Early Civilization,
Revolution
The Ancient Gauls and the Modern French
prehistoric menhirs left behind by the ancient Celts who once inhabited Brittany. The menhirs, which are
numerous (more than 3,000), are located in Carnac, a coastal town in Brittany. The purpose of the Carnac stones
remains unknown. However, some historians think that the
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monuments were prehistoric calendars
used by the druids.
The Renaissance
With England no longer a threat, France prospered during the early 1500s. King Francois I was a great art lover.
He hired various great Italian Renaissance artists to come to France. Many of the artists built splendid palaces, or chateaux, particularly in the
Loire Valley region, where the king himself lived.
In the mid-1500s, conflicts occurred between the growing number of Huguenots (French Protestants) and Catholics.
This led to the Wars of Religion, a series of bloody battles fought among members of both religions.
The violence continued until 1589, when Henri of Navarre was crowned Henri IV, king of France. Henri IV ended
the Wars of Religion and stabilized the country when he signed the Edict of Nantes in 1598. This edict was a
written command that guaranteed religious freedom to all French citizens.
The earliest traces of humans to be found on the territory that became known as France date back to 90,000 BC.
However, the first records of a human civilization date back to around 25,000 BC, when a Stone Age people known
as Cro Magnons developed a sophisticated culture in this area.
Early Civilizations
The cave dwelling Cro Magnons lived in the hills of southwest France. They left beautiful paintings on the walls
of the region's caverns, which can still be seen today. The most famous of these is the Lascaux cave located in
the Dordogne region.
As centuries passed, groups of farmers and herders spread throughout the country. Between 2000 and 1500 BC,
the first Celts came from central Europe to northwest France. The Celts were known as Gauls. Their
territory (what are now France and Belgium) was also called Gaul by the Romans, who, in 58 BC, decided to
conquer the country and add it to the Roman Empire.
The Gauls
although the Romans believed they were primitive wild men, the scraggly haired Gauls were far from uncivilized.
The Gauls invented soap and wooden barrels. They made ornate jewelry out of gold and traveled in carts with
metal wheels. However, after years of conflict, the Gauls' chief, Vercingetorix, was defeated by Julius Caesar
in 52 BC.
Gaul became a province of Rome, and the Gauls became Roman citizens. Over the next few centuries, the Gauls
farmed and traded the many objects they made. They were exposed to Roman culture, learned to speak Latin, and
converted to Christianity. They traveled on Roman built roads (some of which still exist) and worked and lived
in Roman built cities such as Lutetia (Paris) and Lugdunum (Lyon). In many ancient French cities such as Arles,
Marseilles, and even Paris, the ruins of Roman buildings and monuments are still standing.
The Franks
The Roman Empire began its decline in the third century In the fifth century Germanic groups from the east began
to invade Gaul. The most powerful of these invaders were the Franks, from which the name "France" originated.
The king of the Franks, Clovis, was crowned as the first king of France in 485. He became the first king of the
Merovingian dynasty. This was France's first royal family in which power was passed from father to son. Clovis
converted to Christianity and succeeded in unifying most of Gaul. In 507, he made the tiny trading town of Paris
into the capital of France.
Over time, the Merovingian dynasty became weak. In 732, the king's chancellor, Charles Martel, was responsible
for turning back Arabic Muslims who had invaded France from Spain. In 754, Martel's son, Pepin, had himself
crowned king by the pope. This was the beginning of the Carolingian dynasty and of the idea of divine monarchy in
which the king was seen as a direct link to God.
Pepin's son, Charlemagne, expanded his control over all of Gaul and, soon after, much of Europe. In 800,
he was crowned emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire, an area that included present day France, Germany and Italy. However, when Charlemagne died,
the Holy Roman Empire and France split into tiny kingdoms ruled by local counts and dukes. By the time the
last Carolingian king died in 987, the French monarchy (based in Paris) was very weak.
Revolution
The successors of the Sun King, Louis XV and Louis XVI, had to struggle with the growing resentment of
their citizens, who demanded more rights.
As a result of war, France lost important colonies in North America and India to England. Financial problems
led the court to increase taxes. This unfair measure only deepened people's anger against the monarchy.
The resentment grew, and on July 14, 1789, hundreds of armed Parisians invaded the Bastille, a prison that
was a symbol of the French kings' unjust rule. This event marked the beginning of the French Revolution.
Throughout the countryside, peasants attacked aristocratic lords' chateaux.
In August, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was written and adopted. The document
included the famous French concepts of Liberte, Egalite, et Fraternite (Liberty Equality and Brotherhood),
which all French citizens treasure to this day. Both the revolution and the declaration served as inspirations
to many other countries and their politicians for example, to Thomas Jefferson, when he wrote the United States'
Declaration of Independence.
In 1792, Louis XVI and his extravagant wife, Marie Antoinette, were thrown into jail. For a while, France
was controlled by a mild group of revolutionaries known as the Girondists. However, there was fighting between
the Girondists and the more radical revolutionaries, the Jacobins. Eventually, the Jacobins seized control of France.
They declared the First
Republic the first of France's five democratic governments, each with its own constitution. Led by three radicals,
Robespierre, Danton, and Marat, the chaotic Reign of Terror began and was characterized by mass executions,
bloody street battles, and much fear.
In 1793, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed by guillotine, as were many others at Place
de la Revolution (today Place de la Concorde) in the center of Paris. Murders and executions continued to
claim many lives, including those of many Jacobin leaders. Finally, in 1794, even Robespierre himself was
guillotined for his bloody practices.
Extract from “Primary Source of World Cultures FRANCE”, Written by Michael A. Sommers. The Rosen Publishing Group, New York, 2005.
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