is overthrown by Robertus. Lotharingia keeps Carolus III as king.
- 923: Robertus dies in battle and is succeeded by his son-in-law Radolfus.
- 936: After the death of king Radolfus, the Carolingian Ludovicus IV, son of Carolus III, becomes king.
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Duchy of Brittany
- 939: Alan II becomes duke of restored Brittany. The islands of Guernsey and Jersey remain part of Normandy.
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Kingdom of the Franks
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Duchy of Normandy
- 996: Count Richard II is raised in rank to duke of Normandy.
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- 996: Hugues dies and is succeeded by his son Robert II.
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- 1004: King Robert II becomes also duke of Burgundy, interrupted between 1017 and 1027.
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- 1032: The sons of Robert II agree to share his heritage. Henri becomes king of the Franks, Robert becomes duke of Burgundy.
- 1060: After the death of Henri, his eight year old son Philippe becomes king and his wife Anna Yaroslava as regent (until 1065)..
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- 1101: France takes part in a crusade, which is defeated by the Sultanate of Rum.
- 1147-1149: France takes part in the Second Crusade that fails to restore the County of Edessa, but in which at the same time parts of Iberia are conquered.
- 1189-1192: France takes part in the Third Crusade that fails to re-conquer Jerusalem, but in which the Kingdom of Cyprus is established.
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Kingdom of France
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- 1204: Normandy, ruled by the king of England, (with the exception of Guernsey and Jersey) and Anjou are conquered by king Philippe II.
- 1209: The Papal States and France start the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars, suppported by Toulouse and Aragon.
- 1213-1221: France takes part in the Fifth Crusade that is defeated by the Arabs.
- 1214: An Anglo–French War ends when king Philippe II, supported by claimant-emperor Friedrich von Hohenstaufen defeats at Bouvines an army led by Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV and troops of king Johan of England. It leads to rebellions in England, in which prince Louis of France supports the rebels and claims the English throne.
- 1217: Prince Louis is defeated in England and in the Treaty of Lambeth he recognizes Henry III as king of England.
- 1229: The Cathars are defeated.
- 1239-1241: France and England take part in a successful Barons' Crusade, that enlarges the territory of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
- 1247: King Louis IX re-creates Anjou as an appanage for his brother Charles.
- 1248-1254: France leads a Seventh Crusade, defeated by the Arabs.
- 1259: With the Treaty of Paris king Louis IX and king Henry III of England end their hostilities. Henry remains duke of Aquitaine. England cedes its claim on Normandy, except for the Channel Islands Guernsey and Jersey.
- 1270: France takes part in the Eighth Crusade, defeated near Tunis by the Arabs. King Louis IX dies in an epidemic of dysentery that swept through his army and is succeeded by his son Philippe III.
- 1271: Toulouse falls with the margraveship of Provence to Philippe III.
- 1271-1272: France takes part in the Ninth Crusade, defeated by the Arabs, that foreshadows the collapse of the remaining crusader strongholds.
- 1284: Crown prince and since 1285 king Philippe IV of France becomes by marriage with Jeanne of Navarra also king of Navarre. France takes part in a campaign against Aragon, defeated by Aragon in 1285.
- 1297: King Philippe IV of France declares the annexation of Flanders to the royal domain, leading to the Franco-Flemish War.
- 1303: In the Treaty of Paris Aquitaine is ceded to king Edward of England by king Philippe IV of France.
- 1305: With the Treaty of Athis-sur-Orge Flanders becomes independent, but loses the southern part, including Lille. After the death of queen Jeanne of Navarre, their son Louis becomes king Louis I of Navarre.
- 1312: Lyon is annexed.
- 1314: Louis becomes also king Louis X of France.
- 1324: King Edward II of England is defeated by king Charles IV.
- 1328: After the death of king Charles IV, his heritage is divided. Philippe VI of the House of Valois becomes king of France and merges Anjou into France. This succession is disputed by Charles' nephew, king Edward III of England. Charles' daughter Jeanne becomes queen Jeanne II of Navarre.
- 1337: After Philippe VI confiscated the English possessions in Gascogne, king Edward III of England declares himself rightful heir to the French throne. His claim is denied due to the Salic law. Edward III commences the Edwardian War against France. This marks the beginning of what is rendered as the Hundred Years' War between the House of Plantagenet followed by the House of Lancaster and the House of Valois for the control of France.
- 1343: Both countries agree on a truce.
- 1346: English forces defeat at Crécy the French forces of Philip VI.
- 1347: King Edward III invades France. Viscount Gaston X of Béarn, count of Foix, renounces the fiefship of France
- 1349: Dauphiné falls to France.
- 1356: Louis, son of king Jean II becomes count of Anjou and Maine. The same year Jean II is captured by English forces. His son Charles becomes regent.
- 1360: The war ends with the Treaty of Brétigny, in which Edward agrees to renounce the French crown and obtains full sovereign rights over an expanded Aquitaine and Calais. Jean II is released in exchange for his son Louis.
- 1361: Jean II successfully claims the duchy of Burgundy.
- 1363: He passes Burgundy to his youngest son Philippe as Philippe II. When Louis escapes, Jean II returns into captivity.
- 1369: King Charles V of France resumes the war with England.
- 1375: Both countries agree on a truce in the Treaty of Bruges.
- 1389: The war between England and France ends.
- 1390: France takes part in a failed Barbary Crusade against Muslim pirates at Mahdia.
- 1407: With the assassination of Louis d'Orléans, son of Charles V, duke Jean of Burgundy commences a war against king Charles VI and joins the English.
- 1415: With king Henry V of England invading Normandy and defeating at Agincourt a French army, the Lancastrian War between the countries commences.
- 1420: King Henry V allies with duke Philippe III of Burgundy. In the Treaty of Troyes Charles VI of France agrees that King Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the throne of France after his death.
- 1422: After the death of king Charles VII, Charles VII claims to be king of France despite the Treaty of Troyes instead of the son of Henry V, Henry VI of England. The war resumes.
- 1429: Jeanne d'Arc leads the defeat of the English at the siege of Orléans. Charles VII is crowned king.
- 1431: Henry VI is crowned as rival king of France.
- 1435: In the Treaty of Arras Philippe III of Burgundy switches sides to Charles VII.
- 1453: King Henri VI of England is defeated at Castillon by the French and the Hundred Years' War ends. Aquitaine with Gascony fall to king Charles VII of France. England's once vast territories in France is now reduced to only Calais.
- 1463: King Louis XI occupies Roussillon.
- 1475: King Louis XI intervenes in the War of the Castilian Succession in favor of pretendent Juana.
- 1477: The duchy of Burgundy is annexed to France.
- 1479: The War of the Castilian Succession ends with the Treaty of Alcáçovas, confirming Isabel as queen of Castile.
- 1481: After the death of duke Charles IV, Anjou and Maine as well as Provence fall to the royal domain.
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- 1491: King Charles VIII of France marries with duchess Anna of Brittany. Brittany is in a dynastical union with France.
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- 1518: Henry VIII withdraws from France.
- 1521: When Austria defeats France over Milan, François loses [[user:electionworld/sandbox/Italy#MIL1521|Milan] to Francesco II Sforza.
- 1525: The Spanish and Austrian forces of emperor Karl V defeat at Pavia defeat France and capture king François.
- 1526: With the Treaty of Madrid king François surrenders his claims to Italy, Flanders, and Burgundy in order to be released from prison. The same year pope Clemens VII, alarmed at the growing power of the emperor, forms the League of Cognac together with France, England, Venice, Florence and Milan.
- 1529: With the conclusion of the Treaty of Cambrai, the League collapses and Karl V wins the war.
- 1536: After the death of duke Francesco II Sforza of Milan, king François of France claims Milan. He conquers Savoy.
- 1538: The Truce of Nice ends the war between François and Karl V over Northern Italy, leaving Savoy in French hands but effecting no significant changes to the map of Italy.
- 1542: The war resumes between king François, allied with Scotland and the Ottoman Empire, and emperor Karl V, allied with England.
- 1544: The French army defeats at Ceresole an Spanish-Austrian army.
- 1546: He fails to conquer Milan and despite huge losses, the status quo ante bellum is restored.
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- 1547: King Henri II merges Brittany into the French crown. Saluzzo is annexed to France.
- 1552: King Henri II declares war on emperor Karl V with the intent of recapturing Italy. He conquers Metz and Verdun.
- 1558: After 200 years, England loses Calais to France.
- 1559: With the Peace of Cateau Cambrésis, the Italian Wars conclude. France renounces its claim in Italy and returns Piedmont and Savoy to the duke of Savoy. Spain remains dominant in Italy. At the same time it wins the three bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun. The same year Henri II dies and is succeeded by his son François II.
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Principality of Sedan
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- 1589: After the assassination of Henri III, his relative king Henri III of Navarre, count of Foix and as Henri II viscount of Béarn, becomes king Henri IV of France, which brings the House of Bourbon to the throne.
- 1598: The Edict of Nantes ends the French Wars of Religion. Huguenots are granted substantial rights and freedom, though it doesn't end hostility towards them.
- 1601: Saluzzo is ceded to Savoy.
- 1610: Henri IV is assassinated by François Ravaillac. His son Louis XIII becomes king.
- 1616: The Treaty of Loudun ends hostilities between queen-regent Marie de' Medici and rebellious French princes led by Henry II , the third Prince of Condé.
- 1617: Louis XIII exiles his mother Marie de’ Medici and takes power.
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- 1620: Navarre and Béarn are fully incorporated by Louis XIII into France.
- 1625: France conquers from Spain Saint-Domingue.
- 1627: King Charles of England sends troops to invade France to support the Huguenots.
- 1628: France supports Carlo Gonzaga as duke of Mantua and invades Savoy.
- 1629: The English intervention in France ends after a French victory with the Treaty of Suza.
- 1631: The war over Mantua comes to an end with the Treaty of Cherasco, confirming Carlo Gonzaga as duke, and returning most of the conquered part of Savoy.
- 1634: Lorraine and Bar are occupied by France.
- 1635: The Peace of Prague is planned to end the Thirty Years' War between the emperor, Sweden and the German protestants]]. However France commences a war with king Felipe IV of Spain.
- 1636: France declares war on the empire.
- 1641: The local clergy and aristocracy of Catalonia half-heartedly accepts king Louis XIII of France as prince Lluís of Catalonia.
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- 1642: Frédéric Maurice of Sedan cedes Sedan to France, ending the personal union with Bouillon. France conquers Roussillon, followed by a formal cession by Spain in 1659.
- 1648: A combined Swedish-French army defeats at Zusmarshausen the imperial army, followed by a Swedisch victory at Prague. Emperor Ferdinand III loses the war. Large parts of Alsace as well as Metz and Verdun are annexed to France.
- 1648-1653: During the war with Spain, Various civil wars take place. The civil wars prepare the way for the absolutism of king Louis XIV.
- 1652: Spain captures Barcelona and overthrows Louis XIV as prince of Catalonia. Catalonia is reincorporated into Spain.
- 1659: The Treaty of the Pyrenees ends the war between France and Spain with the French annexation of Southern Flanders and Roussillon.
- 1661: France withdraws from Lorraine and Bar.
- 1662: With the Treaty of Montmartre duke Charles IV of Lorraine gives to Louis XIV control over Lorraine and Bar.
- 1668: The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the War of Devolution between France and Spain over the Spanish Netherlands and outlines the boundaries between France and the Spanish Netherlands.
- 1670: Lorraine and Bar are again occupied by France.
- 1672: France, England, Münster and Cologne declare war on the Netherlands.
- 1674: After an initial defeat, the Netherlands succeed in driving back the English, French and allied forces.
- 1678: The Treaties of Nijmegen end after a French victory the war between France and the Netherlands and its allies. France wins territories in the Southern Netherlands and annexes the county of Burgundy.
- 1681: Strasbourg is annexed to France.
- 1683: In the War of the Reunions France invades the Spanish Netherlands and conquers part of it, including Luxembourg.
- 1684: The Truce of Ratisbon ends the war between France and Spain
- 1688: After king Louis XIV of France crosses the Rhine, a grand alliance of the Habsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire, the Netherlands, Spain, England and Savoy gets into [[War of the Grand Alliance] with France.
- 1697: The Treaty of Rijswijk ends the War of the Grand Alliance. The occupied parts of the Spanish Netherlands are returned to Spain. Lorraine and Bar are restored to duke Leopold.
- 1701: After the death of king Carlos II of Spain his succession is disputed between Philippe of Anjou and Karl VI of Habsburg. In the following War of the Spanish Succession, Philippe is supported by France. Karl is supported by the Holy Roman Empire (including the Habsburgs, Prussia, Brunswick-Lüneburg and Bavaria (until 1704), England with Scotland, the Netherlands, Savoy and Portugal.
- 1702: France occupies Orange and Lorraine and Bar are occupied by France.
- 1704: An Huguenots rebellion is defeated.
- 1713: The Treaty of Utrecht ends the War of the Spanish Succession. Philippe becomes as Felipe V king of Spain, but has to any claim to the throne of France. Spain loses Sicily to Savoye and Sardinia, Naples, Milan as well as the Spanish Netherlands to Austria. Gibraltar and Minorca fall to the United Kingdom. France annexes Orange.
- 1713: Louis XIV dies and is succeeded by
- 1714: The Treaties of Rastatt and Baden ends the War of the Spanish Succession between France and emperor Karl VI. It outlines the frontiers between France and the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1715: France conquers Dutch Mauritius.
- 1718: King Felipe V of Spain claims the French throne. This leads to the War of the Quadruple Alliance with an alliance of France, the Habsburgs and the Holy Roman Empire, the Netherlands, England and Savoy.
- 1720: The war ends with victory of the alliance, confirmed with the Treaty of The Hague, in which Felipe V renounces the French throne.
- 1724: The occupation of Lorraine and Bar ends.
- 1733: After the death of Friedrich August France supports Stanisław Leszczyński in his War of the Polish Succession against Friedrich August II of Saxony to become king of Poland. In 1734, Stanisław Leszczyński is defeated by Friedrich August II.
- 1740: France disputes in the War of the Austrian Succession Maria Theresia as archduchess of Austria and her husband Franz Stefan as Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1748: The Treaty of Aachen ends the War of the Austrian Succession. France withdraws from the Austrian Netherlands.
- 1756: Austria's desire to recover Silesia from Prussia leads France and Habsburg Austria to put aside their rivalry. A Seven Years' War involving most European great power and affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India and the Philippines commences between two coalitions, led by the Great Britain (incl. Prussia, Portugal, Brunswick-Lüneburg and other small German states) on one side and led by France (incl. Austria, the Holy Roman Empire, Russia, Spain and Sweden on the other. Meanwhile, in India, the Mughal Empire, with the support of the French, tried to crush a British attempt to conquer Bengal. British Minorca is conquered by France.
- 1763: The war ends with a Status quo ante bellum in Europe and a transfer of colonial possessions between Great Britain, France, Spain and Portugal. France cedes possessions east of the Mississippi and Canada as well as in India to Great Britain and cedes Louisiana west of the Mississippi to Spain. Minorca is restored to British rule.
- 1766: France annexes Lorraine and Bar.
- 1769: France abolishes the Corsican Republic and annexes Corsica.
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Kingdom of the French
- 1791: King Louis XVI flees from Paris, but is captured and brought back to Paris. His function is suspended and he accepts the new constitution. France becomes a constitutional monarchy. The constitutional assembly is replaced by the Legislative Assembly, elected on a limited suffrage and a government responsible to the assembly. France annexes Venaissin.
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French Republic
- 1792: The Assembly declares war, the War of the First Coalition, on the Habsburg emperor Franz II of the Holy Roman Empire. France invades the Austrian Netherlands. Prussia allies with the emperor. The National Convention is elected by an electoral college, itself elected by an universal (male) suffrage, to replace the Assembly and gets a clear republican majority. The monarchy is abolished and France becomes a republic. A Prussian army is defeated at Valmy. France occupies the Austrian Netherlands as well as part of (Sardinian) Savoy, and starts the conquest of the Holy Roman Empire west of the Rhine.
- 1793: Louis XVI is sentenced to death by the convention and is guillotined. France declares war on Great Britain and the Netherlands. The Committee of Public Safety is established as de facto executive]. A monarchist revolt in the Vendée commences and is suppressed the same year. After a Jacobin coup d'état, a new constitution is adopted. The Committee gets dominated by Maximilien Robespierre. The Reign of Terror takes place in which huge numbers of monarchists, including former queen Marie Antoinette and revolutionary opponents of Robespierre are executed by the Revolutionary Tribunal of the Committee. An Austrian army is defeated at Wattignies. France annexes Monaco, Bidache and parts of the Rauracian Republic. Corsica secedes from France, leading to the establishment of the Kingdom of Corsica.
- 1794: The Reign of Terror continues and many revolutionary opponents of Robespierre are executed. In reaction, the National Convention votes to outlaw Robespierre and supporters, which leads to their execution. France annexes Bouillon.
- 1795: Prussia accepts the annexation of the left Rhine bank. Jacobin uprisings take place and are suppressed. The rebellion in the Vendée resumes and an invasion by monarchists is defeated. A new constitution is adopted. The parliament is succeeded by a bicameral parliament with a chamber and a senate, both elected by electors, themselves elected on a limited suffrage. The senate elects the executive directory with a rotating presidency. France annexes the Austrian Netherlands (including Luxembourg), Liège and Bouillon. Many of the settlements in the Caribbean are conquered by Great Britain and returned to France in 1814.
- 1795-1814: Many of the settlements in the Caribbean are conquered by Great Britain and returned to France in 1814.
- 1796: As army commander during the war Napoléon Bonaparte defeats at Montenotte an Austrian-Sardinian army, followed by a defeat at Lodi of an Austrian army, both in Northern Italy. France defeats the Kingdom of Corsica and annexes Corsica to France. It annexes also Parma. In the Treaty of Ildefonso it allies itself with Spain. Spain declares war on Great Britain.
- 1797: Napoléon's invades and partitions the Republic of Venice and occupies the Venetian Ionian Islands (until 1800). The republican members of the Directory depose with the support of the military the royalists inside the Directory. The Treaty of Campo Formio makes an end to the War of the First Coalition against the French revolutionary regime. The annexation of the Holy Roman Empire west of the Rhine by France is recognized by Austria.
- 1798: France conquers Malta and invades Ottoman Egypt. Despite the British navy defeating at the Nile the French navy, conquers large parts of Egypt. A French invasion of Ireland to support Irish rebels against Great Britain is defeated at Ballinamuck. Mulhouse and Geneva are annexed by France. It loses Gozo to Great Britain.
- 1799: The French army in the Middle East is stopped in Palestine. The Directory is replaced by the French Consulate, headed by first consul Napoléon Bonaparte. France gets a new constitution. France occupies Pontecorvo.
- 1800: The parliament is succeeded by a tricameral parliament with a chamber, a senate and a tribunat. Malta is conquered by Great Britain and the Ionian Island become independent as the Septinsular Republic.
- 1801: The French army in Egypt is decisively defeated at Alexandria by a British army. The Treaty of Lunéville confirms the French victory of the War of the Second Coalition with Austria and Russia, marking the end of the war with only the United Kingdom left fighting France. With the Treaty of Lunéville the annexation of the Rhineland is confirmed.
- 1802: Napoleon Bonaparte becomes Consul for Life of France by a coup d'état. The Treaty of Amiens between France and the United Kingdom ends the War of the Second Coalition. France annexes the Subalpine Republic and Napoleon Bonaparte becomes also president of Italy. Spain cedes Louisiana to France. The Tuscan island of Elba is annexed to France.
- 1803: France annexes c.q. conquers Brunswick-Lüneburg with Bremen-Verdenand Saxe-Lauenburg, and sells Louisiana to the United States. The same year war breaks out between Great Britain and France.
- 1804: Napoléon becomes First Consul of France by a coup d'état.
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French Empire
- 1804: Napoléon crowns himself as the executive emperor of France. Saint-Domingue becomes independent as Haiti.
- 1805: Napoléon decisively defeats an Austrian-Russian army and ends the War of the Third Coalition with both countries. He becomes also king of Italy. The Ligurian Republic and Brandenburg-Ansbach are annexed to France.
- 1806: Emperor Napoleon destroys the Holy Roman Empire and becomes protector of the Rhine Confederation. France occupies Hamburg, Oldenburg and Neuchâtel but cedes Brunswick-Lüneburg with Bremen-Verden and Saxe-Lauenburg to Prussia and Brandenburg-Ansbach to Bavaria.
- 1807: The tribunat is abolished. With the Treaties of Tilsit France, Russia and Prussia create the Duchy of Warsaw. The Septinsular Republic becomes a French protectorate. France annexes Etruria. France is victorious at the decisive Battle of Friedland which marks the end of the War of the Fourth Coalition with Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden and the United Kingdom. France occupies Swedish Pomerania and annexes Brandenburg-Bayreuth. It ends the occupation of Oldenburg. A joint French-Spanish army invades and conquers Portugal.
- 1808: France annexes the Papal States and Parma and Piacenza. France turns on Spain, previously its ally. It invades Spain and installs a French client government. This leads to a the Peninsular War between Spain, the United Kingdom and Portugal against the newly installed government of Spain and France. An uprising in Madrid is suppressed by French troops. France defeats at Évora a Spanish-Portuguese army. The same year it occupies Saxe-Lauenburg.
- 1809: France annexes Lucca and Piombino and the Illyrian Provinces (including Dalmatia and Ragusa). The War of the Fifth Coalition between France and allies with Austria and the United Kingdom ends with a French victory at Wagram. At the same time a part of the Septinsular Republic is conquered by the United Kingdom.
- 1810: The Treaty of Paris ends the war between France and Sweden. France annexes that year Holland, the Rhodanic Republic, Oldenburg. It returns Pomerania to Sweden It cedes Saxe-Lauenburg to Westphalia and Brandenburg-Bayreuth to Bavaria. The United Kingdom conquers French Mauritius.
- 1811: France annexes Bremen, former Münster, Salm, Hamburg, Lübeck and Saxe-Lauenburg and other parts of North-West Germany.
- 1812: Napoléon invades Russia. France annexes Catalonia and Andorra. After initial successes, including entering Moscow, largely abandoned, France has to retreat. France is defeated at Berezina and the invasion of Russia fails. General Claude François de Malet fails to remove Napoléon from power at the end of the campaign in Russia. For the second time it occupies Swedish Pomerania
- 1813: The allied forces of Russia, Austria, Prussia, Sweden defeats at Leipzig the forces of France and allies. During this battle Saxony and Württemberg defect to the allied forces. Andorra, Bremen, Hamburg, Lübeck, and Saxe-Lauenburg are restored. Spanish rule in Catalonia and Swedish rule in Swedish Pomerania are restored. The Illyrian provinces are reconquered by Austria and Valais is returned to Switzerland.
- 1814: France is finally defeated in the War of the Sixth Coalition.
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Kingdom of France
- 1814: In the Treaty of Fontainebleau Russia, Prussia and Austria accept Napoleon's abdication as Emperor of France, and allow him to remain Emperor at Elba. Louis XVIII, brother of former king Louis XVIII, of the House of Bourbon becomes king of France. France gets a new bicameral parliament with a chamber elected on a limited suffrage and a senate consisting out of peers. France loses the annexed territories, e.g. Tuscany, Lucca and Massa and Carrara. Sweden cedes Guadeloupe to France.
- 1815: In the Final Act of the Congress of Vienna, Austria, France, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom agree on the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the re-division of Europe.
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French Empire
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Kingdom of France
- 1815: Emperor Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by the allied forces and abdicates. His defeat brings a conclusion to the Napoleonic Wars. Louis XVIII is restored as king. He is forced to grant France a new constitution.
- 1823: Louis XVIII mobilizes an army to help to help the Spanish royalists to restore king Fernando VII of Spain to the absolute power of which he had been deprived.
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Kingdom of the French
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French Republic
- 1848: Parisian crowds protest against king Louis Philippe and erect barricades. As a result of this revolution Louis Philippe abdicates. France becomes a republic. France gets a unicameral parliament elected on a universal male suffrage. Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte is elected president the same year. Mentone and Roccabruna secede from Monaco and become in 1850 a Sardinian protectorate.
- 1851: President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte dissolves the Assembly and becomes the sole ruler of the country, confirmed in a referendum.
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French Empire
- 1852: The president restores the Empire after a referendum and becomes emperor Napoleon III. The empire gets a bicameral parliament with a chamber elected on a universal male suffrage, and an appointed senate.
- 1853: France and the United Kingdom declare war with Russia over Crimea. The Ottoman Empire and Sardinia join France and the United Kingdom.
- 1855: Sevastopol is conquered by French and British forces.
- 1856: The Crimean war is lost by Russia, which is confirmed with the Treaty of Paris.
- 1859: France becomes de facto a constitutional monarchy.
- 1861: The Franco-Monegasque Treaty grants sovereignty to Monaco and annexes Menton and Roquebrune.
- 1870: France declares war, the Franco-Prussian War, on Prussia to resist the German unification. France is defeated at Sedan and emperor Napoléon III is captured by the German Army. The empire collapses.
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French Republic
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German Empire
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- 1875: France gets a bicameral parliament consisting out of a chamber and a senate elected in free multi-party elections on a universal male suffrage, a popularly elected non-executive president and a government which is responsible to the parliament.
- 1878: Sweden cedes Saint Barthélemy to France.
- 1881: The Ottoman Empire loses Tunisia to France.
- 1904: France and the United Kingdom sign the Entente cordiale to ally themselves with each other.
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- 1914: After Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, Germany attacks France, Belgium and Luxembourg and occupies parts of North and Eastern France. The United Kingdom declares war on Germany. Russia declares war on Austria-Hungary and Germany. The Ottoman Empire joins the Central Powers alliance of Austria-Hungary and Germany. Montenegro and Japan join the Allied Powers. World War I commences.
- 1915: Bulgaria joins the Central Powers. Italy joins the allied powers.
- 1916: Greece and Portugal join the allied powers.
- 1917: After the indecisive Battle of the Aisne, The mutinies in the French army commences. After the United States joined the allied powers, an American army enters the warin France.
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- 1914: Germany occupies parts of North and Eastern France.
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Republic of Alsace-Lorraine
- 1918: The legislature of Alsace-Lorraine proclaims a republic seceded from Germany. Alsace-Lorraine is governed by a provisional government.
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- 1918: Within a month Alsace-Lorraine is occupied by France and the parliament proclaims the annexation to France.
- 1919: The war between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers ends with Treaty of Versailles with Germany, the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye with German-Austria, the Treaty of Trianon with Hungary and the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine with Bulgaria. Following the defeat and the occupation of the Ottoman Empire, the Mustafa Kemal leads the Turkish War of Independence against France and others.
- 1920: France is a founding member of the League of Nations. The Treaty of Sèvres between the France, the United Kingdom and Italy and other allied powers with the Ottoman Empire ends World War I. The Ottoman Empire is partitioned and it loses huge parts of the country to its (partially new) neighbours in the Middle East. The Turkish independence war continues.
- 1922: Togoland and Kamerun are both divided in a French and a British / League of Nations mandate, since 1946 a trust territory.
- 1923: Syria, former Ottoman territory, becomes a French mandate.
- 1939: France cedes Hatay from Syria to Turkey. World War II starts with the invasion by Nazi Germany of Poland. France and the United Kingdom declare war on Nazi Germany, followed by Australia, Canada, British India, New Zealand and South Africa.
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French State
- 1940: The republic continues as the dictatorial French State, a German puppet state.
- 1942: Nazi Germany and Italy invade Vichy-France and end the semi-independence of the state. The puppet-government remains in office.
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- 1940: Nazi Germany invades and conquers Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands as well as the Northern and Western part of France. Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom. France surrenders, Alsace-Lorraine is occupied by and de facto annexed to Germany. In exile an exile-government of Free France is created.
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German Empire
- 1940: Alsace-Lorraine is occupied by and de facto annexed to Germany.
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French Republic
Austria.
- 1956: France ends it protectorate over Morocco. Tunisia becomes independent.
- 1957: Saarland becomes a constituent state of Germany. By signing the Treaty of Rome, in force in 1958, France is a founder of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community, predecessors of the European Union.[2]
- 1958: Frenchmen in Algeria start an uprising followed by a coup attempt against the government and the separatists. The rebels capture Corsica and threaten to march to Paris. After a referendum France becomes a presidential republic. The new constitution enacts with a popularly elected executive president and a government which is responsible to the bicameral parliament consisting of a directly chamber and a indirectly elected senate. Guinea becomes independent.
- 1960: The Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Dahomey, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, the Mali Federation, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo, and Upper Volta become independent.
- 1961: A coup d'état in Algiers to establish a military junta fails.
- 1962: With the Évian Accords Algeria becomes independent.
- 1968: A students' and workers' revolt leads to new parliamentary elections.
- 1975: The Comoros become independent.
- 1977: Djibouti becomes independent.
- 1979: The far left Direct Action starts its armed actions against the government.
- 1980: Vanuatu becomes independent.
- 1987: The Direct Action is defeated.
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