France, mediaeval and modern, a history

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GIFT OF

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FRANCE

Oxford University Press
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Toronto Melbourne Cape Town Bombay
Humphrey Milford Publisher to the University

FRANCE

MEDIAEVAL AND MODERN

BY

ARTHUR HASSALL, M.A.

STUDENT OF CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD

OXFORD

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1918

DC

PREFATORY NOTE

To Mr. H. W. C. Davis and to Mr. C. E. Freeman
I would express my sincere thanks for their kind and
searching revision of the proof-sheets of this volume. Like
all students of French History I must acknowledge a debt
to the History of France by the late Dean Kitchin
(Clarendon Press, 3 vols.) and to the History of France
by J. R. Moreton Macdonald (Methuen & Co., 3 vols.).
My acknowledgements are also due to Messrs. Bartholomew
and C. Grant Robertson for permission to make use of the
map of France 1814-1914 in their Historical Atlas of
Modern Euro-pe iy8g-igi4 (Oxford University Press).

Arthur Hassall.

956956

CONTENTS

PACK

1. ROMAN GAUL. THE MEROVINGIANS . . . . i

2. THE CAROLINGIANS 8

3. THE CAPETIANS 18

4. THE VALOIS LINE AND THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR . 47

5. THE RENAISSANCE IN FRANCE AND THE BEGINNING OF

FRANCO-GERMAN HOSTILITY 89 '

6. THE WARS OF RELIGION 113

7. THE EARLY BOURBONS AND THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 131

8. THE AGE OF LOUIS XIV 150

9. LOUIS XV AND FAILURES IN INDIA AND CANADA . 168
10 AFfER THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR 182

11. THE CRITICAL YEARS 189

12. THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 208

13. THE CONSULATE AND EMPIRE 222

14. THE SECOND RESTORATION— THE ORLEANS MONARCHY

—THE REVOLUTION OF 1848 245

15. NAPOLEON III 254

16. THE THIRD REPUBLIC 270

A. The Formation of the Constitution, 1871-8 . . . 270

B. Colonial Development — Strained Relations with Great

Britain — The Franco-Russian Alliance, 1878-1904 . 277

C. The Anglo-French Entente — War with Germany, 1904-18 289

GENEALOGICAL TABLES 294

INDEX 299

LIST OF MAPS

Empire of Charlemagne

.

facing page 10

France at the Accession

of PhiHp Augustus

PAGE 26

France by the Treaty o

; Bretigny

.. 54

France in 1429

. „ 67

France, 1610-1715 .

-

,, 130

Europe in 1810

.

,, 236

France, 1814-1871 .

.

" 244

Roman Gaul: The Merovingians, ^fSi-jy]

The history of France from the Norman Conquest to the
battle of Waterloo is to some extent the history of the
rivalry of the English and French monarchies, though from
the death of Henry II of France in 1559 to the opening of
the war of the League of Augsburg in 1689, the two countries
were for the most part at peace. From the accession of
Charles of Spain to the Imperial throne as the Emperor
Charles V to the present day — with. the exception of the
period from the opening of the Seven Years' War to the
outbreak of the Revolution — France has always regarded
the leading Power in Germany, whether Austria or, since
1866, Prussia, with suspicion if not with actual animosity.

In both cases she has had justification. The possessions of
England in France down even to the reign of the English
Queen Mary were a sufficient cause for exasperation, and
after 1688 the colonial rivalry of the two Powers rendered
hostilities frequent. Then shortly after the accession of the
Emperor Charles V projects arose for the partition of France
between him and Henry VIII, while during the Religious
Wars in France the continued hostility of the Habsburg line
in Spain, followed by the attempt of the Emperor in the
Thirty Years' War to subject Europe to his sway, necessarily
called forth the fiercest opposition in France. Till 1756 the
two countries were frequently at war, and after the outbreak
of hostilities in 1792 the French Government endeavoured to
crush Austria — a policy pursued by Napoleon with consider-
able success.

1832.8 T, *

2 Roman Gaul : The Merovingians, 481-757

From 1815 to 1914 peace between France and Austria was
only once broken, but after 1866, when Prussia became the
leading German Power, the old antagonism between France
and Germany burst out with greater violence than ever.
In this hostility to Germany France is fully justified.

The battle of Bou vines on July 27, 1214, was one of the
most decisive battles fought in Europe in the Middle Ages.
The battles of Ivry, of Valmy, and of Verdun have each had
a determining influence in the history of France. The battle
of Bouvines, however, has a special interest of its own, for it
was due to that victory of Philip Augustus that the kingdom
of France was firmly established, that ' the consolidation of
her long-divided provinces under an absolutist monarchy '
was secured, and that the seal was set upon the predominance
of the House of Capet. This victory was won over German
princes co-operating with rebellious French vassals.

In the history of France six of her monarchs stand out
prominently : Philip Augustus, Philip IV, Louis XI,
Henry IV, Louis XIV, and Napoleon. Other kings such as
St. Louis, and ministers such as Suger, Sully, Richelieu,
Mazarin, Choiseul, Vergennes, Carnot, Talleyrand, Thiers,
Delcasse, and Clemenceau, are also to be numbered among
those who at critical epochs in the history of France per-
formed .services for their country which have been fully
recognized. But the six kings mentioned above are those who
placed France in the forefront of the Powers of Europe.

During the centuries preceding the famous battle of
Bouvines the formation of the kingdom of France had been
checked by the inability of any one king after Charles the
Great to establish his authority over the whole country, by
the growth of feudalism in the ninth and subsequent cen-
turies, and in the twelfth century by the accident of a large

Roman Gaul : The Merovingians, 481-757 3

portion of the land having come by inheritance or marriage
into the hands of Henry II of England. Thus the firm estab-
lishment of a strong national monarchy over the greater part
of the country which we know as France was a lengthy process.

That country was conquered between 121 and 51 B.C. by
the Romans, who described it as Gallia (Gaul). The
inhabitants were mainly Celts, though in the south-west
of the country were Iberians, whose descendants are known
as Basques, while in MassUia (Marseilles) were Greeks
whose influence was supreme from Nice to Montpellier
and far up the Rhone. At the time of the final conquest
of Gaul by Julius Caesar (58-51 b.c.) the Germans, a
fighting race from beyond the Rhine, were threatening to
establish themselves in Gaul. The campaigns of Julius
Caesar, however, destroyed their hopes and forced them back
over the Rhine. The fall of Alesia and the Capture of
its defender Vercingetorix in 52 B.C. practically marked the
close of Gaulish resistance, while in 49 b.c. Massilia suffered
for its adherence to Pompey,its land being annexed to Gallia
Narbonensis.

On the death of Julius Caesar (44 b.c.) the work of
organizing Gaul was taken up by his successor, the Emperor
Augustus. By his military and civil work Augustus not only
brought about the Romanization but also the complete
reorganization of Gaul. Gallia Narbonensis (south of the
Cevennes), Aquitania, Lugudunensis, and Belgica were the
four provinces into which Gaul was divided, and were ruled
by Roman governors.

Till about a.d. 250 Gaul enjoyed a period of peace, which
was followed by a longer one of war and confusion. For,
from the year 250, invasions of Gaul by German tribes began,
while at the same time independent emperors were set up by

b 2

4 Roman Gaul : The Merovingians, 481-757

the Roman armies on the Rhine. The Emperor Diocletian
(284-305) did something to check the barbarian invasions of
Gaul, and till the end of the fourth century the country-
remained Roman, enjoying no little prosperity.

The fifth century not only witnessed the fall of the Roman
Empire in the West but also the settlement in Gaul of various
German races such as the Visigoths, whose dominion about
the year 500 extended from the Loire to Gibraltar, and from
the Maritime Alps to the Bay of Biscay ; the Burgundians,
who settled in south-eastern Gaul in the valleys of the Rhone
and the Saone ; and the Franks, already settlers in and soldiers
of the Roman Empire, whose principalities centred round the
present towns of Cambrai and Tournai.

The Merovingians, 481-751

In 481 Clovis became King of the Franks, and a new epoch
in the history of Gaul was opened. That remarkable man
having overthrown, in 496, the Ripuarian Franks at Tolbiac
near Strassburg, and having thus obtained supremacy over
Germany as far as the Elbe, embraced Catholicism, his con-
version being in no small measure due to the influence of
his wife Clotilde and to Remigius, Bishop of Rheims. Hence-
forward he was the avowed champion of Christianity against
the Visigoths and Burgundians, who had incurred the hostility
of the Church by adopting Ariani*sm. Though failing to
expel the Burgundians from the Rhone valley, Clovis in 507,
in defiance of Theodoric, the King of the Ostrogoths,
defeated the Visigoths under Alaric II at Vouille near
Poitiers, and thus secured the subjection of Auvergne,
Toulouse, and Bordeaux — in a word, extended the Frankish
power from the Loire to the Pyrenees. He failed, however,
to drive Theodoric from Provence and Septimania,a district

Roman Gaul : The Merovingians, 481-757 5

on the coast between the Rhone and the Pyrenees. His
victory at Vouille had brought him great fame, ;ind
the Emperor Anastasius bestowed on him at Tours the
rank of Roman Consul, thus legalizing his conquests and
enabling him to pose as the representative of the Empire.
The success of Clovis was to a great extent due to his con-
version to orthodoxy and to his attacks upon all heretics. He
endowed monasteries, built churches, and advanced Chris-
tianity. In 511, the year of his death, he had summoned a
council and died a professing Christian. But his Christianity
was adopted for political ends, and his cruelties, so frequent
in his later years, were, it is said, ' a fit prelude to the period '
in which * barbarism was let loose '.

From the death of Clovis in 511 to the death, in 737, of
Theodoric IV is a period partly of disunion, partly of transi-
tion. Internal dissensions with occasional outbreaks of civil
war mark the intervening years. The increasing weakness
of successive Merovingian rulers grew more and more appa-
rent, and gradually the Mayors of the Palace became all-
powerful. At the time of the death of Clovis Christianity had
triumphed in Gaul, and the Church was independent of the
Empire. According to custom the kingdom was divided
among the four sons of Clovis, with four capitals, Paris,
Rheims, Orleans, and Soissons. After they had conquered
the Burgundians and Provence, fratricidal wars broke out,
with the result that from 558 to 561 Clotaire, the surviving
son of Clovis, ruled over a united kingdom. On his death the
kingdom was again divided among his four sons, and till 613
the country was the scene of interminable wars. One of the
sons, Sigebert, married a remarkable woman, Brunhilda, who,
while continuing friendly relations vvdth the Church, showed
statesmanlike qualities in that she aimed at abolishing * the

6 Roman Gaul : The Merovingians, 481-757

fatal tradition of dividing up the kingdom '. After forty
years' rule she was cruelly murdered. Her death implied a
victory of the aristocracy ; and during the next century and
a quarter, in spite of the efforts of Clotaire II and
Dagobert, who reigned from 629 to 639, the Mayors of
the Palace in Austrasia (the eastern part of the Prankish
dominions), Neustria (the western) , and Burgundy steadily
increased their influence. After Dagobert's death the
Merovingian monarchy steadily weakened, and during the
ensuing forty-eight years Neustria and Austrasia tended to
become distinct states. In spite of the efforts of Ebroin, the
Neustrian Mayor, who for a time raised Neustria to a para-
mount position in the Prankish dominions, the tendency
of Austrasia and Burgundy towards independence was too
strong to be resisted.

In 681 Ebroin was assassinated ; and, after vain attempts on
the part of Neustria to maintain its position, Pepin II of
Herestal, whose father Pepin I had possessed vast territories,
established his authority and that of Austrasia at the battle of
Testry in 686. Till 752, when the Merovingian dynasty be-
came extinct, the kings offered no resistance to the powerful
mayors. On Pepin's death in 714 his illegitimate son,
Charles Martel, a brilliant soldier, seized the supreme power
and Austrasia finally triumphed over Neustria. His victories
at Vincy near Cambrai (717) and at Soissons (718) over a
mixed Neustrian and Aquitanian force under Chilperic II
established on a stable basis the unity of Gaul and his own
position as Mayor of the Palace. In 732 by his crushing
defeat of the Arabs at Poitiers he saved Catholic Christianity,
established the military supremacy of the Pranks, and made
himself supreme over the greater part of modern France.
He was largely instrumental in introducing Christianity into

Roman Gaul : The Merovingians, 481-757 7

Germany by his successful expeditions into that country,
which were followed by missionary efforts headed by the
English Boniface. In conjunction with the Lombards, who
had settled in Italy with Pavia as their capital, he drove the
Saracens out of Septimania and Provence, with the exception
of Narbonne. Unlike his successor he refused to support
Pope Gregory III against the Lombards; in other words, to
undertake responsibilities which belonged to the Emperor at
Constantinople.

In explanation of the drastic policy which Charles was pur-
suing in Gaul towards the Church it should be stated that,
as was the case in England in the opening years of the six-
teenth century, a large amount of land had fallen into the
hands of religious houses or of bishops. As in the reign of
Henry II of England these ecclesiastical landowner* en-
deavoured, usually with success, to claim exemption from the
jurisdiction of the ordinary law-courts. Charles, however,
had no hesitation in occupying the lands of abbeys and in
treating bishoprics as ordinary Crown benefices. The clergy
appealed to the Pope ; but with the Lombards at its gates the
Papacy had only the Franks to look to for aid, and so the
complaints of the Prankish episcopate were ignored, and the
Papal policy justified itself in the reigns of the successors of
Charles Martel. Charles died in 741, and his twenty-two
years of rule as Mayor of Neustria and Austrasia have been
well described as the turning-point in the history of Western
and Central Europe.

On his death his sons, Pepin III (the Short) and Carloman,
succeeded to his position. But Carloman became a monk
six years later, and in 751 Pepin, with the full approval of
Pope Zacharias, deposed Childeric, the last Merovingian
King, and took the royal title.

The CaroUngians, jji-pSj

Pepin's position was, however, by no means secure, and he
was glad of the support of the Papacy. The Pope, Stephen II,
was equally anxious to secure Pepin's aid against the Lom-
bards, and so on July 28, 754, he anointed Pepin at Saint-
Denis and thus strengthened his own position and that of the
Carolingian dynasty. The same year Pepin made an expedi-
tion to Italy, compelling Aistwulf, the Lombard King, to
submit. But in 756 Aistwulf besieged Rome, and Pepin
again forced the Lombard to yield to him and to surrender
to the Papacy the exarchate, Ravenna, and other towns —
' the Donation of Pepin '. Both Pepin and the Pope had
good reason to be satisfied. The former had formally
established his dynasty and secured the support of the
Papacy against any attempt to overthrow the Carolingian
line, while his ' Donation ' had paved the way for the
establishment of the Holy Roman Empire in the reign of
his successor. The remainder of Pepin's life was marked by
successful wars in Germany (against the Saxons), and also in
Aquitaine, which he brought into his kingdom. He died in
768, leaving the Carolingian monarchy firmly established.

In September 768 Charles and his brother Carloman
divided Pepin's kingdom, Charles taking Austrasia, the lands
between the Loire and the Garonne, and the greater part of
Neustria, while Carloman ruled over Alemannia (Suabia),
Alsace, Burgundy, Provence, and part of Aquitaine. In 769
Charles suppressed a revolt in Aquitaine, and strengthened

The Carolingians, 751-987 9

his position by alliances with the rulers of Bavaria and the
Lombards. A confused period ensues. In December 771
Carloman died, and early the following year, on his brother's
death, the reign of Charles the Great definitely began. In
his reign the Carolingian became the most powerful monarch
of the age. He lost no time in following his father's example
and in identifying himself with Catholicism ; and in 772, the
year after Carloman's death, he carried out a successful mili-
tary and religious campaign against the Saxons.

But affairs in Italy now demanded his attention. Hadrian
had succeeded to the Papacy in January 772, and was at once
attacked by Didier, the Lombard King. Though the Pope
defended himself and Rome against a Lombard attack, his
position was so critical that he sent an envoy to Charles
begging for help. Anticipating the invasion of Italy in 1494
by Charles VIII, which also marked an epoch in the history
of Europe, Charles at the head of a powerful Prankish army
crossed the Alps and obtained the surrender of Pavia, the
Lombard capital, in June 774, after a siege of nine months.
The previous Easter Charles had visited Rome and had
confirmed (with additions) the ' Donation ' of Pepin to the
Papacy ; and, after the manner of Napoleon, he assumed the
title of King of the Lombards.

In 778 he conquered Spain as far as the Ebro, though on
his retirement his rearguard was destroyed by the Basques
at Roncevaux, an event which was commemorated in the
* Chanson de Roland '. His ensuing campaigns against the
Saxons, the Bavarians, and the Avars, lasted many years.
From 795, the date of the conquest of the land between the
Danube and the Theiss, the Prankish dominion extended far
into the plain of the Danube, and with it Christianity spread,
in great measure through the efforts of Bishop Aino of

10 The Carolingians, 751-987

Salzburg, which now became the metropolitan See of
Bavaria.

Charles the Great had thus doubled the kingdom to which
he had succeeded, and had given it a unity, both political and
ecclesiastical, which it had not known since the days of the
Roman Empire. The chief parts of the Western Empire
were his, and all the German tribes had been brought into
the power of a single ruler. His Empire extended from the
Ebro to the Drave, and from the English Channel almost to
the Straits of Messina. Thus the Prankish Empire had deve-
loped into a truly Imperial power in the West, and that at
a moment when the Eastern Empire, after the deposition of
the Emperor Constantine in 797, was in a sorry plight. An
opportunity was thus given for the Bishop of Rome to sever
the bond between him and his nominal lord and to recognize
his real master — the Prankish King — as Emperor. Not grati-
tude but the presence of necessity drove the Papacy at last to
recognize Charles as its lord. Without the protection of his
Prankish lieutenant the position of the Pope, Leo III, in
Rome itself would become untenable. The crisis arrived
when Leo III fled to the camp of Charles at Paderborn.

On December 25, 800, at St. Peter's, the Pope, having
crowned Charles as Emperor, threw himself at his feet and did
him homage as his predecessors in the Chair of St. Peter had
hitherto done to the Emperor at Constantinople. Charles
the Great had now secured the victory of Konigsherrschaft
over Folksherrschaft, and had united all the German peoples
to one another and to the already Romanized Germans. The
HolyRoman Empire, which existed till 1806 with th.^ Emperor
as the sun and the Pope as the moon, and the various rulers
in Europe as the stars, was now established. In this mediaeval
Empire political and spiritual elements were intermingled, for

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The Carolingians, 751-9^7 1 1

to the old belief of the Romans in the eternal duration of the
Empire whose mission was to bring all nations into subjection
to one law, was now added the Christian ideal of one universal
fold under one ruler, that is the Catholic Church.

On his return from Rome Charles began his rule as Emperor
of the West, expunging from his laws all that seemed opposed
to the Divine ordinances, and sending out commissioners to
impose a fresh oath of allegiance upon all. Ecclesiastical
synods met only by his consent ; he reformed the clergy,
issued laws side by side with Papal rescripts, and took the
position of chief councillor of the Pope. He thus became
the instrument of the growing power of the Church, spiritual
and temporal. In January 812 at Aachen envoys from the
Byzantine Court formally recognized Charles as Roman
Emperor, and henceforth it was universally recognized that
there was an Emperor on the Rhine as well as on the Bos-
phorus.

The Emperor Charles the Great can thus be described as
a Teutonic head who blended the German and Roman ele-
ments in his Prankish Empire. Napoleon, whose idea of
forming a great Empire was in some ways similar to that of
Charles, intended that Paris should be its capital. Charles,
on the other hand, spent the last seventeen years of his life
mainly at Aachen, died there on January 28, 814, in his
72nd year, having ruled for 46 years, and was buried in his
own Church of St. Mary. France was profoundly influenced
by his reign. He laid the foundations of her feudal system,
and his provincial Governors in France were the ancestors
of the great feudal families in Aquitaine, Brittany, Anjou,
and in the other portions of the land which later became
provinces in the French Kingdom.

The reign of Charles the Great, moreover, saw the begin-

12 The Carolingians, 751-987

ning of that educational work which continued through the
ninth century, an age remarkable for learning and also for
theological controversy. Alcuin,Einhard,andPaultheDeacon
are three names which represent the learning and literature of
this premature Renaissance. Alcuin's poems, his letters, and
his professional writings are all full of interest. Einhard's life
of the Emperor Charles gives a careful and historical account
of the times in which the author lived, and his book is accurate
and well arranged. Paul the Deacon, who came from Italy to
the Prankish Court, returned after some years to the monastery
of Cassino, where he wrote his History of the Lombards.
Many other writers illustrate the learning of the Carolingian
Age. Theodulfus, Bishop of Orleans, was the chief poet at
the Court, and in one poem describes his experiences as
Missus Dominicus in 798. We read also of two Italian musicians
who were called by Charles the Great to his Court in order to
improve the psalmody of the Prankish Church. In an age
of constant warfare these evidences of the interest taken in
learning are not a little remarkable, and give a pleasing pic-
ture of the spirit of the Dark Ages in Charles's lifetime.

PorPrance one point of interest in the career of Charles the
Great is that both the Emperor Charles V and Napoleon
endeavoured to carry out a similar object. The ideal of all
three monarchs was the establishment of a great European
Empire which should take no account of nationalities. It
must, however, be remembered that Charles the Great's
Empire * was laid on the rock of the Church ', and Charles V
would have similarly insisted on the obedience of all his sub-
jects to the Pope. Napoleon, on the other hand, paid little
regard to religion except for political purposes, and one
cause of the Peninsular War was the dread of the influence
of the atheistic Jacobins in Spain.

The Carolingians, 751-9^7 ^3

The period from the death of Charles the Great in 814 to
the accession of Hugh Capet is marked by the rapid dissolution
of the Frank Empire. The period is, however, important, as it
witnessed not only the gradual growth of France as a separate
kingdom with Paris' as its capital but also the development
in France of the feudal system. Nevertheless, to the peoples
of Western Europe the promise of spring had been succeeded
by the night frost. The difficulties of the monarchs who
ruled during this period were caused partly by the attempts
of the greater feudatories, such as the Duke of Brittany (who
gained his object by the Treaty of Angers in 851), to maintain
their independence of the royal power, and partly by the in-
vasions of the Northmen, who already in 810 had suffered
their first defeat at the hands of Charles the Great. That
Emperor had been succeeded by his son Louis the Debonaire,
whose reign was chiefly occupied in attempts to satisfy the
demands of his three sons for portions of his Empire. On
his death in 840 in the throes of a civil war his eldest son
Lothaire became Emperor and, being anxious to preserve
unity, claimed the whole Empire. His two brothers Charles
and Louis (who advocated a division of the Empire) therefore
attacked him, and inflicted on him a decisive defeat at
Fontanet-en-Puisaye in June 841 ; and in the following year,
at Strassburg, they swore to continue in their opposition to the
Emperor. Lothaire was forced to yield, and in 843 agreed to
the final partition of the Empire, which was arranged by the
Treaty of Verdun — in the terms of which, it is said, is to be
found ' the germ of France and that of Germany, as well as
the germ of the long disputed barrier State between the two'.-^
For Charles, the third son of Louis the Debonaire, received

1 J. R. Moreton Macdonald, A History of France, vol. i,p. 32 (London :
Methuen).

14 The Carolingians, 75^-9^7

the West Prankish and purely Romance lands, Neustria,
Aquitaine, Flanders, Brittany, North- West Burgundy, Septi-
mania, and the Spanish March. His brother Louis was
restored to his East Prankish dominions, i. e. all the Teutonic
lands east of the Rhine, which included the wine districts
round Mainz, Worms, and Speier, while the Emperor
Lothaire kept the old kingdom of Italy, and also ruled over
the middle kingdom sometimes called Lotharingia, which
extended from Prisia to Lombardy and included the greater
part of Burgundy province and the cities of Rome, Pavia,
Aries, and Aachen. Though this middle kingdom was
destined to disappear, an attempt was made to revive it in
the reign of Louis XI by Charles the Bold, the ambitious
Duke of Burgundy.

Thus the idea of the Imperial theocracy had perished and
the traditional mode of succession — the division of the patri-
mony among the sons — in the Prankish monarchy had pre-
vailed. In the history of the development of the Prench and
German nationalities the Treaty of Verdun is of immense
importance ; for Neustria and Austrasia were never again
united save for a short period under the ephemeral Empire
of Charles the Pat. The ensuing forty years afford, it has
been said, ' but a history of unions and partitions '.

Charles the Bald lived till 877, surviving his two brothers
and several of their successors. His reign includes the most
confused period in Prench history, and consequently is a
difficult one to describe. In itself the growth of feudalism,
or in other words the existence of a number of quasi-inde-
pendent barons, some of whom enjoyed the title of king,
demanded his full attention. Till his death Charles was in
constant difficulties. The rulers of Brittany, Aquitaine, and
Septimania aimed at securing complete independence of the

The Carolingians, 75^-9^7 i5

French King. On his attempting to secure possession of
Aquitaine in 844 Charles encountered at Toulouse a fierce
resistance from his nephew Pepin, whose father, Pepin, King
of Aquitaine, had died in 838.

Forced to raise the siege he came to terms with Pepin in
June 845, and by the Treaty of Fleury-sur-Loire divided
Aquitaine with him. In 848 Charles seized Toulouse, and
from 850 to 852 war raged, and only ended when Charles
captured Pepin and placed him in a monastery.

Aquitaine, however, continued contumacious, and a number
of the inhabitants refused to recognize the son of Charles as
king. In 85 1 Charles was compelled to recognize the indepen-
dence of Brittany, but no sooner had heendedhis unsuccessful
struggle than he had to face the invasion of his southern
dominions by the son of his step -brother, Louis the German,
in 854, who had sent an army to aid the Aquitanians in
their resistance to Charles. Peace was arranged between them
in 860 at Coblentz,and Charles was able to take measures to
resist the Northmen who since 841 had constantly invaded
France. In 841 they had pillaged and burnt Rouen, and in
845 and 857 Paris had fallen into their hands. From 862 to
867, when the invasions ceased for a while, Robert the Strong,
Count of Anjou and governor of the country between the
Seine and the Loire, successfully resisted the onslaughts of
the Northmen. Charles had withdrawn to Laon, leaving
Robert, the great-grandfather of Hugh Capet, to defend
Paris.

In 866 Robert was killed in battle, and was succeeded by
his son Odo, Count of Paris. Meanwhile the two younger
sons of Lothaire, the brother of Charles the Bald, had died
(Charles in 863, Lothaire II in 869), and the eldest one, the
Emperor Louis II, the ruler of Italy, was involved in a war

i6 The Carolingians, 751-987

with the Saracens. Charles the Bald and Louis the German
thereupon, by the Treaty of Mersen in 870, divided Lotha-
ringia, the former obtaining parts of modern Holland,
Belgium, Lorraine, and Burgundy. France thus obtained
the Romance portions of Charles the Great's Empire. In
August 875 the Emperor Louis died, and Charles hurried to
Rome and received the Imperial crown at the hands of the
Pope, John VIII, being crowned at St. Peter's on Christmas
Day. The new Emperor soon found himself at war with
Louis the German, who was infuriated at the success of
Charles in obtaining the Imperial crown. Louis, however,
died at Frankfort on August 28, 876, but his son Louis
defeated Charles at Andernach on October 8 of the same
year. A year later (October 6, 877) Charles died on Mount
Cenis, having reigned as king thirty-seven years.

By granting to Robert the Strong the borderland
threatened by the Northmen, and by retiring to Laon, he had
unvnttingly performed a signal service to Europe, for in saving

\/ Paris, in 885-6, Odo the Count of Paris had created France.
., In 887 Charles the Fat, who inherited Neustria in 884 on the

-^ •' death of Carloman, abdicated and Odo was crowned King of
the West Franks. His reign was marked by wars with the
Danes, with the powerful nobles, and with Charles the Simple,
son of Lewis the Stammerer, who had ruled Neustria and
Aquitaine from 877 to 879 (being succeeded by Louis III
and Carloman). Odo died in 898 and Charles the Simple
became King of the West Franks, ruling tiU 929. His reign
was in many ways of great importance. In 912 he joined
Lotharingia to France, and in 911, by the Treaty of Clair-
sur-Epte, he handed over to Hrolf the Viking the land which
was soon known as the Duchy of Normandy.

In the year 920 Robert, Duke of France, the younger son

The Carolingians, 751-987 17

of Robert the Strong, with other barons, rebelled, and
though Robert died in 923, the great vassals soon after-
wards renewed their rebellion and proclaimed Rudolf Duke
of Burgundy king, seizing Charles and throwing him into
prison. Though Charles was four years later released, it
was only to be again captured by Rudolf and starved to
death at Peronne. Rudolf himself died in 936 and was
succeeded by Louis d'Outremer, son of Charles the Simple
and Eadgifu, daughter of Edward the Elder. On his acces-
sion he was living in England at the Court of Athelstan.
He showed vigour as a king, though he was not strong
enough to hold his own against Hugh the Great, son of
Robert, Duke of France, and father of Hugh Capet. He
died in 954 and Hugh in 956. The two last Carolings,
Lothaire and Louis V, showed no capacity — they both
quarrelled with the Church, while Lothaire also alienated
the Emperor. On the death of Louis V in 987, without
any sons, Hugh Capet was elected King of the French.

1&J2.8

The Capetians, g8j-i^28

The revolution of 987 was effected to the satisfaction of
the Church, and henceforward the House of Capet at crises
in its history was to find the Church a most invaluable ally.
For, during the reigns of the early Capets, feudalism was
rampant, and the royal power could only secure its objects
by diplomacy. Hugh Capet's reign proved a fresh starting-
point in the history of the land which developed under Philip
Augustus into the powerful kingdom of France. France had
become divided among a number of strong fiefs, and of
these Hugh Capet held one of the most important, so that

* the new dynasty saved the monarchy by strengthening it
,with a great fief '.^ An additional source of strength was

the alliance with the Church, which regarded Hugh's acces-
sion as a triumph for herself.

* The history of the first four Capets is of little interest.
Robert the Pious did indeed augment the royal demesne by
adding lands on the south-east and north-west, and Henry I,
by procuring the coronation of his son at Rheims, confirmed
the hereditary right of the Capets to the French throne.
Henry was a brave and active man, and endeavoured —
though without success — to defeat WOliam of Normandy.
The reign of his son Philip I, who succeeded him in 1060, is
chiefly notable for the conquest of England by the Normans
in 1066 and for the commencement of the struggles between
England and France, which, with certain respites, continued
for many years, and became a dominant feature in French

^ Tout, The Empire and the Papacy, p. 73.

The Capetians, 987-1328 19

foreign policy. He did, indeed, by the purchase of Bourges,
establish the royal power south of the Loire. Though pos-
sessed of much shrewdness, he quarrelled with the Church,
which was then governed by the masterful and statesmanlike
Gregory VII and reinvigorated by the Cluniac reforms.
Philip I, it is said, was the last of the early Capetians who
reigned without governing. Still, before his death he had
come to terms with the Papacy on the Investiture question,
and the ' Chanson de Roland ' had indicated the future of
France.

Thus Philip's reign contained many points of interest.
It was moreover remarkable for the conspicuous part that
Frenchmen played in the First Crusade, which was de-
creed at the Council of Clermont-Ferrand in Novem-
ber 1095. A crusade had been urged upon Europe by
Gregory VII. It was left to Urban II to revive Gregory's
project in a more popular form. Philip's brother, Hugh of
Vermandois, aided by Robert of Flanders and Stephen of
Blois, commanded the royal vassals ; Godfrey of Bouillon,
Duke of Lower Lorraine, the men from northern France ;
Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, those from the south ;
the Italian contingent was led by Tancred and his uncle,
Bohemond of Tarentum, who were partly Norman by birth.
In July 1099, after many adventures, Jerusalem was in their
hands, and a close commercial connexion was established
between the East and Western Europe. It is difficult to
over-estimate the importance in the history of France of
this and the succeeding crusades. Henceforth ' France
stands out as a real nation endowed with glorious and peculiar
national qualities '.

1 Moreton Macdonald, A History of France, vol. i, p. io6 (London :
Methuen).

C 2

20 The Capetians, 987-1328

National feeling had thus asserted itself, and France was
now on the way to become a great consolidated State. The
feudal system was sensibly weakened, for the energies of the
great barons were now diverted from domestic ambitions and
directed towards the East. Would the House of Capet
continue the policy of Hugh and Robert, the iirst kings of
their line, and preserve a close alliance with the Papacy, which
under Gregory VH and his successors had asserted its spiritual
independence ? Like Henry I of England, the Capetians
made a compromise over the question of investiture, and thus
obtained the support of the Church in their struggle with the
feudal forces.

Louis VI came to the throne in 1108, and his reign is a
notable one in the early history of France. Already for
some years he had enjoyed the supreme power owing to
the feebleness of his father, and had held his own fairly
well against the atta\:ks of William Rufus. On his accession
' the downward progress of the French monarchy came
to an end ', and at the close of his reign the prospects
of the Capetian House were much improved. The policy
which he steadily pursued during his reign was not an ambi-
tious one. To recover the demesnes which his predecessors
had lost, and to bring into close relation with the Crown the
vassals and towns in the Isle of France — these were the objects
at which he aimed and which by the time of his death he had
carried out. The elevation of the monarchy at the expense
of feudalism, the suppression of many of the lesser feudatories,
the foundation of new towns, the emancipation — whenever
possible — of the industrial and agricultural classes, were all
achieved during Louis' reign.

Early in his reign Louis VI showed a sound political instinct
in closely allying himself with the Church. His aim was to

The Capetians, 987-1328 21

lessen the power of the feudatories, especially the lesser ones
' who were the real scourges of the country ', and to consoli-
date the royal domains. As far as possible he maintained
peace at home ; for it was necessary to watch carefully the
Anglo-Norman King Henry I, who had conquered Normandy
in the battle of Tinchebrai in 1 106 and with whom he was at
times compelled to enter into hostilities. The first of his
wars against Henry was closed to his disadvantage by the
Treaty of Gisors (1112) ; the second, which was even more
unsuccessful, ended in 1120 after his defeat at Bremule.
In this year, however, Henry lost his only son, William, in
the wreck of the White Ship, a disaster of more than
domestic importance, as it raised a difficult question about
the succession to the throne.

Not long afterwards a rebellion against the English King
burst out in Normandy. It was supported by Fulk of
Anjou, whose second daughter married WiUiam Clito, son of
Henry's brother Robert — a marriage which was declared by
the Pope null and void. As the Emperor Henry V, in alliance
with the English King, moved troops to the Rhine, thus pre-
venting Louis from aiding the Norman rebels, Henry of Eng-
land was able in 11 25 to crush the revolt. In 11 26 Henry's
daughter Matilda, the widow of the Emperor Henry V, was
declared the future Queen of England, and shortly afterwards,
in January 11 27, William Clito married the French Queen's
sister and renewed his claim on Normandy. But in August
1 128 Clito was killed, and the following year Matilda married
Geoffrey, son of Fulk of Anjou. Thus the continental
position of the Norman kings was greatly strengthened.

When Louis died in 1137 he had earned a well-merited
renown as the opponent of feudalism, the protector of the
peasants, and of the growing communes in the towns.

22 The Capetians, 987-1328

Above all he had shown himself the supporter and protector
of the Church, which was now taking part in the famous
twelfth-century Renaissance. That Renaissance had many
sides. In France its chief centres were Laon, Paris, and
Chartres. The Paris schools, which were rendered famous
by their connexion with Abelard in the first half of the
twelfth century, eventually developed into the University
of Paris. This philosophic awakening was accompanied by
the appearance of many popular heresies ; the most cele-
brated of these was embraced by the Albigenses, among
whom flourished the Troubadours. Abelard himself was
silenced about 1140 by the Councils of the Church, which
was deeply alarmed at the growth of a spirit of scepticism ;
and scholasticism triumphed till it was itself treated with
contempt by Louis XI. But scholasticism could not check
the marvellous development in architecture which marks the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and of which such buildings
as the Sainte Chapelle and Rheims Cathedral are examples.
The reign of Louis VII, who succeeded his father in 1137,
saw a serious set-back in the steady progress of the Capetian
monarchy. At first, indeed, the prospect was encouraging.
Louis had married Eleanor of Aquitaine, who owned vast
possessions in the west and south-west of France. A quarrel
with the Papacy was healed by the efforts of St. Bernard, and
in 1 144 he secured Gisors, the important fortress on the
borders of Normandy which William II had captured in
1079. But, unlike his predecessors, he most unfortunately
decided to organize a crusade, the idea of which appealed to
his adventurous and restless nature. If the work of the early
crusaders was not to be entirely sacrificed it was certainly
necessary for assistance to be sent to Jerusalem. But it would
have been better for France if Louis had left the leadership

The Capetians, 987-1328 23

of the crusade to others. As it was, St. Bernard supported
the movement with his matchless eloquence, and in the
summer of 1147 a combined Franco-German army started
for Palestine. The expedition was a failure, though Louis
himself, with his wife Eleanor, reached Jerusalem. He re-
turned in 1 149 estranged from his wife, whom he divorced
three years later. During his absence the Abbot Suger
had administered France with great skill. He had kept
the peace, he had encouraged the various industries of
the kingdom, the relations of Church and State were on a
satisfactory footing, he had saved money. Under him ' the
kingdom enjoyed continuous prosperity, and reached a high
pitch of splendour '. On the King's return Suger retired and
died at St. Denis in 1151. The remainder of the reign pre-
sented a striking contrast to the period of Suger's administra-
tion, and at one time it seemed as if France would suffer a
permanent set-back in her steady progress. For in 1152
Eleanor of Aquitaine, shortly after her divorce from Louis,
married Henry Plantagenet, who, in 1154, ascended the
English throne.

The English King was now supreme in Normandy, Maine,
Touraine, Aquitaine, and, soon after his accession, in
Brittany and Anjou. Louis had moreover been com-
pelled to agree to the marriage of his daughter Margaret
to Henry's eldest son, and to cede the Norman Vexin
and the important frontier fortress of Gisors, which he
had recovered in 1144. Danger also threatened him from
the eastern frontier, as the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa
might at any time form a coalition with Henry H and seize
the old kingdom of Lotharingia. The position of Louis was
indeed serious, for Henry H aimed at founding a great conti-
nental Empire with himself as King of France, but there

24 The Capetians, 987-1328

were some relieving features. On the death of his second
wife Louis married Constance of Castile, who bore him a
daughter and died in 1 1 34 ; shortly afterwards he married
Adela of Champagne, and she bore him, in August 1 1 65 , a son ,
the famous Philip Augustus. Moreover, he formed a close
alliance with the Pope Alexander III and throughout his
reign had the invaluable support of the Church — a support
the importance of which it is impossible to overrate, especially
as the murder of Becket in 11 70 destroyed the friendly
relations of Henry II with the Pope.

From that time Louis' fortunes steadily improved.
Though his position had seemed at one time most serious,
the successful defence of Toulouse in 1159 had shown that
he could, even then, hold his own against Henry. More-
over, the birth of an heir to the French Crown in 1165 was
a blow to the aspirations of the English King. And what in
reality rendered Henry's ambitions unobtainable was the
unanswerable fact that ' the whole claim of the English kings
to rule in France was an anachronism, an attempt ... to
ignore the ever-growing forces of nationaUty \^ Difficulties
indeed Louis had to meet after 1170, both with the Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa and with Henry II. But in 1173 the
English King was faced with a rising of his barons in France
and England which had the support of the Kings of Scotland
and France. Louis had taken a leading part in the coalition
against Henry in France, but failed to capture Rouen. Had it
not been for the intervention of the Pope he would have been
unable to come to terms with Henry in 1177 by the Treaty
of Ivry. In 1179 ^^ visited the tomb of Thomas a Becket at
Canterbury in order to pray for the recovery of his son Philip,
who was seriously ill. This journey was one of Louis' last acts
1 Moreton Macdonald, A History of France, vol. i, p. 125.

The Capetians, 987-1328 25

as king, for at that time he was suffering from the effects of
a paralytic attack. On his recovery Philip was crowned on
All Saints' Day 1179, and in 1180 Louis himself died.

Philip's marriage took place a few months before his acces-
sion on April 28, 11 80, to Isabel, daughter of the Count of
Hainault, and niece of the powerful Count of Flanders. In
June 1 1 80 he made a treaty with Henry II ; and in 11 8 5,
after a short quarrel, he obtained a great accession of territory
from Philip of Flanders, namely Vermandois, with the dis-
trict of Amiens. After some years, marked by uneasy diplo-
macy, PhiHp found himself in 1189 at war with Henry II,
whom he defeated, capturing Le Mans and Tours. He and
Henry II then met, and two days afterwards the latter, the
greatest of the Angevins, died at Chinon. Philip's position
was now assured. Before, however, he could resume his work
the news of Saladin's victories in the Holy Land checked the
national movement in France. A crusade was at once
preached, and having made a treaty of peace with Richard I,
Philip set sail from Messina on March 19, 1191. The crusa-
ders captured Acre, and at the end of the year he was back
in France. The crusade was merely an episode in his career.
A year later he showed what his real policy was, for he
claimed the greater part of Normandy with several castles.
He soon had the important castle of Gisors in his hands, and
he attempted to seize Rouen. On Richard's return from his
Austrian prison in March 11 94 France and England entered
upon open hostilities, which were at times suspended, at times
renewed. In 1198 Richard formed a powerful coalition
against Philip, and till the English King's death at Chaluz
on April 6, 1199, Philip's fortunes were at a low ebb. The
accession of John to the English throne marked the definite
turning-point in Philip's reign. Arthur, the nephew of John,

FRANCE

AT THE ACCESSION OF

PHILIP AUGUSTUS

Engliah Miles

Boundary oT I<^encii Kingdoia ibas*
Domains of tiie French Crown— J
Subject to HenryU —
Claimed by Heairy H-

The Capetians, 987-1328 27

was supported by the barons in Anjou, Maine, and Touraine,
and for a time Philip was weakened by the excommunica-
tion of the Pope on account of his bigamous marriage with
Agnes of Meran. That excommunication was removed nine
months later, but Philip was not reconciled to his lawful wife,
Ingeborgis, till 121 3. In 1202 John was summoned to Paris
at the instance of the nobles of Poitou, and as he did not
appear Philip declared that he had lost all the lands which he
held of the French Crown. John also refused to yield to
Arthur his French fiefs and to give the satisfaction which
Philip had demanded. War at once broke out ; Arthur's
' disappearance ' in 1203 cleared the way for Phihp's pro-
jects; in March 1204 the Chateau Gaillard was in French
hands ; Rouen surrendered on June i, and with its sur-
render Normandy was no longer English. In 1206, Philip
being now in possession of Brittany, a truce was signed for
two years, which period Phihp, we are told, spent ' in con-
solidating his conquests and securing his position in Europe '.
The struggle v^dth John was by no means over ; for John
obtained the support of several of Philip's vassals, such as
Reginald of Boulogne and Ferrand, Count of Flanders.
Early in 1213 (May) Philip, anticipating Napoleon, assembled
a fleet at Boulogne for the invasion of England. The Pope,
however, accepted John's submission and Philip marched into
Flanders, defeating Ferrand and taking Ghent, Ypres, Bruges,
and Cassel. The Earl of Sahsbury, on the other hand,
destroyed the greater part of the French fleet, and in 12 14
Philip was attacked by John in Poitou, and by a formidable
coahtion near the Flemish frontier. There, on July 27,
1 2 14, was fought the battle of Bouvines. Baldwin IV of
Flanders had taken part in the Fourth Crusade, and on
his death Ferrand of Portugal had married the heiress of

28 The Capetians, 987-1328

Flanders and now supported John. Against Philip were
assembled not only the forces of the Emperor Otto IV and
of the Count of Flanders, but also troops from HoUand,
Boulogne, Lorraine, and an English force under the Earl of
Sahsbury. Luckily, Prince Louis had already driven John
from the Loire, and there was now no danger of a flank
attack on Paris from the west. Philip was thus able to
concentrate all his efforts upon his opponents in Picardy.
In the battle Guerin proved himself a born general and
Phihp showed considerable military talent, and though his
forces were inferior to those of his opponents, he determined
to attack them. He was justified, for the French cavalry won
the day, throwing the opposing infantry into complete dis-
order. The results of the battle testified to its importance — •
Salisbury was captured, as was Ferrand of Portugal, the Count
of Flanders, and Reginald, Count of Boulogne ; Boulogne
surrendered ; Flanders was in French hands. Philip now held
in undisputed possession Normandy, Maine, Anjou, Touraine,
Poitou, Saintonge, Auvergne, St. Omer, Aire, and the County
of Meulan. For Central Europe the result of the battle was
the deposition of Otto IV and the recognition of Frederick II
as Emperor. ' Few medieval battles ', writes Mr. Davis,
' were so far-reaching in their consequences as Bouvines,
to which England owes her Magna Carta, Germany the
magnificent and stormy autumn of the Hohenstaufen
dynasty, France the consoHdation of her long-divided pro-
vinces under an absolutist monarchy.' ^ Bouvines was cer-
tainly one of the decisive battles in the history of Europe.
Before Bouvines had been won Philip had strengthened the
monarchy by an active and persistent policy towards the

^ Medieval Europe, by H. W. C. Davis, p. 159 (London : Williams &
Norgate).

The Capetians, 987-1328 29

feudal forces which hitherto had stood in the way of progress.
In doing so he was following unintentionally the policy which
Henry II had so successfully carried out in England. ' During
his reign the monarchy of the Prankish kings consolidated its
powers, strengthened its foundations, and looked round as a
sovereign rather than as an equal upon the feudalism which
had so long been dominant.' ^ Like his predecessors he care-
fully preserved the hereditary alliance of his House with the
Church, though his attitude was marked rather by indepen-
dence than servility, as was evidenced by an Ordinance in
1220 which in its tone can be compared with the Constitu-
tions of Clarendon. Allied with the Church and the people,
and aided by the absence of many of the great barons owing
to the Crusades, PhUip withstood and defeated all attempts
of the feudal baronage to weaken his position.

Like Henry I and Henry II of England, Philip throughout
his reign continued to develop a centralized system of govern-
ment, reconstructing the local administration, and by means
of Prevots, ' the local representatives of the monarchy ', in
the north of France, and of Baillis — officials superior to the
Prevots — he closely linked the local and the central adminis-
trations. The Prevots collected the royal revenue, the
Baillis saw that it was honestly collected, and moreover they
wielded wide judicial powers. In the south the duties which
the Prevots and the Baillis performed in the north were
carried out by hereditary officers chosen from the great
families who were known as ' seneschals '. Like Henry I
and II, Philip had thus strengthened the central adminis-
tration, gradually reducing the power of the holders of
the five traditional posts — the Chancellor, the Seneschal,
the Butler, the Chamberlain, and the Constable. This

^ Hutton, Philip Augustus, p. 112 (London : Macmillan & Co.)-

30 The Capetians, 987-1328

process had been initiated by his grandfather ; Philip re-
duced the powers of three and practically aboHshed two of
these officials, substituting in their place lesser barons chosen
on account of merit, who were reinforced by novi homines,
lay and clerical. As in England a Great Council was sum-
moned occasionally for the discussion of serious questions ;
as in England a smaller body, a Curia Regis, composed
mainly of lawyers, dealt with judicial business, but had no
fixed place of meeting. Connected with the Curia Regis
there grew up the Court of Peers composed of six great
barons and six great churchmen.

Philip also continued the policy of his father Louis in
creating and favouring towns as a counterpoise to the power
and influence of the local barons. Villes jieuves grew rapidly,
and conduced to the steady decline of feudal influence.
Philip had no hesitation in giving the towns his full support.
Various types of urban constitutions existed, and by his
encouragement and alliance with the towns Philip ' prepared
for his grandson the period of subjugation by which the towns
became the absolute property of the Sovereign '.^ By thus
supporting the towns and by constantly founding new com-
munes ' he raised up a new estate pledged to alliance with
the Crown ' ; and from the close of the twelfth century that
alliance between the Crown and the Third Estate continued.
Perhaps the best illustration of his policy to towns is found
in his treatment of Paris. Both Louis VI and VII had fully
realized the importance of the capital city, which under
Philip was developed to a marvellous extent, so that he has
justly been called ' the founder of the mediaeval Paris '.
Thus in his reign France underwent a transformation which
was completed under Louis IX and Philip IV. By his interest
^ Hutton, Philip Augustus, -p. 150.

The Capetians, 987-1328 31

in commerce, by his grants of communal privileges, by his
support of the universities, especially of the University of
Paris, Philip conferred untold advantages upon the French
kingdom, and it is no wonder that the literary men of his day
compared him to Charles the Great. The support given him
by the communes in the decisive battle of Bouvines illustrates
the trust and confidence placed in him by the towns.

After the battle of Bouvines Philip returned to his early
project of invading and conquering England, and in May
1 2 16 his son Louis landed and entered London. But John's
death in October destroyed the French plans. Henry III,
a child, was supported by the English barons, and having
suffered reverses on sea and land Louis accepted a large sum
of money, signed a treaty at Lambeth in September 1217,
and retired.

While Philip was busy annexing John's French dominions
in the north of France, a crusade had been preached against
the brilliant civilization of the Albigenses by Innocent III
in 1208 — a crusade marked by the most terrible massacres
and cruelties. In 1207 Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse,
had been excommunicated, and in 1 209 a French army com-
manded by Arnaud Amalric, the Papal legate — an army
representing ' the brutal and avaricious feudalism of the
North ' — began operations in the Rhone Valley, aiming at
the conquest of Languedoc. Raymond in despair submitted
to the Pope, but his nephew, Raymond Roger, led the
resistance, which was concentrated at Beziers and after-
wards at Carcassonne. On the capture of these places,
and the massacre of the inhabitants that followed, Raymond
himself, in spite of his submission, was besieged in Toulouse.
To save him, the King of Aragon, Pedro II, led an army
across the Pyrenees, but was defeated and killed in the battle

32 The Capetians, 987-1328

of Muret by Simon de Montfort, to whom the organization
of the conquered territory had been entrusted. Raymond
was captured and deposed, and the greater part of his
territories, including Toulouse, was handed over in 1216 by
the order of the fourth Lateran Council to Montfort, who
was killed in 1217 while suppressing a rebellion in Toulouse.
In spite of the efforts of Amauri, the son of Montfort, aided
by Louis, the eldest son of Philip, and notwithstanding a
terrible massacre of the inhabitants of Marmande, the
attempt to reduce Toulouse was a failure ; and at the time
of Philip's death (July 14, 1223), though the royal demesne
had been largely increased during his reign, the south-west
of France was not conquered and the distinctive national
feeling in that portion of France was as yet not eradicated.

On Philip's death his son, who had been compelled to
renounce his claim to the English throne by the Treaty
of Lambeth in September 1217, ascended the French
throne as Louis VIIL His wife, Blanche of Castile, was the
daughter of Alfonso IX of Castile and Eleanor, daughter
of Henry II of England, and proved to be a ruler of con-
siderable capacity.

As a revenge for his rebuff in England Louis in 1224, the
truce with England having expired, claimed Poitou. War
ensued, and at its close in 1225, while Gascony remained in
the hands of the English, Poitou, Limousin, and Perigord were
held by the French King.

He was equally anxious to renew the Albigensian Crusade, to
which in 1225 the Pope, Honorius III, gave his full approval.
Amauri de Montfort resigned his claims to the French King,
the English Government acquiesced, and in May 1226 Louis
led a large force against Avignon, which offered a stubborn
defence. On its fall he attempted, but failed, to capture

The Capetians, 987-1328 33

Toulouse, and died at Montpensier on November 8, 1226.
His reign, though brief, was important in that it saw the
completion of much of the work begun by Philip Augustus.
The English hold on the south of France was sensibly weak-
ened, and the lands there that now acknowledged the supre-
macy of the French Crown were of considerable extent.
Toulouse and Guienne, however, preserved their indepen-
dence, though that of the former was distinctly precarious.
' He had ', it is said, ' done enough for the monarchy by the
great march which had brought home to the Languedoc the
majesty of the Capetian king.' ^ Though he began the policy,
which proved in the future to be so opposed to the interest
of the Crown, of bequeathing large fiefs to his four sons, he
had increased the royal domain and checked feudal supre-
macy.

The accession of Louis IX (Saint Louis) in 1226 found
France benefiting from the reign of Philip Augustus. The
process of defeudalization was rapidly proceeding, and
Matthew Paris may be pardoned for describing the King
of France as ' the King of earthly kings '. If the position
occupied in Europe by Philip Augustus and Saint Louis be
compared with that held by John and Henry III of England,
it will not be denied that the thirteenth century represents
for France a golden age. Paris was now, owing to the efforts
of Philip Augustus, who built the Louvre, a capital of which
any country might well be proud. Notre-Dame, begun in
1 182, was completed in Saint Louis' reign. Louis VII had
built Saint-Denis ; Saint Louis built the Sainte Chapelle.

As Louis was only twelve years old when he succeeded his
father in 1226, the government devolved upon his mother,
Blanche of Castile. She had at once to face a coalition of

^ Tout, The Empire and the Papacy, p. 407.

1832.8

D

34 The Capetians, 987-1328

nobles anxious to take advantage of a minority in order to
advance their own interests, and to secure their feudal inde-
pendence. The position was somewhat similar to the position
in England in 1173 ; for then Henry II secured, as Blanche
did in 1226 and 1227, the support of the official class. But
the opposition which confronted Blanche was" -far less danger-
ous than were the English malcontents in 1173 ; for Philip
Augustus had smitten the feudal nobles with such vigour that
there was little fear of any serious combination against the
Crown, and in 1227 the chief of the disaffected barons came
to terms with the Regent in the Treaties of Vendome. The
following two years, which gave Blanche much anxiety, were
of no little importance in the history of France. For
in 1229, after the suppression by the Crown of a rebel-
lion by Philip Hurepel, bastard brother of the late king,
Raymond VII of Toulouse made the Treaty of Paris (or
Meaux) with Blanche, handed over Toulouse and other for-
tresses, promised adherence to the Catholic Faith, and agreed
to spend six years on a crusade. As Louis IX's brother Alfonse,
Count of Poitou, was already betrothed to Jeanne, the only
daughter of Raymond, it seemed not unlikely that eventually
the royal house would succeed to the Toulouse heritage.
Gradually all traces of the Albigensian heresy disappeared,
the Inquisition was set up, and Dominican friars became
supreme.

No sooner was the Albigensian episode brought to a close
than Blanche found herself at war with England ; and in
May 1230 Henry III, hoping to take advantage of the
feudal reaction in France, at the head of an army landed at
St. Malo, and marched through Brittany to Poitou and on to
Bordeaux. In August he marched back to Brittany and in
October reached England. The Poitevins on whom he relied

The Capetians, 987-1328 35

had proved faithless ; and on July 4, 123 1, a three years' truce
was concluded between France, Brittany, and England,

In 1236 the regency of Blanche came to an end on Louis
attaining his majority. That regency had been most advan-
tageous to France. The English invasion had failed ; the Count
of Toulouse had surrendered ; the Crown on the death of
Hurepel in January i234controlled the succession in Flanders ;
many fiefs had been added to the royal domain ; the marriage
of Louis in 1234 to Margaret of Provence introduced French
influence into the Rhone Valley. Saint Louis was in many
ways remarkable. Handsome, brave, chivalrous, pious, and
always anxious for the well-being of his people, he ruled
France with success, showing a shrewdness of judgement and
a firmness of wall which remind one of the qualities exhibited
by Philip Augustus. While Europe was torn by wars and
quarrels such as that between the Emperor Frederick II and
the Papacy, France under her peaceful and capable monarch
was, to a great extent, secure from hostile attacks, and her
prosperity steadily increased. Unlike Henry III of England,
Louis adopted a firm attitude towards the increasing claims
of the Papacy; in 1269 he limited the power of the Pope
in France and checked the invasion of the Franciscan and
Dominican monks. His policy towards internal troubles,
usually the result of baronial ambitions, was in striking con-
trast to that adopted by the English King.

In 1242 the south of France was in rebellion in support of
Raymond, Count of Toulouse, who had refused to do homage
to Louis' brother Alfonse on the latter's assumption of his
apanage in Poitou and Auvergne. Henry III seized the
opportunity to land in France, and on July 22, two days after
a skirmish at Taillebourg, he suffered a severe defeat at
Saintes. Louis, however, ' in the teeth ', says Joinvil'e, of

D 2

36 The Capetians, 987-1328

the advice of the Council, accepted Henry's proposal for
a truce for five years; and in January 1243 the Count of
Toulouse agreed to the Treaty of Lorris, which renewed the
Treaty of Meaux. In 1249, on Raymond's death, Alfonse
succeeded to his lands, and the definite inclusion in the
kingdom of France of Aquitaine and Toulouse, inhabited
by descendants of the Visigoths, was an accomplished fact.

In 1244 a severe illness led Louis to take the Cross and to
vow that he would lead an expedition to Palestine, Jerusa-
lem having been lost by the Christians. At peace with
England, and secure against all baronial disorder, Louis,
like Richard I, felt no anxiety with regard to his kingdom
during his absence.

At Cluny, in November 1245, he met Innocent IV, whose
co-operation in the proposed crusade he hoped to secure,
if only an end could be put to the interminable struggle
between Pope and Emperor. With Innocent he arranged
that Charles of Anjou, Louis' youngest brother, should
marry Beatrice, the heiress of Provence. This marriage,
which took place in 1246, was destined to add to France
land east of the Rhone, valuable as making France com-
plete on the south-east. In 1248, however, there was no
sign of a cessation of the struggle between Pope and Emperor,
and accordingly Louis set out upon the Seventh Crusade
from Aigues-Mortes on August 28.

The expedition wintered in Cyprus, and the following
spring Louis captured Damietta, which he entered on June 7,
1249. His choice of Damietta as a base for operations was
not a fortunate one, and his delay of six months before begin-
ning operations proved disastrous. His success in the battle
of Mansourah in February 1250 was followed by the outbreak
cf famine and disease in his army, and by his surrender to

The Capetians, 987-1328 37

the Saracens. After promising to surrender Damietta, to give
the enemy a large sum of money, and to observe a truce for
ten years, Louis was released and allowed to retire to Saint-
Jean-d'Acre, where he remained four years. His mother, the
Regent Blanche, on hearing of his release, had urged him to
return to France. His return was all the more necessary as
in 1 25 1 the rising of the ' Pastoureaux ' took place — a move-
ment of peasants against the Church, the bishops, the priests,
and the monks. At Orleans they massacred twenty-five
priests ; but at Bourges they were attacked by the Regent's
forces, their leader killed, and the movement suppressed.

During Louis' absence important events had happened in
Europe. In 1250 the Emperor Frederick H had died, his
death being followed by the disruption of the Empire. From
that time the decadence of the free Italian communes set
in. Small despotic dynasties gradually arose in Italy, with
the result that at the close of the fifteenth century Italy
had lost all hope of freedom and was an easy prey to the
foreigner. Towards the close of the year 1253 Blanche died,
and Louis on hearing the tidings returned to France ; after
an absence of six years he reached Paris in September 1254,
in time to entertain Henry III, who was on his way home from
Gascony. During the next few years he settled the succes-
sion questions concerning Flanders and Champagne ; and in
1258 he effected also a settlement — with considerable advan-
tage to France — with regard to the south-west of France.
By the Treaty of Corbeil an arrangement was reached
with the King of Aragon. Louis abandoned all the ancient
claims of the French Crown over Barcelona and Roussillon —
claims dating from the time of Charles the Great ; and the
King of Aragon abandoned his pretensions to Provence and
Languedoc.

38 The Capetians, 987-1328

In 1259 Louis found another opportunity of gratifying his
love of peace and of benefiting France, for in that year
(December) he made with Henry III, ' his pious neighbour ',
the Treaty of Paris. Henry renounced his claims on Nor-
mandy, Maine, and — more important still — on Poitou, and
agreed to become the French King's vassal for his remaining
possessions in France. In 1 262 Henry was again in France for
six months, and on his return to England became deeply
engaged in a quarrel with the barons. Both parties agreed to
accept the King of France as arbitrator, and the Mise of
Amiens (January 24, 1264), which annulled the Provisions
of Oxford, was the result. Such a reactionary decision
was not acceptable to Simon de Montfort, and the
Barons' War followed. Meanwhile, Italian affairs were
demanding the attention of the French King. Shortly after
the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris Charles of Anjou, who
owned Provence, accepted from the Pope the ' Two Sicilies '
(Sicily and the kingdom of Naples), which since 1258 had
been ruled by the illegitimate son of the Emperor Frederick
II, Manfred, whose daughter Constance had married Peter III
of Aragon. In the battle of Benevento in 1266 Manfred was
killed ; and Charles of Anjou remained master of Naples.

In 1270 Louis set out on his last crusade, and landed at
Carthage in July under the impression that the conversion
of the ruler of Tunis would help towards the recovery of the
Holy Places. On August 25 he died at Tunis.

In 1 269, before he started on his last expedition, he limited
the power of the Pope in France and brought the clergy under
the law of the land, as Henry II of England attempted to do
by the Constitutions of Clarendon. In this, as in many other
respects, Louis showed an independence of the Papacy which
in the seventeenth century was manifested by Louis XIV.

The Capetians, 987-1328 39

The establishment of the Inquisition in France and its sup-
port by the State illustrate Louis' religious devotion and
his hatred of heresy. It also proved of no little advantage
to the State from' its confiscations of property. In 1273
appeared the Etablissements de Saint Louis, a collection
of customs then in force. The publication was wrongly
attributed to the King. During the reign, partly owing to
the Fourth Crusade and its establishment of a Latin Empire
in Constantinople (1204), an increasing interest in Greek
books and the Greek language made itself very apparent in
Paris — an interest which was more widely diffused in the
sixteenth century. Joinville's Histoire de Saint Louis gives an
interesting picture of the King and his doings, and emphasizes
his great sanctity, his love of justice, and his regard for order.
It, however, omits to point out the continual discontent of
the towns, which, under a less able administrator, would
have been even more apparent. The statement — the result
of cool historical investigation — that the reign was an age of
reaction is correct.

Louis' son, Philip III (Philippe le Hardi), reigned from
1270 to 1285. At home he continued the policy of his pre-
decessors, his aim being to hasten the decay of feudahsm and
feudal institutions. In his time a commoner could become
a noble at the wish of the King and could, like the nobles,
possess fiefs. His policy left its mark on the political map
of France. PhiHp's first wife, Isabella of Aragon, had died
during the crusade in which PhUip was engaged when he
came to the throne, and in 1274 he married the Princess of
Brabant, who was apparently a capable woman. The death
of Alfonse of Poitiers and his wife Jeanne about the
same time should have brought to England, in accor-
dance with the Treaty of Paris in 1 259, the Agenais and

40 The Capetians, 987-1328

Saintonge south of the Charente. PhiHp, however, showed
no intention of recognizing the treaty, and in the summer of
1272 firmly estabhshed the royal power in the south-west by
seizing Languedoc. In 1271 he yielded to the Pope's
demands and handed over to him the Comtat Venaissin,
close by which lay Avignon in Provence, so important
during the greater part of the following century. He also
conciliated Edward I by surrendering to him the Agenais, and
to his Queen (Eleanor of Castile) Abbeville and Ponthieu.

The reign witnessed important events abroad. Charles
of Anjou ruled so tyrannically in Sicily that the inhabitants
of Palermo rose, and on March 30, 1282, the famous ' Sici-
lian Vespers ', massacred all the French there. The revolt
spread over the whole island ; Peter of Aragon, whose wife
had hereditary claims, was accepted as ruler ; and Sicily
remained united to his House, or to the Spanish Crown,
till 171 3. The King of Aragon had, however, for some
three years to withstand the efforts of the French to
regain the island. Charles now hastened thither, be-
sieged Messina, which he failed to take, and witnessed
the defeat of his fleet at the hands of Roger de Loria.
In spite of the fulminations of the Pope, Martin IV,
and of the renewed efforts of Charles, the French
fleet was defeated on two more occasions ; and Charles,
yielding to rage and despair, died on January 5, 1285,
his death being followed within three months by that of
Martin IV. To avenge this defeat of the House of Capet
Philip invaded Spain and laid siege to Gerona. On his
return to France he was seized with illness and died on
October 5, 1285, at Perpignan, being succeeded by Philip
le Bel, the last great Capetian monarch.

The Capetians, 987-1328 41

During this critical period in the history of France it is as
difficult to realize the character of the King as it is easy to
realize that of Edward I. Like many absolute monarchs,
such as Louis XI, he chose men of obscure origin to be his
ministers. Early in his reign Philip entered upon a quarrel
with Edward I and occupied Guienne in 1294, thus indicat-
ing what was to.be the policy of his successors till in 1453
Calais remained the only French territory in English
hands. War with England necessarily involved friction with
Flanders, which almost from the Norman Conquest had
close trading relations with the English people. The Count
of Flanders realized the imminent danger from France, as
he had suffered a period of imprisonment at Philip's hands, a
defeat in the battle of Furnes, and a temporary desertion
by Edward I, who agreed to the Truce of Yve-Saint-Baron
in October 1297, but he found that his subjects insisted
upon the renewal of commercial relations with England.
The Count was deposed, and the Flemings boldly faced the
inevitable invasion by the French.

Early in 1301 there seemed little chance of Philip relaxing
his hold on Gascony ; but in 1302 a change took place in his
attitude, owing to this revolt of the Flemings and their defeat
of the French forces under Robert of Artois on May 18 at
Courtrai. At the same time the Pope, Boniface VIII,
renewed his struggle with Philip; and in December 1302
Bordeaux threw off the allegiance of the French Crown
and called in the English. Involved in all these embarrass-
ments Philip moderated his tone ; and in 1 303 , on May 20, the
Treaty of Paris closed the long series of disputes between him
and Edward I. Gascony was restored to Edward, who agreed
that he or his son would do homage for it. In 1 304 a French
army did indeed overthrow the Flemish forces in the battle

42 The Capetians, 987-1328

of Mons-en-Pevele ; but Philip, realizing the stubborn charac-
ter of the Flemings, agreed in 1305 to the Treaty of Athis
(which was only partially carried into effect), by which he
secured a large sum of money and the substitution of the son
of the deposed Count as the ruler of Flanders.

Philip was now free to devote himself to his great struggle
with the Papacy, and in Boniface VIII he found an opponent
as determined as himself. After the long contest between the
Popes and the Empire, which began in the time of Hildebrand
and closed with the defeat and death of Frederick II, the
Papacy had triumphed. That triumph was in great measure
due to a close alliance with the Kings of France, though the
failure of Charles of Anjou in Sicily had been a set-back to
the reaHzation of their Italian aims. Nevertheless, Boniface
was resolved to carry out the policy of Gregory VII in its
entirety, and entered into his famous conflict with Edward I
and Philip. In 1296 he issued his Bull Clericis laicos, for-
bidding the clergy to pay subsidies to their temporal rulers.
Edward gained his way by ' inventing the ingenious plan
by which subsidies were called voluntary gifts ', but Philip
simply refused to allow money to leave his kingdom and was
supported by public opinion in France. Involved as he was
in a struggle in Italy, Boniface for a time moderated his
claims, but after the year 1 300, when jubilee pilgrims thronged
to Rome from all parts of Christendom, he entered into his
second contest with Philip. Public feeling was again aroused
in France, and to strengthen his position Philip summoned,
early in 1302, an Assembly of the Three Estates of the Realm.
This meeting had been preceded in England in 1295 by
Edward's famous Parliament, but the history of the French
Assembly was far different from that of the English Parlia-
ment. Philip's Assembly gave full support to the King's anti-

The Capetians, 987-1328 43

Papal policy, and it met again in 1308 and 13 14. Boniface,
however, showed no intention of yielding, and the struggle
continued with violence, the Pope appealing to foreign
courts. At length a French emissary (Nogaret) of the
King entered Italy and with a small force captured
Boniface at Anagni. But this action had no lasting result,
for the Pope's supporters drove out Nogaret and bore Boni-
face to Rome, where in October he died, being succeeded
by Benedict XI, a man of pacific disposition. A year after
his death French influence procured the election (1305) of
Clement V, under whom the great struggle came to an end.
Philip had triumphed. In 1309 Clement took up his resi-
dence at Avignon, where the Popes resided for nearly seventy
years, the period of the ' Babylonish Captivity '.

It now only remained for the French King to anticipate
the policy of Richelieu towards the Huguenots and, in the
case of the Knights Templars, to check once and for all
the danger of an imperium in imperio in France. Like the
Jews, who were about this time being expelled from England,
the Templars formed ' a wealthy and powerful republic
within the Kingdom '.

Threatened vvith the fate of Boniface VIII by a French
emissary, Clement declared against the Order, which was
suppressed under circumstances of great cruelty in 13 12.
Philip had again triumphed, the ascendancy of the Crown
over the Church and the French nation was assured, and
before his death French institutions were thoroughly
organized. Of these institutions the Parlement of Paris was
specially important ; till its abolition at the time of the
French Revolution, it played a noteworthy part in the
history of France, always asserting itself when the monarchy
was weak. It became prominent in the later years of

44 The Capetians, 987-1328

Philip's reign, when the Conseil dn Roi, which hence-
forward dealt mainly with political matters, transferred
its financial duties to the Chambre des Comftes, and much
of its judicial work to the Parlement of Paris, which divided
its business among three Courts — the Grand' Chambre^ the
Chambre des Requetes, and two Chambres des Enquetes, The
first of these heard important appeals and cases affecting
peers, royal officers, and menrbers of the Parlement itself ;
the second dealt with cases of minor importance ; and the
Chambres des Enquetes considered appeals before they reached
the Grand* Chambre. In the Grand* Chambre was a lit on
which sat the King to hold a ' Bed of Justice ' on solemn
occasions, such as when he wished to compel the Parlement
to register edicts to which it was opposed : for that body
till the French Revolution steadily claimed its rights to
register edicts and, if it washed, to remonstrate.

The firm establishment of this body and that of the States-
General would suffice to mark the reign as one of singular
importance. But, like his contemporary Edward I, the
French King ' extended the principle of national taxation
to the Church as well as to the feudal nobility '.^ Through-
out his reign Philip seized every opportunity of raising
money, large sums being obtained from the spoliation of the
Jews and from the suppression of the Knights Templars. By
means also of direct and indirect taxation, loans (which were
seldom repaid), and subsidies, he established the finances of
the monarchy on a firm basis. The year before his death
leagues had been formed to resist the royal taxation, and
Philip, like Edward I when in a similar situation, had to yield
to the storm. On November 29, 13 14, he died, leaving
historians the difficult task of estimating his character,
though his works would imply determination and cunning.
^ A History of France, p. 197.

The Capetians, 987-1328 45

• . . .

The reign of this king (1285-13 14) marks a distinct epoch

in French history. The feudal system having been practically
destroyed, it was necessary to replace it by a new administra-
tive system which entailed drastic reforms, judicial and
military. The reign was also of great importance both in
the political and in the constitutional history of France.
It saw the famous alliance with Scotland established — an
alliance which practically continued till the days of John
Knox and the establishment of Presbyterianism. It saw also
some definite progress in the slow but gradual expulsion of
the English from south-west France. The struggle between
France and the Papacy was ended by the election of a
French Pope in 1305 and the settlement of the Papal
Court at Avignon in 1309. On the other hand, the
French monarchy failed to acquire full sway over Flanders.
To sum up, the chief interest of his reign is that, just as
the reign of Edward I of England marks the beginning
of English parliamentary history, so that of Philip marks
' the final stage in the transformation of France from
a feudal to a monarchical kingdom'.^ In 13 12 the dissolu-
tion of the Order of the Templars marked the removal of the
last obstacle to the triumphal progress of the monarchy.

The reigns of Philip's three sons — Louis X (13 14-16),
Philip V (1316-22), and Charles X (1322-8) — with whom
ended the House of Capet, call for little comment. The
opposition in several localities to the heavy exaction to
which they had been subjected in the last two years of Philip's
reign caused Louis X to grant their demands. Louis was to
a great extent ruled by his uncle Charles of Valois. On his
death in 13 16, he left a daughter Jeanne, by his first wife

1 J. R. Moreton Macdonald, A History of France, vol. i, p. 193
(London : Methuen).

46

The Capetians, 987-1328

Margaret of Burgundy ; the question was whether s,he or
his brother Philip should succeed. The supporters of Jeanne,
headed hy Burgundy, claimed the crown, but Philip's claim
was successfully upheld by an important Assembly in Paris.
Thus the principle of the Salic Law which, in the case of the
Salian Franks, forbade a woman to hold the crown was up-
held. Five years later Philip died, and his brother Charles's
reign, which ended in 1328, was one of little importance.

Philip IV
1 285-1314

Louis X
1314-16

Jeanne
= Philip
Bang of
Navarre

The Later Capetians
Philip III, 1270-85

Charles of Valois

Philip VI, 1328-50

Margaret

s,Cc

Louis, Count of
Evreux

PhUip V^
1316-22 '

I
Jeanne
= Odo of
Burgundy

Charles IV
1322-8

Marie

I
Isabel = Edward II

Edward III

Philip, Count

of Evreux and

King of Navarre

Charles the Bad,
King of Navarre

Blanche
= Philip VI

The Valois Line and the Hundred Years' War,
IJ28-148J

As Charles IV left only a daughter born shortly after his
death, Philip of Valois, the son of Charles, the brother of
Philip the Fair, became king on May 29, 1328. During
the reigns of his three predecessors, popular assemblies
had frequently met ; but there was little chance that the
States-General would emulate the English Parliament,
owing first to the fact that these assemblies did not repre-
sent the inhabitants of the provinces, and secondly, to the
division of the assembly into three classes, and thirdly, to
the jealous attitude, which was apparent down to the French
Revolution, of the upper classes towards the Tiers £tat.
At any rate the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War
completely destroyed any hopes of the establishment of
a constitutional government, such as existed in England, in
the kingdom of France.

In March 1327 peace had been signed with England by
Charles IV. It was, however, manifest that Philip the Fair's
policy of securing Gascony would be steadily continued.
The accession of Philip of Valois made no break in the
policy of absorbing the English possessions in Guienne
and Gascony. To facilitate that policy Philip supported
David Bruce, who had sought his help, while Edward III
supported Balliol. The fact, too, that Robert of Artois,
with whom Philip had quarrelled, had found a refuge in

48

The Valois Line and

England tended to increase the bad relations of the two
countries. In 1336 the Count of Flanders, the ally of
the French King, stopped all commercial relations between
his country and England. As long as Philip was resolved
to incite the Scottish nation and the Flemish Count to
worry England, in order that he might on the first
opportunity drive the English out of the south-west of
France, war was inevitable.

The Early Valois Kings

Philip VI, 1328-50

I
John, 1350-64

I

I
Charles V, 1364-80

Louis of Anjou Philip of Burgundy

Jeanne = Charles of Isabella =

Navarre Gian Galeazzo
Visconti

Charles VI, 1380-1422 :

Isabel of
Bavaria

Louis of Orleans

Isabella = Charles VII, Katherine
Richard II 1422-61 = Henry V
of England I

Valentina Vis-
conti

Charles of Orleans, d. 1465

Louis XI =F Charlotte of

1461-83

Savoy

Charles of Berry,

Duke of Guienne,

ob. s. p. 1472

I
Anne =
Peter of
Beaujeu

Charles VIII
= Anne of
Brittany

(i) Jeanne = Louis XII

■■ (2) Anne of
Brittany
(3) Mary
Tudor

the Hundred Years* War, 1328-1483 49

The immediate object of Edward, when war actually
broke out, was to free Flanders from all danger on
the side of France, so that the invaluable trade between
Flanders and England might be restored. Moreover, the
defeat of the French would end his running fight with
the Scots. The Flemish people were on the side of Eng-
land, as they were suffering severely from the stoppage of
commercial relations ; but their Count was in alliance with
the French King, and by his aid had crushed all opposition
hitherto. In 1337 Edward found an ally in the Emperor
Lewis IV, while Philip was in alliance with Scotland, with
John of Bohemia, with the King of Castile, with the Pope
John XXII at Avignon, and on John's death with Bene-
dict XII.

In May 1337 the Hundred Years' War definitely opened
with Philip's declaration of his sovereignty over Guienne,
the reply to which was Edward Ill's claim in October to
the kingdom of France, his arrival in Antwerp in the follow-
ing year, his siege of Cambrai, and his adoption of the arms
of France in order to satisfy James van Artevelde and the
Flemings. A treaty with the latter followed, and trade
between England and Flanders was resumed. In June 1340
Philip suffered another reverse. His fleet was disastrously
defeated in the battle of Sluys, and for many years England
was supreme in the Channel.

Till the summer of 1345 the French cause was by no
means hopeless. The English lost the support of many
of their allies, who reconciled themselves with the French
King ; in July 1345 van Artevelde was killed by a Flemish
mob ; in 1340 Edward III, isolated and at variance with
his Parliament, made a truce. Moreover, Edward's inter-
vention in Brittany, where the question of the succession

1832.8 £

5o The Valois Line and

to that Duchy had been raised, ended in January 1343
in the Truce of Malestroit, which left Philip in a strong
position. The resumption of serious hostilities could not,
however, be averted ; Philip was as determined as ever
to oust the English from Guienne, and it was there that
the war definitely reopened in the summer of 1345, the
Earl of Derby being opposed by Philip's eldest son John,
Duke of Normandy, whose failure against the English
force seemed to justify Edward Ill's invasion of France
from the north in JiJy 1346. Edward's famous march to
Paris and then towards Flanders has often been described.
Having a superior force, Philip anticipated that he could
crush the English King, but when the two armies met on
August 26 at Crecy, Edward was victorious over the French,
while in October Philip's allies, the Scots, suffered a decisive
defeat at Neville's Cross. These disasters to the French
cause were followed next year (August 4, 1 347) by the loss
of Calais, which remained in the hands of the English till
1558. The following month the Truce of Calais was agreed
upon, which nominally lasted for four years. During two
of these, 1348-9, France was decimated by the Black Death.
For some years after the expiration of the Truce of
Calais warlike operations continued on sea and land. In
fact, in Aquitaine and Languedoc, fighting from 1348 was
almost incessant, while in August 1350 a famous naval
battle Was fought off Winchelsea. It was a kind of antici-
pation of the defeat of the Armada in 1588. Philip's
reign has been rendered famous by the chronicle of
Jean Froissart. Unlike Philippe de Commines, who in
the next century gives such an accurate picture of the
reign of Louis XI, Froissart ignores the miseries suffered
by the mass of the people during the reign, and simply

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 51

describes the pageantry of an age of dying chivalry. To
him Philip is a representative knight of chivalry, whose chief
delight was to devise brilliant tournaments at Vincennes.

Of the risk incurred in waging war with an antiquated
military machine Froissart recks nothing ; he devotes his
pages to describing the decaying feudal system as though
it would continue for ever. Philip purchased in 1349
Montpellier and the province of Dauphine ; and on
August 21, 1350, shortly after the battle off Winchelsea
and his marriage with Blanche of Navarre, he died.

Owing to the good offices of Clement VI's legates, a real
attempt to bring about peace was made at Guines in
April 1354. The French, however, refused the proposed
terms, and the war continued. In October 1355 Edward
landed in France; while he was campaigning in Artois,
the Prince of Wales, who had landed the previous month
at Bordeaux, raided Languedoc, and on September 19,
1356, won the battle of Poitiers, taking prisoners King John
and his youngest son Philip, the future Duke of Burgundy.
Early in 1357 a truce was arranged to last till 1359, ^^*^ i^
the meantime John was carried off to London. Both the
English and French nations were now weary of the wars.
In October 1357 David of Scotland agreed to the Treaty
of Berwick, and in January 1358 the captive French King
accepted the preliminaries of peace. In March 1359 John
signed the Treaty of London, but it was rejected by the
Dauphin, who was Regent, and in the following November
Edward undertook to make a fresh attack from Calais on
the French nation. He failed to take Rheims, and in April
1360 he besieged Paris. Being again unsuccessful he agreed
to consider the question of peace.

Meanwhile, the internal condition of France was chaotic,

E 2

52 The Valois Line and

and the difficulties of the situation were accentuated by the
intrigues of Charles of Navarre, known as Charles the Bad,
who was little else but a bold, clever traitor. He was the
son of Jeanne, daughter of Louis X, whose claims to the
crown had been set aside by Philip VI ; he possessed not
only Navarre but also estates in the Seine and Eure valleys
and the county of Evreux. He had married a daughter
of King John ; but his close connexion with the King did
not prevent him from acting treasonably in Normandy, of
which the Dauphin Charles was duke. In April 1356 Charles
the Dauphin seized and imprisoned Charles of Navarre ;
on September 19 the battle of Poitiers was fought ;
and in October the States-General met in Paris, where
Etienne Marcel, the Provost of the Merchants, had
assumed the government of the city, and favoured a regency
under Charles of Navarre, whose liberation was loudly
demanded. On the presentation of a list of reforms the
Dauphin retired from Paris ; but on his return, January
1357, he agreed to the demands of Marcel and the Estates,
which were embodied in the Grande Ordonnance in March.
These demands implied the distinct weakening of the
monarchy. In April the reformers received the unexpected
news that John had agreed to a two years' truce, and had
ordered the dissolution of the Estates. Nevertheless, they
met again in November, and were strengthened by the
support of Charles the Bad, who had escaped from prison,
and till May the following year carried all before them.
Alarmed at this attitude and at the murder of one of his
servants, the Dauphin had at first yielded to all their
demands ; but early in 1358, he adopted the policy which
Mirabeau in 1 790-1 urged upon Louis XVI, and withdrew
the States-General to Compiegne. Paris was now, as in 1871,

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 53

opposed by the provinces, always jealous of the influence
of the capital. The Paris reformers, a small though
determined body, took advantage of the rebellion of the
lower classes known as the Jacquerie, which had the sup-
port of Marcel. Charles the Bad defeated the rebels
near Meaux, but continued his alliance with Marcel and
his traitorous correspondence with the English King. In
July 1358 the crisis ended with the murder of Marcel, and
with the admission of the Dauphin into Paris, where the
bulk of the population was on his side.

The Dauphin, supported by the growing national feeling
in France, took immediate action. John's negotiations
with the English were repudiated, and he made an arrange-
ment with Charles of Navarre. Consequently Edward III,
when he again invaded France in 1359, effected little, and
retreated from the neighbourhood of Paris.

On May 8, 1360, preliminaries of peace were signed in
the village of Bretigny, and peace was finally secured at Calais
on October 22. All Aquitaine (including Poitou, Sain-
tonge, Perigord, Angoumois, Limousin, Quercy, Rouergue,
Agenais, and Bigorre) was to be English, as also was the
County of Ponthieu. The pale of Calais, which included the
County of Guines, remained in the hands of the English
King, as also did the Channel Islands. The French King
renounced his alliance with the Scots, and Edward renounced
his with the Flemings. Almost immediately after the
conclusion of peace John was released.

John's reign had been uniformly unfortunate. He lived
at a time when military capacity was above all things the
quality required, and John had no military capacity. Evil
advisers surrounded him, and he never seems to have
realized the absolute necessity of, at any rate, making an

FRANCE

BIT THE

TREATV OK BRETICaSY

EnglishT^liles

EnglLih, PoasesstOTLS shaded, t/ius\
Bourutary of Franc^e.

The Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 55

attempt to unite all his vassals round the throne. His
misfortunes apparently failed to teach him wisdom ;
after his return to France, for the last three years of his
reign, instead of endeavouring to restore order in the
country which was being overrun by the ' free companies ',
he laid heavy taxes on his subjects, and wasted the money
in various extravagances. Shortly before his death the
Duchy of Burgundy became part of the kingdom of France,
owing to the death of its duke without heirs; and in Septem-
ber 1363 the greater part of the Duchy was conferred on
his younger son, Philip ' the Bold ', the first of the great
Burgundian dukes, who in the next century became such
formidable rivals of the French kings. The marriage, too,
of his daughter Isabella to a member of the Visconti
family was important as bringing about an early connexion
between France and Italy. Finding that he was unable to
pay to Edward III the arrears of his ransom, he returned
to England in January 1364 and died on April 8.

The accession of Charles V was an event of the utmost
importance to France, for as long as John lived there was
little hope of any recovery for France from her miserable
condition. Though Charles was not in any sense one of the
great kings of France, he fully merited the title of the
Wise, for he had indeed shown considerable skill in his
dealings with Etienne Marcel and his supporters. In some
ways he resembled Louis XI, and, being physically weak,
was, fortunately for France, unable to emulate his grandfather
and his ' Knights of Chivalry ', who had failed so con-
spicuously in the war with England.

France on his accession required not only complete
internal reorganization, but also a revolution in the methods
of war. Charles's ordinances dealing with taxation, the

56 The Valois Line and

suppression of private warfare, justice, and police, were in
accordance with the advice of wise councillors, while in
his military reforms he followed the advice of Du Guesclin.
That able soldier recognized that the feudal system of
warfare was out of date, and that war was a business which
had to be paid for. An organized army under the King was
the first necessity. Its establishment would enable France
to avenge Crecy and Poitiers, and to meet her enemies
with a good chance of success. Frontal attacks by the
undisciplined forces of feudal chivalry had now to give way
to more methodical and scientific methods.

At his accession bands of ' free companies ', partly
English and partly French, ravaged the land. They formed,
indeed, a most formidable force, and one of Charles's first
duties was to devise some method by which the country
might be relieved of the presence of these marauding hosts,
who later might be induced to join a regular, well-paid army.

Till 1365 Du Guesclin was fully occupied in the north of
France. Charles the Bad had rebelled, claiming the Duchy
of Burgundy; but on May 16, 1364, his forces were defeated
by the French general in the battle of Cocherel, after
which success Charles was crowned at Rheims. Navarre
held lands in Normandy which he successfully defended,
and it was not till the following year that his differ-
ences with the French King were temporarily settled.
Simultaneously with Navarre's rebellion fighting took
place in Brittany, over the interminable question of the
Breton succession. The death of Charles of Blois, the
French candidate, on September 29, 1364, in the battle of
Aurai, gave John de Montfort the dukedom ; and a satisfac-
tory arrangement was made between him and the French
King by the Treaty of Guerande in April 1365. These two

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 57

difficult matters being disposed of, Charles and Du Guesclin
were able to turn their attention to the question of the
' free companies '. Fortunately, a civil war had broken
out in Spain ; and at the close of 1365 Du Guesclin united
the ' free companies ' and led them into Spain to support
Don Enrico in his struggle with his half-brother, Pedro the
Cruel, for the crown. In April 1366 Du Guesclin was
successful and placed Don Enrico on the throne of Castile.
Early the following year, Don Pedro, supported by
the Black Prince, regained his throne, and Du Guesclin
was captured. But the indirect efforts of the campaign
in Spain were ultimately most beneficial to France, for
when in 1368 the English troops returned to Bordeaux,
much diminished by sickness, Don Pedro was left without
allies. Consequently in 1369 another French force attacked
Don Pedro, who was killed in battle, Don Enrico thus
acquiring the throne.

In 1368 the Black Prince was again battling with the
French, war having been declared in May. The situation
in France had greatly improved during the eight years of
peace, and an anti-English feeling had already shown itself
in Gascony. Moreover, Charles was allied with Castile and
Portugal, and was on friendly terms with the Emperor
Charles IV (in whose reign the famous Golden Bull named
definitely the seven Electors to the Empire), while the
marriage of his brother Philip of Burgundy to Margaret,
heiress of Flanders, which effected an alliance between
that country and France, tended to strengthen the position
of the French monarchy. It only required the massacre
of Limoges, ordered in September 1370 by the Black
Prince, to crown the unpopularity of the English in the
south-west. Disaster on disaster overtook the English

58 The Valois Line and

cause. In 1371 the Black Prince, owing to illness, had
to return to England ; in June 1372 the English fleet,
under Lord Pembroke, suffered defeat at the hands of a
combined Franco-Spanish fleet off La Rochelle ; in
September the English lost Poitiers and La Rochelle,
and before the year was over the treachery of Duke John
of Brittany was rewarded by the occupation of his Duchy
by Du Guesclin. In 1378, however, Charles found himself
in danger of a fresh rebellion in Brittany. The Duke John
was, therefore, restored to his dukedom in 1379, much against
the vvdll of the French King. The foUovdng year, John
of Gaunt, who had in 1369 marched through Normandy,
advanced through Burgundy, arriving eventually at Bordeaux
with his troops decimated by the cold and the hardships
which they had encountered. Du Guesclin, now Constable
of France, saw with satisfaction the success of his tactics.
By refusing to give battle to the English forces, by sallies
from fortified towns, by using cavalry for guerrilla warfare,
he had enormously strengthened the position of France
in its war with England. In 1374 ^^^ capture of a strong
English position in Normandy (Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte)
put a finishing touch to the English disasters. Shortly
afterwards, at the instance of the Papacy, the English and
French kings agreed to sign a truce at Bruges on June 27,
13755 which was continued till June 1377. England still
remained in possession of Calais, Brest, Bordeaux, and
Bayonne. The first portion of the Hundred Years' War
was now practically ended.

In 1378 Charles discovered that Charles the Bad was
renewing his intrigues ; and with the aid of the Comte de
Beaufort, his rival's son, he secured the possession of all
the fortresses in Normandy (except Cherbourg) which were

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 59

held by his enemy. In Pampeluna Charles the Bad was
besieged by a Castilian force, and compelled to cede
several of his castles in Navarre. He died in exile in 1387.
In July 1380 Du Guesclin, who had been engaged in sup-
pressing a rising in Languedoc, died, and two months later
the King followed him to the grave. During Charles's
reign France welcomed the despotism that he had set
up, and the States-General met only once. In many
ways, apart from the war, his reign is noteworthy. The
building of the Bastille was begun in 1369; he enriched
the royal library of Paris, which he practically founded ; he
built many castles near Paris ; he was the patron of men
of letters. At his death England held in France only
Calais and a small portion of Guienne.

In the Middle Ages it is difficult to overestimate the
effect upon a country of a capable sovereign. Under
Philip VI France suffered terrible calamities ; under
Charles V she rapidly recovered. Under a young or incap-
able monarch a country in those days, when the nobles often
lacked a sense of patriotism, and had little thought for the
welfare of the people, ran great risk. Such was the case of
France on the death of Charles V; for his successor Charles VI
was only twelve years old, and a few years after his accession
was visited by periodic attacks of lunacy. Consequently
the power was wielded throughout the greater portion of his
reign by his uncles, of whom the most important were the
Dukes of Anjou and Burgundy, the former acting as Regent,
the latter controlling the household, while the Duke of
Berry, who had no influence, governed Languedoc and
Aquitaine. The Duke of Bourbon, brother-in-law of the
above three princes, was associated with Burgundy in the
control of the household.

6o The Valois Line and

During the first two years of the reign France, England,
Flanders, and Germany were in a state of unrest. Wat
Tyler's rising in England, the supremacy of Philip van
Artevelde in Flanders, the rising of the Parisians who forced
Anjou to abolish the gabelle (salt-tax) and to make other ex-
tensive concessions, the formation in Germany of Leagues of
the Towns, all illustrated the opposition of the people to the
feudal nobles. However, in most of the countries affected
the royal power asserted itself, and feudalism triumphed.
In February 1382 a revolt in Rouen against a new duty was
crushed, but it was not till May that a serious insurrection
in Paris — the revolt of the Maillotins — was suppressed.
Peace being restored in Languedoc, in Rouen, and in Paris,
Louis, Duke of Anjou, departed with a large force to Italy,
for he had been adopted by his cousin Joanna, Queen of
Naples, as her heir. After some fighting in Italy he died
in 1 3 84, leaving Philip of Burgundy to a great extent supreme
in the royal councils.

The Dukes of Burgundy (i 363-1477)
Philip the Bold, d. 1404 zp Margaret, heiress of Flanders

John the Fearless =p Margaret of Margaret ::^ William, Count of

murdered 141 9

Holland I Hainault and

I Holland

Jacquelaine= Humphrey,
Duke of
I ~| Gloucester

Philip the Good, d. 1467 Anne = John> Duke of Bedford

Charles the Bold, killed 1477

I
Mary=Maximilian of Austria,

Emperor on the death

of Frederick III

Burgundy was not long in adopting an active foreign
policy. Flanders for some two years had been in a state of

the Hundred Years* War, 1328-1483 61

unrest, and Ghent, under Philip van Artevelde, had risen
against its Count, Louis of Flanders. The Count had
appealed to his father-in-law, Philip of Burgundy, who with
the King and a powerful force invaded Flanders and met
the Flemish army under Artevelde on November 27, 1382.
The battle of Roosebeke — so called after a village — proved
a decisive victory for the French. Thousands of Flemings,
including Artevelde, perished, one result being the complete
suppression of all seditious attempts in Paris against the
Government. Another result of the victory of the King was
that the cause of Clement, the French Pope, was strength-
ened as against his rival Urban, the Roman Pope.-^ A
rapacious and selfish aristocracy was now supreme in France,
much to the detriment of the country. In January 1384
the death of the Count of Flanders brought Philip of Bur-
gundy a notable increase of territory, with results of immense
import to France. He gained the County of Burgundy,
Flanders, Artois, Rethel, Nevers, and later Brabant ; and
after a short interval was able to restore peace in Flanders.
The following year Charles married Isabella of Bavaria,
and in 1386 and 1387 schemes were discussed and prepara-
tions actually made for invading England; and in 1388 an
expedition to punish the Duke of Gueldres proved costly
and was of little advantage to the monarchy. These failures
may have influenced Charles in his practical dismissal of
his uncles, Burgundy and Berry. Till 1392 the government
was in the charge of the Marmousets, several of his father's
capable ministers, such as the Constable de Clisson, Jean de
Nogent, and Arnaud de Corbie, while Louis of Orleans, the

1 The close of the Babylonish Captivity in 1378 was followed by the
Great Schism in the Papacy, which was not healed till the Council of
Constance.

62 The Valois Line and

King's brother, had the chief influence at Court. This
chance of the establishment of good government in France
was, however, wrecked in 1392, when Charles became for
a time insane; for the remainder of his life he was never
able to direct the affairs of the kingdom. Consequently,
the government fell into the hands of the great dukes,
who proved incapable of guiding France through a period
of much difficulty and anxiety.

The advance of the Turks, who had inflicted a crushing
defeat on the Christian army at Nicopolis in 1396, the
deposition of the Emperor Wenzel and Richard II at
the end of the century, the confusion caused by the con-
tinuance of the Papal Schism — all these circumstances
called for wise administrators at the head of affairs in France,
which, however, found itself at the opening of the fifteenth
century in a state of anarchy and confusion owing to the
rivalry of the factions of Burgundy and of Orleans. It was
obvious that civil war was imminent. Burgundy was
supported by the University of Paris and Paris generally,
while Orleans represented the feudal party, and was vio-
lently anti-English. In 1396 Richard II married Charles's
daughter Isabella, and peace between England and France
seemed assured. But the fall of Richard and the accession
of the House of Lancaster completely changed the situation,
and the triumph of Henry of Lancaster was the defeat of
the peace party in England and in France. A small French
force landed in Wales to help Owen Glendower, but Henry IV
by 1407 had firmly established himself on the English
throne. In the meantime Philip the Bold had died (1404).
He was succeeded by Jean Sans Peur, who in November 1407
brought about the murder of Orleans. Civil war could not
now be averted ; and while Burgundy's chief strength lay

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 63

in the north and east of France, that of the Orleanists,
now led by the Count of Armagnac, whose daughter
was the wife of the young Duke of Orleans, lay in the
west and south. War actually broke out in 1410, and was
of great advantage to England, which had no longer to fear
a French invasion. In 141 1 Henry sided with the Burgun-
dians, but after their victory over the Armagnacs in the
battle of St. Cloud in 141 2 he supported the latter party,
who offered him Aquitaine. During the civil war a
butcher named Caboche had headed a rising of the
Parisian populace, which continued for two years, his fol-
lowers keeping the Dauphin under their supervision. At
last the bourgeoisie of Paris combined to suppress the
Cabochian movement, and thus discredited Burgundy, who
had to some extent favoured the rising. The Armagnacs
were now triumphant, and with the Dauphin at their head
they affected to represent the nation in its struggle with
England, now ruled by Henry V, with whom Burgundy
made a treaty in May 1415. The struggle definitely opened
in August 1415, when Henry landed in Normandy. Thus
began the second period of the Hundred Years' War, which
continued till 1453, in its early phases threatening the dis-
ruption of France. The English victory at Agincourt on
October 25 was a victory over the Armagnac army, which
did not by any means represent the strength of the French
nation. Like the battle of Crecy, the battle of Agincourt
was the defeat of an insolent feudal party. Till 1422, when
both Henry V and Charles VI died, the results of the battle
were seen in many startling political changes. Orleans had
been captured at Agincourt, and Bernard VII, Count of
Armagnac, his father-in-law, assumed the government of
Paris. In 1416 Burgundy met Henry V at Calais, and

64 The Valois Line and

it is asserted that the substitution of the House of
Lancaster for the House of Valois was arranged. After
the meeting, while Henry was busy converting Normandy
into an English province, Burgundy marched on Paris,
which he entered in May 141 8. Armagnac and some 5,000
of his followers were murdered, but the Dauphin Charles
escaped and headed the Armagnac party in the provinces,
making Poitiers the seat of the Government. In January
1419 the English conquest of Normandy was completed by
the capture of Rouen, and the whole of the province passed
under English rule. Union of all French parties was abso-
lutely necessary, and the Dauphin vainly endeavoured to
bring about a reconciliation with Burgundy on July 8, 141 9,
at Pouilly. But no real settlement could be effected, as
the worthy Duke was busy negotiating with Henry V,
and had no wish to live at peace with the Armagnacs.
The so-called Treaty of Pouilly was not worth the paper on
which it was written, as Burgundy carried off the King, and
made no attempt to oppose the English. On September 10
a second meeting took place at Montereau-sur-Yonne.
There Burgundy was murdered by the companions of the
Dauphin, with the natural result that Philip, the young
Duke of Burgundy, definitely joined Henry V. On May 21,
1420, the Treaty of Troyes was signed between the Eng-
lish and French kings. Henry V was to be Regent, and
on Charles VI's death to be King of France, and he was to
marry Catharine, the daughter of Charles. On December i,
in company with the French King, Henry rode into Paris,
and the following year the treaty was ratified by the States-
General, and accepted by the University.

But the Treaty of Troyes, unlike the Treaty of Bretigny,
was the work of a faction in France, and in no sense

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 65

binding on the nation. Paris was not France — as Gambetta
pointed out in 1871 ; already the Dauphin was organizing
resistance in the south of France; and on March 21, 142 1,
aided by a Scottish contingent, he won the battle of Beauge.
Henry V at once hurried to France from England, and on
March 22, 1422, captured Meaux, driving the Armagnacs
southward. On August 21 he died, and a few weeks later
Charles VI also died. Henry VI of England was then pro-
claimed King of France. The worst was now over, and
France slowly regained what she had lost since 141 5.

Charles VII on his accession was in a curious position,
for Henry VI of England, an infant, was, according to the
terms of the Treaty of Troyes, King of France. The
country, too, was divided between them, Charles ruling
at Bourges over the south, west, and central portion of
France, while the English domination extended over most
of northern France including Paris, being more firmly
established in Normandy than elsewhere. But the strength
of the English cause lay chiefly in the fact that the Duke
of Bedford, the English Regent, was a capable ruler, and
skilled in the work of administration. He endeavoured
to govern the English possessions in France according to
French ideas, and not to attempt any drastic changes in
the administration of the conquered provinces. But in
a half-conquered country, liable to attacks from the troops
of Charles VII, no settlement, except perhaps in Normandy,
could be regarded as permanent. For some six years from
1423 to 1429, until the Maid of Orleans came on the scene,
the fortunes of the English improved. Charles was in the
hands of the Armagnac party, which showed no signs of
patriotism, its chief object being to overthrow Burgundy,
who since the affair of Montereau was the firm ally of the

1832.8 rr

66 The Valois Line and Hundred Years' War

English. In the battles of Cravant (1423) and Verneuii
(1424) the Armagnacs were defeated, though aided in the
latter battle by a strong Scottish contingent. Fortunately
for the French cause, the English operations were for
a considerable time hampered by Bedford's difficulties in
England. Gloucester, the English Regent, by his marriage
with Jacqueline of Holland and Hainault, exasperated Philip
of Burgundy, whose alliance meant so much for England,
and no little time was occupied in settling the difficulty
and in preserving the Burgundian friendship.

Consequently it was not till the close of 1428 that an
English army, under Lord Salisbury, began the siege of
Orleans. Its capture would have reduced Charles VII's
holding in France to Languedoc and Dauphine, and would
have secured the English supremacy in central France. The
siege of Orleans was, therefore, the decisive event in the
reign of the French King. During its progress there spread
through France a wave of national feeling which was illus-
trated and intensified by the appearance at Chinon of Jeanne
d'Arc on March 6, 1429. About a fortnight later she was
appointed Chef de Guerre, and an army placed under her
command. She had arrived at an opportune moment ; for
though Salisbury had been killed, a French force under La
Hire had on February 12, 1429, failed, in the battle of the
Herrings, to cut off an English convoy from Paris com-
manded by Sir John Falstaff. This failure led the
besieged citizens to negotiate ; but luckily Bedford refused
to accept their proposals, and till the arrival of Jeanne d'Arc
it seemed that the fall of the city was imminent. Her
arrival coincided not only vnth. the growth in France of
a patriotic determination to defeat the English, but also
with the appearance of difficulties in England, and with

F 2

68 The Valois Line and

indications of Burgundy's desire to sever his alliance with
Henry VI. On April 28, 1429, Jeanne d'Arc with a small
force pushed her way into Orleans ; on May 8 the siege
was raised ; the country south of the Loire was cleared of
the English, and Suffolk, who had succeeded Salisbury in
command of the troops besieging Orleans, was captured.
Talbot and Sir John Falstaff were next defeated at Patay,
Talbot being taken prisoner, and Charles was crowned at
Rheims on July 1 7. The expulsion of the English from Paris
was now the object of Jeanne. But the attack which
she led failed ; in May 1430, while leading a sally from
Compiegne, she fell into the hands of the Burgundians,
and before the end of the year was sold to the English, who,
after a most iniquitous trial, burned her at the stake on
May 30, 143 1. Her career, short as it was, was invaluable to
France, for she represented the rising national determination
to expel the English. After her appearance, the French
soldiers fought as never before, and all attempts to belittle
her influence upon the campaign or to cast discredit on her
motives and actions have absolutely failed.

Though the war continued for another twenty-one
years the eventual triumph of the French was assured, and
step by step the English were driven out of France, In
December 1435 Philip of Burgundy, who had been wavering
in his alliance with England since 1430, signed the Treaty of
Arras with the French King. In 1432 the Duchess of Bed-
ford, sister of Philip of Burgundy, had died ; and shortly after-
wards Bedford, by marrying Jacquetta of Luxemburg, had
deeply irritated Philip, whose vassal she was. Moreover,
the Emperor Sigismund and Frederick, Duke of Austria, had
allied themselves with the French King, thus creating in
Philip's mind a fear of an attack from Germany. Finally,

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 69

the death of Bedford on September 14, 1435, decided him to
accept the favourable terms offered by Charles. He received
the ' Somme towns ' of which we hear so much in the reign
of Louis XI, and other additions to the Duchy of Burgundy.
During Charles's reign the Duke was free from the payment
of all taxes, and in fact became practically independent.
It was provided, however, that on payment of 400,000
crowns the ' Somme towns ' were to be restored to the King.
France was now united, and the work of rehabilitation,
together with the expulsion of the English, proceeded apace.
In April 1436 Richemont occupied Paris, which was
entered by the King on November 12, 1437. During
the following seven years the war slackened, both sides
being exhausted, the French King having, moreover, to
face the civil war, known as the Praguerie, which broke
out in 1440. The conspirators, among whom were the
Dauphin (afterwards Louis XI) and the Duke of Bourbon,
took advantage of the King's frequent residence in his
castles on the Loire, and proposed to set up an oligarchy.
The immediate cause of this conspiracy was the action of
the States-General, which had met at Orleans the pre-
vious year and had strengthened the royal power in various
ways. The taille (property tax) was henceforward to be
paid direct to the King for defraying the military expenses,
while by the Ordonnance de la Gendarmerie a permanent
military force was established to enforce the law, and to
suppress brigandage and robbery. No wonder that the
decadent feudalism, which had brought such disasters to
France at Agincourt and Verneuil, was alarmed at the
prospect of a monarchy strong in the control of the purse,
and in possession of a permanent military force. The
foundations of a despotism in France were securely laid.

70 The Valois Line and

France was united, the Praguerie was suppressed, and the
Dauphin Louis was in July 1440 sent to reside in Dauphine.
But the country was terribly exhausted : its condition was
similar to that of 1360-8. Gradually, after the Peace of
Arras, order was slowly restored, and the Truce of Tours,
which was arranged in May 1444, enabled the Government
to carry on the absolutely necessary work of recuperation.
The period between the Peace of Arras and the Truce of
Tours was important in the history of Europe as well as
in that of France. It saw the meeting of the Council of
Basel (1431-49), followed by the issue by Charles of the
Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges (1438), which emphasized
the independence of the Galilean Church, thus continuing
the policy initiated by Philip the Fair. France itself
witnessed the re-establishment of order, the improvement
in the currency, and the suppression of brigandage. During
those years Charles was fortunate in numbering among his
advisers Richemont, who as Constable had since 1428 steadily
increased his military reputation, Charles of Anjou, Duke of
Maine (the Queen's brother), and his Queen.

The conclusion of the Treaty of Tours in 144/] synchronizes
with a remarkable change in the character of the French
King. Henceforward, he showed an activity and energy
which had excellent results for France. The army was
completely reformed in 1445, and well-organized cavalry
regiments were raised ; while in 1448 and 1449 further
additions to the army were made. The practice of relying
mainly on mercenaries and on a disorderly feudal force
was abandoned ; and the Crown, provided with a standing
army, was enabled to lay the foundations of that absolute
monarchy which Louis XI formally established.

In July 1449 the truce with England ended, and in

thejlundred Years' War, 1328-1483 71

eleven months the French had regained Normandy, de-
feating the English at Formigny in April 1450. In Guienne
the difficulties with which the French had to contend
were greater, for the English occupation of that part of
France dated from the twelfth century. In October 1452
Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, arrived at Bordeaux and found
the Gascon population ready to defend themselves against
the French. But on July 17, 1453, he was defeated and
killed in the battle of Chatillon, Bordeaux fell again into
the hands of the French in October, and by the end of the
year Calais, Guines, and Havre were the only possessions
held by Henry VI in France.

During the years following the English failure to capture
Orleans the work of internal reform had gradually proceeded,
and after the Treaty of Tours the results were clearly
apparent. Charles had wisely employed a number of men
of the middle class, of whom one of the most celebrated
was Jacques Cceur, a merchant, who devoted himself to the
care of the finances. Such men sat with Richemont and
Dunois in the royal council, which, like the Curia Regis of
Henry I of England, was mainly composed of business-like
men of humble origin. Aided by these men, and perhaps
partly inspired by his favourite, Agnes Sorel, Charles, in spite
of 'the fundamental baseness of his character', found him-
self able to establish the royal authority on a firm founda-
tion, even without the aid of the States-General, which at
this period in the history of France was unequal to the task
for which it apparently was intended, of contributing to
the formation of a powerful kingdom. Even the provincial
assemblies, which at an earlier period had shown activity,
were before the end of the reign reduced to impotence.

At the time of his death in 1461 Charles left France

72 The Valois Line and

a monarchy unhampered by a constitution, such as existed
in England. Would his son Louis continue his policy ?
Louis was an unknown factor. After his banishment to
Dauphine in 1440 Louis had been reconciled to Charles
only to enter into another conspiracy in 1446. He was
again banished to Dauphine, and while there married
Charlotte, daughter of the Duke of Savoy. In 1456, in
order to escape from the control of his father, he fled to the
Court of Philip of Burgundy.

One other matter of anxiety was the immense power
wielded by the Burgundian Duke, who had refused to allow
Charles to redeem the Somme towns, in accordance with
the Treaty of Arras. The history of the later years of the
Burgundian dukes belongs to the reign of Louis XI, and
fully justified the fears of Charles VII.

Louis XI was the ablest of the Valois kings, as a comparison
between the condition of France at his accession in 1461 and
at his death in 1483 will prove. The work of reorganizing a
country after a long period of warfare is obviously difficult.
Charles V in the previous century had shown no little ability
in the manner in which he recovered for France most of her
lost territory. Louis XI had a still more difficult task ; for not
only was the country suffering from the long war with
England, but a condition of things somewhat resembling the
Wars of the Roses existed in France during the early years of
his reign, and for fourteen years his attention could never be
diverted from the movements of Charles the Bold of Bur-
gundy.

Accompanied by Philip, Duke of Burgundy, he was
crowned at Rheims and then proceeded to Paris. The en-
suing four years saw his throne in considerable danger. On
all sides he encountered opposition, which was only to be

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 73

expected when it is remembered that on his accession he was
supported by no party, and that the country was still bur-
dened and exhausted by the effects of many years of war.
The populace of Paris, which had given him a warm welcome,
had, like the majority of his subjects, expected that all taxes
would be abolished. His dismissal of his father's councillors
added to his difficulties, for it was at once made evident that
Louis intended to rule as well as to reign. It has been said
that in him you find the ' restless eagerness of a revolution-
ary leader '. In some respects he resembled the Emperor
Joseph II, who in the years just preceding the French Revo-
lution attempted ' to attain all ends at once '. Throughout
his reign Louis was utterly reckless of giving offence when in
prosperity, but when once entangled in a dangerous position
no man could show greater skill in extricating himself.

On his accession he had three chief aims : first, to weaken
or to destroy the power of the feudal nobility ; secondly, to
recover the Somme towns from the Duke of Burgundy ; and,
thirdly, to win the support of the Papacy by abolishing the
Pragmatic Sanction. In 1461 that abolition was carried out,
though Louis was careful throughout his reign to admit or
repel the Papal pretensions as it suited him at the time. He
may have hoped to secure the Papal support for John of
Calabria's pretensions to the crown of Naples ; at any rate,
the repeal of the Pragmatic Sanction destroyed the in-
fluence of the nobles in the election of bishops and in the
collation of benefices. Louis' activity was manifested in
1462, when he visited the southern provinces, confirming
and enlarging the charters of towns, especially those of
Bordeaux — so lately ruled by the English kings. While in
the south he took advantage of a civil war in Catalonia to
acquire Roussillon. A revolt, however, followed ; and it was

74 The Valois Line and

not till 1463 that the Convention of Bayonne was concluded
between Henry IV of Castile and Louis, by which the latter
received the somewhat precarious possession of Roussillon.

Though the extension of his dominions to the Pyrenees
was earnestly desired by Louis, the recovery of the Somme
towns (Peronne, Roye, Montdidier, St. Quentin, Amiens,
Corbie being the chief) was the main object of his earlier
policy, Louis aiming naturally at possessing a defensible fron-
tier against Burgundy and England. These towns had by the
Treaty of Arras been ceded to the Duke of Burgundy, who
engaged to restore them on receipt of 400,000 crowns. In
1463 Louis with infinite difficulty collected the required sum
and regained the towns. But the danger from Burgundy, by
the end of the year 1464, had sensibly increased. The French
party in that Court had fallen, and Charles, then Count
of Charolais, had been reconciled to his father and was
supreme. Louis was isolated, and though he endeavoured to
strengthen himself by foreign alliances, and early in 1465 by
appealing to the deputies of the northern towns at Rouen,
and shortly afterwards by summoning a meeting of the
notables at Tours, he was unable to prevent the attack on
him by the League of Public Weal.

That League had been formed in Paris in December 1464.
It was headed by the Duke of Berry, and included several
of the late King's ministers, who had appealed to the Duke
of Burgundy, their ostensible grounds of complaint being the
heavy taxation, the illegal exactions, and ' the unworthiness
of the Government '.

Louis, scenting danger, at once began to collect armed
forces and to arrange for the defence of Paris, and for the
overthrow of the army under the Dukes of Brittany and
Berry before the arrival of the Burgundians under Charo-

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 75

lais. The treachery of several leading nobles somewhat
upset the royal plans, and Charolais with a force of about
10,000 men reached Paris in June. Meanwhile Louis had
also approached the capital from the south with a force of
12,000 men composed chiefly of cavalry, and on July 16 the
indecisive battle of Montl'heri was fought. The news of
frequent instances of treachery in various parts of the country
and of the loss of Normandy in September decided Louis to
agree to the Treaty of Conflans (or St.Maur) in October. The
concessions made by the King were so considerable that it is
quite evident his immediate object was to dissolve the hostile
confederacy at any cost. He yielded the towns on the Somme
to Charolais ; the Dukes of Brittany and Bourbon obtained
what they demanded, the latter receiving the government
of Guienne ; Saint-Pol, Nemours, Dunois, Dammartin, and
other traitors were amply rewarded. John of Calabria, the
brother of Queen Margaret of England and an honest man,
obtained, among other concessions, various towns on the
frontier of Lorraine.

The ultimate victory was, however, assured to Louis owing
to the fact that the French nobles, like the barons in the reign
of Stephen of England, merely desired to remain petty
sovereigns, aiming at independence and the formation of
isolated despotisms. They were thus attempting to stem
the advancing tide of nationality and unity which had been
stimulated by the long wars with England. Further, among
the late supporters of the French barons were many soldiers
and lawyers who had no particular sympathy with the views
of those who wished to divide France into a number
of independent principalities. Finally, the majority of the
gentry and middle classes, whose neutrality had so aided
the League, now realized what the intentions of Charolais and

76 The Valois Line and

his confederates were — what the ' public weal ' meant — and
before many months were over showed clearly that they had
no sympathy with the dismemberment of the monarchy.

No sooner had the confederation separated than Louis
began to act. He had conciliated Bourbon, Saint-Pol, and
John of Calabria, and taking advantage of the revolt of Liege,
the suppression of which occupied Charolais till the end of
the year 1465, when the Liegeois had to consent to the
Piteous Peace, he recovered Normandy, the most valuable
and important province in the kingdom. Louis had thus
made a most profitable use of the diversion caused by the
revolt of Liege.

During the following three years Louis endeavoured to
strengthen his position in various ways. In 1466 he came to
an agreement with Warwick, the envoy of the English nobles
who opposed the Burgundian policy of their King ; but
in June 1467 Phihp the Good died, and Charles the Bold was
able to develop his ambitious schemes, in the same year
punishing the people of Liege for a fresh rebellion, and in
1468 marrying Elizabeth of York and forming a close alliance
with her brother Edward IV. This alliance was a blow to
Louis' diplomacy. To counteract its effect (after quelling
a rebellion in Brittany in September 1468) the French King
resolved to go to Peronne and to negotiate with Charles in
person. The risk was great, but Louis had an exalted
opinion of his own diplomatic skill, and, in spite of the
warnings of Dammartin, he was satisfied with Charles's
assurance of a safe-conduct. Early in October he found
himself in the castle of Peronne.

Louis' chief object was to induce the Duke to abandon his
alliances with England and Brittany. While the negotiations
were in progress another rising took place in Liege, and it was

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 yj

reported that Louis' agents had led the mob. For a time
Louis' fate hung in the balance, but after an anxious interval
Charles decided to insist upon Louis' agreeing to execute the
Treaty of Conflans, to surrender all his rights to Picardy, and
to give his brother, Charles of France, Champagne and Brie.
Louis was also compelled to be present at the capture of
Liege, according to his agreement with Charles, and showed
great personal courage. For a time after his return to France
Louis lived in Touraine, as he felt acutely his own folly in
trusting himself to the Duke of Burgundy. He soon, how-
ever, resumed his duties, and persuaded his brother Charles,
with whom he was reconciled, to accept Guienne instead of
Champagne and Brie.

During the next three years, till the close of 1472, Louis
had an anxious time. By his efforts Warwick, who had fled
to him from England, was reconciled to Queen Margaret, and
in 1470 they landed in England, and restored Henry VI —
Edward IV having fled to Charles the Bold's dominions.
Louis' policy had succeeded, and he now attacked Burgundy,
winning some successes. Charles, finding himself in a difficult
position, asked and obtained (April 1471) a truce for three
months, Louis retaining Amiens and St. Quentin. Ten
days later the victory of Edward IV at Barnet, followed
on May 4 by that at Tewkesbury, overthrew the Houses of
Neville and Lancaster. A new situation was thus created
for Louis, and it called for careful handling. The death of
Charles, Duke of Guienne, in 1472 was, however, a piece
of good fortune, for Louis at once took possession of the
province. Charles the Bold, furious at the blow to his
plans caused by the Duke's death, at once invaded France,
committing atrocities at Nesle and Roye. Beauvais, however,
held out successfully, and Charles, having continued his work

78 The Valois Line and

of devastation as far as Rouen, found himself compelled to
retreat.

It was quite evident that the situation in France was very-
different from what it was at the time of the League of
Public Weal. The towns, which then had been neutral,
now defended themselves bravely against the Burgundians.
Moreover, about this time Charles's Chamberlain, Philippe de
Commines, weary of ' his capricious and overbearing master ',
fled by night and entered into the service of Louis XL
That event, Louis' peace with Brittany in November 1472,
and the lasting peace with Charles the Bold in the same
month, bring to a close the first period in Louis' reign. He
had triumphed over many difficulties and had safely emerged
from various risky situations. The second period of his reign
is full of interesting and startling developments, and closes
with the death of Charles the Bold in 1477. Till that event
took place Charles, in conjunction with the French princes,
was aiming at the overthrow of the supremacy of the
Crown, at the creation of a bastard feudalism in its place,
and at the establishment of his domination over Picardy and
Champagne. He had failed to carry out these aims, and he
now embarked upon a more ambitious policy, his object being,
in the words of the late Professor Freeman, ' not to gain a
paramount influence within the kingdom of France, not to
weaken the French monarchy in the character of one of its
vassals, but to throw it into the shade, to dismember, perhaps
to conquer it, in the character of a foreign sovereign '.■'•
These years are of unusual interest in European history and
were of paramount importance to France and the Empire.
For had Charles been successful in setting up a middle
kingdom, the effects would have been far-reaching. He
^ Freeman, Select Essays : Charles the Bold.

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 79

himself was confident of his ability to form an independent
and comparatively compact middle kingdom, and having
effected this object to raise himself to the Imperial throne.
Until his failure to carry out these projects, and his death,
the policy of Louis was one of constant watchfulness. ' It
seemed to some ', writes Commines, ' that the King ought not
to have prolonged the truce, nor to have suffered the Duke's
presumption to wax so great. . . . There were others [among
whom was probably Commines himself] who understood this
matter better, and whose knowledge was greater, because
they had been on the spot. These advisers urged him to
accept the truce without much misgiving and to allow the
Duke to dash himself against those German countries, whose
might and power is such as to be wellnigh incredible. . . .
It was certain that all his resources would be spent and utterly
wasted against the great size and strength of Germany.'

Charles, after the conclusion of ' the lasting truce ' with
Louis, lost no time in endeavouring to carry out his vast
schemes, which, if successful, would, it is said, have resulted
' in the oppression of Germany, the disruption of the
French monarchy, the subjection of Switzerland and Savoy '.
Already in 1469 he had bought, subject to certain conditions,
the Alsatian dominions of Duke Sigismund of Austria,
cousin of the Emperor Frederick III, thus securing a position
on both sides of the Upper Rhine ; in 1473 he secured
Guelders and Zutphen, and seizing and imprisoning Rene,
Duke of Lorraine, made preparations to annex his duchy.
But his schemes in their entirety could not be carried out
without the acquiescence of the Emperor, with whom a
meeting took place at Trier. Charles had already found it
necessary to release Rene of Lorraine (securing, however,
four fortresses), as Louis XI w^s ready to contest by force of

8o The Valois Line and

arms the permanent occupation of Lorraine by the Burgun-
dians, and moreover held a nephew of the Emperor in custody
as a hostage for the safety of Rene.

Gradually the Emperor became not only suspicious of
Charles, but also fearful for his own safety. Might not he,
too, have to undergo a Peronne experience ? So, after a
somewhat unsatisfactory interview with Charles, the Emperor,
on the night following, ' dropped quietly and swiftly down
the Moselle in a boat which had been prepared to receive
him '. Charles, on discovering that he was ' the laughing-
stock of Europe ' and that his Imperial plans were for the
time frustrated, proceeded through Lorraine to Alsace, where
the rule of his agent, Peter of Hagenbach, had roused dis-
content bordering on open rebellion. The seriousness of the
situation was becoming daily more apparent, especially as
the Swiss League, which consisted of eight cantons, was show-
ing suspicions of Charles, and Berne, Zurich, and Lucerne
began to take the lead in opposing his designs. In 1474 the
Alsatians drove out the BurgundiansandexecutedHagenbach;
and in October the Swiss League made a treaty with Louis,
engaging to assist him with an armed force and to receive large
sums of money from him. On December 20 the League
declared war upon Charles, who, engaged in besieging Neuss,
could now only rely upon his alliance with Edward IV,
concluded on July 25, which provided for an English
invasion of France.

Till the close of the following year (1475) the situation
was perplexing even to the most acute observers. In that
year events took place which indicated that a crisis in the
history of France and Burgundy was at hand. The arrival
of some 80,000 Imperial troops, under the Margrave Albert
of Brandenburg, in the neighbourhood of Neuss led Charles to

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 81

conclude a truce with the Emperor and, in June, to raise the
siege, which had lasted eleven months. His army was ex-
hausted and his treasury empty, and he was being attacked
by the Swiss, by the Duke of Lorraine, and by Louis. The
latter, having failed to induce him to renew the truce which
expired on May i, burned Roye, Montdidier, and Corbie, and
devastated most of Artois. Edward IV, however, landed in
France in the summer, and Charles met him at Calais on
July 12. Everything depended upon a friendly understand-
ing between Edward and Charles, and upon the co-operation
of their forces.

The first event which indicated to Edward IV the unsatis-
factory character of the situation was the refusal of Saint-Pol
to admit, according to promise, the English into St. Quentin ;
the second was the sudden departure of Charles from the
English camp. The season was advancing and the EngHsh
forces, disappointed at the absence of their allies, found them-
selves in a strange country without any fixed plan of campaign.
Louis quickly realized the situation, and acted with acuteness
and celerity. Negotiations were opened with Edward, pre-
liminaries of peace which included the payment by Louis
of vast sums of money to Edward, a marriage alliance — a
daughter of Edward to marry the Dauphin — the release
of Queen Margaret, and trade facilities between the two
countries were rapidly arranged. The two kings met at
Picquigny on the Somme on August 29, and Edward and
his army slowly returned to England.

The Peace of Picquigny was a tribute to Louis' diplomatic
skill, and Charles discovered to his dismay that it was to last
for seven years. Weakened by his efforts at Neuss, faced by
the refusal of the Estates of Flanders to grant him men or
money, and deserted by the English King, Charles reluc-

1832.8 ^

82 The Valois Line and

tantly agreed to a peace for nine years with Louis, on Novem-
ber 13. The French King consented not only to abandon his
alliance wdth the Emperor and Sigismund of Austria, but
also not to aid the Swiss in any attempt that they might make
to conquer Alsace. Charles promised to arrange for Saint-
Pol's punishment for high treason either at his (Charles's)
hands or at those of the King. While Charles was besieging
Nancy in November, Saint-Pol was handed over to Louis, by
whom he was executed vnthout delay. Meanwhile Charles
had taken Nancy, which, he declared, should be the capital of
his realm. The annexation of Lorraine had been fairly easily
accomplished, and Charles, impatient of delay, though his
army required rest, determined to attack the Swiss. He was
fully cognizant of the seriousness of the task before him, for
the Swiss were already well known to be the hardiest and
bravest soldiers in Europe. It is surmised that he intended,
after inflicting a defeat on his opponents, to march into
Italy.

The crisis in his career had, however, arrived. Louis XI,
as if he already anticipated the results of the coming cam-
paigns, arrived at Lyons with a strong force. His prescience
was justified, for on March 3, 1476, the news was brought
that on the previous day Charles had been defeated by the
Swiss in the battle of Granson.^ Undeterred by this check to
his projects, Charles collected a powerful force which included
3,000 English archers, and besieged Morat. The confederate
forces hastily assembled, and on June 23 the famous battle of
Morat was fought. After a long and terrible struggle Charles
was defeated and fled from the field of battle. Disaster

1 Does the fact that Charles had with him jewellery and plate indicate
an intention of proceeding to Italy, perhaps to receive from the Pope the
title of King of the Romans ?

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 ^2>

followed disaster. The subjects of Charles refused to assist
him in carrying on an offensive war. In October 1476 Rene,
Duke of Lorraine, besieged Nancy, which after a brave defence
capitulated. At the beginning of the year 1477 Rene was
in Lorraine with a considerable army, advancing to relieve
Nancy, which, defended by a small garrison to which he had
committed its safety, had held out for several weeks. In spite
of warnings Charles with an inferior force persisted in giving
battle ; on January 2, 1477, he was defeated in the battle of
Nancy, and two days later was found dead in a brook.

The crisis which had been impending during the last few
years was now ended. But Louis' anxiety, even though
Charles's fall had been foreseen by many, had been fully justi-
fied. In spite of his defeat and losses at Granson Charles
might easily have been victorious at Morat, ' for the struggle ',
we are told, ' was long and bloody, and the event doubtful
till the flank of the Duke's army was turned by a division of
the enemy '. In the event of a victory, Charles would un-
doubtedly have persevered in his attempt to form a middle
kingdom. As it was, the idea of a middle kingdom died with
him, and so far his death marks an epoch in European
history. The policy of Charles V in setting up the House of
Burgundy was a blunder not to be repeated.

For Louis the death of Charles the Bold raised most impor-
tant questions. Charles's daughter and Louis' goddaughter,
Mary of Burgundy, now ruled over Flanders and the other
possessions of his House. Louis had a problem before him
somewhat similar to that which confronted Fleury in 1740.
The latter had to decide whether his attitude towards Maria
Theresa should be a policy of friendship. Louis was faced
with a similar problem. Was he to suggest a marriage be-
tween Mary and the Dauphin, or some French prince such

c 2

84 The Valois Line and

as the Count of Angouleme ? Or was he to break the existing
truce and, taking advantage of the weakness of the Princess,
to annex several of the Burgundian possessions ? Anticipating
the decision of Fleury, he resolved to adopt a violent and
ingenious policy. Though he opened negotiations for Mary's
marriage he lost no time in occupying the Burgundies (the
Duchy and the County), and at the same time instigated
Ghent and other towns to refuse the payment of taxes,
and to demand the restoration of liberties which had been
suppressed by Charles the Bold. At first Mary, guided
by Humbercourt and Hugonot, the two ' French ' ministers
in her Council, practically agreed to Louis' demands of terri-
tory ; but no sooner had the Estates of Flanders and Brabant
heard from Louis of these concessions than a violent anti-
French movement took place in Ghent, and the two ministers
were executed.

Louis had made a serious blunder in divulging Mary's pro-
posals, and, what was equally serious, the inhabitants of the
two Burgundies, maddened by the rapacity of the King's
agents, rose in violent rebellion. The French garrisons in
Franche-Comte (the County of Burgundy), which owed
allegiance to the Empire, were driven out ; Craon, Louis'
general, was defeated on March 19, 1477, at Vesoul, and was
replaced by Charles d'Amboise ; and Arras, which had been
seized by Louis, revolted. Louis himself, who was wounded,
led the attack on Arras, took it, decimated the inhabitants,
renamed the town ' Franchise ', and imported into it settlers
from Languedoc and other parts of France. The whole of
Artois except St. Omer now passed into Louis' hands, and
Hainault was invaded. The war developed in intensity,
and Mary's marriage to Maximilian of Austria on August 18
ended all Louis' hopes of a marriage alliance between the

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 85

heiress of Burgundy and a French prince. In September a
truce was made which continued till 1479, and in the mean-
time Louis endeavoured in various ways to strengthen his
position.

Having succeeded in securing a large portion of the
Burgundian inheritance, Louis took precautions to assure
himself of the neutrality of Brittany, England, and the
Empire, and in 1478 entered upon a new campaign in the
Netherlands, capturing Conde (shortly afterwards evacuating
it), and agreeing to a truce in October. The same month he
succeeded in concluding a treaty with Ferdinand and Isabella,
who in January 1479 united by their marriage the crowns of
Castile and Aragon, thus laying the foundations of the great
Spanish monarchy. In that year Louis' daughter, Made-
leine, became Regent of Navarre, and her daughter, Catherine,
married Jean d'Albret, under whose rule French influence
became paramount. The campaign of 1479 was opened by
the rupture of the existing truce by the Burgundians, who
were, however, in July forced to submit, Dole being captured
and razed to the ground. Simultaneously with the rising in
Burgundy Maximilian had begun operations in the north
and was besieging Therouanne. Crevecoeur, the successor
of Dammartin, at once engaged the enemy, and the notable
battle of Therouanne took place. The battle was indecisive,
but Maximilian raised the siege, and for want of money was
unable to take the offensive in 1480, while Louis' fleet dealt
a heavy blow at the trade of the Low Countries.

As usual, Louis, fearful of English intervention supported
by Brittany, was anxious to treat. Commines noticed in 1480
how aged Louis had become, and in 148 1 he had a slight
stroke of apoplexy. Maximilian, in August 1480, had agreed
to a truce for seven months, which he later prolonged for

86 The Valois Line and

a year. Before he died Louis, who by his clever Pyrenean
policy had already acquired Roussillon and Cerdagne, united
to the crown in 148 1 the domains of the House of Anjou as
well as Bar and Provence. In March of the following year
Mary of Burgundy died, leaving two children, Philip and
Margaret ; and on December 23, by the Treaty of Arras, it
was arranged that Margaret should be betrothed to the
Dauphin, bringing with her Artois and Franche-Comte as
a downry, and on her arrival in France she was placed under
the care of the Lord and Lady of Beaujeu (Louis' daughter).^

In its main features Louis' policy is similar to that pursued
by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, by Edward IV, and by
Henry VII of England, All these monarchs treated represen-
tative assemblies, which they rarely summoned, with severity.
Before the end of the century, owing to their policy, despo-
tisms, which varied in character but which were despotisms,
were established in these countries, all attempts to establish
feudal oligarchies having for ever failed. In France at the
time of Louis' death 'all was prepared for the new phase of
national life of which the invasion of Italy by Charles VIII
was the signal '.^ Louis, however, had carefully refused to
yield to the temptation of interfering actively in Italian
politics, and so was able to leave behind him vast resources
and a strong consolidated kingdom.

Louis was indeed the ablest king of the Valois line. At
the time of his death he had crushed the ' Lords of the Lilies '
and all attempts to set up a feudal oligarchy. He had baffled

1 Before he embarked on the invasion of Italy Charles VIII sent
Margaret back to Maximilian, restoring Artois and Franche-Comte
(Treaty of Senlis, May 1493), having already (by the Treaty of Barcelona,
January 1493) ceded Roussillon and Cerdagne to Spain.

2 P. F. Willert, The Reign of Louis XI, p. 299 (Rivingtons : 1876).

the Hundred Years' War, 1328-1483 87

the powerful Duke of Burgundy, and the danger to France of
the establishment of a middle kingdom had been removed.
The years which he had to devote to watching every
movement of Charles the Bold had deprived him of the time
required for carrying out all his proposed projects for the
benefit of France. Yet much had been done, as his numerous
ordinances for the regulation and encouragement of trade
testify. ' Foreign merchants were', we are told, ' encouraged
to frequent the great fairs of Champagne ; and new fairs
with similar privileges and equal freedom of trade were es-
tablished at Arras, Caen, Lyons, Bayonne, and other places.' ^
His treaty with the Hanseatic League, made in 1464 and
enlarged in 1473 and again later, was intended to encourage
French maritime enterprise. On Louis' accession no navy
existed, but within ten years, as the result of this treaty and
of his navigation laws, a fleet of sixty ships had been con-
structed which, after the acquisition of Provence, checked
the Barbary States pirates and gave a great impulse to
French trade in the Levant. He also encouraged the manu-
facture of silk in the southern counties, causing a vast
number of mulberry trees to be planted. Learning was also
definitely encouraged ; in 1469 and 1471 printing presses
were set up m the Sorbonne, and others were subsequently
established at Lyons, Caen, and Angers. Moreover, a
warm welcome was given to Greek refugees from Constanti-
nople ; the old-fashioned disputations of the schools were
treated with contempt ; the University of Paris itself, the
home of orthodoxy, the exponent of the view that kings
might be deposed if they neglected their duties, and the
enemy of the Parlement of Paris, was forced to accept the
regulations ordained by Louis himself.

^ Willert, The Reign of Louis XI.

88 The Valois Line and Hundred Years' War

Louis' unpopularity during his later years is not surprising ;
for in face of the heavy taxation his subjects soon forgot that,
like Henry II of England, he had saved his country from a
feudal supremacy, which implied anarchy and civil war. His
military reforms, too, engendered great discontent. Enor-
mous sums were spent on armaments, and in place of the free
archers he established a force of 25,000 mercenaries composed
in great part of Italians, Scots, Germans, and Swiss, whose
lack of discipline in peace time rendered them very un-
popular. The increased taxation to which France was
subjected during his reign called forth, as has been already
said, many complaints — not that Louis' personal expendi-
ture was other than most moderate, but his system of filling
foreign courts with his agents proved most expensive. The
years 1481 and 1482 were years of great scarcity, almost
amounting to famine.

Like many kings during the Middle Ages Louis, who was
personally courageous, was a keen hunter and often devoted
whole days to sport. He was, it is true, very superstitious, and
as his end drew near endeavoured to prolong his life by means
of relics and appeals to St. Francis of Paola, a noted devotee
of the time. On August 24, 1483, he had a third paralytic
seizure, and during the last few days of his life showed
dignity worthy of a great king. He died in the gloomy castle
of Plessis-les-Tours on August 30, 1483. Though he is often
charged with many acts of tyranny, cruelty, and treachery,
' there is no instance in his life of aimless and wanton cruelty '.
There is no reason for disputing the judgement expressed by
Commines after his death : ' He was more wise, more liberal,
and more virtuous in all things than any contemporary
sovereign.'

The Renaissance in France and the Beginning
of Franco-German Hostility, i^8^-ijj8

As Charles VIII was only thirteen years old when in 1483
he succeeded Louis XI as King of France, the government
of the country was at first carried on by his sister, Anne
of Beaujeu. In January 1484 the States-General met at
Tours, discussed public grievances, and urged that it should
be called together every two years. The Duke of Orleans
(afterwards Louis XII), the first prince of the blood, was
placed at the head of the Council of State, and Anne of
Beaujeu was appointed guardian of the King. In 1488 the
Duke of Brittany died, leaving the Duchy to his daughter
Anne, who was then in her thirteenth year. Anne of
Brittany was no ordinary woman. Small and delicate, she
had a dignified carriage, and was firm and resolute. Deter-
mined to maintain her independence, she made alliances
with England and Spain and arranged to marry Maxi-
milian. But, influenced by Anne of Beaujeu, she gave up
Maximilian, and in December 1491, being about seventeen
years old, consented to marry Charles VIII. Brittany
was thus incorporated wdth the French kingdom, and a
barrier was set up against invasion from England. Charles
had even at this early period in his reign determined to
invade Italy and conquer Naples.

No one who lived at the close of the fifteenth century
could have realized that the accession of Charles VIII
would be the prelude to a struggle between France and

90 The Renaissance in France and

Germany which has with intervals continued till the present
day. Nor could it be realized how important were to be
to France the results of the discovery of America, leading
to the occupation of Canada and the famous struggle with
England for its possession which only ended in favour of
the latter in 1763! Moreover, no Frenchmen could at that
time have anticipated how great would be the effect upon
French thought and upon French architecture of the contact
with the Italian Renaissance. The invasion of Italy by the
French King in 1494 marks indeed the beginning of modern
times.

His expedition to Italy did not come as a surprise to the
rulers of the various Italian states. The growth of France
had long been realized by them ; and their own weakness
was as well known to them as it was to their powerful neigh-
bours. That weakness had become very apparent after
the death of Lorenzo de' Medici in 1492. The position of
Alfonso, King of Naples, owing to the tyrannical character of
his rule, was unstable ; while that of Ludovico il Moro, the
ruler of the rich state of Milan, might be threatened at any
time by the claims of the Duke of Orleans. Moreover,
Gian Galeazzo, the deposed Duke of Milan, had married
the granddaughter of the King of Naples, and Ludovico
feared that a coalition headed by Alfonso of Naples might at
any moment attack him. The powerful state of Venice with
its ample resources was hostile both to Naples and to Milan,
and on Charles VIII's accession sent an embassy to France
proposing the conquest of both these states. That the
accession of Charles VIII to the throne of France was likely
to lead to French intervention in Italy was first recognized
by Ludovico, who in 1492 renewed the alliance with
France which had been made by his father, Francesco

Beginning of Franco-German Hostility 91

Sforza. He thus diverted the attention of the French
King from Milan to Naples, upon which Charles VIII had
vague claims. Moreover, a number of the oppressed
Neapolitan barons who had fled to France were continually
urging the French King to conquer Naples and Sicily, the
crown of which carried with it that of Jerusalem. An
attack upon the kingdom of the Two Sicilies would thus
partake of the nature of a crusade. Before a French
expedition could set out for Italy it was necessary to safe-
guard France from any possible attacks by her neighbours.
The Treaty of Staples in November 1492, that of Barcelona
in January 1493, and that of Senlis in May 1493 secured
France from any attacks by Henry VII, Ferdinand of
Aragon, and the Emperor Maximilian. Charles, who had
assumed the title of Kang of Sicily and Jerusalem, was thus
able to continue the warlike preparations which he had
begun in 1492 ; in May 1494 French troops entered Italy,
and in August a French fleet defeated that of Naples.

In the autumn Charles himself crossed the Alps, and on
November 17 entered Florence, which had risen against its
ruler Piero de' Medici, who had fled. Charles then advanced
to Rome. Before he entered Naples, on February 22, 1495,
Alfonso had resigned in favour of his son Ferrantino, who, on
Charles's approach, fled to Ischia.

It was soon evident that all idea of a crusade must be
put aside. The hostility of Ferdinand of Aragon, whose
fleet was guarding Sicily, was almost avowed. The rapid
success which attended Charles VI IPs expedition aroused
general alarm in Europe, and especially in Italy. Ferdinand
and Maximilian were no less perturbed than was Alex-
ander VI, who had always disliked the arrival of the
French in Italy. A league of Italian Powers was rapidly

92 The Renaissance in France and

formed, in which Venice took a leading part. Leaving
troops in Naples, which were soon forced to yield to a
Spanish force, Charles set out for France on May 21,
1495. After a battle at Fornovo with the army of the
league (July 5), he returned to France, where in April
1499 he died, leaving no son.

The history of the gradual expulsion of the French from
Naples and the south of Italy is given in picturesque
language by Guillaume de Villeneuve, '-Chevalier Conseiller
et Maistre d'ostel du roy de France, de Secille, et de Jerusa-
lem, Charles VIII de ce nom ', who after many adventures was
released from captivity in South Italy and arrived at Lyons
in the autumn of 1496. There he had an interview with
Charles VIII, who, in consideration for his service, made
him master of the household. Meanwhile, Montpensier
had in July capitulated at Atella, and by the end of the year
all was lost to France. The consequences to Italy, though
for the moment not so apparent, were in reality more
serious, because its weakness stood revealed, and till i860
that country was frequently the battlefield of the Great
Powers of Europe, being to a large extent under Spain and
the iron heel of Austria.

The Italian expedition, though a failure as far as France
was concerned, marked an epoch in French history. At-
tracted by the visible results in Italy of the Renaissance
movement, Charles returned to France with pictures and
books, and before long Italian architects were in France,
where in the following reigns they made themselves famous
by the erection of chateaux, many of which exist to the
present day.

Louis XII, the cousin of the late King, was known before
his accession as Louis of Orleans. His accession reunited

Beginning of Franco-German Hostility 93

the fief of Orleans to the crown. He divorced his wife
Jeanne, daughter of Louis XI, and married Anne of Brittany
to keep her lands united to the French Crown. Urged by
Caesar Borgia, who brought the dispensation from Rome,
and George of Amboise, Archbishop of Rouen, he de-
termined to assert the rights of his family in Italy. His
grandfather, Louis of Orleans, had married in 1389 Valentina
Visconti, daughter of the Duke of Milan. As the grandson
of Valentina, Louis now claimed not only the Duchy,
but at the same time the kingdom of Naples and Sicily.
Allied with Venice, Louis had little difficulty in conquer-
ing the Milanese. On October 6, 1499, he entered Milan,
Ludovico having fled to the Tyrol. The French rule,
however, on account of the heaviness of the imposts and the
unpopularity of Trivulzio, a Milanese exile in the service
of France, soon became unbearable. In January 1500,
hearing of the approach of Ludovico at the head of some
Swiss and Burgundian troops, Trivulzio left Milan, which
on February 5 was occupied by its former ruler. But in
March a French army under La Tremouille invaded the
Milanese, Ludovico's army abandoned him, and he was
captured on April 10, and sent a prisoner to France, where
he died.

The French predominance in northern Italy was now
unquestioned, and it remained to establish a similar pre-
dominance over the centre and to some extent over the
south of Italy.

That predominance was rapidly secured in Tuscany and
in the Papal States; and in November 1500 the Treaty of
Granada was made with Ferdinand of Aragon, providing
for the partition of the kingdom of Naples. Several impor-
tant matters connected with the share allotted to each

94 The Renaissance in France and

monarch had not been settled in the treaty. Disputes
arose, war ensued, the French suffered an overwhelming
defeat on the Garigliano on December 27, 1503, and
Louis' share of the kingdom of Naples was lost. In October
1505, by an arrangement with Ferdinand, Louis agreed to
give up his right in the kingdom of Naples to his relative
Germaine de Foix on her marriage with Ferdinand of
Aragon.

Meanwhile, to secure still further himself in Milan,
Louis in September 1504 signed the three Treaties of
Blois with Philip, the son of Maximilian. Among the
conditions it was settled that the Princess Claude was
to marry Philip's son Charles (afterwards the Emperor
Charles V). But in 1505, in consequence of the opposition
of the States-General at Tours to the proposed marriage,
Louis tore up the Treaties of Blois, and settled that Claude
should marry his heir, Francis of Angouleme.

Troubles in Genoa, where the French governor had made
himself unpopular, forced Louis in the spring of 1507 to
enter upon a campaign to secure the submission of the
Genoese. The campaign was short and successful, and on
April 26 the city surrendered. Louis' rapid success dis-
turbed all Italy, and more especially Pope Julius II. The
alarm was increased by the Treaty of Savona in June 1507,
which marked the reconciliation of Louis and Ferdinand of
Aragon. But Louis was ingenious enough to secure the
support of the Pope for his next Italian project, which was
the conquest of the mainland territories of Venice.

In 1507 Louis entered upon a war with Venice, and in
the following year the famous League of Cambrai for the
partition of the Venetian lands in Italy was signed by
George of Amboise and Margaret of Austria. In its

Beginning of Franco-German Hostility 95

shamelessness it resembled the equally famous partitions
of Poland in the eighteenth century and the German
invasion of Belgium in August 1914. Julius II, Maximilian,
Ferdinand of Aragon, and Louis XII were to share the spoils.
Louis' victory at Agnadello on May 14, 1 509, was followed
by his advance to within sight of Venice.

But the league soon broke up. The Pope, satisfied with
his gain of the cities of Romagna, made peace with the
Venetians and devoted his energies to forming an Italian
combination which should be strong enough to expel the
French from Italy. Louis' reply was the summoning of
a National Council at Tours, followed by a so-called
General Council at Pisa.

Julius, however, was not diverted from his object, and
in 151 1 the Holy League was formed, consisting of the Pope,
Ferdinand of Aragon, Henry VIII, and Venice. Gaston
de Foix's brilliant victory at Ravenna in 15 12, in which he
lost his life, did little to check the tide of disaster to the
French arms, and before the end of the year no French
troops remained in Italy.

In spite of his failure Louis persisted in his Italian policy
and secured the alliance of Venice ; but at the battle of
Novara in 15 13 La Tremouille suffered a disastrous defeat
and the French were again driven from Italy. Nor was this
the only defeat sustained by the French in 1513 ; for an
attempt of the Duke of Longueville to relieve Therouanne,
which was besieged by Henry VIII and Maximilian, resulted
in the overwhelming overthrow of the French army at
Guinegate (the battle of the Spurs), while Louis' ally,
James IV of Scotland, was defeated and killed at Flodden
Field.

From that time, however, Louis' fortunes improved.

96 The Renaissance in France and

He bought oflF the Swiss who were attacking the Duchy of
Burgundy, and he made peace with Maximilian and Leo X,
who had succeeded Julius II in 1513. In 15 14 his wife,
Anne of Brittany, died, and he made peace with England,
marrying Mary Tudor, the sister of Henry VIII.

Louis' reign, which closed on January i, 151 5, had been
inglorious and disastrous as far as foreign policy was con-
cerned. In other respects the reign was beneficial to France.
It saw the first evidence of the desire of the French for
Eastern traffic, and in 1503 some merchants in Rouen fitted
out two ships ' to trade in the Eastern seas ^} It was not,
however, till the reign of Henry IV that a company was
formed for trade with the Indies (1604). At home the
reign of Louis XII was a time of material prosperity.
Agriculture flourished, a good system of justice was main-
tained, and the resources of the country were developed.
Louis, who was personally kindly and humane, well deserved
the title of ' Pater Patriae '.

While Charles VIIFs Italian expedition marks the
beginning of modern times, with the accession of Francis I
France enters upon a period in her history, the importance
of which cannot be overestimated. To the student of
political history his reign marks the definite opening of
the great struggle between France and Germany of which
we see the latest phase to-day.

His reign also sees the Renaissance movement in France
at its height, and with it the beginning of a revolution in
political thought, effected by writers who were the pre-
decessors of Voltaire and Rousseau, and thus helped to
prepare the way for the Revolution of 1789. The reign also
witnessed not only the outbreak of the Reformation under
* Malleson, T^he Early French in India, P- 5*

Beginning of Franco-German Hostility 97

Luther in Germany, but also the growth of Protestant
doctrines in France which led to political developments
in the reign of Louis XIII, necessitating severe measures by
Richelieu.

During the reign of Francis the spread of the reformed
doctrines in France was opposed by the King from 1528
onwards. In 1523 the Sorbonne had taken action, but it
was not till 1534 that the persecution of the Lutherans
definitely began and was carried out with great cruelty,
the works of Calvin (a Frenchman who had studied in
Paris), Luther, Melanchthon, and fitienne Dolet being
forbidden, and Dolet being executed. In other respects
the reign is remarkable. As in Portugal, many Frenchmen
had taken to the work of exploration. Trade with Brazil
and Newfoundland had been opened in Louis XII's reign,
and the Bretons had already developed the fisheries off Cape
Breton. The famous Jacques Cartier between 1534 and
1 541 explored the St. Lawrence, and named the surrounding
country Nouvelle France. But Francis I, like Louis XIV,
perhaps naturally, did not recognize the immense possibilities
which were indicated by the voyages of these seamen from
Dieppe and St. Malo. At any rate, in opposing the supre-
macy of the Spanish-Habsburg House, and for that purpose
entering into an understanding amounting to an alliance
with Turkey which continued till the present century,
Francis was acting for the benefit of Europe.

The importance of the Renaissance movement in France,
which first affected the French people after the invasion
of Italy by Charles VIII, cannot indeed be exaggerated.
It * did much ', it has been said, ' to prepare the way for
the Revolution, and for this reason it is in France rather
than in Italy or England that the interest of the Renaissance

1832.8 jj

98 The Renaissance in France and

mainly lies '. As with the Reformation movement, the
tendency of the Renaissance was anarchic. Both the Re-
formation and the Renaissance left everything to the deci-
sion of the individual ; for the leading writers of the time,
bringing a critical and independent spirit to bear on their
studies, rejected the teaching of the schoolmen and regarded
the Middle Ages as a period of ignorance. The French
supporters of the New Learning, such as Rabelais, had no
sympathy with the Reformation, or with the form which
Protestantism took in France. Rabelais, like Voltaire,
favoured a just and enlightened despotism. At the close of
the century Montaigne 'summed up in a most attractive
form the scepticism which was the outcome of the French
Revolution '. It remained for men like Rousseau, who came
from Calvinistic Geneva, and for the Jansenists — Catholic
Calvinists — to supply in the eighteenth century ' the motive
power which was needed to carry the principles of the Renais-
sance and of the philosophers beyond the sphere of theory'.

As regards the poet Ronsard (born in 1527) and his fol-
lowers, it has been truly said that their attitude towards the
Renaissance was * imitative rather than creative ' ; they
were the imitators and translators of classical and Italian
poetry, their aim being to give classical form to French
literature. Later in the century the presence of Catharine
de' Medici and of her followers in France made all things
Italian fashionable.

In this Renaissance atmosphere Francis I was plunged
on his accession. But though sympathetic towards the
New Learning, he found during the first few years of
his reign that questions, religious and political, often dis-
tracted his attention. The question of the relation of the
Galilean Church to the Pope was settled shortly after the

Beginning of Franco-German Hostility 99

French invasion of Italy in 15 15, which was entered upon
owing to the determination of the King to reconquer
the Duchy of Milan. At Marignano on September 13 he
won a decisive victory over the Swiss, and occupied Milan
on October 4. Important results, religious and political,
followed this victory, the Pope and the Swiss both adopting
a conciliatory and friendly attitude towards the French.

Wars, however, were not allowed to interfere with the
steady development of the many-sided Renaissance move-
ment in France. The architectural no less than the literary
side was fully exemplified under Francis and his successors.
It was an age of building, and great works were in progress
at Blois, Chenonceaux, Chambord, Chantilly, and the
Louvre. Francis was the true creator of the modern
Fontainebleau, in the castle of which Charles IV of France
had founded his famous library. Charles VIII had planted
his Italian colony at Amboise, while Louis XII had preferred
Blois to all other castles. But under Francis Fontainebleau
again became pre-eminent, and it was that king ' and the
brilliant Pleiad of artists whom he gathered round him
who were the true creators of the modern Fontainebleau '.
Thither came Leonardo da Vinci, who died in France in
15I9, Andrea del Sarto, Rosso, and Primaticcio, the two
latter executing the plan designed by the architect Serlio
for the new buildings. These men, assisted by a host of
Italian and French artists, made Fontainebleau into the most
magnificent palace in Europe. The Emperor Charles V was
entertained there by Francis I, whose works were carried
on by Henry II and Diana of Poitiers, Catharine de'
Medici, Henry IV, who himself was a great decorator
and builder, and Louis XIII.

At Bologna in August 1516 Francis made with Leo X the

H 2

100 The Renaissance in France and

famous Concordat, which in consideration of the renunciation
of the Pragmatic Sanction, and an undertaking that the
Pope's family should rule in Florence, granted to the King
the right of nomination to bishoprics, abbeys, and conventual
priories. Henceforward, the Church in France was under
the despotic rule of its kings, while it was made obvious
that no reform of the Church could be expected from any
Pope of the House of Medici. The patronage of bishoprics
and abbeys in the hands of such a king as Francis I rendered
useless any attempt at reform from within. The impulse
to reform, therefore, came necessarily from without. Equally
conciliatory were the Swiss, who willingly agreed to an
alliance with France, which was cemented by the Treaties
of Geneva (November 7, 1515) and of Fribourg (November
29, 1 5 16). Henceforward, till the Revolution of 1789,
France could, as a rule, number the Swiss amongst her
allies.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand the Catholic, who had been
thoroughly alarmed at Francis's success in Italy, died
(January 23, 15 16), leaving to his grandson Charles Spain,
the Netherlands, the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and the
.New World. Like Wolsey, Charles viewed with apprehension
the rapid growth of the French monarchy. Charles, how-
ever, was not prepared to enter into hostilities with Francis ;
for his position in Spain and the Netherlands was as yet
insecure, and he was in need of money. Therefore. he adopted
the advice of his Flemish councillor, Chievres, and concluded
the Peace of Noyon on August 13, 15 16, with Francis, who
surrendered his claims on Naples but kept Milan, while
Charles was betrothed to the infant daughter of the French
King, and agreed to restore Spanish Navarre to the House of
Albret. In December the Emperor Maximilian recognized

Beginning of Franco-German Hostility loi

the treaty, and surrendered Brescia and Bergamo to
Venice for 220,000 ducats. It only required the Treaty
of London in October 1518, by which England restored
Tournai to France, and agreed to the betrothal of the
Dauphin to the Princess Mary, to remove all outstanding
difficulties. Europe was now at peace, and England was
pledged to take action against the aggressor.

In January 15 19 the Emperor Maximilian died. His
death marked the beginning of an important period in
European history, for with the outbreak of the Franco-
Austrian Wars modern diplomacy, international law, and
the doctrine of the Balance of Power take their rise. Fifteen
months before the death of Maximilian Luther had nailed
his ninety-five theses on the door of the church at Witten-
berg;* in December 1520 he publicly burnt the Papal Bull
of excommunication, and in the following year appeared
before the Diet of Worms. So began German Reforma-
tion and the division of Germany into two religious
camps — a fact which proved of the utmost importance
to Francis in his wars with Charles V. On June 28,
1 519, Charles was elected Emperor, the other candidates
being Henry VIII and Francis, who had spent immense
sums of money in attempts to bribe the Electors.
But German sentiment declared unmistakably for Charles,
and after his election the Habsburg House ruled over
Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, the Two Sicilies, and
a large part of the New World. The famous conflict
between the Habsburgs and France now became inevitable,
and it broke out in 1521. Immediate causes of war
were easy to find. Henri d'Albret had not, in accordance
with the Treaty of Noyon, been restored to Spanish
Navarre ; the French possession of Milan was a perpetual

102 The Renaissance in France and

cause of trouble, for it stood between the German and
Italian possessions of the Emperor, who, moreover, claimed
the Duchy of Burgundy. While it was the interest of
Francis to begin hostilities without delay, it was the desire
of Charles, hampered as he was with troubles in Spain and
with the Lutheran movement in Germany, to postpone the
outbreak of war as long as possible.

At the time of his election Charles was in Spain ; on
May 26, 1520, he landed in England and with Henry VIII
and Wolsey proceeded to Canterbury. After his departure
from Sandwich, Henry met Francis on June 7 near Guines,
at the ' Field of Cloth of Gold ', which was English ground,
and shortly afterwards, on July 10, again saw Charles at
Gravelines. Nothing certain is known of what passed at
Gravelines, but probably nothing was actually settled,
Wolsey's influence being in favour of a continuance of peace.
Before the year had closed, however, Francis had resolved
upon war, which,^ indeed, did not definitely break out
till 1 52 1, when the French had crossed the Pyrenees on
behalf of the King of Navarre, The Imperialists replied
by entering France in August, and at the same time laid
siege to Tournai. At the end of the year Henry VIII had
practically agreed to aid Charles, and both kings undertook
to invade France in 1523. On the death of the Pope,
Leo X, in December 1521, Charles secured in January 1522
the election of Adrian VI, a Fleming who had acted as
viceroy in Spain.

That year proved somewhat disastrous to the French arms,
for on April 27 Lautrec, the Governor of Milan, was
defeated at La Bicocca, near Milan, by the troops of the
Emperor and the Pope. The French forces w^ere compelled
to evacuate the Milanese, and in July an English force

Beginning of Franco-German Hostility 103

invaded Picardy. In June Charles, on his way to Spain,
where he remained till 1529, signed the Treaty of Windsor
agreeing not to attack the Turks till Francis had been
humiliated. The following year Pope Adrian VI agreed to
the treaty, which was also joined by Milan, Genoa, Florence,
and Venice. That year, 1523, therefore saw the Imperial
position in Italy firmly established, and ' as far as diplomacy
could make it so, one of the most successful of Charles's
reign '.-^ The fortunes of Francis were far from pro-
mising. Charles, Duke of Bourbon, in July 1523 threw in
his lot with Charles V; Henry VIII invaded France in
the summer of 1524, advancing wellnigh to Paris; an
Imperialist army invaded Provence, but failed to take
Marseilles. Though the French army in Italy had failed
to recover Milan, the Count of Guise defeated a German
force on the Meuse, and the Spaniards were only partially
successful. Francis, still resolved to retake Milan, besieged
that city in the autumn of 1524. On February 25, 1525,
the famous battle of Pavia was fought, 8,000 Frenchmen
were killed, and Francis, having been taken prisoner, was
conveyed to Valencia in June and to Madrid in August.
Francis had failed through over-confidence. He had
detached troops for an expedition to Naples, and for an
attack on Genoa, and had sent his Grison mercenaries to
defend Chiavenna.

For a time France seemed to be at the mercy of Charles.
It appeared quite probable that he would occupy a posi-
tion not unlike that of Charles the Great. But he had diffi-
culties of his own. The Peasants' War — a serious rising of
the German peasantry in 1524 — still continued, the Turks
were threatening, the Lutherans were rapidly increasing,
1 Armstrong, The Emperor Charles V, vol. i, p. 137 (Macmillan & Co.).

104 The Renaissance in France and

Europe was realizing that Charles's victory might endanger
its freedom. Already the idea of a balance of power was
beginning to make itself felt. In order to secure his freedom
Francis practically acceded to all the demands of Charles,
and on January 13, 1526, the Treaty of Madrid was con-
cluded. Francis resigned all his Italian claims and promised
to restore Bourbon to his estates ; he ceded his suzerainty
over Flanders, Artois, and Tournay. The question of the
cession of Burgundy was left to the decision of the States-
General and the Parlement of Paris. The King of Navarre
could no longer hope for support from Francis. On March
17 Francis was again in France, and on May 22 Charles
was confronted by the League of Cognac, which included
Pope Clement VII, Francis, Florence, Venice, and Francesco
Sforza, under the protection of Henry VIII. The object
of the League was ostensibly the preservation of the peace
of Europe ; but it was understood that if Charles refused
its demands, which practically implied his withdrawal from
Italy, the League would take action.

There was, however, no real danger to Charles from the
allies. Francis made no attempt to interfere in Italy,
Henry VIII was already occupied with the divorce question,
and Italy was left to its fate. In July 1526 Milan and its
citadel were occupied by the Imperial troops, and Sforza
fell, while Moncada occupied Rome and forced Clement
in September to agree to all his demands. Worse was to
come, for on May 26, 1527, Rome was sacked by the Imperial-
ist army, and on June 7 Clement was captured. The news
of the sack of Rome stirred up Europe, and especially France
and England. Francis at last took action, and Henry
abandoned Wolsey's policy of masterly inactivity. The two
monarchs had before the sack of Rome concluded an alliance,
which in August took the form of the Treaty of Amiens

Beginning of Franco-German Hostility 105

pledging both to enter upon an offensive war. Henry had
now abandoned his claim to the French throne ; and in
July a French army occupied all Lombardy except Milan,
with the result that Florence, Savoy, Mantua, and
Genoa adopted the French cause. Naples, which seemed
likely to fall into the hands of Lautrec and the French
troops, was, however, saved owing to an unfortunate quarrel
of Francis v\dth Andrea Doria, who commanded a large
force of galleys. The results of the alienation of Doria
were most serious. The control of the Mediterranean
passed from Francis to Charles, and in spite of Turkish
efforts a few years later, it remained in the hands of the
Emperor. In August and September disaster followed
disaster. Lautrec died and the whole French army in the
south of Italy capitulated, while in October Genoa was
recaptured by Doria. In June 1529 Saint-Pol was defeated
by a Spanish army at Landriano — a battle of immense
importance, for by it the fate of Lombardy was settled.
No further serious attempt by the French to occupy It was
made for many a generation. It only required the recon-
ciliation of Clement VII and the Emperor on June 29 at
the Treaty of Barcelona to bring to an end the Treaty of
Cognac.

The battle of Landriano and the Treaty of Barcelona
induced Francis to enter into peace negotiations, while
the growth of Lutheranism and the invasion of Hungary
by Suleiman in May rendered the Emperor willing to
treat. On August 3 the Treaty of Cambrai — arranged
by Margaret, the aunt of Charles, and Louise of Savoy, the
mother of Francis — was signed. Francis abandoned all
his Italian claims, and undertook not to interfere with the
Emperor's dealings with heretics in Germany. Charles
did not insist on the cession of Burgundy, and released the

io6 The Renaissance in France and ^

French Princes (who had been in Spain since the Treaty
of Madrid). The Treaty was finally ratified at Piacenza
by Charles, who after many years had left Spain, to be
crowned at Bologna on February 24, 1530. For more than
six years peace reigned between France and the Empire.
During that period Charles found that his proposed exter-
mination of the Lutheran heresy was impossible, owing to
a great extent to the perpetually recurring Turkish menace.
The retirement of Suleiman from Vienna in October 1529 had
been followed by the formation of the Protestant League of
Smalkalde and the consequent division of Germany into two
religious camps. In May 1535 Charles sailed from Barce-
lona, captured Tunis, and gained much personal prestige
by his successful attack on the Moslem pirates who, under
Barbarossa, had for many years infested the Mediterranean.
By this success Charles had struck a blow at the connexion
between Francis and Suleiman. Already in 1525 and 1528
French envoys had visited the Porte, and there is no doubt
that the growth of Barbarossa's power in the western
Mediterranean was viewed with satisfaction by the French
King. In 1535 a French envoy — La Forest — was sent to
Constantinople to conclude a Franco-Turkish treaty.
The fall of Tunis, however, lessened its value and it had no
immediate results favourable to France. In February 1536
Francis opened his third war with Charles by seizing
Savoy and occupying Turin. Charles replied by invading
Provence and capturing Aix. But his enterprise proved
a failure, as did a French invasion of the Netherlands.
Barbarossa, * the avowed ally of France ', raided the Apulian
coasts, and the Turks defeated the Imperial army at Essek.
Both Charles and Francis were ready for peace, and on
June 17, 1538, a truce was concluded at Nice. Francis kept
his hold on Savoy and Piedmont, and at Aigues-Mortes

Beginning of Franco-German Hostility 107

ill July met Charles and led him to think that the peace
just made would be permanent.

This seemed all the more likely as, some little time after
this meeting, Charles was allowed to pass through France
on his way to suppress a rising in Ghent. A joint expedition
against Henry VIII was even discussed. No permanent
peace between the two monarchs seemed, however, possible ;
for even in 1540 French diplomacy had brought about peace
between Turkey and Venice, thus enabling the Turkish
fleet to attack the coasts of Naples, Sicily, and even Spain.
Moreover, the French and Turks supported the claims of
John Sigismund to Hungary, although it had already been
agreed that Ferdinand (Charles V's brother) should succeed.
In the following year the disastrous expedition of Charles
to Algiers took place ; and Francis at once prepared for
war, having secured as allies the Sultan Suleiman, the
Kings of Denmark and Sweden, and the Duke of Cleves.
The fourth war between Charles and Francis broke out in
July 1542, and the French attacks were made on the fron-
tiers of Spain and the Netherlands. While some success
attended the invasion of Flanders and Artois, Francis
failed to take Perpignan, the capital of Roussillon ; and the
advance of the Turks, allied with the French, roused an
outburst of patriotism in Germany. Suleiman was held in
check by Ferdinand in 1543, while Charles overthrew the
Duke of Cleves. The alliance of Francis with the Turks
and Barbarossa,and the destruction of Nice with the conse-
quent enslavement of its population, roused the indignation
of Europe. France and French Catholicism were disgraced.
In February 1543 Henry VIII became the Emperor's
ally, and Francis was isolated. Denmark and Sweden had
been detached, the Lutherans in Germany would not
support him; and though in April 1544 Enghien won a

io8 The Renaissance in France and

brilliant victory at Ceresole, it had no satisfactory result.
The real centre of operations during this war was on the
Franco-German frontier. In July Charles invaded France,
laying siege to St. Dizier, which made an heroic resis-
tance, while Henry VIII landed at Calais and besieged
Boulogne. Luckily for Francis, his opponents did not
co-operate ; Charles, who had advanced to Meaux, sud-
denly agreed to treat, and on September i8 the Treaty
of Crepy was concluded. Charles made no attempt to
assert his rights to the Duchy of Burgundy, and Francis
ceded his claim to Naples and his suzerainty over Flanders
and Artois. Arrangements were made for the marriage
of the Duke of Orleans, who, however, died in September
1545. Charles retained Milan for his son Philip. Henry VIII,
much to his irritation, found himself deserted by his ally,
but, as has been well pointed out, the aims of the two kings
had always been different. Henry ' wished to extend his
dominions in Northern France ; Charles desired only to
cripple the French King that he might be free to deal with
Germany and the Porte '.^

Till June 1546, when the Treaty of Ardres was concluded,
Henry continued the war. He had captured Boulogne,
and in 1545 several indecisive naval fights took place in the
Channel. By the treaty Henry engaged to restore Boulogne
on receiving two millions of crowns. During 1545 the Hugue-
nots in the south of France had suffered terrible persecutions,
the result, it is said, of an arrangement between Francis and
Charles for the opening of a vigorous campaign on behalf
of Roman Catholicism. Francis died on March 31, 1547,
in the fifty-third year of his age. His single-handed resistance
to Charles V, his victory of Marignano, and his support
of the Renaissance movement have been justly praised by
^ Armstrong, The Emperor Charles V, vol. ii, p. 32 (Macmillan & Co.).

Beginning of Franco-German Hostility 109

Marshal Tavannes. Francis had preserved French indepen-
dence, and saved Europe from an Austro-Spanish supremacy,

Henry II had married Catharine de' Medici in 1533. On
his accession the influence of the House of Guise at once
became apparent, and Francis, Count of Aumale, who after
1550 became Duke of Guise, was one of the King's chief
advisers. His sister, Mary of Lorraine, married James V of
Scotland, and their daughter was Mary Stuart, better
known as Mary Queen of Scots. Consequently, till the
appearance of Presbyterian ism in Scotland about the year
1554 French influence was paramount in Scotland. In
order to check the growth of this influence, and to bring
about the marriage of the young Queen of Scotland to
Edward VI, Somerset marched into Scotland and won the
battle of Pinkie. But in June 1548 a French squadron entered
the Firth of Forth, landed troops, and finally carried Mary
Stuart off from Dumbarton Castle to France, where she was
affianced to the Dauphin Francis. England and France
were at war till March 1550, when peace was made, England
surrendering Boulogne for 400,000 crowns, instead of the
two millions demanded by Henry VIII.

Henry II, freed from anxieties concerning England and
Scotland, was now able to carry out the wish of the Duke of
Guise and renew the contest with the Emperor. In alliance
with Maurice of Saxony the French opened the campaign
on March 13, 1552, against Charles, who seemed to be at
the height of his power, and who was anxious to secure the
succession to the Empire for his son Philip. At the time of
the opening of hostilities Charles was ill at Innsbruck, but
on Maurice's advance towards that town made a sudden,
dramatic, and famous escape across the mountains into
Carinthia. Henry, meanwhile, occupied the ' Trois
Eveches ', Metz, Toul, and Verdun, and attempted to

no The Renaissance in France and

seize Strassburg. He failed, however, in that attempt,
but succeeded in capturing several towns in Luxemburg.
In August 1552 Charles wisely agreed to the famous Treaty
of Passau conceding freedom of religious worship to the
Protestants. He was then able to concentrate his efforts
upon the siege of Metz, which was defended by Francis,
Duke of Guise, from October 1552 until January 11, 1553,
when Charles withdrew his forces.

The war continued, the Imperial troops , capturing
Therouanne and Hesdin in 1553 ; but no important battle
took place, and in February 1556 the Truce of Vaucelles was
concluded. Meanwhile, in January 1556 Charles had resigned
the kingdom of Spain to his son Philip. In the following
September he also resigned the Imperial crown — his brother
Ferdinand being elected Emperor two years later. Another
war between France and Spain broke out in 1556
owing to the wish of the Duke of Guise to revive
French claims on Naples. His attempt failed, and till
1700 Milan, Sicily, and Naples remained in the hands of the
Spanish Habsburgs. It was necessary for Guise to return
to France, for in August 1557 the French had suffered an
overwhelming defeat by the Spaniards in the battle of St.
Quentin. However, in January 1558 Guise captured Calais.
The last action in the war took place at Gravelines, where a
French force under the Marshal de Termes was defeated,
and the Marshal himself captured, on July 13.

The Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis was concluded on
April 3, 1559. Charles V had died the previous September,
and Mary of England on November 17. Philip, whose
presence was urgently demanded in Spain, where heresy
had raised its head, had great difficulty in finding money
for the war and was anxious for peace. Henry II, too, had
similar reasons for ending the war. The Cardinal of Lorraine

Beginning of Franco-German Hostility

III

urged him to make peace so that he might turn his attention
to the extirpation of the Huguenots. By the terms of the
treaty France kept the three bishoprics, Metz, Toul, and
Verdun ; she had taken possession of Calais, but she lost
Spanish Navarre, With the conclusion of the treaty the
struggle for the possession of Italy ceases, and it is not till
the days of the great Napoleon that France again definitely
aims at supremacy in the Italian Peninsula. Since the
outbreak of the war in 1521 with Charles V, France had,
in spite of many mistakes in policy, laid Europe under a
deep debt of gratitude ; for she had resisted ' the dangerous
supremacy of the Austro-Spanish House ', and had * foiled
the attempt of Charles to establish a universal monarchy
in Europe '} Both Philip and Henry were resolved to
crush heresy in their dominions, and consequently till the
Peace of Westphalia in 1648 the religious question occupies
the chief place in European history. Already a religious
revolution was in progress in Scotland, the results of which
were not fully realized in France at that time. That
revolution — marked by the establishment of Presbyterianism
between 1554 ^^^ ^5^° — brought to an end the famous
connexion between France and Scotland which had been
first established in 1295 and illustrated by the battles of
Neville's Cross, Flodden, and Solway Moss.

No sooner was the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis concluded
than Henry II proposed to take measures to exterminate
the Protestants. To his astonishment he found that his
policy was opposed in the Parlement of Paris. Before he
had time to break down that opposition, he met with an
accident at a tournament and died in July I559- Shortly
after his death, while the rivalry with Spain showed no real
abatement, and the Scottish alliance had ended, more

1 Johnson, Europe in the Sixteenth Century, p. 258 (Rivingtons).

112 The Renaissance in France

friendly relations with England ensued and continued till
1688. But for the ensuing forty years France, involved in
civil war, had little European influence.

The House of Lorraine and Guise
Rene II, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, d. 1508

Antony, Claude, D. of Guise, d. 1550

D. of Lorraine
and Bar,

d. 1544

Francis, Francis, Charles, Claude, Louis, Mary=

D. of Lorraine, D. of Guise, Cardinal D. of Cardinal James V

d. 1545 d. 1563 of Auraale of

I I Lorraine Scotland

I I I.

Charles II =f Claude, dau. Henry, Charles, Louis,

of Henry II D. of Guise, D. of Mayenne Cardinal

of France d. 1588 of Guise,

d. 1588

D.of
Lorraine

Henry, Francis,

D. of Lorraine, D. of Lorraine,

d. 1624 d. 1632

k

Charles III, Nicholas Francis, d. 1670

d. 1675 1

Charles Leopold, d. 1690

I
Leopold Joseph, d. 1729

PVancis Stephen = Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary
D. of Lorraine,
Emperor 1745-65!

Henry IV's Ancestry
Charles, Duke of Vendome

1.1. I.

Jeanne, Q. of Navarre ^Antony, D. of Charles, Louis,

I Vend6me Cardinal of Prince of

I Bourbon, Conde

Henry IV d. 1590

The Wars of Religion

The first mutterings which indicated the coming of a reli-
gious storm became distinctly audible after the conclusion of
the Peace of Cateau-Cambresis in April 1559. Several towns,
such as LaRochelle and Poitiers, contained many Protestants,
and in 1558 it was stated that the Lutherans numbered some
40,000. There is no doubt that during Henry IPs reign the
Reformers had perfected an organization of their Churches
which ' in the face of danger became political, and even
military '. The death of Henry H placed the French
crown on the head of Francis H, the husband of Mary
Queen of Scots, and the chief power in the hands of the
Guises. The ' tumult of Amboise ', a rising with the object
of removing the King from Guise influence, led to the arrest
of Conde, who was condemned to death. On December 5,
1560, Francis H died and was succeeded by Charles IX, who
for a time was under the guardianship of Catharine de'
Medici and Antony of Navarre.

The death of Francis H saved the life of Conde, and the
Guises were baulked of their prey. Catharine at once aimed
at mediating between the two parties. But the mutual
animosity of the Catholics and Reformers rendered her policy
at the time impossible of execution. At the meeting of the
States-General at Orleans in August 1561 the Chancellor
L'Hopital emphasized this fact, which became still more
evident at the Colloquy of Poissy between Catholic and Cal-
vinist divines in September. For the time being it was im-
possible to separate the questions of political and religious

1832.8 J

114 The Wars of Religion

reform. The Edict of January 1562, however, made an
attempt to secure toleration, and the Huguenots received
provisionally legal recognition. But the uncompromising
hostility to the Reformers of the nobility, the clergy, and
the lawyers was soon apparent ; they and the Catholics
generally were determined to revoke the Edict as soon as
possible. Two massacres of the Huguenots made war in-
evitable. The first took place on March i, 1562, when the
Duke of Guise massacred the fifty or sixty Huguenots at
Vassy in the modern Department of the Haute-Marne. A
second slaughter of the Huguenots at Sens was followed in-
May by the outbreak of hostilities. For a year the First
War of Religion continued, the Huguenots securing the
alliance of Queen Elizabeth at the price of the cession of
Dieppe and Havre. In October 1562 the Catholics captured
Rouen, and the unstable Antony of Navarre, the father of the
future Henry of Navarre, died of a wound received during
the siege. His brother Conde thereupon became the Hugue-
not leader, but was captured in December at the battle of
Dreux, when Marshal St. Andre was killed and Montmorency
captured. Early in the year 1563 Coligny, at the head of a
Huguenot force, captured several towns in Normandy, while
theDukeof Guise besieged Orleans. However, on February 18
Guise was assassinated ; and on March 12, in spite of the
opposition of Coligny, the first civil war ended, owing to
Conde's influence, with the Pacification of Amboise. Conde
and Montmorency were exchanged, and, with certain limita-
tions, liberty of worship was permitted to the Huguenots.
Catharine seems honestly to have endeavoured to carry out
the terms of the treaty, being herself in agreement with the
opinion of L'Hopital that the King should act as judge and
mediator, and should enforce the terms of the Pacification

The Wars of Religion ii5

upon the two religious parties. The peace was immediately
followed by the union of Catholics and Huguenots against
England, and on July 25 the English were driven out of
Havre. On April 13, 1564, the Treaty of Troyes re-
established friendly relations between the English and
French Governments.

Catharine's policy had for the moment triumphed. Like
Elizabeth of England she had been well educated, she was
a lover of Art, and had literary tastes. Like Elizabeth, too,
she wished to be at the head of affairs, to be thoroughly
acquainted with all State business. Like the English Queen,
too, she loved flattery ; like her she was a believer in com-
promise. But there the resemblance ends, for in her conduct
of affairs she was a true follower of Machiavelli. She trusted
no one, she regarded religion as a mere engine of government,
in her Court there existed no high moral standard. Li the
early spring of 1564 she and the young King made a tour
through several of the French provinces (they passed the
winter in the south); and in June 1565, at a Conference at
Bayonne, they met the Queen of Spain (Catharine's daughter)
and the Duke of Alva. What Catharine's object was at this
interview has never been disclosed, though there is no doubt
that Alva urged that strong measures should be taken with
regard to the chief Huguenot leaders, and that the Chancel-
lor L'Hopital should be dismissed. That interview, however,
led to the second civil war, for the Huguenots were convinced
that the question of their suppression had been the chief
matter of discussion.

In September 1567 a number of the lesser nobility from
Picardy and Champagne, suspicious of the movements of
some Swiss Catholic troops, met at Meaux ; this led to
the Conspiracy of Meaux, the object of which was to seize

I 2

ii6 The Wars of Religion

the King and to demand full liberty of conscience and the
removal of the Cardinal of Lorraine from the royal councils.
William, Prince of Orange, refused to join the Huguenots ; and
the conspirators, having failed in their attempt to capture the
King or the Cardinal, marched under Conde to St. Denis,
where a fierce though indecisive battle was fought. The
Constable Montmorency was killed, and by the efforts of
Catharine and L'Hopital the Edict of Longjumeau (March
1 568), which confirmed the Treaty of Amboise, ended the
second civil war. Respite from hostilities was only en-
joyed in France for a few months. Imitating the con-
spirators of Meaux, the Cardinal of Lorraine formed a plot for
the seizure of Conde and other Huguenot leaders. Though
he failed in his object, he was supported in his attitude by
the Parlements throughout France ; and the third civil war
broke out in September 1568 and continued for two years.
Hitherto Catharine had maintained a mediatory policy,
and was probably caught unawares by the outbreak of the
second civil war. She now took a decided anti-Protestant
attitude, and the Catholics were the aggressive party.
L'Hopital in despair retired in 1568, and Catharine adopted
the policy of the Guises and revoked the edicts of tolera-
tion. On March 13, 1569, was fought the battle of Jarnac
(a cavalry skirmish), when the Catholics under the young
Duke of Anjou (who became later King Henry HI) obtained
a victory which at first seemed decisive. Though Conde
surrendered, he was killed after the battle, and Coligny
succeeded him as leader of the Huguenots. A mixed force
of German, French, and Flemish troops under William of
Orange and Louis of Nassau united with Coligny on
June 12 at Limoges and advanced against Poitiers, which
was defended by Henry, Duke of Guise, son of Francis. On

The Wars of Religion 117

the advance of the Duke of Anjou the siege of Poitiers was
raised, and on October 3 Coligny was defeated in a most
decisive fashion at the battle of Moncontour. Anjou,
however, having failed to take Saint -Jean -d' An gely, resigned
his command in favour of the Duke of Montpensier. The
Huguenots were by no means crushed — they were in posses-
sion of La Rochelle — and Coligny, who had recovered from
a wound, marched to the Rhone, where he fought an
indecisive battle.

Urged by Francis Montmorency, Catharine now favoured
peace, and on August 8, 1570, the Peace of Saint-Germain
ended the Third War of Religion. The Huguenots gained
liberty of conscience, liberty to hold services in two cities
in each of the twelve French provinces, and the right to
hold for two years, by way of security, the cities of La
Rochelle, Montauban, Cognac, and La Charite.

From this time the influence of a third party, known as
the Politiques, makes itself felt. That party, which made
its appearance after the close of the first civil war, was
Catholic, and its leading representative then was L'Hopi-
tal. 'Let us keep unadulterated', he had said at the
meeting of the Estates at Orleans in 1560, * the name of
Christian.' After the Peace of Saint-Germain the party
favoured a project for the marriage of Henry of Navarre
(the next in succession after the House of Valois)
and Margaret, the youngest sister of Charles IX. The
Politiques seem to have cautiously suggested that project for
the severance of the Galilean Church from Rome which was
openly advocated at one period of Louis XIV's reign. And
the fact that neither Catharine nor Charles IX had, at the
time of the Peace of Saint-Germain, any marked hostility
to the Huguenots, seemed to offer some chance of a settle-

ii8 The Wars of Religion

ment on the basis of toleration. The Huguenots had
obtained excellent terms by the Peace of Saint-Germain. It
was suggested by a Catholic writer that their success was
due to their influence on the Royal Council. There is
little doubt that the leaders of their party hoped to control
the Crown again.

It has always been doubtful whether the Massacre of
St. Bartholomew was ' the work of momentary passion ' or
was the result of careful premeditation. The Huguenots
believed that it was planned at Bayonne ; but it is more
than doubtful if the French Court had come to any decision
regarding its policy towards the Huguenots, even as late as
the summer of 1572.^ It seems, however, certain that the
course of the war in the Netherlands brought matters to
a crisis. Teligny, the son-in-law of Coligny, had held out
to Charles IX the hope that, in the event of war with
Spain, Flanders and Artois would be incorporated with
France. Though England, as ever, was strongly opposed
to the annexation of Flanders and Antwerp by France, the
plan of an independent sovereignty of the Netherlands was
favourably regarded by Elizabeth, especially after La Marck's
seizure of Brille on April i. In April a defensive alliance
between England and France was concluded, and English
volunteers crossed to Flushing, while Louis of Nassau, with
a Huguenot force, took Mons. It indeed seemed that
Charles IX and Catharine were about to anticipate the
policy of Henry IV at the opening of the following century,
and to head a combination against the German and Spanish
branches of the House of Habsburg. French troops were
being raised and the French fleet was ready.

But though apparently in agreement with an anti-Spanish
policy, Catharine had already (in February) decided to get

The Wars of Religion 119

rid of Coligny and to attack the Huguenots. All depended,
however, on the success of movements against Alva.
Unfortunately for the supporters of the anti-Habsburg
movement, Spanish victories destroyed the hopes of the
Huguenots. La Noue was driven from Valenciennes ; a force
under Genlis was cut to pieces ; on July 19 Spanish troops
in Italy threatened the southern provinces of France ; the
Governors of Burgundy and Picardy warned Catharine that
their provinces were in no condition to fight Spain. The
Italian diplomat, Michieli, on behalf of Venice urged her not
to aid the Turk by breaking with France, while the policy
of Queen Elizabeth was, as ever, uncertain. Moreover,
Coligny was the object of the hatred of the Guises, and the
populace of Paris was, as ever, violently opposed to the
Huguenots. Further, an anti-Spanish war would mean the
establishment of the influence of Coligny over the weak King,
and the consequent loss of the influence of Catharine over
her son. Catharine believed that, were Coligny dead,
Huguenotism would soon cease to be an important force,
and that France would enjoy a period of peace.

On August .18 the marriage of Henry of Navarre with the
Princess Margaret was solemnized, large numbers of the
Huguenot nobility flocking to Paris. On the 22nd an attempt
was made to assassinate Coligny, who escaped with a w^ound.
On the 24th the Massacre of St. Bartholomew took place,
and massacres in the provinces followed. Coligny, his
son-in-law Teligny, and several thousands were slain. Henry
of Navarre and the young Conde were spared, but were
forced to accept Roman Catholicism.

For a short time it was believed throughout Europe that
the massacre would be followed by a close alliance between
France and Spain.

120 The Wars of Religion

Though Elizabeth and the Emperor were shocked and
Philip and the Pope delighted on hearing of the massacre,
no Franco-Spanish alliance followed, and William of Orange
continued to hope for French assistance. Catharine was
satisfied by regaining her influence over the King of France,
and made no attempt to carry out an heroic policy either at
home or abroad. A fourth war with the Huguenots did
indeed break out in consequence of the Government's
attempts to seize certain towns held against it. Of these
La Rochelle and Sancerre were the most important. The
arrival of the Polish envoys, to offer the crown of Poland to
Henry of Anjou, who was actively attacking La Rochelle,
rendered peace necessary. The Polish ambassadors acted as
mediators, and while Henry of Anjou was offered — and
accepted — the crown of Poland, the Treaty of La Rochelle
on June 24, 1578, ended the war. In La Rochelle, Nimes,
and Montauban (Sancerre being added in August), liberty to
hold their services was granted to the Huguenots ; they were
also promised liberty of conscience.

The war which had just closed differed from the pre-
vious wars not only in being a war of sieges, but also because
the Huguenots, as later in the days of Richelieu, attempted
to establish ' a representative federal system ' which was
gradually to be extended over France. This proposed esta-
blishment of a non-official organization independent of the
Crown was simply revolution. This attempt to abolish the
absolutism of the Crown and to substitute an elective king-
ship checked by the National Estates was not successful ; and
the whole situation was shortly revolutionized by the death of
Charles IX on May 30, 1574, and by the accession of Henry
of Anjou, who at once resigned the crown of Poland. In
February 1574 the fifth civil war had broken out owing to

The Wars of Religion 121

the demands of the Huguenots for complete liberty of con-
science and of worship throughout France. Added to these
demands came a manifesto from the Politiques, who in
1575 formed an alliance with the Huguenots, demanding
toleration. The war, uninteresting in its early stages,
was somewhat enlivened by the escape from prison of
Henry of Navarre, and of Catharine's youngest son, Francis,
Duke of Alengon, who now favoured the Huguenots.

In May 1576 the Peace of Monsieur, as the King's next
brother was now styled, ended the war — a peace most un-
welcome to the intolerant Catholics. For, by the terms of
the Peace, Henry of Navarre and Henry of Conde were given
the Governorships of Guienne and Picardy respectively.
From that time the Catholic party under Guise was as
much occupied in agitating against the Crown as in opposing
the Huguenots. The Catholic opposition took the form of
Leagues; the first of these was organized in 1576 by the
Governor of Peronne, who refused to surrender the town,
in accordance with the terms of the Peace of Monsieur, to
Conde. The nominal object of this and other Leagues
was the defence of the Roman Catholic Church, and the
passing of certain resolutions by the Estates which were
about to meet. Their leader was Henry of Guise, who now
adopted a democratic policy, probably with an eye to the
crown. The meeting of the States-General had no result,
since the Huguenots sent no deputies in view of the attitude
of the League ; and before it separated civil war had again
broken out. The meeting of the Estates afforded evidence
of a growing revolutionary spirit, which showed itself in
ignoring the terms of the Peace of Monsieur and in opening
negotiations with Spain. ' Catholicism had not merely
religious but deep social roots in France.' The Massacre of

122 The Wars of Religion

St. Bartholomew was a deliberate act on the part of the
municipal authorities of Paris, and the massacres in other
towns had testified to the popularity of a policy which
aimed at the extermination of Huguenotism.

The League of Picardy in 1576, which was one of the
several Leagues or Associations formed by Catholics since
1565 — one of which, La Sainte Ligue in Champagne, of
which Guise was Governor, had openly threatened the
Valois dynasty — was, indeed, not successful in extending
its operations over France. It had, however, one important
result, namely of preventing Conde from assuming his
Governorship of Picardy and so establishing a connexion
with the Protestants in the Netherlands. From 1576 to
1584, a period which saw the outbreak and conclusion of
two short religious wars, political discontent was simply
smouldering, discontent against the Crown was growing,
while the influence of Guise was steadily increasing.

The sixth and seventh civil wars do not call for much
notice. The former lasted from March 1577 till September.
The Duke of Anjou, as Alengon was now called, no longer
supported the Huguenots, and led an army against them.
Some success attended the Catholic forces, but their diversion
towards the Netherlands and the differences which arose
among their leaders led, in September 1577, to the Treaty of
Bergerac, which ended the war. The Huguenots remained in
a fairlystrong position, while Henry HI was chiefly anxious to
escape from the influence of the Guises. Not till April 1580
did war (the seventh civil war) again break out, the imme-
diate cause being the seizure by Henry of Navarre of Cahors
— part of the dower of his wife. The siege of La Fere,
which Conde wished in vain to keep, was the only other
interesting feature in the war. It was ended in November

The Wars of Religion 123

by the Peace of Fleux, which confirmed the Treaty of
Bergerac.

The years immediately following the Peace of Fleux were
critical for the French monarchy. In September 1 580 Anjou
accepted the sovereignty of the Netherlands ; and it seemed
that if only Henry III would adopt a vigorous foreign
policy, he might overthrow the influence of Guise, stamp out
sedition, and find himself at the head of a united nation.
In June 1582-3 French expeditions were sent to assist
Portugal against Spain in the Azores, and there was talk of
a marriage between Anjou and Elizabeth. But everything
played into the hands of Guise. The Azores expeditions were
destroyed by a Spanish fleet in 1583; Elizabeth, pursuing the
policy which has been uniformly adopted by English Govern-
ments since the days of Edward III, was opposed to a French
sovereignty over the Netherlands. In June 1584 Anjou, who
had failed in the Netherlands, died ; and the following month
William of Orange was assassinated. A new situation was at
once created. Henry of Navarre, a heretic, was now heir
presumptive. The Catholic League at once received fresh
life. During the winter of 1584-5 that League was carefully
organized, in reality for ' the suppression of heresy and
tyranny ', but with the ostensible object of convening the
three Estates, and restoring the Parlement and nobility to
their privileges. Simultaneously the Cardinal of Bourbon
and Guise made a secret treaty with Philip of Spain, who,
recognizing Bourbon as the heir to the French throne, was to
receive French assistance in all his schemes. The Catholic
League, the centre of which was Paris, somewhat anticipated
the action of the Constituent Assembly in France in 1789 ;
and in the following year ' France was threatened with the
tyranny of a Central Club with its affiliated societies whose

124 The Wars of Religion

authority was maintained partly by terrorism, partly by the
fanaticism excited through the preaching of friars and
Jesuits '.-^

On the death of Henry III in 1589 the crown of France
passed to Henry of Navarre, henceforward known as Henry
IV. He was already famed for his courage and military know-
ledge. He was loved by all who knew him, and the French
people were naturally attracted to one who was accessible to
the humblest and who had all the French love of honour and
glory.

In 1589 France seemed at the lowest ebb of her fortunes,
and the foes of Henry calculated upon such a continuance of
the religious divisions that they would be enabled practi-
cally to partition France. In spite, however, of appearances
Henry found supporters in unexpected quarters. Sixtus V
before his death in 1590 showed by negotiations with Henry
that he did not favour the dismemberment of France ; and
though his successor Gregory XIV supported Philip II,
Clement VIII from 1592 gradually became a strong supporter
of the new Bourbon ruler. On Henry's accession civil war
broke out once more and continued till 1595. The League
was now openly fighting against the Crown, but to strengthen
its position it proclaimed Henry's uncle, the Cardinal of
Bourbon, as Charles X. On the other hand, Henry
undertook to consider the question of his adoption of
Catholicism, and so gained the support of many Catholic
nobles. Against the forces of the Due de Mayenne, brother
of Henry of Guise, he could not at first make a stand, but in
September, 1589, in the battle at Arques near Dieppe, he
defeated his foes, though he, as yet, was not strong enough
to take Paris.

^ Johnson, Europe in the Sixteenth Century, p. 427.

The Wars of Religion 125

The following year, 1590, was of immense importance in
the history of Henry's fortunes. Anjou, Maine, and Nor-
mandy, with the exception of Rouen, were freed from the
power of the League, and though Philip II secretly aided
Mayenne, Henry, on March 14, won a decisive victory in
the famous battle of Ivry, not far from Dreux. Shortly
afterwards he besieged Paris, and that city anticipated the
events of 1 870-1 by the endurance which it showed during
the privations incident upon a siege. In the early autumn
Parma, in order to prevent the French capital from falling
into the hands of Henry, suspended his operations in the Low
Countries ; and at the head of a Spanish army he relieved
Paris, which was now, for a time, safe from all danger of
starvation. The ' Sixteen ' who ruled in the city were openly
partisans of Spain ; like the Jacobins of 1793-4 they favoured
the most violent and revolutionary schemes, and they were
especially hostile to the heretical supporters of the * King of
Navarre '. Their violence, however, benefited Henry, as the
moderates in Paris now rapidly increased in numbers. Early
the following year Parma again entered France and raised
the siege of Rouen, defeating Henry in February 5, 1592, at
Aumale. In May Conti, Henry's lieutenant-general in
the north-west, was defeated by Mercceur, but in October,
at Villemur on the Tarn, an army of the League suffered a
severe defeat. Neither side so far had won any decisive
victory.

The old Cardinal of Bourbon, le Roi de la Ligue, had died
in May 1590 ; and Philip of Spain now claimed the French
throne for his daughter Elizabeth, as the eldest daughter of
the eldest daughter of Henry II. At the States-General,
which Mayenne summoned in January 1593, the Spanish
Ambassador proposed that the French crown should be

126 The Wars of Religion

given to the Infanta. But the plans of Philip and the
* Sixteen ' suflFered a severe shock when, on May 17, it was
announced that Henry was willing to accept the Catholic
faith. Events now moved rapidly. The States-General were
swept away. On July 8 Henry took Dreux ; and on July 23
a general truce was proclaimed. Henry, now that he had
accepted Catholicism, found that he had the support of a
large majority of French Catholics, while his opponents
realized that they had never appreciated the strength of
royalism in France. On March 22, 1594, he entered Paris not
only without opposition but amid the greatest enthusiasm.
Adhesions and capitulations rapidly followed. Charles H of
Lorraine and the Duke of Guise made terms before the end
of the year ; in the following year (September 1595) Henry
received Papal absolution, by the wish of Clement VHI ; and
shortly afterwards Mayenne submitted.

The war with Spain, however, continued : Henry formally
declaring war on that Power in November, and in the cam-
paign of Fontaine- Frangoise he drove the Spaniards over the
Saone. Spanish successes, however, made it clear that with-
out allies Henry could not hope for a decisive victory over
his foes, among whom were Charles Emmanuel of Savoy, and
Mercoeur in Brittany. He then signed an alliance with
England in May 1596 (Treaty of Greenwich), which was
shortly afterwards joined by the United Provinces ; after
a six months' siege he took Amiens, the Spanish head-
quarters in the north-east of France. Both sides were now
ready to treat, and on May 2, 1598, immediately after the
publication of the Edict of Nantes, the Treaty of Vervins
ended the war. England and the United Provinces were
abandoned, the terms of the Treaty of Greenwich being
ignored. France had now passed safely through two crises —

The Wars of Religion 127

a political and a religious one. Had Spain not been fully
occupied by the revolt of the Netherlands France might
have been partitioned between the Habsburgs and the
Guises. The struggle in the Netherlands nullified the
advantages which Spain otherwise would have gained by
the war for the aggrandizement of the Guises — the so-called
Wars of Religion — in France.

The religious crisis came to an end through Henry IV's
acceptance of Catholicism, though as a matter of fact Galli-
canism had won the day. It seemed that France might have
a Galilean Church independent of the Papacy,.^ The situation
was somewhat similar to that in Louis XIV's reign, when
the submission of the Papacy alone prevented the setting
up of an independent Galilean Church. It was, however,
Henry IV's interest to preserve by a Concordat the con-
nexion between the French Church and the Papacy, and to
recall the Jesuits, who, finding themselves unpopular with the
French Church, the Parlement of Paris, and the Sorbonne,
became a strong support of the Bourbon monarchy. While
Catholicism was henceforth the State religion the Huguenots,
by the Edict of Nantes (April 13, 1598), received liberty
of worship and liberty of conscience.; They obtained eight
towns, and were allowed to keep up a force of 4,000 men.
The Edict has been described as ' a treaty between two
powers comparatively equal '.^ It was not till the rise of
Richelieu that the political existence of the Huguenots
ended ; it was not till the reign of Louis XIV that their
religion was proscribed.^

In 1598 France was at peace. The Edict of Nantes
secured for the Huguenots liberty of conscience, though it
left their political aims unsatisfied. That this was so became
^ Armstrong, The French Wars of Religion^ p. 44.

128 The Wars of Religion

evident early in Louis XIV's reign, and it was not till 1629
that Richelieu succeeded in destroying the political power of
the Huguenots. The Edict of Nantes, the Treaty of Vervins,
the submission of the League, and the absolutism of Henry IV
all contributed in 1598 to give France for a few years external
and internal peace. During the remaining twelve years of
the reign Henry and the Duke of Sully, the Superintendent of
the Finances, were engaged on the work of restoration and
rehabilitation so necessary after the long period of civil wars.
Sully, who in many of his ideas anticipated Colbert,
proved an admirable administrator; he was fully alive to
the importance of the development of agriculture and of
financial reform. Sully realized that France could sell
the surplus of her food to other nations at considerable
profit to herself ; he therefore reclaimed immense tracts of
hitherto uncultivated land. This policy was wise at a
period in European history when war between nations was
so frequent an event, and especially so in the case of France.
She now became self-supporting as regards the necessaries of
life, and was able to amass large amounts of gold and silver,
more especially as Sully prohibited the exportation of these
precious metals. He was however forced, by the intervention
of Henry, to give partial encouragement to manufactures,
such as those connected with silk at Lyons and Nimes, and
with glass and pottery at Paris and Nevers. Moreover,
Henry encouraged the construction not only of roads but also
of a great canal between the Loire and the Seine. In the
matter of finance. Sully devoted his chief efforts to checking
corruption, and made no attempt to introduce a better
system of taxation. He was content to enforce the proper
observance of the existing system, the chief novelty which he
introduced being the faulette^ a tax paid annually by judicial

The Wars of Religion 129

and financial officials — and which enabled them to pass
on their offices to their heirs. A class of hereditary officials
was thus created, which was certainly not to the advantage
of France.

Between 1598 and 1610, when he died, Henry IV was, it
is said, hesitating between a Spanish alliance and a war for
the Protestant cause in Germany. In 1609 he decided to
oppose the Habsburgs on the Rhine; in i6iohe allied him-
self with the Protestant Union. But his death in May, by
the hand of Ravaillac, put an end to his schemes.

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7
The Early Bourbons and the Thirty Years' War

On Henry IV's death the Bourbon monarchy was firmly
established, and order after the religious wars was restored.
But the forces of disorder were, during his reign, checked
rather than annihilated. The nobles still wielded considerable
power as provincial governors, though they were to some ex-
tent checked by agents of the Crown and by the growing ten-
dency of the towns to shake themselves free from the influence
of the great lords. The Huguenots, too, had gained by the
Edict of Nantes a considerable amount of local independence
which they, before many years were over, endeavoured to
extend. Since the institution of the pauletu, members of the
Parlement of Paris could, on paying an annual tax to the
Crown, secure themselves in their offices, which they could
hand on to their heirs. The necessity for the rise of a states-
man in France was rarely so obvious as during the first thirteen
years of the reign of Louis XHI, when France was ruled by
the Queen Mother, Marie de' Medici. During that period
the power and selfishness of the great nobles were manifested
to the detriment of the national interests, while the Huguenot
leaders devoted their energies to personal quarrels. In order
to preserve a precarious domestic peace the Queen Mother
endeavoured in vain to bribe the princes, who added to the
Regent's anxieties by forming themselves Into two parties
— that of the Guises, and that of the Prince of Conde.
Sully had resigned his o^ce oi Surintendantm]2Ln\xzxy 1611,
and the Queen relied mainly on Concini, an Italian adven-

K 2

132 the Early Bourbons and

turer who had married Leonora Galigai,the Queen Mother's
confidante.

Matters came to a crisis in 1614, when civil war was with
difficulty averted by the Treaty of St, Menehould (May 15).
The treaty was followed by the meeting of the States-General
on October 27. It was the last assembly held before the famous
States-General in 1789 ; otherwise it was of no great impor-
tance, and it separated in the following year. Richelieu,
however, as the deputy for the clergy of Poitou, made his
mark during the debates, and his speeches were evidently
appreciated by Marie de' Medici and her favourite, Concini.
At the close of the year 161 5 the double marriage which had
been arranged in 1612 took place. The eldest daughter of
Marie was sent to Spain to marry Philip IV, and Louis XIII
married the Infanta Anne of Austria. On her return the
Queen Mother was forced to agree to the Treaty of Loudun
(May 3, 1616), in order to avoid a war with Conde, who was
supported by the Huguenots. By that treaty Louis and his
mother agreed to continue the existing concessions to the
Huguenots and the existing privileges of the Parlements, and
also to maintain the freedom of the Gallican Church. Not
appeased by this surrender, Conde endeavoured to effect the
fall of Concini, but the Queen Mother took the bold step
of incarcerating Conde himself in the Bastille on September i.
In the following year Marie de' Medici was herself deprived
of power, and Louis XIII, under the influence of a certain
Luynes, caused Concini to be shot on April 24, 1617, and
his^ mother to be exiled to the castle of Blois. Attempts
to win popularity by reforms did not strengthen Louis'
position ; the escape of the Queen Mother from Blois and
her subsequent alliance with the rebel nobles added to his
difficulties ; and it was not till the Treaty of Angouleme

the Thirty Years' War i33

in 1619, and the Treaty of Angers In 1620, were signed that
Louis was able to deal with a rising of the Huguenots, which,
however, proved not a very serious affair.

Its main interest lies in the fact that, while on the cam-
paign, Luynes died on December 15,1621, and in the following
year Conde, now restored to favour, persuaded Louis to lead
the royal army against the Huguenots, Success attended the
King, and on October 19 the Treaty of Montpellier ended
the war. The Edict of Nantes was confirmed. La Rochelle
and Montauban were left to the Huguenots as places de
surete, and all political meetings were prohibited. j_The only
matter of interest in the years immediately preceding 1624
in the history of France is the gradual rise of Richelieu, who
in 1622 became a cardinal. May 4, 1624, is, however, an
important date in French history. On that day Richelieu
may be said to have entered upon his famous ministry, which
continued till his death eighteen years later. Moreover, in
that year France again made herself felt in the politics of
Europe.^

_The Thirty Years' War which had broken out in 161 8 was
raging, and before the end of 1624 France had become the
ally of Holland, the match between Prince Charles and
Henrietta Maria was arranged, and French troops, in alliance
with Venice and Savoy, occupied the important Valteline
Valley. Early the following year James I was succeeded by his
son Charles, who married Henrietta Maria in June. ^Before,
however, France could take an active part in the Thirty Years'
War it was necessary to deal forcibly with the Huguenots,who
were curiously enough favoured by Spain, and who, under
Soubise, raised a revolt in 1625. Richelieu dealt with the
situation in a masterly manner. He forced the Huguenots
to sue for peace, which was made at La Rochelle on February

134 The Early Bourbons and

5, 1626 ; and by handing back the ValteHne to the Grisons,
on the understanding that the Spaniards would not attempt
to march through the valley, he secured peace with Spain by
the Treaty of Mongon on May 10. The Huguenots, finding
themselves without allies, were furious, and the following
year (1627) again revolted. The operations centred round
La Rochelle, which was besieged by the royal forces.
A relieving force under Buckingham arrived from England,
on the pretext that the French Protestants were badly
treated. The English expedition was a failure, and returned
to England at the end of the year. It was not, however,
till October 1628 that the Huguenots, after an heroic
resistance in La Rochelle, submitted. Before peace could
be made a fresh crisis had arisen in North Italy, where the
Duchy of Mantua, left vacant by the death of Vincenzo
di Gonzaga on December 27, 1627, was claimed by his
nearest male heir, Charles Gonzaga, the Duke of Nevers,
then Governor of Champagne, and by Charles Emmanuel
of Savoy, who was fiercely hostile to France. Spain
sided with the latter and besieged Casale, the key of the
valley of the Po, which was held by a small number of
Frenchmen. Louis and Richelieu, however, crossed the
Alps ; Charles Emmanuel yielded ; Casale was relieved ; and
Richelieu in April formed a great Italian League which in-
cluded France, the Pope, Venice, Genoa, Mantua, and Savoy.
Italy was thus freed from dependence upon Spain, with which
Power the Huguenots under Rohan had now made alliance.
Their resistance was in vain, for even Charles I had abandoned
their cause; and on June 23, 1629, the Peace of Alais re-
established the Edict of Nantes with important alterations
justified by the fact that the late rising of the Hugue-
nots had become political and not merely religious.' Louis

the Thirty Years* War i35

returned, in July, in triumph to Paris, and on September 14
Richelieu joined him at Fontainebleau. He found himself
threatened by the opposition of the Queen Mother, who
had allied herself to Gaston of Orleans, the younger brother
of Louis and the heir presumptive. At this crisis Louis
firmly supported Richelieu, who in November received the
title of Premier Ministre d'£tat.

His difficulties both at home and abroad were still con-
siderable. However, he partly satisfied Gaston by offering
him the Governorship of Amboise and Orleans, instead of
Champagne and Burgundy, and the jealous Prince returned
from Lorraine to France in January 1630. Meanwhile
Richelieu was compelled to set out for Italy to settle the
Mantuan succession question and to save Mantua and Casale,
which were threatened by Imperialist armies. His object was
not to conquer Italian provinces, but to secure some position
which ' would enable France at any time to interfere deci-
sively in Italy '. Charles Emmanuel, the unstable Duke of
Savoy, fled from Rivoli at the approach of Richelieu at the
head of an army in March, and on March 25 Pinerolo was in
the hands of the French. In May Richelieu met Louis XIII
at Grenoble, returned with him to Savoy, and carried out
the reduction of the Duchy. But here his success ended.
Owing to the defeat of Christian IV of Denmark and his
retirement from the Thirty Years' War, the Emperor was
able to send troops against Mantua, which fell into their
hands on July 17, thus enabling assistance to be given to
Spinola, who was besieging Casale.

Charles Emmanuel of Savoy died on July 26, and his suc-
cessor Victor Amadeus, who had married the sister of Louis
XIII, adopted a waiting policy. Under these circumstances
Richelieu wisely allowed his agent Giulio Mazarin to arrange

136 The Early Bourbons and

a truce at Rivalta. A waiting policy was wise, for events were
in 1630 moving rapidly in Richelieu's favour. In spite of the
victories of Wallenstein in northern Germany, the Catholic
League headed by Maximilian of Bavaria, who had entered
the Thirty Years' War to crush the Protestants, was alarmed
at the rising Imperial power, and at the Diet of Ratisbon in
June demanded and obtained the deprivation of Wallenstein.
At this Diet the influence of Father Joseph, the Cardinal's
agent, was clearly manifest not only in Wallenstein's dis-
missal, but also in the failure of the Emperor Ferdinand to
secure the election of his son as King of the Romans.

The loss of Wallenstein's services at this time was soon
realized by the Emperor, for in July Gustavus Adolphus, to
whom Richelieu had sent an envoy the previous year, landed
in Germany while a large number of the Imperial troops
were occupied in Italy. The Emperor, therefore, in October
was v^dlling to agree to the Treaty of Ratisbon, to settle
the Mantuan succession, and to secure peace with France.
A fortnight after the Treaty of Ratisbon had been signed
(Richelieu refused to confirm it) a French army arrived
before Casale, the town and castle being still in the hands
of the Spaniards, and the citadel held by a French force.
A conflict was averted by the appearance of Mazarin, who
announced the conclusion of peace. In the following year
the Treaty of Cherasco finally ended the so-called ' War
of the Mantuan Succession '. The Duke (a Frenchman)
recovered his duchy, and though French troops still held
Pinerolo, the French army was withdrawn from Savoy and
Piedmont.

The successful conclusion of the Italian question was
mainly due to the arrival and successes of Gustavus Adolphus,
for in the autumn of 1630 Richelieu was fully occupied with

the Thirty Years' War i37

domestic matters. In September Louis fell dangerously ill
at Lyons, and intrigues by the Queen and Queen Mother for
Richelieu's dismissal culminated in a violent scene between
the Queen Mother and the Cardinal on November lo. The
latter's fall was regarded as certain, and in consequence of
the Queen Mother's actions and attitude the following day,
November ii, 1630, was henceforward known as the ' day of
dupes '. Tw^o of Marie's adherents were punished. Marshal
Louis de Marillac was executed, and his brother Michel de
Marillac, the Garde desSceaux,w2is exiled; Richelieu's triumph
was undoubted, and henceforward his position was secure.
Thus in 1631, the year which saw Richelieu a duke and peer
found him triumphant over his domestic enemies and success-
ful in his foreign policy. During the next four years Richelieu
pursued a cautious policy — it was not till 1635 ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^
declared upon Spain, and France definitely entered the
Thirty Years' War.

During those years Gustavus Adolphus had won the battle
of Breitenfeld (September 17, 163 1), had advanced by Wiirz-
burg and Mainz to Bavaria, where in April 1632 he had
defeated and killed Tilly in the battle of the Lech. But
on November 1 6 he was himself killed in the battle of Liitzen,
though his army defeated that of Wallenstein, whom the
Emperor had reappointed to the command. Until the
internal troubles of France were over Richelieu was unwill-
ing to make open war upon the Habsburgs, and besides,
he hoped to separate the Catholic League from them.
This hope was soon proved to be groundless, and
moreover Oxenstierna, the Swedish Chancellor, who now
headed a Protestant Alliance known as the League of Heil-
bronn (April 1633), adopted an independent attitude and
declined to place in French hands Mainz and other places
then in possession of Sweden. Anticipating Mazarin

138 The Early Bourbons and

Napoleon, he endeavoured to establish a Rhenish Con-
federacy under French protection. • In 1633 French troops
occupied Lorraine, which in consequence of the Duke's re-
fusal to do homage for it was declared forfeit by the Parle -
ment of Paris ; and at the end of 1634 ^^^ Duke of Orleans
agreed to all Richelieu's demands and returned to France.
It only remained to secure the co-operation of Sweden on
Richelieu's terms. This was effected owing to the crushing
defeat of Bernard of Saxe-Weimar and his Swedish army at
Nordlingen on September 6, 1634. Oxenstierna at once
agreed to the introduction of French garrisons into the
Palatinate fortresses, and French troops occupied Ehren-
breitstein, Colmar, Philippsburg, Schlettstadt, and were
supreme in the territories of the Bishop of Basel, and in the
principality of Montbeliard. It only remained, before war
with the Habsburgs had actually opened, to conclude a
definite offensive and defensive alliance with Sweden and
Holland. It was in February arranged with the Dutch
Government that the Spanish Netherlands should be
conquered and divided between France and Holland, and
in April the French and Swedish Governments engaged to
conclude no separate peace. On May 19, 1635 (^^^ I"^"
perialists having in January captured Philippsburg, and the
Spaniards having in April seized Trier), France declared
war upon Spain ; in 1638 she declared war upon the
Emperor.

The ensuing years, till Richelieu's death in 1642 and
Louis XIII's death in 1643, are years of continual war, during
which the French monarchy endeavoured to carry out the
last schemes of Henry IV. The possessions and the allies
of the House of Habsburg were attacked, one of the objects
of Richelieu being to secure for France Alsace and Lorraine.

the Thirty Years* War 139

During these years the great Conde (Due d'Enghien) and
Turenne were trained, and after Richelieu's death they
became prominent.

In this contest France was allied not only with Sweden and
Holland but also with the Protestant League of Heilbronn,
with Portugal, and with the Dukes of Modena, Parma, and
Mantua (Treaty of Rivoli). It was not till after 1638 that
any decided success was won, but between 1639 and 1641
Roussillon and the greater part of Catalonia were occupied ;
the fortresses in Alsace and the Breisgau, together with
Artois, were conquered on the death of Bernard of Saxe-
Weimar (July 1639), and successes of the French fleet in the
Mediterranean were reported. Turin was taken by Har-
court in 1640, and Christina of Savoy was restored. Though
no very startling success had attended the French arms, the
Diet of the Empire at the close of 1641 declared itself in
favour of negotiations, and it was settled that they should be
opened at Miinster and Osnabriick. During this period of
continuous warfare Richelieu had difficulties at home. In
December 1638 he lost his useful agent Father Joseph ; in
1 641 and 1642 he was threatened by plots, the one headed
by the Count of Soissons, the other by Henry, Marquess of
Cinq-Mars. The former was killed at the close of an engage-
ment, the latter was seized and executed. ' At the close of
his career Richelieu had certainly suppressed all danger of
a Huguenot rising, and he had destroyed the possibility of
the permanent preponderance in Europe of the Habsburgs.'^^
So occupied was he in making France predominant in
Europe, that, even had he wished to do so, he had not the
time to carry out great administrative reforms. It was not
till the Revolution of 1789 that the financial reconstruction
which was a crying necessity in the sixteenth century was

140 The Early Bourbons and

carried out. Equality of taxation was the chief reform re-
quired, and neither Richelieu, Mazarin, Louis XIV, nor
Louis XV attempted to bring this about. ' If the Peace of
Westphalia and the Peace of the Pyrenees were of his (Riche-
lieu's) making, so also was the Revolution of 1789.' The
birth of sons to Louis XIII in 1638 and 1640 had indeed
removed many of his fears regarding the succession, but he
did not live long enough to see the monarchy which he
did so much to strengthen rise to its height under Louis XIV.
He died on December 4, 1642.

On December 6, immediately after Richelieu's death,
Louis XIII announced that Mazarin was now First Minister.
But before Mazarin had established himself firmly in his new
position Louis died on May 14, 1643, and the Parlement of
Paris, following the example of the States-General on the
accession of Charles VIII, appointed the weak Gaston of
Orleans Lieutenant-General, and gave what was practically
the supreme power to the Queen Mother, Anne of Austria,
Louis XIV being then only four years old. The Parlement,
aware of the weak, easy-going character of Anne, antici-
pated that Mazarin would be dismissed and the supreme
power left in their hands. To their dismay Anne announced
on May 18 that Mazarin would remain First Minister — a
momentous decision implying that Richelieu's foreign policy
of war against the Austro-Spanish House, and his domestic
policy of consolidating the French monarchy, would continue.
Consequently, till the coronation of Louis XIV at Rheims in
1654, an almost continuous struggle against Mazarin —
beginning with Les Importants and continuing during the
Fronde — was pursued by the nobles and the lawyer class
with extraordinary bitterness and want of patriotism. For
till the year of the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 the issue of

the Thirty Years' War 141

the war was doubtful, and it required all the energies of the
new minister to bring it to a successful conclusion.

Mazarin therefore had difficult tasks before him, but in the
end he succeeded in crushing the great nobles — a task begun
by Richelieu — and by an astute and resolute foreign policy
placed France in the forefront of the nations of Europe. He
was undoubtedly an exceedingly clever man, but he cannot
be acquitted of cunning, duplicity, and avarice. From 1643
to 1648 his chief object was to crush the House of Habsburg,
and he was fortunate in finding in the Due d'Enghien (son of
Henry of Conde) and in Turenne two of the ablest generals
of the day. On May 19, 1643, Enghien won the famous
battle of Rocroi over the Spaniards — a success which en-
couraged Mazarin to arrest Francois de Vendome, Due de
Beaufort, the leader of Les Import ants, who desired an under-
standing with Spain as a preliminary to a general peace. In
1644 Turenne and Enghien, by their victory at Freiburg,
secured a hold on the Rhine Valley, though in his attempt to
march on Vienna Turenne was, on May 5, 1645, defeated at
Mergentheim. However, with the help of Enghien and a
number of fresh troops, Turenne was able to win a brilliant
victory at Nordlingen on August 3. As Ragotsky, Prince
of Transylvania, and the Swedish General Torstenson,
who were operating on the eastern German border, had re-
treated, Turenne was unable to advance on Vienna. In 1646,
though the French received a check at Orbitello, they won
several successes in the Netherlands, capturing Courtrai,
Mardyke, Furnes, and Dunkirk, while by diplomacy Mazarin
firmly established French influence in Poland, Sweden, and
Denmark. The only unsatisfactory feature in the situation
was the increasing hostility of the nobles, such as Henry of
Conde ("who died in December), towards Mazarin ; and in

142 The Early Bourbons and

this attitude they were supported by Enghien. The latter,
after the fall of Dunkirk, carried on a campaign in Spain,
while Turenne in conjunction with a Swedish army compelled
Duke Maximilian of Bavaria to agree to the Treaty of Ulm
in March 1647. Mazarin was thus able to concentrate his
efforts in the Spanish Netherlands.

Nevertheless, when 1648 opened there seemed little chance
of the conclusion of the war during that year. In January
the Dutch made a treaty with Spain, and the Elector of
Bavaria, who had renounced the Treaty of Ulm, was again
in arms. Energetic measures were at once taken by Mazarin
and his generals. In May a combined Franco-Swedish army
won the battle of Zusmarshausen and invaded Bavaria, while
another Swedish army menaced Prague. On July 13 Schom-
berg captured Tortosa, thus threatening Spain with invasion,
while a fortnight later a Swedish army seized Little Prague,
and on August 22 Conde won a brilliant victory over the
Spaniards at Lens. Owing to this succession of defeats the
Emperor was now willing to treat, while Mazarin, seriously
hampered by the outbreak in August of the Fronde in Paris,
met him in a conciliatory spirit. On October 24, 1648, the
Peace of Westphalia was signed.

The Emperor Ferdinand II had, before his death in 1637,
hoped to detach the Swedes from their alliance with France,
but his son, the Emperor Ferdinand III, while anxious for
peace, refused to recognize the position of the Protestant
Estates. In 1643 and 1644 he became more amenable,
and in 1645 a congress was opened at Miinster and
Osnabriick ; but the Peace of Westphalia (signed at Miinster
and Osnabriick) was not actually concluded till October 27,
1648. The sovereignty of France over the three bishoprics
of Metz, Toul, and Verdun was recognized ; as was the

the Thirty Years' War 143

French sovereignty over Pinerolo. For the time being
Lorraine was to remain in French hands, as its Duke had not
come to terms with the King of France. The clauses in the
treaty relating to Alsace were on many points obscure. The
whole of Alsace and its Estates were, however, not subject to
Austria as Mazarin supposed. The King of France obtained
practical possession of the greater part of Upper and Lower
Alsace , together with the fortress of Breisach, and while he
' undertook to respect the liberties and immediacy to the
Empire not only of the Bishops of Strassburg and Basel, but
also of the other immediate Estates in both Upper and Lower
Alsace, including the Ten Free Towns, he did so on con-
dition that the rights of his sovereignty should not suffer from
this reservation '.-^

Louis XIV did not hesitate to take full advantage of the
obscurity of the clauses relating to Alsace, and in 1681 he
occupied the town of Strassburg. Perhaps the chief advan-
tage of the war and the Treaty of Westphalia to France was
that they ' enormously increased her moral ascendancy in
Western Germany and in the Empire at large '.^ The power
of the House of Austria was proportionately lessened, and the
religious, territorial, and civil independence of the various
minor states was recognized.

Peace having been signed with Austria and satisfactory
concessions having been made to Sweden by the Emperor, it
remained for Mazarin to bring the war with Spain to a close.
In his efforts to effect this object he was seriously hampered
by the unpatriotic conduct of the Frondeurs.

At the moment when the Peace of Westphalia had been
signed Mazarin and the Court were at Rueil, whither they had

^ Cambridge Modern History, vol. iv, p. 406.
2 Ibid., p. 416.

144 The Early Bourbons and

withdrawn on September 13, to return to Paris on October 30,
six days after the conclusion of the war with the Emperor.
Regardless of the situation abroad, the Parlement of Paris
since the opening of the year had been occupied in resisting
the Crown. Ever since his accession to office Mazarin had
been opposed by the factious nobility, and since 1645 by the
growing antagonism of the Parlement of Paris. Richelieu had
left the finances of France in a desperate condition. Like
Mazarin, he had no aptitude for finance — which was an espe-
cially serious matter during the great war then being waged.
Like Charles I, Mazarin fell back upon a lapsed edict — which
forbade the erection of houses within a certain distance out-
side Paris — and allowed Particelli d'£mery, the Controller-
General of Finance, to attempt its enforcement. That edict
had, however, in 1644 to be withdrawn, owing to the opposi-
tion of the Parlement of Paris and the riots which were taking
place in some of the provinces. Other schemes were proposed,
but, even when put into force, failed to relieve the situation.
Mazarin never seems to have realized the miserable condition
of the poorer classes. But Omer Talon, at the Lit de Justice
held in January 1648, described it in a speech in which he
declared that since 1638 the country had been ruined. In
order to secure a better state of things a revolution was neces-
sary. But it was impossible at that time to find men capable
of establishing a new Constitution. The States-General in
1614 had proved singularly ineffective ; the incapacity and
short-sightedness of the nobles baffie description ; while the
Parlement of Paris, which posed as a sort of English Parlia-
ment, could never shake itself free from its narrow selfish
ambitions and struggle for the rights of the people. Omer
Talon might describe the utter misery of a large portion of
the nation, but when it came to action the Parlement fought

the Thirty Years' War i45

only to maintain its own privileges. Like Mazarin, it cared
nothing for the internal welfare of the country.

In 1648, before the war with Austria had been closed by
the Peace of Westphalia, the First Parliamentary Fronde broke
out. Its outbreak was due immediately to the struggle between
the Parlement of Paris and the Crown in the earlier months of
the year. On May 1 5 delegates of the four sovereign Courts — •
the Parlement^ the Grand Conseil, the Chambre des Comptes,
and the Cour des Aides — met in the Chamber of St. Louis ' to
reform the abuses which had crept into the State '. Their
demands amounted to a large share in the government of the
country ; but in asking for the abolition of that useful class,
the Intendanis, they showed the inability of a close corpora-
tion of lawyers to act in a statesmanlike manner. The Court was
emboldened by the opportune victory of Lens on August 20,
and the Government at once ordered the arrest of three of the
leaders of the Parlement — Broussel, Blancmesnil, and Charton.
Charton escaped, but the other two leaders of the Parlement
were seized. A situation somewhat similar to that of July
1830 was as suddenly created. Barricades were set up, and
Paris was in a state of revolution, among its leaders being
Paul de Gondi (afterwards Cardinal de Retz). After a short
interval Broussel — the popular hero — and Blancmesnil were
released. For the time the Parlement had conquered, and
after a short withdrawal on September 13 to Rueil, Mazarin
and the Court returned to Paris (October 30). As the atti-
tude of the Parisians continued hostile to Mazarin the Court,
on January 6, 1649, returned to Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and
the war of the First Fronde broke out, continuing till April i .
This war was concentrated round Paris, the royalist troops
being under the efficient command of Conde. In Paris the
mob, anticipating July 14, 1789, seized on January 12 the

1832.8 T

146 The Early Bourbons and

Bastille, and gained a few successes. But Conde's army, like
that of the Germans in 1871, gradually wore down the
resistance of the Parisians, and at the beginning of April the
Treaty of Rueil ended the war of the First Fronde, during
which Turenne had joined the opposition to the Court,

Peace only continued till January 1650, for the Fronde urs
remained dissatisfied with the terms of the Treaty. The
Parlement gained some recognition of its right to take part
in State affairs, but the chief desire of the Frondeurs — the
exile of Mazarin — was not complied with.

Though the war was closed it was not till August that the
Court, which had moved to Compiegne, returned to Paris.
Nevertheless, the situation was an anxious one. Conde, to
whom was due the overthrow of the First Fronde, which
indeed affected to desire serious and important reforms, was
not satisfied with his position, and a breach soon took place
between him and the Court. During the later months of
1649 the party of the New Fro?ide was forming. Its members
had no political or constitutional aims : their object was to
overthrow Mazarin and to secure power for themselves. One
of the characteristics of the New Fronde was the conspicuous
part taken by women, ' Women ', writes Lavallee, ' played
throughout this time the most splendid part, which brought
out all their cleverness : theirs was a life of adventure and
romance, crowded with pleasures and perils ; they took the
ead alike in love affairs or warlike expeditions, in fetes or
conspiracies.' The actual movement known as the New
Fronde definitely began when, on January 10, 1650, Mazarin
arrested Conde, Conti, his brother-in-law, and Longueville.
Mazarin's position seemed strong, for he had for the moment
g ined over de Retz and Madame de Chevreuse ; in the
spring he made with Louis a successful tour in the provinces,

the Thirty Years' Way i47

and on December 13 the royal army defeated Turenne at
Rethel.

Arriving in Paris on December 31, 1650, Mazarin found
the capital seething with intrigue, and de Retz his avowed
enemy. The Parlement declared itself in favour of the three
imprisoned princes. The two Frondes united. Anne of
Austria was too ill to leave Paris. Ought Mazarin, by force
of arms, to have suppressed the factions in Paris ? He decided
otherwise, and on February 6, 165 1, left Paris, and from
April II to the end of October resided at Briihl. During the
year important events took place : Louis XIV attained his
majority, and Conde entered into relations with Spain,
thus severing his connexion with theP^r/i?OT^«/of Paris, which
body in December 165 1 attainted him of high treason. In
the folio vving year — a year of battles — Turenne, who had
returned to his allegiance to the French King, won the
battles of Jargeau on March 29, and Etampes on May 4, and
gave battle to Conde in the Faubourg St. Antoine on July 2.
After a period of great confusion in Paris, during which
Conde was supreme, a reaction in favour of the King took
place. Mazarin had wisely left France a second time, and in
October Conde retired from the capital, which on October 21
was entered by the King amid scenes of great enthusiasm.
As far as Paris was concerned the period of the Frondes was
over, and on February 3, 1653, Mazarin returned to Paris ;
in July, with the submission of Bordeaux, the Provincial
Fronde came to an end.

Foreign affairs demanded his immediate and exclusive
attention ; for owing to the unpatriotic action of Conde and
the Frondeurs the Spaniards had gained several successes,
and in the spring of 1652 were threatening Dunkirk. Even
at this anxious time Mazarin could not decide to accept

L 2

148 The Early Bourbons and

Cromwell's offers of assistance ; and vv^hile he hesitated Blake
with a declaration of war seized all the French vessels,
except one, in the neighbourhood of Dunkirk, which place
on the following day (September 16) surrendered to the
Spaniards. Realizing, when too late, the blunder that he
had made, he acknowledged the English Commonwealth in
December. A powerful ally was, indeed, an urgent necessity,
for since 1648 France had lost Casale, Catalonia, Dunkirk,
Mardyke, Gravelines, and Furnes, From the beginning of
1653 matters gradually improved. In 1654 Alsace, Philipps-
burg, and the Rhine frontier were secured ; and in November
1653 a commercial treaty was concluded with England which
paved the way for the Treaty of Paris in March 1657. ^Y
that treaty Cromwell engaged to aid France with 6,000 men,
on condition that Dunkirk and Mardyke should be ceded to
England. The following year the battle of the Dunes was
fought, the Spaniards were defeated, and Dunkirk and Grave-
lines captured. The same year Lionne built up the League
of the Rhine, which was a serious menace to the power of the
new Emperor Leopold I, who was elected in July. Moreover,
Spain was now a defeated Power, for after the capture of
Dunkirk and Gravelines Turenne had overrun Flanders,
while wars with Portugal and England had broken out and
as early as 1655 Jamaica had been lost. On November 7,
1659, the Peace of the Pyrenees was signed. It was agreed
that Louis XIV should marry the Spanish Infanta, who on
the payment of 500,000 crowns as a dowry by Philip was to
renounce her claims on the Spanish throne ; and that France
should be put into possession of Roussillon, Cerdagne, Artois,
and a number of towns which strengthened the position of
France on the side of the Low Countries. Spain secured
Franche-Comte and the Spanish Marches, recovered some

the Thirty Years' War 149

towns in the Netherlands, and secured pardon for the
traitor Conde.

The Peace of the Pyrenees had thus tranquillised central
and western Europe. In the north, however, owing to the
ambition of Charles X of Sweden, war continued to reign,
and during the greater part of the year 1659 there seemed
little chance of the restoration of peace. Owing to the firm
language of Mazarin, followed on February 23, 1660, by the
somewhat opportune death of Charles X, a general pacifica-
tion was effected. The Treaties of Oliva and Copenhagen
closed the war of Sweden with Poland and Denmark ; by
the Treaty of Kardis, in July 1661, Russia and Sweden were
reconciled. Thus peace was restored in northern as well as in
central and western Europe. Before this condition of things
was firmly established Mazarin had died on March 9, 1661,
leaving an enormous fortune.

Mazarin had, indeed, regained for France a high position
in Europe, and had suppressed rebellion. But the Peace of
the Pyrenees found the condition of the country pitiable in
the extreme — the natural result of a long period of civil war,
and consequent heavy taxation. The brightest feature of the
period was the rise of Jansenism at the monastery of Port-
Royal in Paris about the year 1643, and the publication some
years later of Pascal's Lettres 7*romnciales. But with the
accession of Louis XIV this movement was severely checked,
only to resume a position of great importance in the reigns
of Louis XV and XVI.

8
The Age of Louis XIV

The period from the death of Mazarin in i66i to that of
Louis XIV in 171 5 saw the French monarchy at its height.
Its literature was the superior of that of any other nation,
as is shown by the orations and writings of such men as
Bossuet and Fenelon ; its artists and architects were un-
rivalled. In the subjects of mathematics, music, astronomy,
chemistry, and, in fact, in all matters relating to natural
science, France held the foremost place in Europe. Moreover,
in matters diplomatic she was unrivalled ; such diploma-
tists, formed in the school of Richelieu and Mazarin, as
Hugues de Lionne, Arnauld de Pomponne, and Colbert de
Croissy showed extraordinary skill in their profession. The
same can be said of her statesmen and generals. Colbert was
unequalled in the ability and foresight with which he ad-
ministered France and encouraged the growth of colonies,
while the value of the work of Michel le Tellier, Louvois, and
Vauban in reorganizing the army was clearly manifest through-
out the years from 1661. The navy also became a worthy
rival of that of England during the greater part of the reign.
It was a period when the absolute monarchy was established
on a permanent basis, and the government of the country was
centralized in Paris. No attempt was made to summon the
States-General and the Parlement of Paris, and the provincial
Parlements, which had shown such activity during Louis XIV's
minority, were reduced to complete political powerlessness,
and became simply law courts. After 1665 their title of
Sovereign Law Courts was changed to that of Superior Courts.

The Age of Lofds XIV 151

Louis XIV, who was twenty-two years old, entered upon
his duties on the death of Mazarin on March 9, 1661. He
stated plainly his intentions at the first council held after the
minister's death, at which were present : Fouquet, the
Surintendant ; L'e Tellier, the^ Minister of War ; Lionne ;
and the Chancellor Seguier. ' T4f> ^urmvU T^o hU nwn Fjrsi-
Minister^ and nothing was to be signed wit|iont his orders.,;
The Archbishop of Rouen received a similar intimation.
Louis was to be the real head of Church and State in
France. The reign of Richelieu was to be continued and
developed, and no opposition from princes, the Parlement, or
the Huguenots would be tolerated. In 1667 ^^^ Parlement
lost its right of remonstrance and till Louis' death was
silenced. Conde had to make abject submission before he
was restored to his rank and property. France was in a posi-
tion somewhat similar to that of England after the Wars of
the Roses. The nation was weary of party struggle, and
Louis XIV was welcomed, like Henry VII, as a restorer of
peace and of order.

One of Louis' first acts was to replace Fouquet, the Surin-
tendant des Finances, by Colbert. Nicholas Fouquet had held
the office since 1653, and had accumulated a vast fortune.
Convinced of his dishonesty, Louis had him arrested on
September 5, 1661, and kept him in imprisonment till his
death at Pignerol in 1680. Ten days after Fouquet's fall
Colhart entered the Conseil des Finances ; in 1665 he became
Controleur General des Finances and Secretary of State for
the King's Household ; in 1669 he had charge of the Navy.
From 1 661 to the day of his death he never ceased carrying
out financial reforms, colonial schemes, and projects for the
improvement of agriculture and industry. He improved the
means of communication in France ; he established commer-

152 The Age of Louis XIV

cial companies. Madagascar became the principal centre
of the Compagnie des Indes Orientales, and Havre that of the
Compagnie des Indes Ocddentales, which traded chiefly with
Canada, Western Africa, the Antilles, and Cayenne. Both
were established in 1664. Numerous other trading companies
were formed, many of which had short careers. Marseilles,
Dunkirk, Bayonne were established as ports for the encourage-
ment of trade, and a large merchant service was created. To
watch over trade Colbert, in 1664, resuscitated the Conseil
de Commerce which Henry IV had founded, and in 1673 he
published his Ordonnance de Commerce which described
fully the commercial and industrial situation and gathered
into one code the many provincial customs dealing with
trade. He was a firm believer in the ' mercantile system ',
and placed restrictions on the importation of goods from
foreign countries.

In 1675 the peasants in Brittany, following the example of
those in Guienne, Vivarais, Pyrenees, and Bourbonnais, rose
in a rebellion, which coincided in point of time with Colbert's
realization that his work was likely to be ruined by the pomp
of Versailles and the wars in Flanders. For since the begin-
ning of his personal rule in 1661 Louis XIV had been bent on
securing fame by conquest, which could only result from
expensive wars. Till the outbreak of the War of Devolution
in 1667 he strengthened the position of France in various
ways — ^he bought Dunkirk from England, he secured the
submission of the Papacy, he aided the Imperialists to defeat
the Turks in the battle of St. Gotthard, he made treaties with
Sweden, Denmark, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Mainz, and,
by renewing the League of the Rhine, he held the Emperor
in check. Moreover, a French force aided the Portuguese
to win the victory of Villaviciosa and to secure its indepen-

The Age of Loins XIV 153

dencc. In 1665 Philip IV of Spain died, and was succeeded
by Charles II, whose health was so uncertain that the ques-
tion of the Spanish succession was before the minds of Euro-
pean statesmen till the close of the century. On the death
of Philip, Louis at once claimed Flanders in right of his wife
Marie Therese, in accordance with ' a civil claim of inheri-
tance prevailing in Brabant ' called the ius devolutionis.

Owing to the Anglo-Dutch War in the years 1665-7, in
which he nominally aided the Dutch, Louis did not enter
upon the War of Devolution till May 1667. From that date
till the English Revolution of 1688 his foreign policy was, on
the whole, successful. It was of a most aggressive character,
but only gradually roused the opposition of the greater part
of Europe. In 1667 the French arms won rapid successes
in Flanders, and on January 20, 1668, Louis' claim to the
Spanish succession in the event of the King of Spain's death
without heirs was recognized by the Emperor Leopold in a
secret treaty. Though England, Holland, and Sweden were
drawing together, owing to their alarm at Louis' successes,
and formed in January 1668 the Triple Alliance, French
troops occupied Burgundy and Franche-Comte. As a result
of the hostile attitude of the Triple Alliance, Louis, on
the advice of Colbert and Lionne, agreed by the Treaty of
Aix-la-Chapelle, in May, to withdraw from Franche-Comte,
though he remained in possession of twelve fortresses with
their districts in the Spanish Netherlands. He was, however,
determined to secure the whole of Flanders, and as a means
to that end resolved to conquer Holland, his pride being
moreover wounded at the daring opposition of a republic —
and indeed a Protestant one. Louvois, too, pointed out that
the surest way to the acquisition of the Spanish Netherlands
was through Holland. Louis therefore set to work to isolate

154 The Age of Louis XIV

the Republic. In preparation for the annihilation of
Holland Colbert prepared the finances, Louvois organized
the army, and Lionne arranged for alliances. The neutrality
of Charles II was secured by the secret Treaty of Dover in
1670 ; the Emperor Leopold had lately made the Secret
Treaty of 1668 ; the neutrality of Brandenburg was assured
by a treaty in 1669, and that of the Elector of Bavaria,
whose daughter was to marry the Dauphin, in 1670.

In April 1672 Sweden engaged, in concert with Denmark,
to close the Baltic to the Dutch fleet. In June the French
army crossed the Rhine and occupied the greater part of
Holland. But the Dutch nation, maddened at Louis' ex-
travagant demands, assassinated John de Witt and his brother
and opened the dikes, while William of Orange was made
Stadtholder. Early in 1673, after the failure of Luxemburg
to seize Amsterdam, the French army retired. In that year
Louis found himself engaged in a war with a coalition of
European Powers which included the Emperor, the Great
Elector (Frederick William of Brandenburg), the Kings of
Spain and Denmark, and the Dukes of Brunswick and Hesse.
In England there was an urgent demand for a declaration
of war against France. For five years France fought with
no little success against the greater part of Europe, during
which (on January 27, 1675) Turenne was killed ; the Swedes,
the allies of France, were defeated at Fehrbellin by the Great
Elector, and William of Orange married Mary, the daughter
of James Duke of York.

In 1678 Louis fully realized that, in spite of the efforts of
Turenne and Conde on land and of Duquesne at sea, peace
was desirable. The cost of the war had been immense;
risings had taken place in Normandy, Brittany, andGuienne ;
England was daily becoming more and more hostile. Con-

The Age of Louis XIV 155

sequently negotiations were opened, and by the Peace of
Nimeguen France gained fresh acquisitions, such as Franche-
Comte, which strengthened the French eastern frontier.
With the Emperor a treaty was made in February 1679 by
which Louis, on giving up his right to garrison Philippsburg,
gained Old Breisach and Freiburg. Lorraine remained
garrisoned by French troops, as the Duke refused the French
terms. Louis was now at the height of his power. Never
had France appeared so strong. Holland was, however, for
the time secure, and so far Louis' triumph was incomplete.
The Peace of Nimeguen proved to be only a truce.

Nevertheless, though Spain was in a state of decadence and
practically disarmed, and though the Emperor's attention was
fully occupied with troubles in Hungary, and he was more-
over threatened by the resurrection of Turkey, Louis XIV's
position contained elements of danger. The English nation's
suspicions, if not actual hostility, had been roused, and the
attitude of the German princes was far from friendly. Never-
theless, to the French nation their country had never seemed
stronger or in a more glorious position. Louis, perhaps
naturally, ignored all signs of future trouble, and allowed
himself to be carried away by pride. The Chambres de Re-
union were set up in order to secure ' those lands which were
not actually dependent upon his new conquests, but which
had formerly been so '. At Metz in October 1679 the first
Chambre de Reunmi was set up, and similar Chambres were
fixed at Tournai, Besan^on, and Breisach. In August 1680
Upper and Lower Alsace were claimed ; on September 30,
1681, French troops occupied Strassburg and Casale ; and in
November the siege of Luxemburg began. Owing, however,
to the opposition in Holland and England to the prospect of
French supremacy in Luxemburg Louis consented to with-

156 The Age of Loftis XIV

draw his troops, nominally in order not to hamper the German
preparations to resist the coming Turkish invasion.

' The year 1682 is specially noteworthy in the history of
France, as it saw Louis' attempt to secure the independence
of the Galilean Church ; it also saw the steady increase of
the general uneasiness in Europe at his unceasing activity
in foreign affairs. In September 1683 the Turks, who had
besieged Vienna, were driven back by John Sobieski and his
Polish army, to the great relief of Europe. Before the end
of the year the King of Spain declared war upon Louis, who
captured Luxemburg in June 1684. As the Emperor and
Empire, then at war with Turkey, could not resist Louis, the
Truce of Ratisbon, on August 15, was agreed upon, by which
Louis was for twenty years to hold not only Strassburg but
all the places assigned to him before August i, 1681, by the
Chambres de Reunion.

"Louis' position seemed now stronger than ever, and he
therefore determined to accept the adyicCjOf Madame de
Maintenon, whom he had married in 1684, and other
extreme Roman Catholics, and to revoke on October 22, 1685,
the Edict of Nantes, an action which had deplorable results,
commercial and political, upon France. With the establish-
ment of religious uniformity France became a Power ' uni-
form in its nationality and ecclesiastical system, with
well-defined frontiers, admirably armed for offence and
defence, both by sea and land '. No greater blow could have
been inflicted on France. In 1688 Louis had lost 600 officers

and 12,000 soldiers — all of whom had emigrated.-^ / From 1685

-y

^ During the War of the Spanish Succession Louis paid the penalty
for his revocation of the Edict of Nantes, for between 1703 and 1711
the Camisards of the Cevennes occupied the attention of a large
royal army.

The Age of Louis XIV 157

the European storm began to gather, and Louis would pro-
bably have acted wisely had he forced on the inevitable war
in that year. As it was, between 1685 and 1689 many events
took place which were detrimental to Louis' interests. The
Great Elector in 1685 allied himself with William of Orange,
and on July 6, 1686, the Augsburg Alliance, to preserve the
Treaties of Westphalia and Nimeguen and the Truce of Ratis-
bon, was formed, and among its members were the Emperor,
the Kings of Spain and Sweden, the Dutch Republic, the
Elector Palatine, Saxony, and the Circles of Bavaria, Fran-
conia, and the Upper Rhine. The immediate cause of the
formation of the League was anxiety with regard to the
Palatinate, and the League was so greatly strengthened by
the successes of the Imperialists against the Turks in 1686 and
the following years, that Louis decided that it would be
unwise to postpone hostilities any longer. The signal for war
was given when Louis, in 1688, occupied Cologne in order
to establish the claims of William von Fiirstenberg to the
archbishopric, and to retain the control of that important
district. At the same time the claim which he put for-
ward on behalf of the Duchess of Orleans to the Palatinate
was used as another reason for invading Germany. On
October 29 the French troops occupied Philippsburg, and
on that day William of Orange, taking advantage of Louis'
blunder in not attacking Holland, sailed for England. The
war which had thus opened continued till the Peace of
Ryswick in 1697 ; and in May 1689 the League of Augsburg
became the Grand Alliance, which William III definitely
joined in December.

Louis was now opposed not only by the Emperor, England,
Brandenburg, and Bavaria, but also by the Empire, which in
consequence of the devastation of the Palatinate declared

158 The Age of Louis XIV

war in February 1689. He seems to have realized that in
England, which now entered upon the second Hundred
Years' War with France, he was to meet a dangerous foe.
For the conquest of Belgium and Holland it was necessary
to overthrow William HI. In 1689 and 1690 James H was
in Ireland with 2,000 French troops, but on July ii,
1690, the hopes of Louis and James were destroyed by
the battle of the Boyne, and James returned to France.
And though the French fleet won the battle of Beachy Head
on July 10, 1690, it suffered a severe defeat in the battle of
La Hogue on May 29, 1692. England was now secure from
invasion, and the restoration of James II was more unlikely
than ever. So confident had Louis been before the battle
of La Hogue took place that, like Napoleon in 1803 and
1804, he had prepared a large army which was to be trans-
ported across the Channel for the conquest of England.
Russell, however, by his victory at La Hogue, anticipated
Nelson's victory at Trafalgar. Foiled, Louis, like Napoleon,
concentrated all his energies on the war on the Continent.
In Italy Catinat had, in 1690, defeated Amadeus of Savoy in
the battle of Staffarda ; in 1691 the French took Mons, in
1692 Namur ; they also defeated William III in the battle of.
Steenkerke, while Catinat, after his victory at Marsaglia,
invaded Piedmont.

At the opening of 1694 it seemed that French supremacy
in the Mediterranean, which had been uncontested since the
withdrawal of English troops from Tangier in 1684, ^^^
assured, and that Louis would be able to reinforce his armies
in Flanders and on the Rhine by troops from the south of
Italy. The situation was, however, saved by the arrival of
Russell and a fleet in the Mediterranean in the summer of
1694. Though Russell was unable to bring about a decisive

The Age of Louis XIV 159

battle with the French fleet, his presence in the Medi-
terranean till 1696 interfered with the freedom of Louis'
operations in northern Europe. Nevertheless, the defec-
tion of the Duke of Savoy, in August 1696, to the
French cause, and the neutralization of Italy, were of great
advantage to Louis. Though William III in August 1695
had recaptured Namur, thus for the first time in the war
inflicting a severe defeat on the French, the prospect of
the arrival of Catinat with some 30,000 troops from Italy
inclined him to receive favourably overtures for peace from
Louis, who was quite ready*to make them, as not only were
the resources of France exhausted, but it was now evident
that Charles II of Spain was nearing his end. Louis desired
to see the coalition against him dissolved before his death, in
order to prevent the intervention of Europe in his schemes.

In the autumn of 1697 the Treaties of Ryswick ended the
war. Louis recognized William III as King of England, and
recovered Nova Scotia from England and Pondicherry from
Holland, at the same time lowering the tariff to the level of
1664 ; Lorraine was restored to its Duke, but Louis kept
Strassburg and Landau, restoring all the places which had
been ' reunited ' to France since 1678. What was prob-
ably not realized either in France or England was that the
Peace of Ryswick was merely a truce in the struggle between
them for colonies in North America. The growing im-
portance of commerce, and hence the increased value set
upon colonial possessions, had become more and more evident
in each decade of the century. Louis had rejected the
proposal of Leibnitz that he should occupy Egypt. He did,
indeed, receive an embassy from Siam, but he was too much
interested in projects of conquest to devote much attention to
colonial matters, much to the despair of Colbert. Neverthe-

i6o The Age of Louis XIV

less, the colonial question continued steadily to increase in
importance. Its importance had already been emphasized by
Cromwell when he decided to attack Spain and not France,
because the former refused to give up its monopoly of trade
in the West Indies and South America.

Henry IV was interested in colonial matters ; during the
later years of his reign French colonies in Canada were formed,
and the era of colonial expansion, the natural sequel to the
period of the great discoveries, was opened. Between 1604
and 1608 two Frenchmen from Saintonge — de Alonts and
Champlain — colonized Quebec and the peninsula of Acadia.
Richelieu continued his policy, and the Company of Canada
was formed in 1628. To it was granted the city of Quebec
and all of New France called Canada. Another company was
also organized by Richelieu, called the Bank of St. Peter with
the Fleur de Lys, for the purpose of trade in Canada, and to
encourage the company it was stated that the right of
nobility was to be given to thirty-two members of the
Company and ' to those whose ancestors had been constantly
in its service ' for three generations, ' the intention of His
Majesty being to grant more honour than heretofore to
those who embrace commerce '.■'• Though there was some
development of French interests in the colonies, the results
in Canada were not of any importance till Louis XIV's
reign, when Colbert took steps to increase its population
and to improve its trade. He had early realized the advan-
tages to be derived from settlements in new lands, and in
1664 had formed a West India Company, which, however,
only existed for ten years. The French colonies were ruled
by the Minister of the Marine ; and a Governor and an
Intendant managed their internal administration. Canada,

^ Perkins, France wider Richelieu and Mazarin, vol. ii, pp. 1 12-13.

The A ge of Louis XI V i6 1

where the Jesuits were hard at work among the Indians, was
in 1662 placed under a Governor and a Council nominated
by the King, and entered upon a period of prosperity. About
1685 the encroachment of the French settlers on New England
began, and before the century closed a French settlement was
formed at the mouth of the Mississippi, extending from the
mouth of that river to Canada. Consequently, from 1689 to
1 8 15, in every war between France and England the colonial
question bulks large. The Treaty of Ryswick was merely
a truce both from the European as well as from the colonial
point of view.

The Spanish Succession War was preceded by four years of
useless diplomacy over the coming partition of Spain, which
was regarded as a certain event upon the death of Charles II.
Hence the First and Second Partition Treaties were drawn
up — the first in 1698, and the second in 1700. According to
the latter the Archduke Charles, the second son of the Emperor
Leopold, was to have Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, and
the Spanish possessions in South America, while the Dauphin
was to have the Two Sicilies, the Tuscan ports, Finale,
Guipuzcoa, and the Milanese (to be exchanged for Lorraine),
thus enabling France to strengthen her position, if not to
become supreme, in the Mediterranean.

These arrangements came to nothing, as Charles II of
Spain made a will on October ii, 1700, leaving the Spanish
monarchy to Philip, Duke of Anjou, the second son of the
Dauphin. Charles died on November i, 1700, and Louis
accepted the bequest. English public opinion compelled
William also, much to his displeasure, to accept it, and the
peace of Europe might have been preserved had not Louis,
convinced that hostilities were inevitable, committed acts
which brought about the Spanish Succession War. He

1832.8 j^j

i62 The Age of Louis XIV

refused to give an undertaking that Philip V should under
no circumstances inherit the crown of France, in addition
to that of Spain ; his troops occupied the Barrier fortresses
of the Netherlands in February 1701 ; and on the death of
James II on September 14 he recognized his son James
Edward as James III, King of England.

Meanwhile William III, the Emperor, and the States-
General had practically formed the Grand Alliance on
September 7, and on William's return to England he found
the nation unanimous for war. Though William died on
March 8, 1702, his policy had triumphed, and on May 4 war
was declared by the English Government against France and
Spain. The war had the ostensible object of preventing the
possible union of France and Spain, and of forcing Louis to
restore the Barrier fortresses. It had also the object of
obtaining a guarantee from the King of Spain that the
commercial privileges of England and Holland should not
suffer. Further, the Allies were resolved to conquer Milan,
Sicily, and Naples for the Emperor, by way of securing the
commerce of the English and Dutch nations. It is thus
evident that the objects of the members of the Grand
Alliance were commercial as well as political. France
was at all hazards to be prevented from entering into the
monopoly of the New World and closing it to England and
Holland.

Already, in 1701, hostilities had broken out in Italy and
both Catinat and Villeroi had been defeated, and in the
following February (1702) Prince Eugene had followed up
his successes by capturing Villeroi in Cremona. In March
the general European war opened. A considerable number
of the German princes fought against Louis, who, however,
had the support of Maximilian Emmanuel, Elector of Bavaria,
and Joseph Clement (a Wittelsbach), the Archbishop Elector

The Age of Louis XIV

163

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164 The Age of Louis XIV

of Cologne. Portugal, through fear of Spain, was the ally
of Louis, and so too was Savoy, whose alliance could not be
regarded as of much value. Till the battle of Blenheim in
1704 the French losses were fairly well balanced by suc-
cesses. Thus, in October 1702 Villars defeated the Impe-
rialists at Friedlingen, while in the same month Boufflers
suffered a reverse in the Netherlands, and in Vigo Bay the
Spanish galleons were destroyed and the combined French
and Spanish fleets were defeated. In 1703 the alliance of
France with Bavaria enabled Villars to plan a march on
Vienna which would probably, if undertaken, have been
successful. For Hungary was in revolt and Marlborough
was fully occupied in the Netherlands. Fortunately for the
Emperor, Maximilian of Bavaria was intent upon operations
in the Tyrol, and the chance was lost, one result being that
Villars quarrelled violently with Maximilian and was recalled.
Before the famous march on Vienna in 1704 had been under-
taken,France had lost the alliance with Savoy, which had joined
the Emperor, thus rendering a French attack on Austria, such
as was carried out by Napoleon in 1796 and 1797, impossible.
Nevertheless, Tallard, full of confidence, began his march.
On August 13, however, he suffered a disastrous defeat at
Blenheim, from Marlborough and Prince Eugene — ^Vienna
was saved, Bavaria was overrun, and its Elector escaped to
France.-

Meanwhile Portugal had joined the Allies, and nine days
before Blenheim Gibraltar had been taken by Rooke. With
Portugal as a base, the Allies were now able to invade Spain,
the government of which was, in 1 705, directed by Amelot, the
French envoy, and the Princesse des Ursins. In March 1706
the French army under Villeroi suffered a disastrous defeat at
Ramillies, with the result that all Brabant, most of Flanders,

The Age of Louis XIV 165

and Ostend fell into Marlborough's hands. Moreover, in
August the battle of Turin was followed by the expulsion of
the French from Piedmont. In 1707 Louis wisely resolved
to evacuate Italy, with the exception of Savoy and Nice, and
in March the Convention of Milan secured North Italy for
the Allies. Louis was now able to concentrate all his forces
in Spain, Flanders, and on the Rhine. The results of the
year 1706 had been so satisfactory for the Allies, that Louis
had, in October, made overtures for peace. But the English
ministers would not accept his proposal for a partition
of the Spanish monarchy, and were supported by the Em-
peror. Louis, however, had his revenge, for the year 1707
was disastrous to the Allies, though Marlborough was re-
assured as to the designs of Charles XII of Sweden. Never-
theless, the death of Louis of Baden in January 1707, the
failure of the invasion of Provence by Eugene and Victor
Amadeus, and the defeat of the Allies .it Almanza, which
battle assured the throne of Spain to the Bourbons — all these
events were in striking contrast to th« successes of 1706.
Nevertheless, in December 1707 the House of Lords decided
that no peace could be honourable or safe which allowed
the House of Bourbon to retain any part of the Spanish
monarchy, and the events of the following year seemed to
justify their confidence.

For in 1708 an expedition to Scotland in favour of James
Edward ended in failure, and the battle of Oudenarde, fought
on July II, resulted in the submission of the whole of
Flanders to the Allies, and in the capture in December of the
citadel of Lille after a brilliant defence by Boufflers. It was
not surprising, therefore, that proposals of peace were laid
before Marlborough at The Hague by Torcy, the French Agen t
in Holland. While willing to make considerable concessions,

i66 The Age of Louis XIV

Louis refused to aid the Allies in compelling Philip to renounce
the Spanish crown. The war therefore continued. Louis
made a stirring appeal to the patriotism of the French nation,
and on September 1 1, 1709, the famous battle of Malplaquet
was fought. Though it was lost by Villars, his ' army could
fairly claim to have shared the honours ' with their opponents.
In February 1710 negotiations were opened at Gertruyden-
berg, but again failed, as Philip would not agree to the pro-
posals of the Allies. He was justified, for before the end of
the year the Allies were defeated at Brihuega (December 10)
and at Villaviciosa (December 20), and Philip's position was
assured. Meanwhile, the Whig Government in England had
been replaced by the Tories under Harley and St. John, who
before many months were over showed a readiness to enter
upon negotiations. The Archduke Charles succeeded to the
Austrian throne early in 171 1, and it was then obviously im-
possible for the Allies to desire the restoration of the Habsburg
Empire of Charles V.

Negotiations were at once set on foot, and in October
preliminaries of peace were drawn up ; but none the less
hostilities continued through the year 171 1, and Marlborough
took Bouchain on September 13. Before, however, he could
advance into France he was recalled, and on December 31
dismissed from all his employments. On January i, 171 2,
the Congress of Utrecht was opened, though no armistice
was arranged, and on July 24 Villars defeated the Dutch at
Denain, and raised the prestige of the French arms by his
capture of Quesnoy and Bouchain. In July Philip V con-
sented to renounce his claim on the French throne, and in
April 171 3 the Peace of Utrecht was signed. It consisted
of a number of treaties. To Great Britain France gave
Newfoundland, Acadia, and Hudson's Bay, recognized the

The Age of Louis XIV 167

Protestant Succession in England, and promised to dismantle
Dunkirk. Her share in the fisheries north of Cape Bonavista
and her right to cure fish on the shore of Newfoundland were
allowed, and Cape Breton Island and the other islands at the
mouth of the St. Lawrence were ceded to her.

It was also settled that the Spanish Netherlands should be
given to Austria ; that a Barrier should be set up between
France and the United Netherlands ; and that France should
receive certain towns, France not only made peace with Great
Britain and Holland : she also signed treaties with Prussia,
Savoy, and Portugal. From Spain Great Britain obtained
Gibraltar, Minorca, and the Assiento (a contract which gave
England the monopoly of supplying the Spanish colonies in
America with negro slaves) ; and, most important of all, the
renunciation by Philip of his claims, and those of his succes-
sors, to the throne of France. The real cause,of the war had
been the danger of the union of the crowns of Spain and France,
The Emperor, however, refused to make peace till March 6,
1 714, when the Treaty of Rastadt closed the war between
Austria and France ; while in September the Treaty of Baden
established peace with the Empire. The reign of Louis XIV
ended somewhat sadly. On May 11, 17 14, the Duke of Berry
died, and the son of the late Duke of Burgundy — a child of
four — alone stood between the Duke of Orleans and the
succession. In spite of his age and the calamities which the
late war had brought upon France, Louis showed a re-
markable activity in religious as well as political matters.
For by the advice of his confessor, Le Tellier, he had in 17 10
caused Port-Royal to be destroyed and its inmates scattered.
In 171 3 he supported the Bull Unigenitus vv^hich Clement XI
had fulminated against the Jansenists, and he was busy
supporting the Jacobites when he died on September i, 1715.

Lotiis XV and Failures in India and Canada,
171J-176J

After an interval of f ouryears following the conclusion of the
Peace of Utrecht the relations of France and England became
friendly, and remained more or less so till the opening of the
Austrian Succession War in 1740. Nevertheless, a constant
source of friction existed between the two countries, owing
to their rivalry on the American continent and in India.

The results of the Spanish Succession War, as far as
England was concerned, were seen to be mainly colonial and
commercial : for not only did England obtain Acadia (Nova
Scotia) — with its 16,000 French inhabitants — and Newfound-
land, but France was compelled to yield all her pretensions to
the settlements held by the Hudson's Bay Company. The
founders of that Company were two Frenchmen, Chouart
and Radisson. Chouart, the son of a Breton pilot, emi-
grated to Quebec in 1641, and shortly afterwards took the
name of Grosseilliers, In Canada he was joined by Radisson,
a Huguenot, and after several expeditions they made, in 1661,
a famous one to the North- West. They clearly perceived
an opportunity of establishing a rich fur trade, but in Paris
they found no support. In 1667, however, Grosseilliers
and Radisson had interviews with Prince Rupert in London.
In 1668 Grosseilliers returned to Canada, and in August
1669 his ship conveyed to England a cargo of furs. On
May 2, 1670, Prince Rupert obtained from Charles II a
charter for the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1685 the

Louis XV and India and Canada, 1715-1763 169

French had dislodged the Company from all its possessions
except Port Nelson, but in 171 3 the Company was restored
to its former position. Though France had suffered losses
in the Spanish Succession War, the period from the Peace
of Utrecht to the opening of the Seven Years' War was
one of prosperity for the French colonies, France, during
many years of that period, definitely aimed at carrying out
the policy of Louis XIV in America, her constant object
being to hem in the English colonists by a chain of settlements
extending from the mouth of the Mississippi to Canada ; in
other words, to connect Canada and Louisiana. Moreover,
during the pacific ministries of Fleury and Walpole French
trade flourished and the French East India Company, with
Pondicherry as its chief centre, progressed. With the out-
break of war between England and France in 1743 a critical
period for the French settlements in India and Canada
opened, which twenty years later ended in disaster for France.
From 1 71 3 till 1740, as has been stated, France and England
were at peace, the period being an interlude in the second
Hundred Years' War, which opened in 1689 and closed in 1 815.
For France the death of Louis XI V in 1 7 1 5 marked the close of
a great era in its history ; and till the outbreak of the Revolu-
tion, in spite of its apparent strength, the monarchy steadily
declined. While on the surface the most striking feature of
eighteenth-century Europe would seem to be the attempts
made to preserve the ' balance of power ', it is probably
true to say that the more important side off European history
during the century is the course of that movement which
culminated in the French Revolution. And during the
century the political opposition to the despotism of the
Crown was over and over again demonstrated by the conflicts
between the Court and the Parlements. At the same time,

170 Louis XV and Failures in

it must be remembered that till the outbreak of the Seven
Years' War French foreign policy had been on the whole
successful, while in Canada and India the prospects seemed
bright. The contrast between the unrest at home and the
strong position held by France in Europe from the close of
the War of the Spanish Succession to the opening of the
Seven Years' War is very striking.

On the death of Louis XIV, in 1 715, the Duke of Orleans
became Regent, and remained so till 1723. In that year,
Louis XV was proclaimed of age, and at the end of the year
Orleans died. Orleans, who was a man of considerable
intelligence, held liberal views, and had no sympathy with
the traditions of the late regime. But he was essentially
indolent, and only occasionally acted with vigour. The first
years of his rule were marked by a reaction in all directions.
The Parlement of Paris set aside Louis XIV's will, in which
he had placed the government in the hands of a Council,
and was reinvested with the right of remonstrance which
the late King had taken from it. Orleans then formed six
Councils, composed mainly of nObles, to assist in carrying on
the government. In restoring the Parlement of Paris to its
ancient privileges Orleans was unwittingly dealing the
monarchy a blow from which it never recovered. The
Parlement and the twelve provincial Parlements were judicial
bodies, with two political rights — that of remonstrance
against the royal edicts, and that of veto upon legislation.
In the various courts of judicature which formed the Parle-
ment of Paris some 40,000 persons were employed. At times
during the century it acted as a constitutional check upon the
monarchy ; at other times, as in Louis XVI's reign, it opposed
all attempts at reform. Nevertheless, owing to the fact that
the States-General was not summoned, the Parlement of Paris

India and Canada, 1 715-1763 171

was regarded by the nation as the only means of ventilating
grievances. Thus it acquired an influencs and an importance
which were in great measure undeserved. Till 1 718 all seemed
to go well, and all parties supported the Regent. In 171 7
Dubois brought about the famous Triple Alliance between
France, England, and Holland, and thus inaugurated a
period of peace with England which continued till the
opening of the Austrian Succession War. In 1718, however,
difficulties at home arose. The grand schemes of John Law,
by which the paper currency of the country was multiplied
disastrously, were sanctioned by the Regent in spite of
the opposition of the Parlement of Paris. The year 171 8
marked in various ways the return of the Government to
absolutism ; in that year the Departmental Councils were
abolished, and next year the resistance of Brittany to the
demand for a subsidy ended in the suppression of the last
genuine provincial liberties in France. In 1718 the Cel-
lamare conspiracy had been discovered, and the Duke and
Duchess of Maine imprisoned.

Thus at home the position of Orleans was secure, while the
Triple Alliance had been strengthened by the adhesion of the
Emperor, Charles VI, in August. It thus became the Quad-
ruple Alliance, and proved easily able to defeat the aims of
Alberoni, who had already conquered Sardinia and Sicily
for the King of Spain, and, till his fall in December 1719,
never relaxed his opposition to the members of the Alliance.
In January of that year France declared war upon Spain,
and a French army besieged Fuenterrabia. But the war
closed in February 1720, and in March 1721 marriages were
arranged between the two countries — Mile de Montpensier
was to marry Don Luis, the Prince of the Asturias, a marriage
which took place in 1722 ; and Louis XV was to marry the

172 Louis XV and Failures in

Infanta, who arrived in Paris in March of that year. The
later years of the Regency were marked by the supremacy of
Dubois (now a Cardinal), by the close of the liberal reaction
of the period following the death of Louis XIV, and by the
gigantic failure of Law's schemes.

Under the Regency many of the reforms which were later
associated with the name of Turgot were set on foot. Road-
making was carried out, interprovincial restrictions were
removed, colonies were encouraged. In 1723, however, the
death of Dubois in August, followed by that of Orleans in
December, brought the Regency to a close. Till June ii,
1726, the Duke of Bourbon and his mistress, Madame dePric,
who supported the Jesuits, practically governed the country,
their main object being apparently to overthrow the influence
of Fleury, Louis XV's old tutor, and to provide Louis with
a wife so that, by the birth of an heir, the chance of the young
Duke of Orleans becoming King of France might be lessened.
Consequently the Infanta, who was then seven years old, was
sent back to Spain, and on September 4, 1725, Louis married
Maria Leszczynska. In that month France, allied with
England and Prussia, was on the verge of war with Spain and
Austria ; the latter Powers had come together in April, and
in the following November made a secret treaty aimed
chiefly at England and France. Though Russia joined
Austria in the following year no war took place. That peace
was preserved was partly due to the efforts of Fleury, who in
June 1726, on the fall of the Duke of Bourbon, had become
First Minister ; partly to the death of Catherine of Russia in
May 1727; partly to the realization of Elizabeth Farnese that
the Austrian alliance was. of little value,, and that Spanish
finances could not bear a war. The Convention of the Pardo
in March 1728 prepared the way for the Congress of Soissons,

India and Canada, 1715-1763 '^7^

which met on June 14 and sat for a year. Fleury, who desired
above all things the continuance of peace, devoted all his
energies to separating Spain and Austria from each other, and
decided to maintain the alliance with England. His policy
was successful, and on November 9, 1729, Spain joined
England and France in the Treaty of Seville. The guarantee
of the succession of Don Carlos (the son of Philip V of Spain)
to the Duchy of Parma, by England and France, led to the
rupture of relations betAveen Austria and Spain. War was,
however, averted by the promise of the maritime Powers
to guarantee the Pragmatic Sanction, by which Charles VI
bequeathed his states to his daughter, Maria Theresa, and
in 1732 Don Carlos entered into quiet possession of Parma.
In bringing the settlement about France had taken no share.
Fleury, not intending to fight for Don Carlos, had shown such
irresolution that in January 1731 a state of extreme tension
existed between the two Bourbon Courts, only partly healed
when the War of the Polish Succession broke out in August

1733-

The electric situation in Europe before the outbreak of
that war had at any rate brought to a close Fleury's great
struggle with the Parlement of Paris. * For the first time for
many years there was a direct, open, and serious opposition to
the Crown ' in the year 1730 and the two following years, on
the part of the Parlement of Paris. In 1718 and 1720 the
grounds of opposition to the Crown were financial, but
from 1730 to 1771 they were religious and political. In
1730 the Archbishop of Paris endeavoured to compel his
clergy to accept the Bull Unigenitus which had been issued
in 171 3, condemning loi propositions from the work of
Quesnel, a Jansenist. The Parlement of Paris supported the
resistance of the clergy. High-handed action by the King,
on Fleury's advice, only caused the Parlement to threaten to

174 Louis XV and Failures in

suspend the whole administration of justice, and the struggle
continued, many members being exiled. The imminence of
war caused Fleury to recall the sentence of exile, and the
opening of 1733 found the Parlement and Jansenism had
triumphed.

The War of the Polish Succession has many important
points of interest. The birth of a Dauphin in September
1729 destroyed any chance of the King of Spain ascending
the throne of France ; and despite the temporary coolness
between the two Courts between 1730 and 1733, it was
becoming obvious to many in both countries that their
interests demanded an alliance. The death of Augustus II,
King of Poland, in February 1733, the entry of Russian
troops into Poland in August, the election of Stanislaus
Leszczynski in September, followed by that of Augustus III
(the Russian and Austrian candidate) in October, rendered
the outbreak of a general European War inevitable. On
September 26 France concluded the Treaty of Turin with
Charles Emmanuel, on October 10 she declared war against
Austria, and on November 7 signed the Treaty of the
Escurial (the first Family Compact) with Spain. A family
compact had been effected in 172 1, but, like that of 1733,
was an episode rather than a dominating fact in the history
of the future. Fleury, in this and the War of the Austrian
Succession, proved a bad War Minister, but in 1734 and 1735
Chauvelin, the Keeper of the Seals, supported by a strong
war party and by public opinion generally, showed energy ;
and though France failed in her Polish aims, she secured by
the third Treaty of Vienna, 1735, the practical possession
of Lorraine and Bar, which Stanislaus, having renounced his
claim to Poland, was to occupy on the death of the Grand
Duke of Tuscany. The Grand Duchy was then to go as

India and Canada, 171 5-1763 175

compensation to Francis, Duke of Lorraine, who in 1736 mar-
ried Maria Theresa, daughter of the Emperor Charles VI, and
who himself became Emperor in 1745. It was also settled in
1735 that Don Carlos was to receive the kingdom of the
Two Sicilies and the Tuscan Presidencies (Elba and some
points on the coast), and to hand over Parma and Piacenza to
the Emperor — an arrangement which was not approved of in
France, and not in accordance with the Family Compact.
Though France, following the example of England, Holland,
and other Powers, consented to guarantee the Pragmatic
Sanction, she only did so with secret reservations.

The close of the war found Fleury all-powerful in France ;
for early in 1737 Chauvelin, the head of the war party, had
been disgraced, and Fleury was able to establish friendly rela-
tions with Austria. After the third Treaty of Vienna was
signed he found opportunities of drawing closer the bonds
between the two countries during the war of 1736-9, in which
Russia and Austria were united against Turkey. In that war
Austria suffered defeat, and in September 1739 the diplomacy
of Villeneuve succeeded in bringing about the Treaty of Bel-
grade between Austria and Turkey. The close connexion
between Russia and Austria was weakened, and both countries
showed a readiness to secure the French alliance. France
had apparently become the arbiter of Europe.

The Wars of the Austrian Succession, 1740-8, and
THE Seven Years' War, 1756-63

The death of the Emperor Charles VI on October 20,
1740, followed by that of Anna of Russia on October 26,
overthrew all Fleury's pacific hopes. Frederick the Great,
who had succeeded to the throne of Prussia in May, lost

176 Louis XV and Failures in

no time in entering Silesia in December, and the Austrian
Succession War broke out ; and Spain had declared war upon
England in August 1739. These events caused great excite-
ment among the war party in France. For some months
Fleury pursued a waiting policy, but early in 1741 the war
party proved too strong for him ; a French army in August
crossed the Rhine, joined the Bavarians and later the Saxons,
and on November 26 occupied Prague. In July 1742 Maria
Theresa made the Treaty of Berlin with Frederick the Great,
yielding the greater part of Silesia. The first Silesian
War was thus closed, but Austria and France continued at
war. In January 1743 the death of Fleury was followed by a
more active policy on the part of France, which declared war
on Sardinia, and after the battle of Dettingen made the
second Family Compact with Spain in October. War was
not actually declared upon England till March 1744, when
France resumed the second Hundred Years' War, which
from 1 71 3 had been suspended. Its resumption was to have
serious results for France, though their extent was not to be
actually realized till 1763.

From 1740 to 181 5 Europe was involved in many wars, in
the majority of which France took part. From 1740 to
1763 her interests were chiefly colonial and Indian, and the
struggle for predominance in America and India, between
France and England, was decided by the action of sea power.
The great questions to be determined during these twenty-
three years were, says Admiral Mahan, ' the dominion of the
sea, the control of distant countries, the possession of colonies '.
France, not content with Canada and Louisiana, claimed the
valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi. Had that claim been
allowed, the English colonists would have been unable to
expand westwards. In India she was established at Chander-

India and Canada, 1 715-1763 177

nagore, at Pondicherry, and at Mahe, and held the important
islands of France and Bourbon. At this time her interests
in India were watched over by Dupleix and La Bourdonnais,
both men of unusual ability. The latter was convinced that
the success of the French power in India depended upon secur-
ing the control of the sea. In 1744, when war with England
definitely opened, La Bourdonnais had formed the Isle of
France into a great naval station, while Dupleix, now
Governor-General at Pondicherry, aimed at securing the
supremacy of France in India by diplomacy and by alliances
with the native princes. In 1745, after a drawn battle with
the English fleet. La Bourdonnais besieged Madras. There
he quarrelled with Dupleix (who shortly afterwards broke
the agreement which had been made with the Governor
of Madras) and returned to France, where after three years'
imprisonment he died. Meanwhile, Dupleix seized Madras,
but the war ended in 1748 and Madras was exchanged for
Louisbourg. During the war the chief attention of the
French Government was, however, engrossed in European
affairs, to the ultimate detriment of its colonial interests.

The war which broke out in 1744 included operations
in Canada, India, and on the sea, in addition to the opera-
tions in Europe. In January 1745 the Emperor Charles VII,
whom France had placed on the Imperial throne, died, and
in September the Grand Duke Francis, husband of Maria
Theresa, became Emperor. At the end of that year the
Austrian troops were able, owing to the conclusion of the
Second Silesian War, to aid Charles Emmanuel of Sardinia,
with the result that the French and Spanish troops were ex-
pelled from Italy, and all the interesting plans of d'Argenson
for the future government of that country came to naught.
Nevertheless, in 1745, 1746, and 1747 Marshal Saxe gained

1832.8 N

178 Louis XV and Failures in

a series of successes (Fontenoy, Raucoux, Lauffeldt) in the
Netherlands, and in 1748 both England and France were
ready for peace ; as far as these two countries were concerned
all conquests were restored by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
It would now seem that the French policy of entering into
war in Europe was a serious mistake. Her true policy was to
have supported Dupleix in India, and her representatives in
Canada. As it was, she had seriously weakened herself for
a resumption of the final struggle for supremacy in India
and Canada.

Thus the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle proved to be merely a
truce for eight years, during which France at home seemed
to be on the brink of a revolution. The troubles which broke
out in 1748 were, in the first place, due to the attempt to
collect a tax. France had gained nothing by the Treaty of
Aix-la-Chapelle, and in consequence there was great dis-
content in the country, which was ready to show itself.
D'Argenson in his journals, speaking of the situation at that
time, tells us that ' all orders are at once discontented. Every-
thing is combustible. A revolution may be accomplished
with less opposition than is supposed.' Between the years
1744 and 1754 the Court was continually quarrelling with the
Parlement, and it was not till the latter date that Madame de
Pompadour persuaded the King to make the birth of a grand-
son (afterwards Louis XVI) the excuse for recalling the Parle-
ment of Paris, which at once took a firm line, checking the
persecution of Protestants and condemning some priests to
exile. Still the religious war continued, and it led to the
appearance of religious scepticism in many quarters. But, in
1756, Benedict XIV wisely effected a compromise, and in
consequence Jansenism was, to a certain extent, tolerated,
though it was evident that ecclesiastics and monks had become
increasingly unpopular. The outbreak of the Seven Years'

India and Canada, 171 5-1763 179

War, however, for a time diverted the public attention from
both the Parlement and the Jesuits.

During the interval between the close of the Austrian
Succession War and the opening of the Seven Years' War
French diplomacy had been active. There was no sign of
any desire on the part of the Government to form an
alliance with Austria, and thus to break away from a policy
which had continued since the days of Francis I. Austria,
moreover, -was closely united to Russia by a treaty signed in
1746, which had for its chief aim the recovery of Silesia and
the break up of the Prussian kingdom. An alliance with
Russia seemed impossible for France, for French policy
aimed not only at maintaining close relations with Sweden
and Turkey, but at strengthening Poland and saving her
from absolute subjection to Russia. In Poland one party
(the Saxon) desired a Russian alliance, the other (the National
party) was opposed to Russian influence. Louis XV's aim
was to secure the election to the Polish crown — on the death
of Augustus III — for the Prince of Conti, the great-nephew
of the famous Conde. The coalition of Poland, Turkey, and
Sweden would then be rendered powerful, and a decided
check given to Russian ambition. Des Alleurs and d'Havren-
court, both partisans of Conti, were dispatched respectively
to Constantinople and Sweden, while in 1752 the Comte de
Broglie was sent to Poland ostensibly to oppose any alliance
of Poland with Russia, but in reality to forward Conti's
candidature without informing Saint-Contest, the French
Foreign Minister, that he was doing so.

In 1755 success seemed to have rewarded de Broglie's
efforts. Augustus III had been won over, Sweden and Turkey
were ready to fall in with de Broglie's scheme, and thus in
the event of a renewal of war France would be supported

N 2

i8o Louis XV and Failures in

by allies. But in the west of Europe a diplomatic revolu-
tion was on the point of destroying all de Broglie's work,
with the result that the Partition of Poland became inevit-
able. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was merely a truce,
for the causes of antagonism between France and England
were permanent. Their forces met at Fort Duquesne on
the Ohio in 1 754, while from 1 75 1 onwards confused struggles
took place in India, where Dupleix was endeavouring to found
a French Empire. At this crisis in her history France, as in the
Austrian Succession War, failed to realize that all her efforts
should be devoted to the maintenance of her position in
India and Caijada. In 1754 Dupleix was recalled, and eight
years later the French dominion in India came to an end.
Both Canada and India were lost while France was employing
her armies in an endeavour to restore Silesia to Maria Theresa.
In January 1756 the Second Treaty of Westminster,
between Prussia and England, was the first step in the
diplomatic revolution. The alliance between Austria and
England had terminated the previous year, and for some
time Austria had been endeavouring to come to an under-
standing with France. The Second Treaty of Westminster
at last brought them together, and in May 1756 the Treaty
of Versailles was signed. Thus the change of alliances was
completed, and till the Revolution France and Austria were
nominally allies. In 1757 a second Treaty of Versailles bound
France more closely than ever to Austria, and French troops
fought in Europe while India and Canada were being lost.
Though the French took Minorca on June 28, 1756, and in
September 1757 Richelieu forced from Cumberland the
Convention of Klosterzeven, the French army was totally
defeated at Rossbach on November 5, and in June 1758, at
Crefeld, by Ferdinand of Brunswick. Choiseul, who suc-
ceeded Bernis as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1759, could

India and Canada, 1 715-1763 181

not save France from a series of disasters. Quebec was lost,
the Brest fleet was defeated at Quiberon Bay, and the Toulon
fleet was destroyed. In 1760 Canada was entirely lost, and
all French hopes in India were dashed to the ground.

In 1 76 1, however, France made with Spain — now ruled
by Charles III (Don Carlos) — the famous Family Compact,
Charles being resolved to recover Gibraltar, and Choiseul
hopeful that a league of the Bourbon Powers would be
attended by beneficial results. The results, however, of this
alliance were disappointing : England declared war upon
Spain in January 1762, and captured Martinique, Havana,
and Manila, besides several of the lesser French islands
such as Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent. Elizabeth
of Russia had died in January; her successor, Peter III,
made an alliance in May with Frederick the Great, but on
Peter's abdication in July his wife Catherine withdrew her
troops from the war. Before the year closed negotiations
for peace were opened, and on February 10, 1763, France
and England signed the Peace of Paris. France lost Canada,
retaining, however, certain fishing rights off Newfoundland
and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as well as the islands of
St. Pierre and Miquelon. She also regained Martinique,
St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, La Desirade, and
Goree, and restored Minorca, receiving Belle Isle in ex-
change. France was not to set up military establishments
in India, and received back her factories.

To Spain, which could not recover Minorca, France gave
New Orleans and Louisiana west of the Mississippi, while
England restored to her Havana and the conquered ports of
Cuba. France had now an opportunity of setting her house
in order, of carrying out reforms, and of averting another revo-
lutionary crisis. Would she avail herself of the opportunity ?
In 1762 Rousseau's Contrat Social had been published.

10

After the Seven Years' War

In his early days Louis XIV seems, like Richelieu and
Mazarin, to have favoured that development of transmarine
conquest and commerce which seemed so likely to benefit the
mother country. But he was soon absorbed by dynastic
ambitions and by the vices of absolutism. In 1672 Leibnitz
placed before him his Consilium Aegyptiacum — a memoir on
Egypt which he hoped would lead I^ouis to carve out
a great French Empire on the eastern shores of the
Mediterranean : France should seize Cairo and Constanti-
nople, and occupy North Africa ; she would thus be mis-
tress of the Mediterranean, would control the avenues of
Asiatic commerce, and would be supreme on the Red Sea.
Involved in costly attempts upon Germany and the Nether-
lands, Louis lost the best chance that France ever had of
founding a great colonial empire. After the Peace of Utrecht
England rapidly secured control of the ocean waterways, while
France, from the outbreak of the Polish Succession War in
1733, again entangled herself in the quarrels of Central
Europe. Thus, in spite of the efforts of La Bourdonnais
and Dupleix in India and of Montcalm in Canada, the Seven
Years' War saw the loss of French dominion in Canada and
the end of French pretensions to dominion on the Coro-
mandel coast of India.

Vauban, in his Memoire sur les Colonies (1699), had shown an
appreciation of the real reason of the lack of vigorous growth

After the Seven Years' War 183

in the colonies. What, in his opinion, they needed was civil
and religious liberty and the abolition of commercial privi-
leges. They were, he declared, choked by Church establish-
ments, while the monks were * incomparably more successful
in enriching themselves than in converting the heathen '.
In a striking sentence he declares that ' if the King does not
take vigorous steps for strengthening his colonies, at the
first war with Holland or England they will all be lost ; we
shall never regain our footing in America '. At the conclu-
sion of the Seven Years' War Vauban's prediction, owing to
Louis XIV's bigotry and the diversion of his attention from
the colonies to ambitious schemes in Europe, was fully
justified.

With the close of the Seven Years' War, then, the era of
grand colonial expansion which had characterized the seven-
teenth century came definitely to a close. During the Seven
Years' War the French Government, entangled in the quarrel
between Austria and Prussia, with a weak navy and dilapidated
finances (all the ocean waterways being under English control) ,
had suffered overwhelming defeat in America, Canada, and
India. Consequently it was not surprising that, having
decisively failed in this unequal contest, France experienced
a conflict of opinions as to the advantage of dependencies
beyond the sea. Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau, all
agreed for different reasons in condemning a colonial system,
Rousseau on the ground that it led to the corruption or ex-
termination of the noble savage. They all agreed, however,
in reprobating that subordination of civil to ecclesiastical
interests which had so often hampered the work of colonial
governors, and which was one of the chief causes of the loss
of Canada. Even in India it was said that the intrigues of
the Jesuit Lavaur had accelerated the fall of Lally.

184 After the Seven Years' War

No sooner was the Seven Years' War brought to a close
than the conflict between the Crown and the Parlement of
Paris was renewed — in fact, till 1770 the Parlement continued
to resist the financial demands of the Crown, and was en-
couraged to do so by popular feeling. In other directions the
Parlement was active. In 1764, owing to its opposition to
the Jesuits, in which it was powerfully supported by the
philosophers and public opinion, Louis XV, acting in agree-
ment with Choiseul, issued an edict abolishing the Order
in France. During his period of ofhce Choiseul refused to
entertain any idea of crushing the Parlements. He was,
indeed, chiefly interested in questions of foreign policy ; his
chief aims were to defeat England, to destroy the effects of
the Treaty of Paris, and, by intervening in the east and north
of Europe, to strengthen Poland, Turkey, and Sweden.

This ambitious foreign policy necessitated careful prepara-
tion, and from 1761 to 1766 he busied himself with the reform
of the army and navy. In 1766 he resumed the control of
foreign affairs, and remained the dominating influence in the
ministry till his fall. Affairs in the East first demanded his
attention; for in 1764 Russia and Prussia, anticipating as it
were events in 1863, drew together over the question of
Poland. Till 1768 Catherine seemed to have carried out her
wishes with regard to that country, though her plans were
somewhat interfered with by the outbreak of war with Turkey
and by the threatening attitude of France. But, as in 1863-4,
France was unable to render any efficient aid to the Poles,
and Louis XV, like Napoleon III, was forced to look on
while Russia and Prussia worked their will upon Poland.
Choiseul's policy with regard to Sweden, however, succeeded,
and after his fall his aims were carried out by his successor
d'Aiguillon. Gustavus III, who visited Paris at the close of

After the Seven Years' War 185

1770, received on his return to Sweden a large French sub-
sidy, and owing to the preoccupation of Catherine II with
Poland and Turkey, was able to carry out a revolution and
thus to save his country from the fate of the two eastern
countries.

Choiseul fell from power in December 1770, his fall being
due partly to the influence of Madame du Barry, partly to
Louis XV's well-grounded apprehension that the minister's
Eastern policy would involve him in war with Russia, and
that he contemplated an early renewal of war with England.
Spain had in January attacked the English settlement in
the Falkland Islands, and d'Aranda, relying on the Family
Compact, was confident of French assistance in a war which
he regarded as imminent. But Louis XV had no sympathy
with ' a plan of campaign against England ', and none with
Choiseul's toleration of, and concessions to, the Parlements.
The royal quarrel with the latter reached a head in the
autumn of 1770, and on December 24 Choiseul was dismissed.
Varied are the estimates which historians have held of
Choiseul's claim to statesmanship. The acquisition of
Corsica in 1769 was due to him; and he advocated in the
same year a French advance into Egypt — for he fully recog-
nized the importance of safeguarding the extensive French
interests in the Mediterranean. In this he anticipated the
Egyptian projects of Napoleon, and those of Louis Philippe's
advisers in 1839. ^^^^ Napoleon, too, he seems to have
realized the importance of Egypt to France in view of the
French interests in India. On the Family Compact of 1761
with Spain he based great hopes. ' All other alliances ', he
hoped, ' should be subordinated to this union.' France still
possessed St. Dominique, Martinique, and Guiana, and he
formed plans, which were never realized, for close co-operation

i86 After the Seven Years' War

with Spain in the Pacific. Like Napoleon I and Napoleon III,
he hoped for the establishment of a French Empire in some
part of the American continent. Was Choiseul, as Talley-
rand declared him to be, ' one of the most prophetically-
minded men of our generation ', or was he ' only a fanatic and
a blunderer ' ? At any rate, some of his adventurous schemes
showed foresight, but his domestic policy as regards the
Parlements was unwise, and his attitude towards financial
questions was open to grave criticism. His domestic policy
certainly contributed to the weakening of the French
monarchy, which, after his fall, steadily declined, in spite of
the efforts of Turgot and his successors.

The fall of Choiseul had a serious effect upon the state of
parties in France — it was the signal for the Parlement of Paris
to become more violent than ever. His fall was regarded by
the Jesuit party in France as an opportunity to avenge itself
upon the Parlement. The great quarrel of 1756 had never
in reality been closed, and since the disastrous Peace of Paris
the Parlement had increased its pretensions. It was aided by
the blow which the Seven Years' War had inflicted upon the
royal power, by the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1764 — a great
triumph for the Parlement — by the loss of influence by the
Papacy, and by the opinion of Voltaire and of other sceptical
writers. Not that. Voltaire supported the Parlement ; on the
contrary, he hated that body as being opposed to toleration
and reform. It burnt the books of free-thinkers, it had an
annual procession in honour of the Massacre of St. Bartholo-
mew, it fought against the issue of loans upon interest, it
resisted the practice of inoculation. Its judicial posts could
be purchased. But as being the outspoken opponent of
despotism and of the Jesuits, it acquired a popularity which
continued till the outbreak of the Revolution. Moreover,

After the Seven Years' War 187

it questioned the King's right to impose taxes without its
consent, or to hold a Lit de Justice^ or to exile or arrest its
members. It was naturally supported by the provincial Parle-
ments. In April 1770 the Due d'Aiguillon, who was accused
by the Parlement of Rennes of abuses in his government
of Brittany, was by the King's orders tried before the Parle-
ment of Paris, and after two months Louis declared the Duke
to be exonerated from every charge. In reply the Parlement
declared that the Duke was not to exercise any of the func-
tions of the peerage till he was formally acquitted. The King
carried away the register, and on December 7 appointed
Maupeou Chancellor, at the same time declaring that the
conduct of the Parlement was seditious. On December 24.
Choiseul was dismissed ; and on January 20, 177 1, by a coup
d'etat^ the Parlement and the provincial Parlements were
suppressed.

Success attended this drastic action by the Crown, till talk
of revolution ceased. The purchase of judicial posts came
to an end, and the courtiers, the priests, and Voltaire were
delighted. But ultimately the Crown suffered, for the
opposition to the royal power now fell into the hands of the
men of letters, and political writings and political speculation
increased. Moreover, the Government, instead of pursuing
a consistent line of policy, adopted a policy of alternate
resistance and concession, the only effect of which was to
uproot all feeling of reverence for the royal power.

From 1770 to 1774 France had for its Ministry a Trium-
virate consisting of d'Aiguillon, Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Maupeou, Minister of Justice, and Terray, Minister of
Finance. Though the Ministry was unable to take any
steps to prevent the First Partition of Poland in 1772, it
gave prompt assistance and countenance to Gustavus III,

i88 After the Seven Years' War

who established absolutism in Sweden in 1772 and renewed
his alliance with France the following year.

Thus,whileTurkey, shortly after Louis XV's death, had to
accept the Treaty of Kutchuk-Kainardji in 1774, and Poland
in 1772 a partial partition, Sweden in alliance with France
preserved and strengthened its monarchical constitution, and
was safe from Russian intervention. Meanwhile Maupeou,
in place of the Parlement of Paris and the provincial Parle-
ments, had established the Parlement Maupeou, as it was called,
and new Courts of Justice. Terray, being now independent
of the opposition of the Parlement of Paris, made a declaration
of national bankruptcy in order to pay the royal debts. In
May 1774 Louis died, leaving the authority of the Crown
seriously discredited in Paris and the great towns, and the
ancien regime in a state of dislocation.

II

The Critical Years, ijj^-ijSiS

The history of France from the death of Louis XIV to
1788 is the history of the approach of the Revohition. That
Revolution was not the first serious internal disorder which
France had experienced. From the days of Philip Augustus,
when the French kingdom was firmly established, crises of
a revolutionary character had occasionally taken place. The
movements connected with Etienne Marcel in the fourteenth
century, with the League in the sixteenth century, and with
the Fronde in the seventeenth, were all more or less revolu-
tionary— ■' eruptions periodiques qui, couvrant le sol de
debris, y sement des germes de renaissance.' -^ The Revolu-
tion of 1789 marked, it has been said, the culminating point
of this series of revolutionary attempts. In truth, during the
reign of Louis XV, notably in the years between the close
of the Austrian Succession War and the opening of the
Seven Years' War, the outbreak of a widespread revolution
seemed a likely event.

In 1789, however, the Crown was not only discredited,
but through a variety of causes it had been thoroughly under-
mined. Fenelon, Lord Acton tells us, ' knew that France
was on the road to ruin ', and he lived when the power of the
Crown under Louis XIV was at its zenith. From his time un-
belief steadily grew, and Christianity found no support from
Voltaire or Montesquieu, or even from Turgot. D'Argenson,
the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1745, clearly realized that

^ Aubertin, U Esprit public au xviii'"" siecle, p. 493.

190 The Critical Years, 1 774-1 788

the State was rapidly going to pieces, and before many years
had passed Rousseau had declared that the people were in-
fallible. At the time of Louis XV's death despotic govern-
ment had become intolerable, with the result that the cry
for reform was universal, and the middle classes, no less than
the peasants, were insistent in their demand for a radical
change in the system of government. The ideas of the
philosophers and economists were rapidly spreading, and
there was a general and widespread discontent at the con-
tinued existence of the privileges of the nobles and the in-
ability of the middle classes to take a share in political life.

Of the men who influenced human thought in France
Montesquieu, Voltaire, the contributors to the Encyclopaedia,
and Rousseau were most prominent. Montesquieu, who
was born in 1689, was by inheritance one of the Presidents of
the Parlement of Bordeaux. In his Persian Letters, which
were anonymous, he satirized the arbitrary government of
Louis XV. In 1729 he had visited England, and was much
impressed by the ' liberty and equality ' which he found
existing in London. In 1748 appeared the famous Spirit of
the Laws, which illustrated Montesquieu's admiration of the
English form of government. The whole work was charac-
terized by a spirit of moderation which made it exceedingly
distasteful to the more ardent philosophers, such as Condorcet,
who violently denounced Montesquieu's view that political
good is always found between extremes. Unlike the work of
Montesquieu, that of Voltaire and his followers was negative,
and favoured demolition. Voltaire, who was born in 1694,
was a poet, a writer on history and on many other subjects :
but he is chiefly known to fame as a prominent enemy of the
Church of France. For many years he was recognized as the
most conspicuous of literary Frenchmen, and the head of the

The Critical Years, 1774-1788 191

party of the Philosophers. In 1723 his poem La Henriade was
published and aroused much attention; but in 1726, owing
to a quarrel with a French officer who procured his incar-
ceration in the Bastille for a fortnight, he quitted France and
lived in England for three years. While there, among other
works he wrote his Lettres Philosophiques, which in 1734 were
promptly condemned by the Church and the Parlement of
Paris. Henceforward he continued to issue polemical works,
and his literary activity only ceased with his death in 1778.
The Church in France, in the eighteenth century, had no
champion such as Bossuet or Fenelon. Its internal condition
was far from satisfactory, and among the laity an atheistic
attitude was not uncommon. Though the Church found
many defenders, the persecution of the Jansenists weakened
its position, and Louis XV's bishops were not remarkable
for special ability.

Though the Contrat Social was published in 1 762, its extra-
ordinary influence dates from about the time of Louis XV's
abolition of the Parlements. From that time the enthusiasm
for Rousseau steadily increased, till it culminated in the
erection of his statue in the National Assembly and in the
adoption of his teaching by St. Just and Robespierre. While
Montesquieu, Voltaire, and Rousseau were busy formulating
proposals for carrying out changes in the existing govern-
ment of France, the School of the Economists, which was
represented by such men as Quesnay, Mercier de la Riviere,
and Le Trosni, was busy suggesting * complete liberty of
industry and commerce ' and ' a total transformation of
the internal administration '. The economists were mostly
monarchical, for in their opinion a ' legal despotism ' could
best carry out the necessary administrative reforms. They
advocated a general income-tax, to take the place of the exist-

192 The Critical Years, 1774-1788

ing methods of taxation, and the abolition of monopolies,
forced labour, feudal burdens, and commercial restraints.
Under the influence of this school the interest in politics
grew so rapidly that, on the accession of Louis XVI, there was
scarcely a young man, we are told, ' who on leaving college
does not form a project of establishing a new system of philo-
sophy and of government, and scarcely a writer who does not
think himself obliged to . . . teach the Powers of the earth the
best method of governing their States '.

Like many of his contemporaries, such as Joseph II,
Catherine II, and Charles III of Spain, Louis XVI — who
ascended the throne in 1774 — was a reforming monarch, and
the appointment to office of such men as Malesherbes, Turgor,
and later of Necker renders this fact undeniable. But he
lacked resolution, and the 'impulse in -the direction of liberal
improvement was intermittent '. The first fifteen years of
his reign were, therefore, a period of bitter disappointment to
those who realized that only by drastic reforms could revolu-
tion be averted. At the same time the foreign policy of
France, under the guidance of Vergennes, seemed to have
achieved highly satisfactory results. France during the War
of American Independence avenged herself upon Great
Britain for her losses in the Seven Years' War ; and till the
death of Vergennes at the beginning of 1787 she held
apparently the position of the leading European Power,
though from 1783 to 1787 Calonne's extravagance, for which
the nation by its insistence in aiding the Americans was
responsible, had rendered the outbreak of the Revolution
inevitable.

At this critical period France was unfortunate in her
sovereign and his queen. Both were absolutely incapable of
appreciating the real situation. Louis' favourable attitude

The Critical Years, 1774-1788 193

towards reform at any rate was manifested in his appoint-
ment of Turgot and Necker, but after the latter's dismissal in
1 781 the influence of the Queen became omnipotent, Marie
Antoinette had no conception of the responsibilities of a
queen, and her reckless extravagance knew no bounds. She
always stood between the King and his tendencies towards
reform. In the early years of the reign all seemed to go well,
though even then keen observers noted that the Queen's
influence over Louis was very marked. As early as 1777
Joseph II, when visiting Paris, told his sister that her frivolity
rendered her unfit to wear a crown. Her very light-hearted-
ness and natural love of pleasure in her early married days
were used as a handle by her enemies, and charges were made
against her which, though they could not be substantiated
and were often utterly groundless, damaged her in public
opinion. Both she and Louis XVI were unfitted in every
respect for the times in which they lived and for the
situation in which they were placed — a situation which would
have perplexed even a man of the astuteness of Charles II of
England.

Ever since the death of Louis XIV the tendency towards
revolutionary changes was steadily becoming more and more
apparent. There was no general hostility to the monarchy ;
from May 1784 to August 1792 the deposition of Louis was
not seriously considered or generally desired. But there was
a widespread and fixed determination to get rid of the whole
system and apparatus of the ancien regime. On every ground
therefore it behoved Louis XVI to walk warily, and to select
as ministers those who were anxious to carry out the reforms
which alone could avert the advancing storm.

On the accession of Louis XVI in 1774 Maurepas, * a use-
less old man ', became First Minister, Vergennes Minister of

1832.8 ^

194 The Critical Years, 1774-1788

Foreign Affairs, and, in August of that year, Turgot (a
member of an old noble family of Normandy) Controleur
General des Finances. The task of averting the deluge did
not seem to be impossible, provided that such men as Turgot
were loyally supported. Turgot was apparently given an
opportunity of conferring on the country the benefit of
the experience which he had gained, since 1761, while
acting as Intendant of the Limoges district for thirteen
years. But no sooner had Turgot been appointed Con-
troller-General than Louis recalled, in November, the
Parlement — ' the strongest opponents to real reform '. The
results of this act were overwhelmingly disastrous, and a
revolution became a certainty. For Louis, instead of support-
ing Turgot in his admirable reforms, allowed himself to be
influenced by the Parlement of Paris, the nobles, and the
financiers, who refused to sacrifice their privileges or to
abandon their gains, and who found a strong supporter in
Marie Antoinette. His enemies at once took action. In
September 1774 the internal restrictions on the price of corn
had been, by order of the Council, removed. In April and
May 1775 the grain-ring, or group of monopolists acting
with Turgot's enemies, of whom the Prince of Conti was the
chief, organized riots which spread to Versailles and Paris.
This Corn War alarmed Louis, who, instead of acting vigor-
ously against the monopolists, continued to listen to the ever-
increasing number of Turgot's enemies. Before his fall Turgot
had proposed the abolition of a number of hindrances to the
freedom of commerce and industry. He had abolished the
Jurandes or corporation of crafts. He had substituted for
the corvee a tax to which the privileged classes had to con-
tribute. In March 1776 Turgot's edicts were registered in
aZz'/^^ J«//jV^, in spite of the hostility of the P<2r/^w^«/ of Paris;

The Critical Years, 1 774-1 788 195

but shortly afterwards, on May 12, Louis allowed himself to
be persuaded by the opponents of all reform, among whom
was the Queen, to dismiss the minister, who had lost the
support of Maurepas. Without a rational financial system,
and without a constitution, the French system of government
was doomed. • It was not till the Revolution that Turgot's
measures were re-enacted.

Before his fall Turgot had procured the abolition of char-
tered companies with commercial monopolies, thus freeing the
trade between France and her remaining colonies. Turgot,
indeed, had made no effort to conciliate opposition. More-
over, like Joseph II a few years later, he attempted too much.
Still, he had abolished thousands of useless offices and many
monopolies ; he had improved the mode of collecting the
taille ; he had done away with the corvee (forced and unpaid
labour) for making roads ; he had restored free trade in corn
and in wine ; he had suppressed the gilds which interfered
with a man's freedom in selecting his career. Shortly before
his fall he founded the Caisse d^Escompte, a joint-stock
association for benefiting French commerce, and he pro-
posed to make uniform and to reduce indirect taxes.

His colleague, Malesherbes, Minister of the Royal House-
hold, who resigned his office shortly before the dismissal of
Turgot, also carried out many beneficial measures, among
which were the check which he placed on the issue of lettres
de cachet^ and the release from the State prisons of many
innocent persons. He also urged the convocation of the
States-General as a means of reducing the Parlements to
insignificance. With these two reforming ministers was
connected the Comte de St.-Germain, whose army reforms
— such as the abolition of sinecures — owing to a too close
imitation of the Prussian methods, led to the serious disaffec-

o 2

196 The Critical Years, 1774-1788

tion which showed itself among the troops in 1789. Before
the storm caused by his reforming measures St.-Germain
fell in September 1777, as did his successor, Montbarrey, in
1780, from the same cause. The Comte de Segur, a veteran
who had fought in Flanders, was then appointed, and for a
time all went well.

Turgot was succeeded as Controller-General by Clugny
de Nuis, who distinguished himself by reversing most of his
predecessor's reforms and by setting on foot a lottery loan.
He died in October 1776 at a critical moment ; for war with
Great Britain was impending, the French nation welcoming
the opportunity to avenge the loss of Canada. Though
Louis and Maurepas by no means favoured war, the pressure
of public opinion rendered preparations for its possible out-
break necessary. In so far as the coming Revolution was
due to the financial straits in which France found herself,
the blame must be shared by the French nation with the
King. Turgot had opposed all idea of war, and Louis himself
only proposed to help the colonists in secret. But public
opinion in 1776 became increasingly warlike, and Necker, who
shared the functions of the Controller-General (and the
title of Director-General of the Finances) with Taboureau,
was soon called upon to provide funds to meet the cost of
the war.

Necker, who hailed from Switzerland, was a wealthy
banker and a Protestant. He was in no sense a statesman :
he was immeasurably inferior to Turgot, and he never seems
to have realized the approach of the Revolution. A vain
man, over-anxious about his own reputation, Necker was,
however, convinced of the necessity for reforms, administra-
tive as well as financial. The situation in October 1776 was
indeed serious. The Declaration of American Independence

The Critical Years, 1774-1788 197

had aroused much enthusiasm in France, and Burgoyne's
surrender at Saratoga in October 1777 was followed in 1778
by a treaty between France and the American colonies,
and war with Great Britain. Thus the French seized the
opportunity of reprisal against England, but at a heavy
cost to themselves. Meanwhile Necker, on taking office,
found himself faced by an enormous deficit, and by the
necessity of meeting the demands for warlike preparations.

Before the actual outbreak of war with England Necker
embarked on the path of reform, in spite of the opposition
of the Queen. He followed the example of Turgot in
abolishing useless offices, he stopped the grants of pensions
as far as he was able, and reduced the number of the
Farmers-General of the taxes. Further, he endeavoured to
give self-government to the provinces, and freed the re-
maining serfs on the royal domain. He, however, never
realized the necessity for immediate and drastic reforms ;
and while Turgot attempted to do too much good at once,
Necker tried to do good piecemeal.^

When war broke out with Great Britain in 1778, Necker
found himself called upon to provide vast sums. French
forces were attacking the English in America, on the Atlantic,
on the Indian Ocean. Ireland was threatened with a French
invasion. French and Spanish ships swept the Channel. In
this war France gave invaluable aid to the Americans,
enabling them to secure independence. Though England
preserved her hold on India and Canada, and held Gibraltar,
she lost the American colonies and Minorca. Her weakness,
moreover, forced her to give Ireland Home Rule.

During the war and until his resignation on May 19, 1781,
Necker defrayed the enormous expenses which he was
^ Cambridge Modern History, vol. viii, p. 91.

198 The Critical Years, 1 774-1788

called upon to meet by loans — amounting, it is asserted, to
530,000,000 livres. He imposed no new taxes, and conse-
quently could not properly provide either for interest or
for a sinking fund. And as the public was not likely to endure
in peace heavier taxation than it had borne in war, we must
allow that Necker prepared a grievous embarrassment for
his successors, and hastened the overthrow of the French
monarchy.^ The immediate cause of his fall was the publi-
cation of his celebrated Compte rendu au Rot, in which he
drew a pleasing picture of the revenue and resources of
France in time of peace. The popularity which Necker
gained by this publication roused the jealousy of Maurepas.
A series of intrigues followed, the Parlement of Paris entering
upon a contest with Necker which ended in the latter's
victory. But this victory proved the minister's undoing ; for,
feeling secure from all attacks, he demanded a seat in the
Council, as Minister of State, not realizing how strong would
be the opposition to such a demand, coming from a
Protestant. So great, indeed, was the outcry of the
other ministers that, in spite of Marie Antoinette's support
of Necker, Louis acted as in the case of Turgot — ignored
public opinion, and dealt a severe blow to the cause of
monarchy in France. By acts of such egregious folly the
Crown was bound to lose the confidence of the nation.

Louis' unfortunate choice, on his accession, of Maurepas
as Chief Minister must be placed among the causes of the fall
of the monarchy. A reaction against the policy of Turgot
and Necker at once set in. Maurepas was again supreme,
and appointed as Controller-General a certain Joly de Fleury,
a man of very ordinary abilities and one in whom the
financiers had no confidence. Consequently great difficulty
^ Cambridge Modern History, vol. viii, p. 93.

, The Critical Years, 1774-1788 199

was experienced in obtaining funds for the war, which still
continued, and Fleury's sale of offices only relieved the situa-
tion to a very small extent. Maurepas' triumph was, how-
ever, short-lived, for he died in November 1781, six months
after the dismissal of Necker.

From 1 78 1 to his death in 1787 Vergennes became the
most prominent of the King's ministers. His knowledge of
foreign politics was profound, and throughout his career he
invariably showed considerable ability. Having held the
French Embassy at Constantinople, he had been appointed
Minister for Foreign Affairs on Louis XVI's accession. At
Constantinople Vergennes had realized the evil effect
upon French interests of the Peace of Paris. In 1778
Joseph n and his minister, Kaunitz, brought forward claims
upon Bavaria. Relying upon the Franco-Austrian Alliance,
Joseph hoped to be able to overcome the opposition of
Frederick the Great to his project. Louis XVI, however,
supported Vergennes in his refusal to countenance the
Bavarian claims of his brother-in-law Joseph, and joined
with Catherine of Russia in the spring of 1779 in guaranteeing
the Treaty of Teschen between Prussia and Austria. In-
volved as France was in a war with England, the European
policy pursued by Vergennes did him great credit. He
showed, moreover, no little astuteness in supporting the
republican party in Holland, with the result that the Dutch
declared war upon Great Britain in 1779.

On January 20, 1783, preliminaries of peace were signed
on behalf of France and Spain with England ; and in Septem-
ber they were included in the Treaty of Versailles. France
regained St. Lucia, with the restoration of her establish-
ments in Bengal, Orissa, Pondicherry, and Surat, and also
Calicut and the fort of Mahe. She also received Tobago,

200 The Critical Years, 1774-1788

St. Vincent, Dominica, Grenada, St. Christopher, Nevis,
and Montserrat, together with Senegal and Goree in Africa.

The close of the American War of Independence found
France the most prominent of the Great Powers. Owing to
the brilliant part played in that war by the French contingent,
and to the victories of Bouille, d'Estaing, La Perouse, and
Crillon, France seemed to be the arbiter of Europe. During
the previous fifteen years she had saved Gustavus III, and by
the Peace of Teschen she, with Russia, had pacified Germany ;
she had stirred up the Armed Neutrality of 1780 against Great
Britain, she had avenged her defeat and losses in the Seven
Years' War by aiding the Americans to secure their indepen-
dence. Great Britain was isolated in Europe, for not only
Sweden, but Spain, Holland, Prussia, and Turkey all looked
upon France as their friend, and Russia and Austria recog-
nized her power. All these triumphs France owed to
Vergennes. An indefatigable worker, Vergennes was, till
his death, in a position which no underhand intrigues could
shake. He was indispensable, and the foreign policy of France
under his guidance will always stand in striking contrast to
the failure of successive ministers to carry out the necessary
financial reforms.

The Treaty of Versailles, which ushered in a period of delu-
sive calm for France, was a distinct triumph for Vergennes'
foreign policy, and in the war with Great Britain he had
had the full support of the French nation. The minister had
early in 1 777 declared against a policy of aggression in Europe,
and had anticipated the views of the Constituent Assembly —
views that held good up to the dissolution of that Assembly in
the autumn of 1791. Till his death in February 1787 the
foreign policy of France was eminently successful. Before
the close of 1783 Joseph II astonished Europe by demanding

The Critical Years, 1774-1788 201

the opening of the Scheldt, the demolition of the Dutch
fortresses on that river, the surrender of Maestricht, and
certain changes of the frontier between Belgium and Holland.
In making these demands he seems to have expected French
support, instead of which he only received the offer of French
mediation. He therefore showed no hesitation, but collected
an army in Belgium, while the Dutch, as a preparatory
measure of defence, repeated the action which they took in
1672, at the time of the French invasion, and opened the
sluices. As Frederick the Great was prepared to help them,
Europe was threatened with war. However, that danger was
averted on November 8, 1785, by the Treaty of Fontainebleau,
under which Joseph obtained ten million francs and gave up
his claims on Maestricht, while the Scheldt remained closed.
In the same year Joseph's scheme for uniting Bavaria with
Austria, and placing the Elector in possession of Belgium, was
defeated owing to the opposition of Frederick the Great, the
formation of the Furstenbund (League of Princes), and the
refusal of any assistance from Vergennes.

During this European crisis Vergennes had informed
Joseph that the policy of France was, as ever, to protect
small States, and had definitely refused his proposal that
France should take a portion of Belgium. France, he said,
lay in the centre of Europe, and her King considered his throne
in the light of a tribunal whose duty was to see that the rights
and dominions of all sovereign Powers were respected. •*•

Throughout this exciting year Vergennes had shown great
ability. He had saved Belgium, and on November 8 he made
an alliance, followed by a commercial treaty, with the States-
General of the United Provinces.

In the following year, 1786, the Commercial Treaty with
^ Sorel, L' Europe et la Revolution Franfatse, vol. i, p. 313 et seq.

202 The Critical Years, 1774-1788

England, as stipulated in the i8th Article of the Treaty of
Versailles, was concluded. It was hoped by Pitt, and by
leading Frenchmen, that the treaty would diminish * the
national hatred which has hitherto separated France from
England '. The danger of any fresh outbreak of war between
the two countries was, however, not entirely removed, owing
to the increased influence of France in the United Provinces,
and to the division of the latter country between the oligarchy
of provincial estates and the government of the Stadtholder,
William V. While France supported the former party, the
sympathies of the British Government were with the latter,
though Pitt was resolved to take no action which would lead
to a rupture with France and Frederick the Great, who
feared the possibility of a return to the alliance between
France and Austria. Frederick, however, died on August 17,
1786, and was succeeded by his nephew Frederick William 11,
who was the brother of Wilhelmina, the Stadtholder's wife.
The death of Frederick the Great was followed by that of
Vergennes on February 13, 1787, and it only required the
arrest of Wilhelmina in June by a body of republican troops
to bring matters to a crisis. A Prussian army, in September,
crossed the Dutch frontier, and Pitt decided to support the
King of Prussia. If France had taken action at this crisis
the French Revolution might have been postponed. But
the seriousness of the financial situation was now realized
in France. Matters had reached such a crisis that it
was no wonder that Montmorin declared at the end of
October that France had no intention of interfering in the
affairs of Holland. It was apparent to him that, in order to
reorganize the finances of France and to carry out reforms
which were absolutely necessary, a period of peace must
be secured. * Sa neutralite, par la force des choses,' wrote

The Critical Years, 1 774-1 788 203

Albert Sorel, ' devenait de I'effacement.' The policy of
supporting Turkey, Poland, and Sweden could no longer be
upheld ; and Russia and Austria were able to carry out their
eastern designs with no fear of interference on the part of
France. The death of Vergennes thus brought about crises
in the east as well as the west of Europe. Under these
circumstances it is not surprising that the Stadtholder was
restored, and that Great Britain, Prussia, and Holland
formed the famous Triple Alliance of 1788, which contributed
so successfully to the maintenance of peace in Western
Europe during the succeeding three years. For a time France
had retired from any active participation in foreign politics.
The reckless financial policy of Calonne left her no alterna-
tive.

Joly de Fleury, the successor of Necker, held office
from January 1781 to March 1783. His attempt to set up
a Council of Finance was unpopular with his colleagues.
When he resigned he was succeeded by Lefevre d'Ormesson,
an honest man who was quite incapable of dealing with the
financial situation. Ormesson retired in November 1783,
and a man of very different calibre then became Con-
troller-General. Charles Alexandre de Calonne has been
described as ' a courtly, engaging personage, eloquent,
sanguine, open to large ideas, fertile in bold experiments, but
incurably frivolous and unscrupulous. In private life a spend-
thrift and votary of pleasure, in public life anxious to conci-
liate and astonish, he undertook — perhaps hoped — to set
everything right without offending anybody.' ^

Considering the inexhaustible resources of France, can it
be said that there was no prima facie justification for his
confidence ? Provided that he could gain the public con-
1 Cambridge Modern History, vol. viii, p. 97-

204 The Critical Years' 1 774-1788

fidence, had he not good reason to hope that peace would be
followed by the revival of business with a consequent growth
of prosperity ? Though he introduced some judicious
measures he, however, persisted in a system of reckless
borrowing. The first serious blow to the confidence which
to some extent had been reposed in him by the French
nation was the appearance of a work by Necker, The Adminis-
tration of the Finances of France, which had an amazing
circulation. In the late autumn, of 1786, in spite of the
prosperity of France, Calonne found the issue of new
loans was impossible. He therefore proposed to carry out
the reforms proposed by Turgot, and urged that a Council
of Notables should be summoned to discuss the situation.

A most dramatic if painful situation was created in Feb-
ruary 1787. That month wall always remain famous in the
history of France. On the 22nd, not many days after the
death of Vergennes, the meeting of the Notables took place to
consider Calonne's propositions of reform. * At the beginning
of the year 1787,' says Gentz, an able German statesman,
' no one in France had the faintest presentiment of the
catastrophe that was preparing.' From 1783 to 1787 the
French monarchy enjoyed a high degree of consideration in
Europe, and Sir James Harris, our Ambassador at The Hague,
spoke of the grandeur of the French monarchy, which * is
settled on a foundation beyond the reach of the follies of the
Court to shake '. A close alliance between France and Holland
existed, a treaty of commerce wdth England had been made,
the influence of France abroad never seemed higher. More-
over, in the late war with Great Britain France had shown
that she possessed a navy which as regarded seamanship and
the valour of its crews was in no wise inferior to that of Great
Britain. * In 1782 ', writes Mr. Theodore Roosevelt, ' the

The Critical Years, 1774-1788 205

French marine was at its highest point ; it was commanded
by officers of abihty and experience, promoted largely for
merit, and with crews thoroughly trained, especially in
gunnery, by a long course of service on the sea.' ^

Nevertheless, to a close observer there must have been good
reason for anxiety. The aflfair of the Diamond Necklace in
1785 brought down upon the Queen suspicion and obloquy,
for which there was not the slightest ground. In 1809 the
Marquess of Buckingham, in a letter to Lord Grenville, in
which he draws a gloomy picture of ' all that is going on in
the House of Commons ', says that ' the whole procedure, in
all its course, objects, and its bearings, is entirely like that
of the Queen of France's necklace (which every Frenchman
will tell you was the first scene of the Revolution tragedy) '.

While on the surface there seemed to be no danger of a
political crisis, suddenly in February 1787 a complete change
took place in the position of France on the Continent, and
in the situation at home. The Revolution became inevitable,
and Turgot's prediction that the American War would prove
a fatal turning-point in French finance proved absolutely
correct. The immediate cause of the crisis in February 1787
was the confession of Calonne that there were no means for
meeting the enormous deficit of about 115 million livres.
In the autumn of the same year Montmorin, the successor of
Vergennes, found himself obliged to declare that France
would not interfere in the affairs of Holland. In other words,
the financial crisis had brought France to the verge of ruin,
and all considerations of foreign policy had to yield before the
pressing domestic questions which now demanded immediate
solution. The saying that ' the penny makes the revolution '
was never so aptly illustrated.

^ Th. Roosevelt, Naval War oj 1812^ p. 505.

2o6 The Critical Years, 1 774-1788

Though the financial crisis came as a surprise to the nation,
which owing to its eagerness to enter into the War of Ameri-
can Independence was, to no small extent, responsible for
that crisis, it had long been apparent that political and social
changes were demanded by the French people. The public
production of Beaumarchais' Mariage de Figaro in April
1784, amid a scene of extraordinary excitement, marked the
destruction of respect for the things that were. ' Avec la
representation du Mariage de Figaro^ writes M. de Vitu,
' disparaissent de la scene frangaise non seulement le respect
pour I'ordre social de ce temps-la, le rang, la naissance, les
privileges, la noblesse, la magistrature, et pour I'ordre social
de tous les temps.' Beaumarchais aided in precipitating the
culhute generate of the social order.

The meeting of the Notables, who had been called in
February 1787 to discuss Calonne's reform proposals, was
dissolved in May by Lomenie de Brienne, the Archbishop of
Toulouse, who had succeeded Calonne in April. But Brienne's
difficulties were by no means diminished. The Parlement of
Paris opposed his financial proposals, and demanded the
meeting of the States-General. Though Louis insisted on
the registration of the financial edicts, the Parlement in
August protested, and demanded the prosecution of Calonne,
who fled to England. It was then exiled, and riots broke out
in Paris. On September 24 the Parlement^ which agreed to
a compromise with the Crown, was recalled amid scenes of
rejoicing in Paris.

All attempts, however, made during 1787 and 1788 to
raise money even from the clergy failed, and the creation of
Provincial Assemblies did not in any way alleviate the situa-
tion. Quarrels continued to take place between the Parlement
of Paris in 1788 and the Government, in which the Parlement

The Critical Years, 1774-1788 207

defied the Crown. Matters came to a head with a meeting
of the three Estates of Dauphine at Vizille. That Assembly
demanded the convocation of the States-General. The situa-
tion was one which Brienne was incapable of dealing with,
especially as the treasury was practically empty. It was
therefore decided to summon the States-General for May i,
1789 : Brienne was dismissed on August 25, and Necker
became Minister of Finance and a member of the Council.

On May 5, 1789, the States-General met at Versailles.
The interval of delusive calm that followed the Peace of 1783
was now to be succeeded by a storm which plunged France
for over twenty years into continental wars, which drove her
commerce off the seas, destroyed her navy, and rendered her
for many years incapable of resuming distant enterprises.

12

The Revolutionary Period, ijScf-ijc/p

France had several times in her history experienced
revolutionary movements. The rising headed by Etienne
Marcel ; the attempts of the League in the sixteenth
century ; the Fronde movement in the seventeenth century ;
and w^hat nearly amounted to the outbreak of a revolution
in the years immediately preceding the Seven Years' War —
all testified to the existence of elements which at any critical
time might throw the governmental machine into disorder.
Moreover, the eighteenth century as it proceeded had given
many indications of the absence of political morality on the
part of the Powers. The seizure of Silesia by Frederick the
Great, the partition of Poland by Russia, Prussia, and Austria,
the attempt made upon Belgium by Joseph II, the avowed
designs of Catherine II upon Turkey — all these were evi-
dences of the break up of Old Europe. The meeting of the
States-General in 1789 was not regarded by statesmen such
as Pitt as a very extraordinary occurrence, but as an event
which would not necessarily involve Europe in any crisis ;
while Austria, Russia, and Prussia welcomed it as affording
them an opportunity of strengthening their positions and
possibly of enlarging their frontiers.

The ministry of Calonne and the financial break-down of
the Government coincided in point of time with the grow-
ing influence — political and sentimental — of the successful
American Revolution. ' Nothing is more certain ', wrote
the late Lord Acton, ' than that American principle pro-

The Revolutionary Period, 1789-1799 209

foundly influenced France and determined the course of
•the Revolution.' The ideas that the end of government is
hberty, and that a single Chamber is adequate for a country,
were also derived from the American RepubHc. With the
fall of Calonne, followed by the fall of Brienne and the calling
of the States-General, the weakness of the French political
system was revealed. The policy of centraHzation followed
from the days of Richelieu had been carried too far, and
during Louis XIV's reign the influence of Paris had steadily
increased ; all intellectual independence had been systema-
tically put down, and the Parlement of Paris was silenced.
Under Richelieu the nobles as a political power were sup-
pressed ; and after their attempts to assert themselves during
the Fronde they were forced to accept, under Louis XIV,
a position of dependence on the Crown. Unfortunately they
were allowed to retain their social privileges, of which the
chief were immunity from taxation, and many rights (such as
the corvee and the gabelle). Similarly the Church was a
feudal and privileged institution, and continued its hostility
to independent thought to within a few years of the Revolu-
tion, in spite of the intellectual revolt associated with Montes-
quieu, Diderot, the Encyclopaedists, Voltaire, and Rousseau.

Many were the causes which were hastening revolution in
France, The hardships suffered by the small proprietors all
over the country, the separation of classes into privileged and
non-privileged, and the rigid barriers between classes were a
constant source of difiiculty. Thus there was no unity in
the French nation, which was ruled by the most highly
centralized Government in Europe.

During 1789 the Revolution proceeded rapidly. After
a deadlock of six weeks, the Third Estate, joined by some
of the clergy, declared itself the National Assembly. The

1832.8 -a

210 The Revolutionary Period, 1789-1799

Seance royale^ which followed the Oath of the Tennis Court
on June 20, proved an unfortunate event. The King did
indeed promise reforms, but he ordered the three Estates to
separate. Led by Mirabeau and strengthened by the
adhesion of about 150 more of the clergy, the Assembly
refused obedience to the royal order. The King yielded, and
commanded the nobles on June 27 to join the National
Assembly, which was now faced by the danger of armed
opposition on the part of the Court. Troops under the
Comte d'Artois were moved towards Paris, and Necker was
dismissed on July 12. A crisis had now to be faced by the
Assembly, and on July 14 it was solved by the Paris mob,
which captured the Bastille. This outburst had far-reaching
effects. The Revolution was now established ; the National
Assembly's authority was recognized ; and the supremacy of
Paris was uncontested. In the provinces the result of the fall
of the Bastille was seen in a guerre aux chateaux. The Revo-
lutionspread all over France ; the influence of the nobles
and gentry was in great measure destroyed. The King and
Court could no longer think of a coup d'etat. The first
emigration of the nobles, or, as it might be called, the deser-
tion of the King by the nobles, took place, and Necker was
recalled ; Bailly, the President of the Assembly, became
Mayor of Paris, and Lafayette Commander of the National
Guard. For the next few weeks Paris and the country were
in a state of anarchy, and the administrative and judicial
system of the monarchy broke down completely.

Gradually parties formed themselves in the Assembly.
One party, headed by Lally-Tollendal, Mounier, Malouet,
and Clermont-Tonnerre, wished to preserve the ancient
institutions with possible improvements. Opposed to them
were men who drew up the Constitution of 1791, known as

The Revolutionary Period, 1789-1799 211

the Feuillants, the chief members of which were Duport,
Alexandre Lameth, and Barnave, From them gradually
separated the men who later formed the extreme Left, such
as Robespierre, Petion, Buzot, and-Dubois-Crance. After
the fall of the Bastille the next great days of the Revolution
were August 4, when the young nobles, in a frenzy of patrio-
tism, sacrificed all feudal rights ; September 10, when it was
decided that the Constitution should consist of a king and a
single chamber ; and October 5 and 6, when a mob from Paris
insisted on bringing the King and the Assembly to Paris.
It was now quite evident to such men as "Mirabeau, who has
been described as ' an adventurer of genius in a dissolving
society ', that the Revolution was likely to lead to a further
serious diminution of the royal power.

Many Frenchmen wished to save the country from the
crushing preponderance of Paris, and Mirabeau after the
removal of the King and the Assembly to Paris was anxious
to re-establish a federal system. Early in 1790 he came into
communication with the Court, and urged his views as to the
right policy to be pursued. Anticipating that civil war in
France would shortly take place, he was strongly opposed to
supporting Spain in the quarrel with England about Nootka
Sound, a harbour on the west of Vancouver Island. Through
his efforts the Assembly declared that France would never
enter a war for conquest or against freedom. The Bourbon
alliance was dissolved, and in November 1790 Spain yielded
and made reparation. In January 1791 Mirabeau was elected
President of the Assembly ; but he died on April 2. Without
his steadying influence the King and Queen were persuaded
to attempt an escape. The flight to Varennes took place on
June 20-21 and failed, with the result that the King lost all
his remaining authority. In July the opposition between the

p 2

212 The Revolutionary Period, 1789-1799

populace of Paris and the bourgeois element was further
aggravated by the massacre of the Champ-de-Mars, when
Lafayette restored order. On September 4 the King
accepted the Constitution, which dealt with administration,
the legislature, and the law-courts. France was to have a
king with limited powers ; it was to be divided into eighty
departments ; there was to be one Chamber, and local
courts were to take the place of the Parlements. A State
Church had the previous year been formed — all clergy being
required to take an oath to the Constitution, while all
Church property had been confiscated. On September 4,
1 791, the Assembly decreed the annexation of the Pope's
territory at Avignon and the Venaissin. August, September,
and October 1791 were to prove months of extraordinary
importance in the history of the French Revolution.

In August 1 791 the Emperor Leopold and Frederick
William, King of Prussia, concluded the Declaration of
Pillnitz, which stated that, if all the sovereigns of Europe
agreed, steps would be taken to restore the King of France
to his former position. As there was no possible chance
of England, Sardinia, or Naples taking up arms, the Declara-
tion became one of the comedies augustes of history. England's
neutrality destroyed all the hopes of the emigres. On
October i the Legislative Assembly met. Owing to one
of the most ridiculous resolutions ever passed by a number
of educated men, no member of the late Constituent
Assembly could sit in the new body. It was dominated by
a group of members from the Gironde (Girondists), headed
by Brissot, Vergniaud, and Guadet, enthusiastic for revolu-
tionary principles but lacking in any political experience.
Though opposed by a Jacobin section, and by a moderate
party who for some months held the governmental offices,

The Revolutionary Period, 1789-1799 213

these Girondists finally ousted their opponents from office,
and early in 1792 were supreme. Hatred of Austria was the
key-note of their speeches, which are marked by considerable
doquence, and of which that delivered by Vergniaud on
January 13, 1792, in opposition to Robespierre's emphatic
anti-war policy, is well worth perusal.

On April 20 Louis XVI declared war upon Austria, and
eight days later the French troops suffered a reverse at the
hands of the Austrians. The Assembly, which on April 27
had issued a decree against the priests who had not accepted
the Civil Constitution, declared against the King's Guard
on April 29, and on June 8 ordered the formation of a camp
of 20,000 men outside Paris. These decrees, and the King's
refusal to accept them, produced a state of chaos ; the minis-
ters resigned and a revolution on June 20 was attempted,
which gave evidence of the power of tlie mob, though the
invasion of the Tuileries failed. As the King, owing to his
firmness on that occasion, was regaining his hold on the
better classes, Vergniaud delivered on July 3 a fierce attack
on the monarchy.

On July 24 Prussia declared war upon France, and on
the 27th the Duke of Brunswick issued his famous manifesto
to the French nation. It was published in Paris on August 3
and hastened the fall of the monarchy, which took place on
August ID. The French frontier was crossed by the Allies
on August 19, and the answer from Paris took the form of the
terrible September massacres, followed by the French victory
at Valmy. At Valmy was fought what proved to be one of
the decisive battles of the world. The outbreak of the French
war in April had been followed by the invasion of Poland by
Catherine II, who now felt assured of the neutrality of Eng-
land and the entanglement of Prussia and Austria in the west.

214 The Revolutionary Period, 1789-1799

But Prussia was more intent on securing Danzig and Thorn
than on restoring the French monarchy, while Austria was
resolved, if not able to share with Russia and Prussia the
Polish spoils, at any rate to secure territory in Bavaria and
Alsace. 'If the French War', writes Dr. Rose, 'worked
disaster at Warsaw, the prospect of a partition of Poland
undoubtedly helped to lessen the pressure on France during
the campaign of Valmy.'

The victory at Valmy was followed by a general French
advance towards the Rhine and Belgium. The victory
at Jemappes on November 6 seemed but a prelude to the
conquest of Holland, and was immediately followed on
November 16 by a decree opening the Scheldt to general
navigation, by the declaration of November 19 offering
' assistance to all people who wish to recover their liberty ',
by the annexation on November 27 of Savoy, and on Decem-
ber 15 by the declaration ' that France will treat as an enemy
the people which refuses to accept Liberty and Equality, and
tolerates its prince and privileged castes '. Pitt who, till the
actual entry of England in the war in 1793, was strongly in
favour of peace, could not remain silent while the Anglo-
Dutch Alliance of 1788 was menaced. On November 16 was
published at The Hague Pitt's declaration that England would
oppose a French invasion of Holland. The execution of
Louis on January 21, 1793, was in no sense a cause of the war
between England and France. The rupture had become
inevitable, as France persisted in adhering to the November
decrees. The opening of the Scheldt, the annexation of
Belgium, the threatened occupation of Holland rendered
hostilities certain, and on February i the French Govern-
ment declared war upon the English and Dutch nations.

Before many weeks were over France found herself practi-

The Revolutionary Period, 1 789-1 799 215

cally at war against Europe ; for the Holy Roman Empire
(April), Spain, Portugal, Tuscany, and Naples joined the
Allies. Had the greater Powers acted together, or had
Pitt thrown 60,000 men into Belgium, France would have
been vanquished during the early months of the year. The
Girondists, who were in power, proved bad war adminis-
trators— the French armies were defeated on March 21 at
Neerwinden, and Dumouriez, the Girondist War Minister,
fled to the Austrians. After the fall of the Girondists on
June 2 a strong Government — the Committee of Public
Safety (which numbered among its members Carnot,
Robespierre, Lindet, the two Prieurs, Collot d'Herbois, and
Billaud-Varennes) — was formed, the army was reorganized,
and France entered upon a career of victory which continued
almost uninterruptedly till the Treaties of Basel in 1795.

That England failed to check the French successes is a
matter of little surprise. No reliance could be placed upon
Austria and Prussia, while the loss of Toulon in the autumn
(November) of 1793 was inevitable as soon as the French
determined to oust the foreign invader. Napoleon's
suggestions of the best means of capturing the town had
already been brought forward by the Commissioners of
the Convention, the Assembly which, elected in 1792,
abolished royalty. The defeat of the English at Toulon
synchronized with the definite revival of the French military
power. Till July 1794 Carnot successfully reorganized the
French army and developed a new strategy which, in fact,
inaugurated the period of Napoleonic warfare. The results
of his work were seen in the victories of Hondschoote (Sep-
tember 8, 1793), Wattignies (October 16, 1793), Fleurus
(June 16, 1794), and in the conquest of Holland (December
1794), Before that conquest was effected it had become

2i6 The Revolutionary Period, 1 789-1 799

evident that there was no longer any need for the stern
internal regime of the Committee of Public Safety. And
with the opening of 1794 dissensions had broken out among
the revolutionists. One section, under Hebert, wished to
establish the supremacy of the Commune of Paris, which
supported atheism and socialism. In March 1794 Robes-
pierre, with the support of Danton, executed Hebert and
suppressed his adherents. On March 30 Robespierre attacked
the Dantonists, and Danton, the greatest of the revolutionary
leaders, was executed on April 5. He was soon avenged.
French territory was now safe, the risings in La Vendee had
been suppressed, the royalists had been overthrown, Louis XVI
and Marie Antoinette were dead, and the emigres dispersed.
On June 26 the battle of Fleurus had placed Belgium
definitely in French hands, and the Austrians were driven
across the Rhine. France, therefore, being safe from attack,
the revolution of Thermidor (July 27-8) took place, and
Robespierre perished.

The failure of the Allies was due to various causes. Pitt
had, till the outbreak of war, neglected both the army and
the navy, and found himself quite unable to defend even
Holland. He had heavily subsidized both Austria and
Prussia, but his hopes were defeated by the mutual jealousy
of these two Powers, due to the Second and Third Partitions
of Poland in 1793 and 1795. Early in January 1793 Prussian
troops marched into Poland, and the Second Partition was
carried out a few months later. Austria had hoped, as a reward
for her acquiescence, to secure Bavaria and Alsace, but found
that her wish was deeply resented by both Prussia and Eng-
land, no less than by the ruler of Bavaria, who refused to send
troops against France unless the security of his dominions was
guaranteed. The result was that, on the Rhine, the Allies

The Revolutionary Period, 1789-1799 217

were hampered by jealousy and mutual distrust. In the final
partition of Poland Austria and Russia took the lead. Owing
to the jealousy existing between Prussia and Austria, France
in 1795 had not only reconquered Belgium from Austria,
but she had also conquered the United Provinces, which
she now named the Batavian Republic. Moreover, Savoy
and Nice had been occupied, the Spaniards driven across
the Pyrenees, and the Rhine made the French boundary
on the east. The Treaty of Basel in April 1795, between
the French and Prussian Government, was one result of the
thinly veiled antagonism which now definitely marked the
relations between the Courts of Berlin and Vienna.

Though Howe had completely defeated the French fleet
in the battle of the ist of June, 1795, and established the
supremacy of the British fleet, the French armies remained
supreme on the Continent. With the year 1795 France
entered upon a new period as regards both her domestic
history and her relations with the chief European Powers.
The Thermidorians who held the reins of government had,
since the fall of Robespierre, definitely returned to the policy
of Dumouriez, viz. the separation of Prussia from Austria
and the concentration of the French efforts on the Continent
upon the subjugation of the Habsburgs. This policy was
now expressed in the conclusion of treaties at Basel in 1795.
The treaties at Basel included not only one with Prussia, but
also others with Holland (May), Spain (July), Holland,
Sweden, and Hesse-Cassel (August). Risings in Brittany,
instigated by the royalists and supported by England, had
also, before the end of the year, been suppressed. With
the advent of the Directory to power in November 1795
the remaining active enemies of France were England,
Austria, and Sardinia.

2i8 The Revolutionary Period, 1789-1799

The Directory was a somewhat cumbrous form of govern-
ment which had many defects. For legislation there were
two Chambers, called respectively the Council of Ancients
(250 in number), of men over 45 years of age, and the Council
of Five Hundred ; one-third of each body was to be elected
annually. The consent of both Councils was required for
a new law, while for the election of a new Director each
year the two Councils were to sit together. The executive
consisted of five Directors elected by the Ancients out of
a list prepared by the Five Hundred ; one Director retiring
every year. The Directors could not sit in the Legislative
Assemblies. Before this Government was established, it
had suffered a fatal blow by the retention in the legisla-
tive body of two-thirds of the members of the Convention
for the first year, and one-third for the second year.

From 1795 to the coup d'etat of the i8th Fructidor (Sept. 4),
1797, the foreign policy of the Directory was successful, and at
home its attitude was not violently anti-religious. Between
1795 and 1797 there was a remarkable revival of Catholi-
cism in France, the churches at Easter 1796 being crowded ;
and during the year some 30,000 parishes resumed their
old religion. At the same time the peasants, who had
gained in material prosperity, were disinclined to take any
steps which might lead to the restoration of the Bourbons.
In 1797 it was evident from the elections that the Directors
were faced by a hostile Legislature. To keep themselves in
power they obtained the assistance of troops under General
Augereau, and carried out the coup d'etat of the i8th Fructi-
dor. After the i8th Fructidor the Directors made a supreme
effort to suppress Catholicism by means of a terrible persecu-
tion. Religious liberty did not exist during the years 1797-9,
and the non-observance of the Decadi (the holiday on every

The Revolutionary Period, 1789-1799 219

tenth day ordained in the Republican Calendar) was
severely punished. Churches in Paris were placed at the
disposal of the State, and men were forced to work on
Sundays. At the same time life in the country became un-
endurable owing to the failure of the Government to preserve
order and to suppress the numerous bands of brigands who
infested the highways. Of the fifty-three deputies con-
demned to transportation after the coup d'etat of Fructidor,
all escaped except seventeen who were taken under circum-
stances of great cruelty to Cayenne. In May 1797 the
demonetization of the assignats and mandats (paper-money
now practically worthless) took place, and was followed by a
forced loan in June and July 1799, while the law calling up
all classes of conscripts, and the law of hostages — making
prisoners of all relatives of emigres — completed the universal
unpopularity of the Jacobin regime. It only required the
failure of the Directory's foreign policy to assure its downfall.
During the years 1795, 1796, and 1797 success had attended
the French military operations, though at sea the French fleet
and those of its allies were defeated. But on land Bonaparte
carried out a brilliant campaign in Italy, first forcing the
Sardinians in 1796, and then the Austrians in 1797, to make
peace. The Treaty of Campo Formio in October 1797 with
Austria is of immense importance : it not only made over
to Austria the city of Venice, Istria, and Dalmatia, it not
only secured for France the Rhine frontier, but, what is of
far greater moment, it threw a light on the real aims of
Bonaparte. The object of his life, it may be said without
exaggeration, was to secure the dominion of India, for the
conquest of which Egypt was to be subjugated, Syria invaded,
the Ottoman Empire destroyed. The first steps towards
the realization of this project were taken in the Treaty of

220 The Revolutionary Period, 1789-1799

Campo Formio, hy which Bonaparte secured Corfu, Zante,
and Cephalonia, He saw no reason why he should not soon
acquire Malta and full supremacy in the Mediterranean. In
1798 he embarked on the Egyptian expedition ; and though
his fleet was destroyed in the battle of the Nile and his troops
defeated at Acre, with the result that he was forced to return
to Egypt and, in October 1799, to France, he clung to his
Oriental project, and in the spring of 1808 was confident that
he could carry it out,^

From 1799 to 1808 events in France and Europe, however,
fully occupied his attention and demanded his presence. Of
these events the expulsion of the Directors from office and
the substitution of a strong government under one man was
the first which demanded the exercise of all his energies, and
on his return to France Napoleon lost no time in effecting
this necessary revolution. During his absence in Egypt the
War of the Second Coalition had broken out, at the instance
of the Tsar Paul, and a Russian army under Suvorov co-
operated with the Austrians in Italy. After suffering defeats
in the battles of Stockach, Magnano, Cassano, the Trebbia,
and Novi, the French were driven out of Italy. Though
Massena overthrew a Russian army under Korsakov in
Switzerland, and though Brune drove an English force out
of Holland, the French nation regarded the loss of Italy as
an illustration of the ineptitude of the Directors and called
for the return of Napoleon.

The 1 8th Brumaire (November 9, 1799) proved an event-
ful day in the history of France and, indeed, in the history

^ Various problems arise out of the Syrian campaign. Was it

intended as a step towards the foundation of a vast Eastern Empire,

or was it merely an attempt to 'escape by Constantinople and the
Adriatic .''

The Revolutionary Period, 1789-1799 221

of Europe. The coup d'etat was carried out on that day, and
the Directorate ceased to exist. On the following day all
opposition from the Assembly of the Ancients and from that
of the Five Hundred came to an end. Owing to the deter-
mined action of Lucien Bonaparte at the head of a body of
Grenadiers, a new form of government, styled the Consu-
late, was given to France.

13

The Consulate and Empire, ij^^-i8ij

Before Napoleon could consider his position secure it was
necessary to give France an honourable peace. Consequently
in 1800 he entered Italy, and after the battles of Montebello
(June 9) and Marengo (June 14) reoccupied the whole of
Northern Italy, and re-established the Cisalpine and Ligu-
rian Republics. In Germany Moreau won, on December 3,
the battle of Hohenlinden, and Vienna was threatened. On
February 9, 1801, the Treaty of LuneviUe ended the war.
The Rhine was recognized as the French boundary ; the
Holy Roman Empire was to be reconstructed and the
German ecclesiastical principalities secularized. France also
acquired Belgium and Luxemburg, and Italy was practically
at Napoleon's mercy.

Before the Treaty of Luneville was actually signed. Napo-
leon was making a determined attempt, in connexion with the
Armed Neutrality of the northern Powers, to overthrow
Great Britain and to embark on those Eastern projects which
he was, however, not able to attempt till 1808. Russia, Den-
mark, and Sweden had, curiously enough, shown a complete
indifference to the overthrow of Austria or to the possibility
of any danger to Europe from the ascendancy of France, and
took measures in 1801 to ruin England's trade. Napoleon
was thus encouraged to hope that by means of a League
against England's commerce he could deal a deadly blow at
the prosperity of his one remaining foe. But before the
end of March 1801 he realized the futility of all hopes

The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815 223

based on the Northern League ; for on March 8 the Danish
fleet was defeated in the battle of Copenhagen and in great
measure destroyed, while the death of the Tsar Paul, on
March 23, caused the immediate dissolution of the League.
He hoped, however, that a combined Spanish and French
army would bring Portugal to submission and force her to
close her ports to English shipping. But to his disappoint-
ment the Spaniards made, on Jun-e 6, the Treaty of Badajoz
with Portugal; which by no means implied the complete
submission of the Portuguese.

He still hoped, however, that his Treaty of Florence, made
with the King of the Two Sicilies on March 18, and the con-
tinuance of his communications with Egypt, would place him
in command of the Mediterranean and force Great Britain
to make peace. The prospect seemed alluring, for by the
Treaty of Florence it was settled that Naples was to exclude
from her ports all British and Turkish ships, and 15,000
French troops were to occupy South Italy. Thus communi-
cations with Egypt would be facilitated. But Napoleon was
to find all his hopes frustrated ; on March 21 the combined
English and Turkish armies, under General Abercrombie,
had won the battle of Alexandria, with the result that on
September 2 the French made a convention evacuating
Egypt. Thus all Napoleon's plans in 1801 — interesting as
giving evidence of his deep interests in the East, as is shown
by his return to these projects in 1805-8 — failed. His action
in 1 801 proved a rehearsal of his policy after the Treaty of
Tilsit. Time was required to prepare armies and fleets to
carry out his plans ; therefore, he agreed to open negotia-
tions with England, and on March 25, 1802, the Peace of
Amiens was concluded.

In the negotiations leading to the treaty Joseph Bonaparte,

224 The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815

the chief French representative, completely outwitted the
English envoys, who took it for granted that Napoleon would
carry out Article 1 1 in the Treaty of Luneville, which pro-
vided for the French retirement from Holland as soon as
Europe was at peace. Further, they did not stipulate for
the renewal of commercial intercourse between France and
England, nor did they insist upon the independence of the
Helvetic Republic.

The Consulate marked a turning-point not only in the
history of France but also in that of Germany and Italy. The
influence of the French Revolution made itself felt in both
countries, and Napoleon is now recognized as the originator
not only of German but also of Italian unity. In 1803, with
the meeting of the Diet, the German Revolution began
and rapidly progressed under the aegis of Napoleon. In
Germany there was no feeling of nationality ; this is proved
by the readiness of such states as Bavaria, Baden, and
Wiirtemberg to fall in with his scheme for a Confederation
of the Rhine, They fought with the French against Austria
in 1805 and, as members of the Confederation, against Prussia
in 1806. By the resolutions of the Diet in 1803 the Holy
Roman Empire had been secularized and Protestantized.
In July 1806, Austria having been overthrown at Austerlitz
in the previous December, the Confederation of the Rhine
was created, and the following month the Holy Roman
Empire, which had existed since the year 800, came to an
end. Meanwhile Napoleon had, during the period of the
Consulate, completely reorganized France and had restored
relations with the Papacy by the Concordat which was signed
on July 15, 1 80 1, and proclaimed in April 1802.

During the first two months of the year 1803 Napoleon,
who was busily engaged in his reorganization of France, does

The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815 225

not seem to have contemplated the early renewal of war with
England. For on March 6 he dispatched General Decaen
with a small force to the East Indies, and it was not till
five days after the departure of the expedition that he
realized the possibility of an early outbreak of a war which
he had not expected to begin for at least two years.
On March 13 he had his famous interview with Lord Whit-
worth, in which he threatened war unless England withdrew
from Malta. Though he evidently still hoped for a con-
tinuance of peace, he had already begun to make preparations,
in case of war, for invading Hanover, and had taken steps for
strengthening his fleet. Napoleon, like many other foreign
statesmen before and after his time, had entirely failed to
understand the character of the English nation. After the
Treaty of Amiens he had checked English trade with France,
while Sebastiani's report in January 1803, avowing Napo-
leon's designs in the East, was in itself a sufficient cause
of war.

Seldom if ever has Europe passed through a period so
fraught with danger to its future as the period between
the Peace of Amiens in March 1802 and the outbreak of war
between England and France in May 1803. Had Napoleon
refrained from annexations and from acts of veiled hostility
to England, and had he withdrawn the French troops from
Holland, the coming struggle might have been postponed
till he had strengthened his fleet and his general position in
a variety of ways. As it was, he was forced into war before
he was fully prepared to bring to a successful issue his vast
Eastern schemes. The immense influence exercised by
British sea power in 1801 ought to have made him realize
the necessity of a policy of patience. For that sea power had
dispersed the forces of the northern coalition, it retained

1832.8 r.

226 The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815

control of the Mediterranean, it had reduced Egypt to
submission.

On May 18, 1803, Great Britain declared war upon France.
The retention by England of Malta, contrary to the arrange-
ment made at Amiens, was simply a natural rejoinder to
Napoleon's many infringements of the Treaty of Amiens.
These infringements included the annexation of Piedmont,
the formation of the kingdom of Etruria and of the Ligurian
Republic, and the occupation of Switzerland. But the re-
newal of the war in 1803 was due entirely to Napoleon's
refusal to withdraw from Holland. The prolonged occupa-
tion of Holland by the French was the direct cause of the
war, just as the fear of French influence in the Low Countries
had been one of the determining causes of the Hundred
Years' War; it led to the war with France in William Hi's
reign, and to the war of the Spanish Succession. In 1793
England, at war with France, bent her chief efforts to defend
Holland and Belgium from conquest by the armies of the
Republic. In Elizabeth's reign the fear of the Spanish
conquest of Holland had led to war with Spain; in 1914
the German invasion of Belgium, contrary to treaty engage-
ments, at once threw England on the side of France.

No sooner was war declared than Napoleon imprisoned
all British subjects who happened to be in France at the
time, and both countries pushed on their measures with
great energy. Three days later Cornwallis with ten
ships of the line took up a position opposite Brest, while
Nelson on the Victory sailed for the Mediterranean. Napo-
leon was no less active. In June French forces occupied
Hanover, and St. Cyr took possession of Naples, while before
the end of the year Napoleon had assured himself of the
neutrality of Spain and Portugal. His chief objective was,

The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815 227

however, England ; and till August 1805 the eyes of the world
were directed to Boulogne, where an enormous French army-
was collected. There is no doubt whatever in the minds of
competent historians that Napoleon did intend to invade
England, just as he had invaded Egypt. But after the defeat
of Villeneuve off Cape Finisterre on July 22, 1805, Napoleon
was forced to give up the idea of invading England, though it
was not till after the battle of Trafalgar that France lost all
chance of regaining her lost power at sea. During the years
immediately anterior to the battle of Trafalgar Napoleon
had not only reorganized France but had assumed the title
of Emperor.

The Consulate, indeed, was a period of brilliant legislative
achievements. The Constitution which Napoleon set up
centralized authority, while the Concordat (an agreement
between the government and the Pope) healed religious strife,
and the famous Code Napoleon harmonized democratic juris-
prudence with the ' tested wisdom of the legists of the mon-
archy'. Peace had been made with Austria in 1801, and with
England in 1 802. If France had only been permitted to enjoy
even a period of peace for five years, and so had found time
for all her energies to be concentrated on civil and colonial
enterprises, it is impossible to conjecture what would have
been the course of European history. The declaration of
war by England in May 1803 came as a blow to Napoleon's
plans, though he was himself responsible for the action
of England. Since the Treaty of Amiens he had never
ceased his aggressive activities in Switzerland, and had
annexed Piedmont, He had forbidden the French to
trade with England, and, in violation of the terms of the
Treaty of Luneville, he had refused to remove his troops
from Holland. England was therefore justified in retaining

Q 2

228 The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815

possession of Malta and in declaring war upon France
in 1803. Napoleon at once occupied Hanover and began
preparations for the invasion of England. In March 1804 he
murdered the Due d'Enghien, in May he became Emperor
of the French, and in August the Russian Ambassador left
Paris, Alexander I being shocked at the execution of
d'Enghien. In April 1805 the Third Coalition was formed
by England and Russia ; it was joined in July by Austria and
Sweden, but Prussia persisted in continuing its neutrality.
Napoleon, rapidly moving the Grand Army from Boulogne
to the Danube, captured Ulm on October 20, and defeated
the Russians and Austrians at Austerlitz on December 2.
Prussia was then compelled to agree to Napoleon's terms,
while Germany was gradually revolutionized. The Treaty of
Pressburg, made between France and Austria on December 26,
marks the beginning of the Confederation of the Rhine and
the end of the Holy Roman Empire. During the next six
months Napoleon was chiefly occupied in devising means for
carrying out his Eastern projects. The execution of these
projects was difficult, for in the previous October the defeat
of his fleet at Trafalgar had left England mistress of the seas.
In the autumn, however, he was interrupted by the Prussian
declaration of war ; and after his victory at Jena on October 14,
1806, he issued his First Berlin Decree against British com-
merce, and definitely began his campaign against Russia.

At Eylau on February 7, 1807, he fought a drawn battle.
It was the first time that he had failed to gain a victory.
Moreover, the European situation was critical. Turkey was
unable to overcome the Russians on the Danube; Austria was
arming ; the Swedes were marching on Stralsund ; England
was preparing to send an army to the Baltic ; and even Spain
was showing signs of independence ; in Paris the funds had

The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815 229

fallen. The situation being so critical it was necessary to try
diplomatic methods, and accordingly Napoleon opened nego-
tiations with the Prussian King, offering to restore him his
lands east of the Elbe. But Frederick William remained true
to his Russian ally, and on April 26 signed a Convention at
Bartenstein with Alexander, in which the two monarchs
invited England, Sweden, Austria, and Denmark to unite
with them in opposing Napoleon, and in driving the French
from Germany and Italy. Austria, however, refused to join,
adopting a position similar to that which she held during the
first six months of 181 3. She also declined Napoleon's offer
of an alliance, and he thereupon used every effort to induce
Turkey and Persia to act energetically against Russia. The
Shah of Persia was gained, and at the end of April signed a
treaty engaging to rouse Afghanistan against England and to
attack India. Napoleon, however, had to face the situation
in Europe, and he took energetic measures. His army was
not only reinforced from France and Italy, but received
additional troops from Spain and the German States. He
placed a large force on the borders of Austria, and he
strengthened the troops which were besieging Danzig. On
June 14, 1807, he defeated the Russian army at Friedland,
and the following day, with true prophetic instinct, he wrote
to Josephine to say that the battle of Friedland would be as
celebrated as that of Marengo. Before many days were over
Alexander expressed a desire to treat, and on June 22 was
signed the Treaty of Tilsit between France and Russia. It
was followed by a treaty on July 9 between France and
Prussia. Both England and Austria must share the blame
for Alexander's change of front. England, occupied with
party struggles, sent troops to the Baltic after the treaty had
been signed, while the Austrian envoy offering Alexander

230 The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815

assistance also arrived too late. Up to the Peace of Tilsit
Napoleon had conferred immense benefits upon Europe.
He had swept away the antiquated system of the Holy Roman
Empire, had opened the way for the establishment of
national monarchies, and had awakened a spirit of patriotism
in Germany. Italy especially owes a deep debt of gratitude to
Napoleon, for her determination to achieve unity was roused,
though it was not satisfied till the sixties. Did Napoleon,
when he advocated the total extinction of the Prussian
kingdom, dimly foresee that she would some sixty years
later stamp upon all Germany a military system which is
now (191 8) a menace to Europe r

The way now, however, seemed clear for Napoleon to revert
to his original scheme — French domination in the Mediterra-
nean and the invasion of India. The terms of the Treaty of
Campo Formio in 1797 and the Egyptian expedition had
already indicated the chief object of Napoleon's foreign
policy. After the Treaties of Tilsit Napoleon lost no time
in preparing for the overthrow of England in the East.
Denmark, Sweden, and Portugal were to be forced to join
the continental system, and the last-named Power was to be
partitioned. At the beginning of September, however, the
Danish fleet was seized by Canning, while in December the
Portuguese fleet and all English merchantmen in the Tagus
escaped from capture by Junot, who had arrived at Lisbon on
November 30. The flight of the Portuguese Court to
Brazil had results of immense importance. The Marquis of
Buckingham, in a letter to Lord Grenville, writes that ' it is
certain that Junot and his army were expected in the south-
west of Ireland about Christmas Day '. Had the Prince of
Brazil delayed his departure, 'Junot would have found the
means from the Brazil ships, all victualled and watered, to

The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815 231

have embarked 25,000 French and Spanish troops under the
protection of the Portuguese nine and the Russian seven
ships, forming a force of sixteen sail, sufficient to have forced
Sir S. Smith's nine ships from their blockade ; and in that
case we should have heard of that event and of Junot's
appearance in Bantry Bay at the same moment '.^ As it
turned out, Junot was to find himself seven months later being
conveyed by sea, not to Ireland, but to France.

Napoleon was forced to recognize, in December 1807, that
he could not use the Danish fleet and that his Portuguese
policy had failed. Regardless of these two blows to his
plans, he busied himself in Italy during the early months
of 1808 in establishing his supremacy in that country. With
Spain under his control the Mediterranean would be in his
hands and an important step towards the realization of his
Eastern projects would have been taken. In order to become
master of the Mediterranean it was absolutely necessary for
Napoleon to have Spain wholly submissive. Had Napoleon
been content to recognize the Bourbon dynasty in Spain,
and had he been careful not to meddle with the religion of
the inhabitants, it is more than probable that the task of
overthrowing the French supremacy in Europe would have
been infinitely more difficult than it proved. Fortunately
for Europe Napoleon, arrogant and flushed with success,
made the most serious mistake in his life, and entered upon
a course which brought ruin to all his schemes.

On April 14, 1808, Napoleon arrived at the Chateau de
Marrac at Bayonne, which he only left after a sojourn of
three months. These three months proved to be the turning-
point in his career. Owing to an insurrection Charles IV of
Spain had abdicated in favour of his son Ferdinand. At
^ Hist. MSS. Commission (MSS. at Dropmore), vol. ix, p. 165.

232 The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815

Bayonne the miserable Ferdinand resigned in favour of his
father, only to find that the latter had handed the crown of
Spain to Napoleon. After this forced abdication the Spanish
family went into exile at Valen^ay, leaving Napoleon appa-
rently master of the destinies of Spain. Over the kingdom of
Naples, now vacated by Joseph who was given the Spanish
throne. Napoleon placed his brother-in-law, Joachim Murat.
Taking it for granted that Spain was willing to accept a ruler
at Napoleon's hands, it would at first sight appear that no
better king could probably have been found than Joseph
Bonaparte. He had shown singular powers as a diplomatist
at both Luneville and Amiens, of which latter treaty Joseph
spoke as ' my Peace '. Aided by his minister, Roederer,
Joseph had ruled Naples well, sweeping away feudal abuses,
restoring order in the finances, and transferring the burden
of taxation from the poor to the rich. As, however, it turned
out. Napoleon's choice was unfortunate, for Joseph never
showed any marked ability in Spain. Lucien Bonaparte, or
even Murat, would probably have had more chance of success,
supposing that the Spanish nation had forgiven the perfidy
of Bayonne. Lucien had more energy than Joseph, his
oratory was more impressive, and in all probability he would
not have attempted to command armies.

Joseph himself resented his removal to Spain, and Napoleon
soon found that the transference of his brother to Madrid had
unexpected results. Joseph entered the Spanish capital on
July 20, but already risings were taking place all over the
country, and on July 14 the French General Dupont had
been forced to surrender some 22,000 French and Swiss
troops to a Spanish army at Baylen. On August 21, 1808,
Junot, after a skirmish at Roli^a, was defeated by an English
army at Vimiero, and on August 30 signed the Convention of

Consulate and Empire, 1 799-1815 233

Cintra, surrendering unconditionally, but being allowed to
leave Portugal. The only success gained by the French was
the capture of Saragossa on August 13 after a siege of two
months. September found Spain, south of the Ebro, freed
from the French incubus. For Napoleon the situation was
serious, and in striking contrast to the position in the spring
of the year. In view of his intended attack upon India he had
established firmly his hold upon Italy, and had annexed Rome
and the greater part of the Papal States to his Empire. Six
months later the situation had undergone a dramatic change :
Joseph had fled from Madrid, and the check to Napoleon's
plans had important effects on European politics. In
Austria the growth of national feeling was evident, while the
Tsar was far from being satisfied with the results of the Treaty
of Tilsit.

Napoleon had now for the first time in his European
experiences met with not only a national but also with a
religious resistance. The opposition of Spain to the establish-
ment of a French ruler in Madrid was principally a religious
opposition. In attacking Spain Napoleon was attacking
Catholicism, and the resistance to him was encouraged by
the Spanish priests. Napoleon had no appreciation of what
religion meant. He had hitherto used it in France in order
to gain political ends, and his manner of dealing with it
in this case illustrates his complete failure to comprehend
the strength of religion or the possibility of religious feeling
developing into fanaticism. As he afterwards admitted, in
Spain his career was shipwrecked. In the autumn of 1808,
however, Napoleon was resolved at all costs to suppress the
opposition in Spain to his policy ; and in order to prevent any
outbreak in Central Europe while he was carrying out his
plan for the subjugation of Spain, he opened fresh negotiations

234 The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815

with Alexander. It was arranged that they should meet at
Erfurt. That meeting took place in September 1808, and
a convention between the two monarchs was arranged on
October 12. In order to secure Alexander's support in case
of the outbreak of war between France and Austria, Napoleon
was forced to adopt a tone very different from that which
marked his negotiations at Tilsit. But he was bent on the
great task on which he had set his mind — the expulsion of the
English from the Mediterranean and from India. The wars
with Prussia and Russia had so far postponed the execution
of his plan ; and he now feared that, unless he could rely upon
Russia, his Eastern projects might still further be interfered
with by a war with Austria. Though he was far from certain
of securing Russia's aid in the event of a war with the Habs-
burgs, he resolved to crush Spain without any delay. He
moved troops from Prussia to reinforce the army on the
Spanish frontier, and early in November he was at the front.
After some decisive victories he entered Madrid on Decem-
ber 4. Sir John Moore's famous diversion, however, saved
Lisbon ; for Napoleon decided to follow and destroy Moore's
force. At Astorga he left Soult to carry on the pursuit, and
leaving Spain on January 17, 1809, he arrived in Paris six
days later to find, as he expected, that Austria was contem-
plating hostilities, and that Talleyrand had been conspiring
against him.

During the previous months Stadion had hoped that
Austria would be supported by Prussia. But the King of
Prussia, acting against the wish of his people, persisted in re-
maining neutral, while, on the other hand, Alexander, though
bound by treaty obligations to Napoleon, made no serious
attempt to hamper the Austrians. On April 9 Austria de-
clared war. In the battle of Aspern — a soldiers' -battle —

The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815 235

Napoleon suffered a severe reverse. Unfortunately the
Archduke Charles made no attempt to follow up his success.
Had he done so he might have annihilated the French army
as it lay huddled together without ammunition on the island
of Lobau. As it was, the effect of Aspern upon Europe was
magical. Risings took place in the Tyrol and in Germany ;
England embarked on the Walcheren expedition ; the
resistance to the French in Spain acquired new vigour. But
on July 6 and 7 Napoleon defeated the Archduke in the
battle of Wagram. By the Treaty of Schonbrunn, on
October 14, Austria suffered heavy territorial losses, and
by the cession of Trieste to Napoleon was cut off from
the Adriatic. But the war proved a serious hindrance
to Napoleon's Eastern schemes, for it had become evident
that he could no longer rely upon Russia for active support
in the furtherance of those schemes. Moreover, his conduct
to the Pope Pius VII — who in July 1809 had been carried off,
a prisoner, to Grenoble (the Papal States being annexed to
the French Empire) — strengthened the religious opposition
to him, not only in Spain but also in France. It was not,
however, till the refusal of the Tsar to agree to Napoleon's
marriage with the Archduchess Anne (his divorce from
Josephine being effected in January 18 10) that the French
Emperor realized that he must defer his Eastern projects
until he had defeated Russia. Nevertheless, at the time of
his second marriage in March 1810 Napoleon's Empire in
Europe seemed to be firmly established. His brothers were
ruling in Spain, Westphalia, and Holland, a brother-in-law
governed Naples, a stepson Northern Italy, and a sister
Tuscany. The rulers of Bavaria, Baden, and Wiirtemberg
were closely allied to him by marriage.
In March iSiohis marriage with Marie Louise, the Austrian

The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815 237

Archduchess, took place, and had he at once proceeded to
Spain a very critical situation for both the Spaniards and the
English would have been created. Fortunately he devoted
his attention to carrying out the ' continental ' system (ex-
clusion of English goods from the Continent), by which he
hoped to ruin England. His brother Louis having shown
a reluctance to adhere to that system in Holland, where he
was King, Napoleon had not only deposed him in July 18 10
but had incorporated all the countries bordering on the
North Sea as far as Elbe with his Empire. This Grand
Empire was simply a coalition against England, but the
foundations of that Empire were unsound. On Decem-
ber 31, 1 8 10, Alexander, irritated at Napoleon's seizure of
Oldenburg, held by a Russian prince, declared that he had
resolved to modify the strictness of the continental system.
* That ', said Napoleon, ' is the leak that is sinking the ship.'
War with Russia was then determined upon. Napoleon in-
tending, when he had forced the Tsar to submit to him,
to settle matters in Spain. Everything therefore hung
upon the success of the Russian campaign.

The year 181 1 was occupied by Napoleon in elaborate
preparations for that campaign. Nor did Alexander fail to
make similar preparations. Sweden joined Russia, and
Russia, in 18 12, made the Treaty of Bucharest with Turkey.
Napoleon secured military assistance from both Austria
and Prussia ; on June 23 his mixed forces crossed the
Niemen, and after some severe battles entered Moscow on
September 14. During these months the weakness of the
French position in Spain had been demonstrated, and on
July 12 Wellington had won the battle of Salamanca and had
temporarily occupied Madrid. On October 15 the French
retreat from Moscow began, and the disastrous passage of the

238 The Consulate and Empire, 1 799-1 81 5

Beresina took place on November 26-8. The expedition had
proved a stupendous failure, and on December 30 York, the
Prussian general, signed the Convention of Tauroggen w^ith
Russia. This convention marked a turning-point in Prussian,
as indeed in European, history. On February 26, 181 3, the
Treaty of Kalisch united the fortunes of the Russian and
Prussian rulers, and the declaration of war upon Napoleon by
the Prussian King on March 16 marked the opening of the
War of Liberation. The wisdom of the military reforms of
the Prussian Scharnhorst was clearly evident during the cam-
paign, and they proved of inestimable value throughout the
year. In April Napoleon entered Germany with a new army,
and on May 2 fought the battle of Liitzen, one result of which
was that Dresden became the French head-quarters, and
Saxony the French ally. Though Napoleon won the battle
of Bautzen on May 20 and 21, the Russians and Prussians were
by no means crushed, and simply retired in fairly good order.
On June 4 the Armistice of Plaswitz (Poichwitz) was
signed ; and till August 10 the Prussian and Russian rulers
occupied themselves in reorganizing their armies. Jomini
pronounced the armistice to be the greatest blunder in
Napoleon's career, and so it proved. But at the time Napo-
leon had many good reasons for granting the armistice. The
Prussian and Russian armies were still intact and were hold-
ing together. Moreover, his cavalry required thorough
reorganization and was, he hoped, shortly to be reinforced
from Spain. It must also be remembered that he had as yet
no fortified depot to serve as a base for further military
operations. Dresden had no fortifications worth the name,
and though in May he had begun the construction of defences,
more time was required to make the city into a fortress. His
true policy was undoubtedly to have conceded Austria's

The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815 239

terms, the chief of which were the extinction of the Grand
Duchy of Warsaw and of the Confederation of the Rhine, the
restoration of Prussia to its position before the battle of
Jena, and of the Illyrian Provinces to Austria. He could
then have inflicted a decisive defeat on Russia and Prussia,
and concluded a general peace restoring Ferdinand VII to
the Spanish throne. He would thus have been in a position
to renew the war whenever he decided that it would be
advantageous to do so. But in spite of the defeat of Vittoria,
which took place on June 21, and the news of which reached
Napoleon at the end of the month, he persisted in under-
estimating the strength of Austria. That Power had agreed
at Reichcnbach on June 27 to join the Allies if Napoleon
refused her terms and remained convinced that he could not
only reconquer the north of Spain but could defeat the three
great military Powers in Germany. The armistice, notable
for Napoleon's negotiations with Metternich and their failure,
ended on August 10. He had meanwhile instructed Davout,
his ablest general in Germany, to concentrate all his efforts
to complete the fortifications of Hamburg, to build an arsenal
and dockyard, and to begin the construction of a fleet.
Davout was then to drive back the Swedes and to relieve the
French garrison at Stettin. Napoleon, still convinced of the
weakness of the Habsburg military power and of the supe-
riority and efflciency of his own troops, now found himself in
the half-fortified Dresden exposed to the attacks of the coali-
tion, which included Russia, Prussia, Austria, and Sweden.
The first few weeks after the expiration of the armistice
brought disaster to the French cause. On August 23
Bernadotte at the head of a Swedish army defeated Oudinot,
whose base was Wittenberg and who was marching on
Berlin, at Gross-Beeren ; and though Napoleon won the battle

240 The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815

of Dresden on August 26 and 27 his general, Macdonald,
suffered on August 26 a crushing defeat at the hands of
Blucher on the Katzbach. Four days later, on August 30,
Vandamme's army was practically destroyed at Kulm, and
on September 6 Ney, who had superseded Oudinot, was
defeated at Dennewitz.

These defeats show that the majority of Napoleon's
generals, though capable of directing army corps, were not
fit for the command of armies. The story of 18 13 is ' essen-
tially the story of the failure of the Marshals '. While
Metternich and Stein were, in September, discussing at
Toplitz the future of Germany, the victorious armies of the
Allies were slowly advancing. Fighting was almost incessant
during the first three weeks of October, culminating in the
total defeat of Napoleon in the battle of Leipzig (October
16-18). During their retreat to France, the French troops
were attacked at Hanau (October 29-31) by the Bavarians,
whose king on October 8 had made with the Allies the Treaty
of Ried, by which his sovereignty was recognized. At the
same time the Allies undertook to restore lawful princes to
their estates with ' unreserved sovereignty '. These arrange-
ments, initiated by Metternich, secured the supremacy of
Austria in Germany till the war of 1866, and checked the
unification of that country. Austria, paramount in Germany,
was content to compensate herself in Italy, where she remained
the predominant Power till the Italian War of Independence
in 1859.

At Frankfort on November 9 the Allies, among whom
was a strong peace party, offered Napoleon most generous
terms. But the French Emperor, relying, with some reason,
upon dissensions among the Allies and the dissolution of the
coalition, would not accept their proposals. The Allies,

The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815 241

who should after the battle of Leipzig have pressed rapidly
forward and thus saved Europe from the expensive campaign
of 1 8 14, acted with hesitation and only advanced into France
early in January. Till March 30, when Marmont agreed to
an armistice to save Paris from a bombardment, Napoleon
carried out a most brilliant campaign. He was aided by
dissensions among the Allies, which, however, were checked
by the arrival of the English Foreign Minister, Lord Castle-
reagh, early in February at Chatillon, by the Treaty of
Chaumont on March i between the four Powers, and later
in the month by the Austrian Emperor's realization of
Napoleon's duplicity. The latter's defeat on March 20 at
Arcis-sur-Aube decided his overthrow. After the arrival
of the Allies in Paris Napoleon was deposed by the French
Senate on April 2 ; he himself abdicated on April 1 1, and
was sent to Elba.

The Bourbons were now restored, and on May 3 Louis
XVIII, the brother of Louis XVI, unfettered by any
promise to establish a liberal constitution, entered the
French capital. The First Treaty of Paris was concluded
on May 30. It conceded to France the limits of 1792, and
all her lost colonies except the Mauritius, Tobago, St. Lucia,
and the Seychelles. ' It is better ', said Lord Castlereagh
in Parliament, ' for France to be commercial and therefore
pacific, than a warlike and conquering State.'

The downfall of Napoleon was celebrated in England in
June, when a number of crowned heads and generals visited
London, Oxford, and Ascot. In the autumn the Congress
of Vienna met, and its proceedings would seem to justify
Napoleon's decision to refuse the terms offered him at
Frankfort in November of the previous year. He still
with reason relied on dissensions breaking out among the

1832.8 D

242 The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815

Allies, and at the close of 18 14 it seemed that his anticipations
would be realized and that the dissensions would develop
into a European War. That his expectations were not
realized was in great measure owing to the influence of
Castlereagh with Alexander, However, the mere possibility
of divisions among the Allies, together with the failure of
the reinstated Bourbons to acquire any popularity in France,
decided Napoleon to endeavour to regain his kingdom. On
March i he landed near Cannes, and on March 20 entered Paris.
His return from Elba to France certainly cannot be de-
scribed as a thunder-clap upon the Powers. After Christ-
mas 1 8 14 a descent from Elba was regarded by all the
European sovereigns, except perhaps Louis XVHI, as im-
minent. Owing to their disputes and conflicting interests
the Allies were unable to take any adequate action to pre-
vent Napoleon's escape from Elba ; and there was great
satisfaction in Vienna when it was known that he had
landed in France and not in Italy, where he might have ' un-
chained ' that Revolution which Austria feared so much and
which consequently was postponed till the days of Cavour.
It was not till late in May 18 15 that war with Napoleon was
decided upon by the English Government, and its hesita-
tion was regarded on the Continent with much disfavour.
At last, on May 22 the Prince Regent, in his message to
Parliament, announced that war was probable, and the Euro-
pean alliance against Napoleon was cemented. Meanwhile,
Napoleon had continued his endeavours, without much
success, to secure the support of all parties in France. The
Additional Act had promised political and civil liberty to all,
but it roused no enthusiasm. However, Napoleon believed
that his victory over the Allies would reconcile both the
Constitutionalists and the Jacobins to his rule.

The Consulate and Empire, 1799-1815 243

The military situation in 18 15 was not unlike that of 1796.
In both cases the armies of his opponents, if united, would
outnumber him. In 1796 he not only overthrew the
Sardinian army before it could join the Austrians, but
forced the King of Sardinia to make peace. In 18 15, however,
after the battle of Ligny on June 16, though he drove back
Bliicher and the Prussians, he failed to prevent them from
coming at an opportune moment to the assistance of Welling-
ton at Waterloo on the afternoon of June 18. After the
battle Paris was occupied by the Allies, and Napoleon took
refuge on a British man-of-war, and died a few years later
on the island of St. Helena. The atrocities committed by
Bliicher and the Prussians on their march to Paris were some-
what similar to those committed in 1914-17 in Belgium and
France.

With the battle of Waterloo ended the second Hundred
Years' War between Great Britain and France. Though
disputes hav-e arisen between the two countries, chiefly with
regard to the colonial aspirations of France, no war has
since broken out between the two countries, which are now
closely allied.

R 2

14

The Second Restoration, the Orleans Monarchy,
and the Revolution of 1848. i8i)-j2

The period of the Second Restoration extends from
June 24, 18 15, to July 29, 1830. Louis XVIII, before he
returned to Paris, had formed a ministry which included
Talleyrand and Fouche, and had issued a constitution which
left considerable power in the hands of the King. In August
a general election took place, Talleyrand's ministry resigned,
and in September a cabinet was formed which included the
Dues de Richelieu and Decazes, and which distinguished
itself by acts of violence. Ney was shot in December, and
some fifty-seven persons who had joined Napoleon in the
Hundred Days were proscribed. In the south of France,
meanwhile, an outbreak of royalist violence known as ' The
White Terror ' had taken place. On November 20 the
Second Treaty of Paris finally settled the question of the
French frontier, and arranged that certain French fortresses
should be occupied for five years by Allied troops and that all
works of art taken from foreign countries should be restored.
Richelieu could now devote himself to the business of internal
affairs, which, owing to the action of the Chambre introuvable
— composed mainly of ' ultras ' — required careful manage-
ment. In the early months of 1816 it became evident
that the Chamber was determined to undo the entire work
of the Revolution, and the law of amnesty, passed on Jan-
uary 12, exiled, notwithstanding its title, all the members of
the National Convention who had voted for Louis XVI's death.

During 18 16 and 18 17, however, the moderate party

246 The Second Restoration, the Orleans

gradually increased its influence, especially after September
5, 1 816, when the Chambre introuvable was dissolved. In the
new elections the ministry was supported, and on February 17,
1 817, a new electoral law was passed. In December 18 18 the
Due de Richelieu resigned, and General Dessoles and Decazes
formed a new ministry. Richelieu's period of office had seen
the position of France much improved both at home and in
its relations with foreign Powers. The Tsar and the King of
Prussia had visited Louis in the previous October ; and in
consequence of a decision of the Powers at the Congress of
Aix-la-Chapelle the occupation of French territory by foreign
troops had come to an end in November. The army had
been reorganized, and France was now relieved from the
surveillance of the Committee of the Powers, and ' re-
admitted to the comity of Europe '. The new Dessoles
Government was from its formation faced with immense
difficulties. A group of constitutional royalists known as the
Doctrinaires, and including in its ranks such men as Guizot,
Barante, and Royer-Collard, aimed at a definitely Liberal
policy which agreed with the view of Dessoles. In May
1 8 19 the ministry recognized the freedom of the press, an
act which alarmed the ultra-royalists, and even moderates
like de Serre, who with the approval of Decazes brought
forward an electoral law to establish an hereditary House of
Peers and to hold elections for the Chamber of Deputies every
seven years. In November Dessoles, Saint -Cyr, and Baron
Louis left the ministry, and Decazes became Chief Minister.
On February 14, 1820, the measure was to be introduced,
when suddenly the whole political situation was changed by
the assassination of the Duke of Berry, son of the Comte
d'Artois. The political situation in France was in an instant
revolutionized ; on February 20 Decazes was dismissed,

Monarchy, and the Revolution of 1848 247

much to the regret of Louis ; Richelieu formed his second
ministry, and an electoral law was passed in June which gave
political preponderance to the large landowners. In the
autumn the new Chamber contained a large proportion of
royalist deputies, and the ministry was reinforced by such
men as Villele, who had strong royalist leanings, and who
succeeded Richelieu as Prime Minister in December.
Villele's accession to the chief office marks the opening of a
fresh period. He chose for his colleagues men of uncom-
promising royalist tendencies, such asCorbiere, dePeyronnet,
and Mathieu de Montmorency, and his Government lasted
till the beginning of 1828. In many ways his ministry was
a notable one. In the first place, the European position gave
cause for much anxiety. Revolutions had broken out in
Greece and Spain, the affairs of both countries being discussed
at the Congress of Verona in October, 1822. France was
naturally desirous of taking a prominent part in the operations
proposed by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, and as England
refused to accept the views of these Powers with regard to
'concerted interference ' in Spain, a French army in 1823
invaded the Spanish peninsula and restored Ferdinand, and
remained there till 1827. At home the Government had
steadily pursued a reactionary policy, passing severe laws,
restricting the freedom of the press, and placing education in
the hands of the clergy. Till 1824, however, the question
of a forward foreign policy was continually urged upon
Villele, who, anxious to establish firmly the royal and minis-
terial position at home, dismissed in June Chateaubriand, the
representative of the ultra-warlike party. To Villele the
chief question, now that the French finances were on a sound
footing and the prosperity of the country assured, was the
compensation of the emigres who had suffered during the

248 The Second Restoration, the Orleans

Revolution, On September 15 Louis XVIII died, and was
succeeded by the Comte d'Artois as Charles X.

Charles X, whose wife was Maria Theresa, daughter of
Victor Amadeus III of Savoy, was by nature honest and
bigoted. He had emigrated from France after the fall of the
Bastille, and for many years had lived in England. He was
in character somewhat like James II of England, being sincere
in his opinions and having ' absolute ' ideas which he was
determined to enforce. He was, like Vill^le, resolved to com-
pensate the emigres, to whom in 1825 the enormous sum of
^40,000,000 was voted, while the control of religious houses
was placed in the discretion of the Crown, thus closely uniting
the Church with the Bourbon dynasty. The opponents of
Villele, however, strengthened by the signs of popular dis-
content in the provinces, continued to attack him, and, the
elections of November 1827 proving unfavourable to his
ministry, which was defeated in the Chambers, he resigned
on December 5. Charles seems at first to have realized the
seriousness of the situation, for the appointment of the
Martignac ministry was followed by certain measures
calculated to appease the Liberals. The Press Law was
modified, and the operations of the Jesuits were restricted.
But the result of these half-measures was similar to that
produced in England by Wellington's Catholic Relief Bill
in 1829. The extreme royalists were alienated, the Liberals
were not conciliated. Martignac's policy of balancing, like
that of the Duke of Wellington, proved a failure.

In July 1829 new elections were held, Martignac was dis-
missed, and the Prince de Polignac formed a ministry on
royalist and reactionary lines. It was evident that a aerious
effort was to be made in order to divert public attention from
internal questions. Polignac, a minister as short-sighted and

Monarchy, and the Revolution of 1848 249

as obstinate as the King, adopted a forward foreign policy and
prepared an expedition which, early in 1830, captured Algiers.
This success, it is said, following on the battle of Navarino in
1827, 'intoxicated Charles with a prospect of military glory'.
He seems to have thought that nothing could be denied him,
and on July 25, 1830, he signed the famous Five Ordinances,
suspending the liberty of the press, declaring the Chamber
dissolved, raising the property qualification, summoning a new
Chamber in September, and appointing to the Council of
State a number of reactionaries. Two days later (on July 27)
the Revolution of Three Days took place ; on August i
Charles abdicated in favour of his grandson, the Due de
Bordeaux, and escaped to England. On August 7 the French
Chambers raised Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, to the
throne.

The establishment of the Orleans dynasty, in the person of
Louis Philippe, on the throne of France signified, as did the
accession of William III to the throne of England, the end of
government by divine right. Like the Reform Movement in
England in 1 831, it represented a middle-class victory; and in
both countries there was during the ensuing years some diffi-
culty in restraining the popular forces, by means of which the
Reform Bill and the accession of Louis -Philippe had been
brought about. In France the July Revolution has been well
described as a triumph for the Doctrinaire Liberals, such as
Lafayette, Thiers, and Guizot. Louis Philippe's position
was never a strong one, for he represented the opinions of the
bourgeoisie and not of the whole people of France. As soon
as the support of the middle classes was withdrawn the
Orleanist monarchy fell. Before he had been on the throne a
month a revolution took place in Belgium, its separation from
Holland was declared on November 17, and it was resolved

250 The Second Restoration, the Orleans

that a monarchy should be set up. The Tsar of Russia at once
proposed to intervene ; but luckily a rising in Poland in
November kept him fully occupied for several months, and
by the time it was crushed the Belgian question was settled.
In that settlement France and England acted together, and
Louis Philippe showed wisdom in declining the Belgian
crown for the Due de Nemours, his second son. In June
1 83 1 Leopold of Saxe-Coburg was elected King of the
Belgians, his kingdom being declared neutral under the
guarantee of the Powers. Till the capture of Antwerp in
December 1832 by the French fleet, William I of Holland
resisted the decision of the Powers.

Meanwhile Louis Philippe had acted judiciously. La-
fayette, the leader of the advanced Liberal party, was his
first Chief Minister till March 1831, when he was succeeded
by Casimir-Perier, who formed a strong Government, with
a strong foreign policy. He reorganized the army, initiated
schemes for the improvement of education, insisted on the
preservation of order at home. In May 1832 he died, and for
a time there was considerable disorder in France, due partly
to the attempt of the Duchesse de Berri to raise La Vendee in
the cause of the Legitimists. In October Louis Philippe, who
was personally in favour of absolutism, found himself com-
pelled to form a Coalition Ministry under Marshal Soult.
It included Thiers as Minister of the Interior, the Due
de Broglie as Foreign Minister, and Guizot as Minister of
Education, who in the following year introduced a system
of elementary schools. This ministry showed itself capable
and resolute. It suppressed riots and strikes, and quickly
put down an attempted insurrection in Paris in 1835. On
a question of foreign policy on which the King differed with
his ministers, Soult resigned in February 1836, and Thiers

Monarchy, and the Revolution 0/1848 251

formed a ministry, and at once showed activity in foreign
affairs. Not finding himself supported by the King, he
resigned in August, and Guizot, with Comnt Mole as Minis-
ter of Foreign Affairs, carried on the Government. Very
important events took place under this ministry. Success
attended Mole's support of the Algerian enterprise, and
in October Constantinc was captured. In April 1839, ^7
the Treaty of London, the Belgian question was finally and
satisfactorily settled, England, France, Austria, Prussia, and
Russia recognizing the new kingdom as an independent
neutral state. Early that year a ministry headed by Soult
succeeded that of Guizot and Mole ; but in February the
following year, on the Chamber refusing to grant a fixed
revenue for the Due dc Nemours, it resigned.

On March i Thiers became head of a new ministry and
Minister of Foreign Affairs. His term of oihce fell during an
exciting period in French foreign policy. Since 1839 ^^^ ^^^^
had occupied the attention of Europe owing to the ambition
of Mehemet Ali, the ruler of Egypt; and on July 15, 1840,
the Treaty of London bound Russia, England, Austria, and
Prussia in an agreement to support the Sultan and to expel
Mehemet's army from Syria, France, on the contrary, was
anxious to support Mehemet, and at one time it seemed
that she would declare war upon England. But in July of
the following year France consented to become a partner
to the Treaty of London, and the danger of war dis-
appeared. During the crisis the Guizot administration
had been formed (October 20, 1840) and it remained
in ofiice for the remainder of the reign of Louis Philippe.
Under this administration the monarchy of July grew
steadily more and more unpopular, while by its attitude
in the affaire of the Spanish marriages it alienated England.
At the beginning of 1848 the Orleans monarchy seemed

252 The Second Restoration, the Orleans

stable, but it had no democratic basis ; in reality its only
support was the bourgeoisie, and that support had for various
reasons weakened. The foreign policy of the King had not
brought any glory to France, England since 1846 was defi-
nitely alienated, and throughout 1847 it was apparent that
the Government had no strong supporters in the country.
Moreover, the influence of Saint-Simon, Fourier, and other
socialists had furthered the growth of democratic ideas
among the working classes, while the moderate Liberals had
been alienated by the refusal to grant the smallest measure of
electoral reform.

In 1847 banquets had been given in furtherance of parlia-
mentary reform and democratic revolution, and such men
as Odilon Barrot, the leader of the parliamentary Radicals,
had come prominently forward. On February 22, 1848, the
army and the National Guard refused Guizot's request that
they would suppress a disturbance in Paris caused by the Go-
vernment's prohibition of a political banquet in Paris. The fol-
lowing day Louis Philippe dismissed Guizot, hoping to pacify
the opponents of the ministry. On the night of February 23
the King reluctantly placed Thiers at the head of the Govern-
ment, agreeing to his demand for the summoning of a new
Assembly resting on a wider franchise. But at the same time
he insisted on the appointment of General Bugeaud as
Minister of War, whose threatening action towards the
Parisian insurgents destroyed all hopes of a peaceful solution
of the situation. Deserted by his army and the National
Guard, Louis ' abandoned his ministers, his family, and
himself on February 24, 1848 '.^

The revolution in France, which had been accomplished
so rapidly, followed quite unintentionally the revolution in
1 Cambridge Modern History, vol. xi, p. loi.

Monarchy, and the Revolution of 1848 253

Italy which had broken out in Palermo on January 12.
The news of the revolution in France encouraged the
Italians, and its influence was immediately felt in Germany,
Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, and Prussia. It immediately
developed on socialist lines, and Louis Blanc secured on
February 25 the establishment of national workshops, and
a few days later a socialist Commission was set up at the
Luxembourg. During March and the early days of April
Paris was in disorder owing to the violence of the socialist
mob. On April 16 the bourgeois Guard attacked the mob,
and the National Convention which met shortly afterwards
showed vigour. The national workshops were closed, and
General Cavaignac, at the head of the National Guard,
crushed the socialists in a battle in Paris which lasted from
June 24 to June 26, In November a Constitution was pub-
lished. The principle of universal suffrage was recognized,
and it was settled that a President of the Republic should
be elected for four years, also by universal suffrage. At the
elections in December Louis Napoleon, son of the King of
Holland, was elected President. Europe was in 1848 passing
through the throes of a general revolution, and at one time
it seemed that the Austrian monarchy would come to an end.
It was not till 1849 that the reactionary forces proved
victorious, nor till the Convention of Olmutz with Prussia
that Austria was again established as the leading German
Power. But the two men who had emerged in conspicuous
fashion above the level of the rest were the Emperor Nicholas
and Louis Napoleon. The former, by the valuable aid which
he gave the Habsburgs in reducing Hungary, had practically
set Austria on its feet again, while Louis Napoleon by the
coup (TStat of December i, 1851, had prepared the way for
the proclamation of the Empire on December 2, 1852.

15
Napoleon III, i8j2-i8'/o

Most of the European Powers willingly recognized the
new ruler of France ; but the Tsar, after an interval, only
did so in a modified manner, with the result that Napoleon
eagerly seized the first opportunity for retaliation. That
opportunity was soon afforded by the growing importance of
the Eastern question. Early in 1853 Nicholas, who was con-
vinced that the early break up of the Ottoman Empire was
to be expected, demanded the maintenance of the status quo
in the matter of the Holy Places (thus refusing to entertain
the French demands), and the acknowledgement of Russia's
right to give protection to the Orthodox subjects of the
Sultan (which meant the deprivation of the Sultan's sove-
reignty over half his European subjects).

On October 22, 1853, the French and British fleets passed
the Dardanelles ; on January 3, 1854, ^^^7 entered the Black
Sea ; and on March 27 the two Powers declared war upon
Russia. Neither Prussia nor Austria took part in the struggle,
but in January 1855 Sardinia joined the Allies at the instance
of Cavour, and 15,000 Italian troops landed in the Crimea.
On March 2, 1855, the Emperor Nicholas died, and on
September 8 Sebastopol, after a long siege, was taken. The
French army had covered itself with glory, and from that
time Napoleon favoured peace negotiations. On March 30,
1856, the Treaty of Paris ended the war.

The close of the Crimean War found Austria isolated, and
suffering from serious financial weakness. On August 18,

Napoleon III, 1852-1870 255

1855, she had made a Concordat with the Papacy, promising
the restoration of the ecclesiastical estates confiscated by-
Joseph II, and giving the supervision of schools to the bishops
and clergy. Russia, aggrieved at her attitude during the
Crimean War, was no longer her ally, and her relations with
Prussia were far from friendly. Consequently when, owing
to the efforts of Cavour, the Italian question came forward,
Austria found herself without allies. No sooner was the
Crimean War over than Cavour redoubled his efforts to
bring about the union of Italy under Piedmont, thus antici-
pating by a few years the policy of Bismarck with regard to
the union of Germany. All hope of success depended on the
attitude of France, which was regarded as the most formidable
of the Powers. The peace of Europe apparently depended
on the will of Napoleon, who was known to sympathize
in a general way with the spirit of nationality. At this
time, and till in 1861 Italy had practically gained unity, he
apparently intended to aid Cavour in creating a confedera-
tion of Italian princes under the leadership of the Pope and
the King of Sardinia. He felt, too, the necessity of careful
consideration before taking any definite step ; for the French
elections of 1857 had produced ^ small opposition, the growing
strength of which had induced him to introduce some changes
in his system of government.

Moreover, it was evident that the policy of Cavour implied
opposition on his part to the cause of the Papacy, with which
Napoleon wished to keep on good terms, especially as the
attitude of religious France and of the Empress was distinctly
pro-Papal. ' Besides, the French Foreign Oihce held the
traditional view that it was in the interests of France to
have weak neighbours ; and if Austria was occupying the
States of the Church, French troops were holding Rome

256 Napoleon III, 1 852-1870

itself for the Pope. While he was thus hesitating, Orsini
made an attempt on his life on January 14, 1858. As Orsini
had arrived in Paris from England the hostile feelings of
the Parisians against that country were aroused. A famous
cartoon in Punch represents a number of French colonels
urging the Emperor to lead them against la ferjide Albion.
The actual results of Orsini's attack were, however, startling.
Instead of breaking off all negotiations with Cavour, the
Emperor consented to meet him at Plombieres on July 20. In
return for French aid against Austria, Cavour agreed to cede
Savoy and Nice to France. In giving himself away to Cavour
the Emperor had anticipated a similar action of his a few years
later, when he gave himself away to Bismarck at Biarritz. The
political condition of Europe in 1859 undoubtedly favoured
his policy. Russia was friendly to France, Prussia was un-
likely to aid Austria, and not only was England fully occupied
in dealing with the Indian Mutiny, but English public
opinion favoured Italian unity.

On April 26, 1859, Austria declared war upon Italy, and
was defeated by French and Italian armies in May and June
in the battles of Montebello (May 20), Magenta (June 4),
and Solferino (June 24). On July 6, without consulting
Victor Emmanuel or Cavour, Napoleon made proposals to
Francis Joseph for an armistice, which was concluded on
July 8. On July 1 1 the war was closed by the Armistice of
Villafranca, which on November 10, at Zurich, was converted
into a formal treaty. Napoleon was then at the height
of his power. He had, as it seemed, accomplished the
objects for which France had fought. Piedmont was to
extend from the Alps to the Adriatic, though Venice was to
remain Austrian. Italy was to be free but not united, Savoy
and Nice were to be ceded to France. For a time Napoleon

Napoleon III, 1852-1870 257

was regarded as the most powerful ruler in Europe, and the
formation of the great Volunteer Force in England illustrates
the alarm felt in that country at the rapid successes of the
French armies. As it turned out, however, the war in Italy
was, as M. de Gorce says, ' funeste, mais pour la France
seulement ', and in Italy the fate of the Second Empire was
sealed. One reason for the sudden conclusion of the Armistice
of Villafranca can be found in the hostile attitude of Prussia
to France; but by desisting from the war, and*by taking
Savoy and Nice in March i860, Napoleon alienated the
Italians and excited feelings of distrust and resentment in
England. Moreover, before two years had elapsed after the
Treaty of Turin he realized that all his plans with regard to
Italy were shattered. Central Italy united itself with Pied-
mont, the Papal territory was occupied by a Piedmontese
army, General Cialdini defeated Lamoriciere and his Papal
forces at Castelfidardo, Garibaldi conquered the Two
Sicilies. Napoleon had hoped to prevent the union of Italy
and to protect the Pope, But Italy had become united under
Victor Emmanuel II — the first Italian Parliament met in
March 1861 — and the Pope had lost his richest possessions.

In France, where Napoleon's policy towards Italy and the
Papacy found many severe critics, his difficulties rapidly
increased. He had declared himself in favour of a policy of
nationality and free trade, and in i860 made a Treaty of Com-
merce with England, only to find that it aroused deep opposi-
tion throughout France. Catholic France was infuriated at
his publication of a pamphlet in December 1859, advising the
Pope to renounce his claims to the Legations (all his posses-
sions except Rome). The Liberal party, headed by
Ollivier, pointed out the inconsistency of encouraging liberal
institutions in Italy while denying them to France ; and

1832,8 c

258 Napoleon III, 1852-1870

Napoleon on November 24, i860, by the advice of his half-
brother, de Morny, issued a decree in the direction of con-
stitutional government. The Address to the Throne was
restored, official reports of the proceedings in the Senate md
the Legislative Assembly were to be published, and ministers
without portfolios were to represent the Emperor in the
Chambers. A year later he agreed not to open ' supple-
mentary credits when the Legislature was not sitting '.

The year 1863 was a momentous one for France both at
home and abroad. In Europe a series of events of deep
import took place, while in France the elections left the
Emperor and the democracy face to face, at a time when,
mainly owing to the American Civil War, France was passing
through a commercial crisis. A large number of Liberals were
returned to the Assembly, and, yielding to the appointment of
Rouher as Minister of State in October 18, in place of de
Persigny, who held that ' ministers should be responsible to
the Emperor alone ', he recognized the strength of the demand
that ministers, as in England, should be responsible to Parlia-
ment. Unfortunately, he did not carry out what seemed to be
his intentions. In the Mexican War he raised money without
the consent of the Legislature, and he often ignored, or did
not ask for, the advice of his ministers. ' Reveur et conspira-
teur ', says M. de Gorce, ' il le fut sur le trone et toujours.' *

The year 1863 was also of immense European importance,
and marks a definite step in Napoleon's downfall. In January
of that year the outbreak of the Polish insurrection took place,
while Napoleon was deeply involved in war with Mexico;
in November Frederick VII of Denmark died, leaving his
country on the verge of war over the Schleswig-Holstein
question. Few men at that time realized the rapid growth
^ See Quarterly Review, July 1902, pp. 9-14.

Napoleon III, 1852-1870 259

of the Prussian State, which was to be so soon consolidated by
Sadowa and Sedan, Had he done so, Napoleon would not
have endangered his friendship with Russia. As it was, his
attitude towards the Polish rising lost him the support of the
Tsar just when he needed it most.

Owing to his friendly relations with Russia he had felt
secure in undertaking the Italian War of 1859, ^'^'^ '^"^ ignoring
the opposition of England to his annexation of Savoy and
Nice. He was so fully alive to the importance of a good under-
standing with Russia that it is difficult to explain his attitude
during the Polish insurrection. Poland was inaccessible to
France, as it was to England, and Napoleon's true policy
was to refrain from any action. Unfortunately, he invited
England to remonstrate with Prussia for agreeing to a military
convention with Russia : Lord Russell refused his assent, but
proposed that all the Powers should remonstrate with the
Tsar. On receiving remonstrances from all the Great
Powers except Prussia, the Tsar's ministers declined to con-
tinue the discussion, with the result that Paris clamoured for
war, and Napoleon's position as Emperor was distinctly
weakened. At the French elections held on May 31 and
June I, seventeen Republicans and eighteen Liberals were
returned, among them being Thiers, Emile Ollivier, Jules
Favre, and Jules Simon.

A complete and accurate history of the foreign policy of
France between 1863 and 1870 has yet to be written. On
March 30, 1863, Frederick VH incorporated Schleswig with
Denmark. His action at once reopened the Danish question,
which had, it was thought, been closed by the treaty of
May 8, 1852. An anxious time ensued. The Emperor
Napoleon, in the last week of October, endeavoured, in vain,
to hold a Congress at Paris, to ' readjust the frontiers of

s 2

26o Napoleon III, 1852-1870

States and lay the foundations of a general pacification '.
In November and December matters of the greatest import
to Europe occurred in rapid succession. On November 14
Frederick VII died, and was succeeded by Christian IV, who
refused to withdraw the Constitution of March 30, though,
in spite of Palmerston's denunciation of the claims of the
Germanic Confederation, he could not hope for any material
assistance from Russia, England, or France. Napoleon,
indeed, did not regard the Danish question as one of primary
importance. His policy with regard to Poland had failed, he
was involved in the Mexican ' affair ', his influence in Italy
had steadily declined. As Christian refused to withdraw the
Constitution before January i, 1864, the German Federation,
acting nominally on behalf of the heir to the dukedom of
Augustenburg, asserted its rights, and war followed, a force
of Austrians and Prussians occupying Schleswig and Holstein
in February. Christian was soon defeated, and lost Schles-
wig. ' The great blunder of the nineteenth century ', writes
M. Joseph Reinach, ' was the spoliation of the Danish duchies,
which neither France, nor England, nor Russia, knew how to
prevent.' ^ There is no doubt that these Powers showed, in
spite of warnings, a most extraordinary lack of foresight and
weakness. Had they acted together they could have pre-
vented the spoliation of the Danish duchies — a crime and a

1 Quarterly Review^ April 1917, p. 399. In his Memoirs the late Lord
Redesdale describes how one day early in February 1864 (he being
Second Secretary of Embassy), Lord Napier, our Ambassador at St.
Petersburg, received a dispatch from England instructing him to
notify to Prince Gortschakoff that England would not interfere in
Denmark. On reading the telegram the Prince said, ' Alors, milord,
je mets de cote la supposition que I'Angleterre fasse jamais la guerre
pour une question d'honneur ' (vol. i, pp. 243-5).

Napoleon III, 1 852-1 870 261

blunder. They have paid dearly for their inaction and failure
to check Prussia in ' her career of plunder ' — France being
despoiled in 1871, and England being hampered and menaced
in the present century by the opening of the Kiel Canal.

It is evident to-day that, to add to a well-known quotation,
' if the fate of the Second Empire was sealed in Italy, its
grave was dug in Mexico '. Taking advantage of the con-
tinuance of the Civil War in America, Napoleon had em-
barked upon ambitious projects in Mexico : in June 1863 the
capital was occupied, and in June 1864 the Archduke Maximi-
lian landed at Vera Cruz to become ruler of the country. In
1865, however, the American Civil War ended, Juarez re-
ceived reinforcements, and in 1867, the French troops having
been withdrawn, Maximilian was captured by the Juarists
and shot. This Imperial adventure has a certain interest. A
powerful Latin monarchy was to curb the Teutonic Republic
in the North. Thus the whole American continent would
be prevented ' from falling under the political influence of
Washington and the commercial control of New York '. But
Napoleon's position in Europe required his full attention,
and his tenure of the throne of France was too precarious for
him to attempt ambitious schemes on the American conti-
nent. It is said that in 1866, owing to the Mexican War,
France was not able to place a fully equipped army of 50,000
men on the Rhine. This fact was of incalculable importance,
for war broke out between Austria and Prussia in June of
that year, and on July 3 the Austrians suffered an over-
whelming defeat in the battle of Koniggratz (Sadowa). In
October 1865 Napoleon had had his well-known interview
at Biarritz with Bismarck. Affairs in Mexico were going
badly — in April 1865 the War of Secession had ended, and in
February 1866 Napoleon had decided to withdraw all French

262 Napoleon III, 1852-1870

troops from the country, — Napoleon's Italian and Polish
policy had left him without allies, but he continued to
delude himself with the expectation that a long war between
Prussia and Austria would take place, at the conclusion of
which France, as arbiter, would claim a share of the spoils.

Prussia's success at Sadowa on July 3, 1866, came as a
terrible shock to Napoleon's schemes. It ended all his hopes
of acting as armed mediator between two exhausted belli-
gerents. Italy indeed obtained Venice, and this was satis-
factory to Napoleon, but Prussia was now supreme in North
Germany, and the best French troops were still in Mexico.
During the remainder of 1866 and the early months of 1867
Europe passed through an anxious period. • Napoleon's
demand for Mainz and territory on the left bank of the
Rhine, followed by his offer to purchase Luxemburg, pro-
duced no results except that Luxemburg was declared
neutral. In 1867 the Great Exhibition at Paris seemed to
imply that the relations of all the European Powers were
on a satisfactory footing. But the attack of the Pole Bere-
zowski on the life of the Tsar Alexander II was followed at
the end of June by the news that Maximilian had been shot
in Mexico. Public opinion was deeply affected, the French
Empire lost prestige, and it behoved Napoleon to walk
warily. In the autumn close and friendly relations were
established with Austria, but this advantage was to a great
extent nullified by the fierce hostility of Garibaldi and all
Italian patriots, whose attack on the States of the Church
failed owing to their defeat at Mentana Dn November 3,
1867 by a French army under General de Failly. As long
as Napoleon pursued the policy of defending Rome against
the Italian patriots, he could hardly expect the support
of Italy in a war with Germany. He had lost his influence

Napoleon III, 1852-1870 263

with Italy and could not guarantee Austria against an
Italian attack,

Aloreover, Napoleon's domestic difficulties were increasing
daily. Hoping to conciliate the opposition of the Republican
party in Parliament, and the growing hostility of the
working classes, the Emperor in the spring of 1868 granted
freedom of the press and the right of holding public meetings,
under certain restrictions. During the whole of 1869, while
Prussia was arming, the opposition in France gained in
strength, and the elections of May showed that the opponents
of the Empire had increased in a most striking fashion.
Napoleon was by no means unaware of the danger to France
from Germany : even in 1868 the French military attache
at Berlin had written that ' any accident may bring on war '.^
Moreover, a few far-sighted Frenchmen, among whom was
Napoleon himself, had after the war of 1866 advocated uni-
versal military service. But, as frequently happened, Napo-
leon showed weakness in view of the Republican opposition,
and no military reforms of any value were carried out. For
the disasters of 1 870-1 the Republicans were in no small
degree responsible.

In addition to entering upon negotiations with Austria in
view of the impending struggle with Prussia, Napoleon did
indeed, between 1866 and 1870, try to make secret agreements
with Bavaria, Wiirtemberg, and Hesse-Darmstadt. The
extent of these proposals to the German States is at
present uncertain, but the world now knows that in the early
weeks of 1870 much progress was made in as far as Austria
was concerned. But no definite agreement could be come
to with Austria, and the proposal, early in 1870, of Lord
Clarendon for a general disarmament met with no support
^ Cambridge Modern History^ vol. xi, p. 486.

264 Napoleon III, 1 852-1870

in Prussia, or from Napoleon's advisers. On July 2 the
avowed candidature of a Hohenzollern prince for the throne
of Spain gave the pretext which the war party in France was
seeking. In the previous month of May, at the elections,
Napoleon had secured a majority, and Ollivier, who had in
January formed a ministry, had on June 30 declared that
' at no moment was the maintenance of peace in Europe
better assured '. On July 12, owing to the remonstrance
of the French ministry, which now included the Due de
Gramont as Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hohenzollern
candidature was withdrawn. On July 13 the French envoy,
Benedetti, obtained from the King of Prussia a declaration
of his approval of the withdrawal of the Hohenzollern
candidate. But Bismarck published a telegraphic account of
this meeting at Ems so altered as to imply an insult to Bene-
detti. The news caused great agitation in Paris, and late
on July 14 the Council of Ministers voted for war.

France thus entered into war with her powerful neighbour
while she herself was isolated and from a military point of
view unprepared. Russia was unwilling to move on behalf of
France, and already was contemplating a fresh advance in
Asia. The disclosure of the French Emperor's designs on
Belgium and Luxemburg alienated England ; Austria re-
quired time to make military preparations ; Italy was bent on
the possession of Rome. France, then, entered the war with
no allies, and too late realized her inability to mobilize rapidly.
Moreover, the war was never popular in the Departments,
nor among the more thoughtful of the Parisian deputies. It
was brought about by Napoleon's entourage, who held the
view that ' war was a logical necessity of the Imperial regime ' ;
and they were supported by the Parisian populace, who did
not regard the grant of parliamentary institutions as an

Napoleon III, 1852-1870 265

equivalent for the loss of glory in Mexico and elsewhere.
They were, too, absolutely ignorant of the real condition of
the army. In a few months France sustained a series of over-
whelming defeats.

Though Napoleon had not sufficient determination to insist
on improvements in the weapons and general strength of the
army, reforms which he knew were absolutely indispensable,
the blame for the overthrow of France in 1 870-1 must be
shared by the French people, and especially by the Parisian
populace. When Thiers opposed the madness of the war, on
the ground that it was being made ' without necessity, with-
out preparations, and without alliances ', he was hooted in
the Chamber, while the mob had ' demonstrated ' before his
house. On August 10 a new ministry was formed, and on
August 13 a Committee of National Defence was created.
Meanwhile Bismarck's publication of the designs which
during the last few years Napoleon had entertained against
Belgium had alarmed the English cabinet, which early in
August obtained from both Prussia and France assurances
of their recognition of the neutrality of Belgium. The
French declaration of war was received in Berlin on July 19,
but the forces of both France and of the North German
Confederation were ordered to mobilize four days earlier.
The affaire of Saarbriicken, on August 2, opened the war,
and before August 20 a number of battles had been fought,
and it was evident that victory lay with the Germans. On
September i the stupendous disaster of Sedan took place, and
on the next day the Emperor with some 80,000 officers and men
surrendered as prisoners of war. Important events followed.

The situation in France in September 1870 was not very
unlike the situation in 18 14. ' The Second Empire, like the
First, went down before a foreign foe : Leipzig was echoed

266 Napoleon III, 1 852-1870

by Sedan.' ^ In 18 14, however, the restoration of the ancient
monarchy was accomplished : in 1870 France returned to the
republican form of government set up in 1848. The crisis
which had been ' smothered in 185 1 revived more ominous
than before in 1870 '. On September 3, 1870, the news of
Sedan reached Paris. On September 4 a Government of
National Defence was formed. But the Paris mob broke
in upon the Assembly, and brought the meeting to an
end. Gambetta then proclaimed the Third Republic at the
Hotel de Ville, and General Trochu organized the defence
of Paris under the Government of National Defence. On
October 27 Bazaine capitulated at Metz ; on December 4
Orleans was captured, in spite of the efforts of General
Chanzy, and from that time the organization of the Army
of the Loire was broken up. Meanwhile, the Government
of National Defence, driven from Tours, had assembled at
Bordeaux, where it remained till the capitulation of Paris
and the signing of the preliminaries of peace.

General Bourbaki's failure in the East finally determined
the fate of France. Bourbaki, who was born in 1 8 16, had
distinguished himself in the Crimean War, and in 1870 his
military reputation was high. After the severe French
defeats on the Loire in the last week of November and the
first week of December General Chanzy, with the i6th and
17th Corps, fell back slowly to Le Mans, while the 15th (the
centre) and the i8th and 20th Corps (the right) retreated to
Bourges. D'Aurelle de Paladines, who had commanded these
troops — the First Army of the Loire — was superseded by
Bourbaki, who was to make an attempt to strike a blow at the
German communications. But he was constantly interfered

^ Lowes Dickinson, Revolution and Reaction in Modern France, p. 249
(London : George Allen, 1892).

Napoleon III, 1852-1870 267

with by Freycinet, who was practically the Civil Secretary
for War, so that the campaign, initiated by the minister,
was in no sense one for which Bourbaki was solely
responsible. The latter, when a strong man as commander
was absolutely necessary, showed culpable weakness in
allowing himself to be guided by Freycinet and Serres (a
young civil engineer). The result of carrying on a campaign
directed by a Triumvirate — Bourbaki, Freycinet, and Serres
— was that 'in the battle of the Lisaine, January 15-17, the
fate of France was sealed '.

On January 28, 1871, an armistice was agreed upon to
enable the elections to be held in order that the opinion of
the country should be taken on the question of peace. During
the elections Gambetta favoured the continuance of war.
The capitulation of Paris, in his view, would not prevent the
war from being carried on by the Departments, whose
resources would rapidly increase. Many Germans, he argued,
feared lest a continuance of the war would lead to European
intervention — a possibility to which Bismarck was fully alive
— England and Italy were certainly against the dismember-
ment of France. The Assembly, which after the elections
met at Bordeaux, decided in favour of peace ; Gambetta
retired to Spain, and Thiers, ' who was inevitable ', was now
supreme. Although there was some plausibility in Gambetta's
arguments, it must be remembered that France, unlike Spain,
Russia, and Italy, is not a country in which it is easy to
conduct a protracted guerrilla warfare.

During the negotiations which terminated in the Treaty
of Frankfort, Bismarck, as after the battle of Koniggratz
(Sadowa) in 1866, was in favour of moderation. He was
opposed to the retention of Metz with its large French
population, and also to the acquisition of Belfort. On these

268 Napoleon III, 1852-1870

points he was opposed by the King, now German Emperor,
and by von Moltke. Eventually it was decided to keep Metz
with Alsace and Lorraine. Thiers's efforts to preserve for
France the important town and fortress of Belfort were, how-
ever, successful. In possession of Belfort the Germans could
easily pour troops down the valley of the Doubs and dominate
Burgundy and the Lyonnais. Belfort, unlike Metz, had not
been captured by the German forces, and it was a point of
honour to all Frenchmen that it should not be handed over
to Germany. The Germans, however, insisted that if they
yielded with regard to Belfort a portion of their army should
enter Paris.

On May 10 the Treaty of Frankfort confirmed the prelimi-
naries, which included the payment of five milliards to
Germany. The Assembly at Bordeaux discussed the treaty
of peace drawn up by Thiers, who, by the way, had attempted
to obtain Luxemburg as a compensation for the loss of Metz.
It was recognized that it was necessary to submit to the loss
of Alsace and Lorraine. At the first meeting of the Assembly
on February 17 the deputies from the Departments of Haut-
Rhin, Bas-Rhin, and the Moselle declared the ' ever inviolable
right of the Alsatians and Lorrainers to remain members of
the French nation '. On March i the Assembly voted the
preliminaries of peace, and the deputies from Alsace-Lorraine
made their famous and final protest against the ratification
of a treaty which handed them over to the German Empire.
This protest was renewed in the Reichstag in 1874, ^^^ again
in 1887, Alsace-Lorraine having been constituted a mere
province of the German Empire and not placed on an equal
footing with the other German States.

Before, however, peace was signed a revolution broke out
in Paris on March 18, and the Commune, which elected its

Napoleon III, 1852-1870 269

Government on March 26, became all-powerful. During
the armistice some 60,000 of the better classes left Paris,
while the Assembly, which established itself at Versailles on
March 20, took no steps to preserve order in the capital,
which was practically in the hands of a population armed and
idle, and exasperated at the march of the German troops
through part of the city. The Assembly was itself un-
popular, not only owing to its decision to sit at Versailles, but
also from the presence within it of a large monarchical
element, while Paris, which had deserved well of France,
desired a republic. Moreover, it showed a want of firmness
at the outset of the rising in Paris. The revolution lasted
till the end of May, when, after eight days of street fighting,
the troops of the Assembly suppressed the movement.

i6
The Third Republic, iSji-ic^iS

A. 1871-8
The Formation of a Constitution

No sooner was peace made than two great problems de-
manded solution. Firstly, the establishment of authority
in France, and the choice of a form of government ; and
secondly, the execution of the terms of peace, involving the
payment of an enormous indemnity before the liberation of
the territory could be effected.

The rapid recovery of France, which naturally surprised
if not alarmed Bismarck and the war party in Germany, was
due, in no small measure, to the efforts of Thiers. He had
shown great skill in his management of the peace negotiations,
and though France was compelled, in addition to her loss of
Alsace and most of Lorraine, to cede Metz, she kept Belfort,
much to the irritation of the Prussian war party. The
manner, too, in which he dealt with the later phases of the
Commune was admirable. When the Commune had been sup-
pressed, it remained for the Assembly to execute the terms of
peace and to settle what form of government should be set up.
The Assembly had a large royalist majority, though France
was, in the main, republican, and possible candidates for the
vacant throne were the Comte de Chambord and the Comte
de Paris. Thiers himself was, for a time, an advocate of con-
stitutional monarchy, but favoured a waiting policy. Before
he fell, on May 24, 1873, he had convinced himself that a
republic was a necessity for France — ' La Republique sera

The Third Republic, 1871-1918 271

conservatrice ou elle ne sera pas ' were Thiers's prophetic
words. It was evident to him that a parliamentary republic
was the form of government desired by the majority of the
electors, who had been influenced by the magnificent oratori-
cal campaigns of Gambetta.

On February 17 Thiers had been nominated ' Chief of the
Executive Power of the French Republic ', and after the
Frankfort Treaty had been made continued till his fall to
exercise the powers of a Dictator. During this period when
he practically ruled France the country, ' owing to the native
thrift of the peasant population ', showed an astonishing power
of recuperation. On November 13, 1872, he declared that
' the Republic exists ; to desire anything else would be a
new revolution and the most formidable of all. The Republic
must be the Government of this nation.' Supported by
his country he carried out a valuable programme. He re-
formed the system of secondary education, the jury system,
and the Conseil d'£tat. He reorganized the army, he arranged
for the payment of the war indemnity, he inaugurated a new
protective tariff. Under his leadership France, it has been
said, learned for the first time in her history ' to discuss with-
out making a revolution '.

The year 1873 proved to be one of no little interest, and
indeed of importance to France. It opened with the death
of the Emperor Napoleon at Chislehurst, it found Thiers the
object of dislike to the monarchist majority in the Assembly,
and Gambetta popular among the French constituencies.
Hence a dissolution could not be advocated at that time by
the reactionaries. But they were able shortly to effect the
fall of Thiers, who, though now an avowed supporter of a
republican form of government, was not popular with the
extreme Left. On May 24, 1873, Thiers defended his policy

272 The Third Republic, 1871-1918

in the Chamber. He declared that a conservative republic
was the only form of government suitable to France at that
time, when the majority in the Assembly, which did not repre-
sent the majority in the country, could not decide between
the pretenders for the French throne. A majority of 14
then carried what Thiers regarded as a vote of censure, and
he resigned.

Marshal MacMahon, Duke of Magenta, ' le glorieux
vaincu ' of Sedan, was chosen to succeed Thiers as President
of the Republic, and during the years in which he held office
France passed through an anxious period. Fear of a fresh
attack upon her by Germany, and the uncertainty with re-
gard to the form of government which would be finally
established, made the years between 1873 and 1878 a period
of unusual anxiety. MacMahon was regarded as a Legitimist ;
but that cause was ruined in October 1873 when the Comte
de Chambord refused to give up the White Flag of the Bour-
bons. During the ensuing four years MacMahon was en-
gaged in a ceaseless struggle with the Republican party,
which gained fresh strength at each general election. Apart
from domestic matters the years 1874 ^^*^ ^^75 were marked
by a recrudescence of German hostility.

For some four years it had seemed that France, suffering
from the effects of the war of 1870, would be a quantite
negligeable in European politics. Allied with both Austria
and Russia, Bismarck had grounds for his belief that France
was powerless for offence. He rightly argued that he was
unlikely to obtain support from England, at any rate for
some time to come, especially as the Liberal Government in
England was fully occupied with home affairs, and Anglo-
Russian rivalry in Asia forbade the possibility of any lasting
friendship between the Courts of Petersburg and St. James's.

The Third Republic, 1871-1918 273

The Treaty of Frankfort (May 10, 1871) marked the close
of the predominance which France had held in Europe
since the Crimean War. Till the present day the new-born
German Empire has remained the predominant state in
Western Europe. In spite, however, of the overwhelming
defeat of her armies, of the loss of Alsace and Lorraine, and
of her isolation in Europe, France showed such extraor-
dinary recuperative powers that in 1875, in spite of his
denial, Bismarck contemplated hostilities against the French
nation. France had already paid the enormous war in-
demnity exacted by Germany; and by the law of March
1875 she could put into the field an army of 2,400,000 men.

In the early months of 1874 ^ rumour, indeed, spread
through France that, in spite of the pacific declarations
of Decazes, the French Foreign Minister, the unprincipled
war party in Germany might succeed in making a fresh
attack on France. The alarm, however, died out in the
summer, and the French political parties continued their
ceaseless struggles until they were suddenly interrupted
by the famous war scare of 1875. In March of that year
Decazes became aware that the German Government
was threatening Belgium, and had stopped the export of
horses. There seems little doubt that Bismarck was en-
deavouring to persuade the Emperor and the Crown Prince
that the French were meditating an invasion of Germany
through Belgium, and in April appeared, in the Berlin Post,
the famous article, ' Is war in sight ? ' It was asserted by the
German military authorities that the steady increase of the
French armaments must be checked, and there was a con-
sensus of opinion in Belgium that Bismarck intended to
occupy that country (as his successors did in 19 14) on the
pretence that France meditated a similar course. By the

1832.8 ^

274 The Third Republic, 1871-1918

influence, however, of the Tsar Alexander and Queen Vic-
toria, the danger of a European war was averted. Alexander
and Gortschakoff arrived in Berlin on May 10, following
Count Schouvaloff (the Russian Ambassador in London),
who on May 6 reassured Lord Odo Russell of the pacific
intentions of the Tsar. The arrival of the Tsar in Berlin
decided the question of peace or war, and Bismarck, defeated
on every point, declared that the war rumours were due to
the press and stock-jobbers. He was, in reality, furious at the
failure of his plans, while the French were equally profuse
in their thanks to the English Government. The most
satisfactory result was that Bismarck's plan for establishing
close confidential relations with Russia had received a serious
blow, and it moreover seemed that the Tsar wished to be
on friendly terms with both England and France.

Before the year closed two events took place which roused
much attention, not only in France but throughout Europe.
The purchase of a portion of the Suez Canal shares by Great
Britain at the price of ^^4,000,000, though not approved of
in Paris, was a small matter compared with the reopening of
the Eastern question, caused by an insurrection in Herzego-
vina and Bosnia against the Turkish Government. Early in
January 1876 the ' Andrassy Note ' emphasized the serious-
ness of the crisis, and in the autumn a conference of the chief
European Powers was held in Constantinople. The Con-
ference, which broke up in January 1877, failed to settle the
Eastern question, and war between Russia and Turkey
became inevitable. That conflict ended in the spring of 1878
in the total defeat of Turkey. At one time it seemed that
Great Britain and Russia would be at war, but eventually
peace was restored to Europe by the Treaty of Berlin (July
1878). With the conclusion of peace the chief European

The Third Republic, 1871-1918 275

nations turned their attention to the acquisition of
colonies.

During these eventful years France was chiefly occupied
with internal politics which had little interest for other
countries. Thiers had been his own Prime Minister, but
MacMahon found it necessary to take a responsible leader of
the Government from the Assembly. He therefore first
appointed the Due de Broglie, and was himself declared by
the Assembly irremovable for seven years from November 20,
1873, to November 2, 1880. The establishment of the
Septennate with a perpetual President, who had the power
to appoint and dismiss ministries, soon made it apparent
that the French nation had not yet grasped the principles of
parliamentary government, or else despised them.

In May 1874 General de Cissey succeeded the Due de
Broglie, and formed a cabinet d'affaires to carry on the
government of the country during a year which has been
described as one of ' political deadlock and uncertainty '.
The Orleanists expected that the death of the reactionary
Comte de Chambord (grandson of Charles X) would clear
the way for a monarchy under the Comte de Paris, while
the Imperialists — the Prince Imperial being now 18 years old
— having gained seats at various elections, were full of hope.
The Due de Bisaccia, the French ambassador in England, was
actually surprised at being forced to resign because he had
moved in the Chamber a resolution that the Government
was a monarchy under Henry V, i.e. the Comte de Cham-
bord, who had at least seventy supporters in the Chamber.
The political situation in 1874 ^^'^^ indeed difficult to
gauge. Hence the discussion of the organic laws in the first
days of 1875 — ^ discussion which produced a most durable
constitution — proved to be of the most vital importance. In

T 2

276 The Third Republic, 1871-1918

January 1875 the Assembly, by a majority of one, accepted
a Republican Constitution, and in February statutes were
passed, ' defining the legislative and executive powers in the
Republic and organizing the Senate '. These, joined to a
third enactment voted in July, form the body of laws known
as the 'Constitution of 1875 '> which has, with some revision,
continued till the present day.

The Prime Minister, General de Cissey, now retired ; but
he became Minister of War under his successor, M. Buffet.
During the year the method of selecting the members
of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies was discussed,
and the opening of the year 1876 saw France embarked
upon its new system of parliamentary government, M. Grevy
was chosen President of the Chamber, and Carnot and
Casimir-Perier appeared for the first time as deputies.
M. Dufaurc succeeded M. Buffet, and formed a cabinet
which lasted till December, when, as the result of a severe
ministerial crisis. Marshal MacMahon was compelled to
accept Jules Simon as Prime Minister. But the following
year, 1877, being dissatisfied with Simon's sympathies with
the extreme Left, the Marshal carried out, on May 16, a
coup d'etat known as the ' Seize Mai ' — a conspiracy with
which the Church identified itself, and replaced the Prime
Minister by the Due de Broglie. The Ultramontane party
had thus won a victory, which, however, was of little value,
for as it was well said, ' between the Church and the Revolu-
tion there exists absolute incompatibility '. The country was
firmly resolved to secure ' liberty of thought, tolerance, and
education '.

Dccazes remained in the Foreign Office till the following
October, when, as the result of a general election, the Marshal
and his ministers sustained a crushing defeat. It was a

The Third Republic, 1871-1918 277

thorough repubUcan victory, and the Bonapartists were
completely routed. After a short period of hesitancy the
Marshal was compelled, in December, to yield to his
enemies, and a moderate republican ministry was formed,
which included Dufaure as President of the Council, Wad-
dington as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Leon Say Minister of
Finance, and Freycinet. In 1878 France illustrated her
recuperative powers in the first international exhibition held
at Paris after the war, and in January 1879 MacMahon
resigned.

B. 1 879-1904

Colonial Development — Strained Relations with Great
Britain — The Franco-Russian Alliance

In January 1879 M- Jules Grevy, the President of the
Chamber, was elected to succeed MacMahon as the President
of the Republic by the Senate and Chamber united in
congress. M. Wxddington formed a ministry, and Gambetta,
the chief founder of the Republic, was elected President of
the Chamber.

In this ministry Jules Ferry was Minister of Education, and
he lost no time in bringing forward educational proposals
which were distinctly anti-clerical, and aimed chiefly at the
Jesuits. This movement continued in various degrees during
the ensuing years ; and from 190 1 there was a remarkable
development of anti-clericalism, which ended in 1905 in
the enactment of a law separating the Church from
the State. After the brief ministries of Freycinet and
Ferry, Gambetta formed his Grand Ministers on November
14, 1 88 1. Like his predecessor, he favoured the joint inter-
vention of France and England in Egypt, where Arabi Pasha,
encouraged by the Sultan, was endeavouring to emancipate

278 The Third Republic, 1871-1918

Egypt from the financial control of Europe. Unfortunately,
Gambetta fell on January 26, 1882, and was succeeded by
Freycinet, who, after sending a French squadron to
Alexandria in June, withdrew it on July 10, and left the
English Fleet to bombard the city. In spite of a great
speech by Gambetta in favour of co-operation with England,
Freycinet refused to take an active part in Egypt.

The purchase of the Suez Canal shares by Lord Beacons-
field's Government in 1875, and the Anglo-Turkish Con-
vention of 1878, roused great irritation in France, which was
far from being allayed in 1882, when the French realized that
by their refusal to co-operate with England in the suppression
of Arabi's rising they had seriously weakened their position in
Egypt. Early in January 1883 Gambetta and General Chanzy
died, their deaths causing much consternation, especially that
of Chanzy, whose influence over the army was considerable.

But if France had failed to take advantage of her oppor-
tunities in Egypt, she showed an increasing interest in her
relations with the Far East, where Jules Ferry aimed at
setting up a powerful French protectorate. From 1880 to
1885 his influence was in the ascendant. The conquest of
Saigonin 1858 began the conquest of Annam. Difficulties with
China followed, and were only temporarily adjusted by a treaty
of 1874, whereby the French possession of Cochin-China,
which dated from 1863, was recognized. In 1882 hostilities
broke out with China, and in 1883 Jules Ferry sent out an
expedition which conquered Tongking, in spite of fierce
Chinese opposition. In June 1885 China made peace, aban-
doning her pretensions to suzerainty over Tongking and
Annam, while in the same year the submission of Annam was
effected. During the Chinese War a French force was put
to flight near Langson. Incorrect news of this ' disaster '

The Third Republic, 1871-1918 279

reached Paris early in 1885, with the result that Ferry, who
had made France the second colonial Power in the world, was
compelled to retire from office. His fall was a serious disaster
to French colonial aspirations. He had evolved a statesman-
like project for the establishment of a new French Empire in
the East. France possessed Cochin-China, Tongking, Cam-
bodia, and Annam, and Ferry had counted upon the exten-
sion of French influence and the establishment of a French
protectorate over the kingdom of Siam and that of Upper
Burma. With the fall of Ferry many of his schemes collapsed,
and in 1885-6 Lord Dufferin, the Viceroy of India, conquered
Upper Burma. The ministry of Ferry also saw the outbreak
of the fresh war in Madagascar in 1882, which ended in 1885.
It was not till 1895 that the second war broke out, the result
of which was the annexation of the island in 1896.

From about 1881 a renewal of hostilities between France
and Germany seemed unlikely to take place, and French states-
men, as Gambetta had done, aimed at colonial expansion and
a recovery of national prestige by military enterprises outside
Europe. One notable Frenchwoman had endeavoured to
induce Gambetta to keep la revanche in the forefront of his
programme, but about 1880 she realized that those who advo-
cated such a policy were a constantly dwindling majority.

The loss of influence in Egypt continued to cause deep
discontent, and it was obvious that the French Government
would ' work against English influence in Egypt by every
means in its power, and unfortunately it was evident that in
this anti-English policy it could reckon on the support of
public opinion '.* At the end of June 1884 an Egyptian
conference, which had been summoned by Lord Granville,
was held in London ; and though it sat till August it was
^ Lord Lyons, by Lord Newton, p. 481 (T. Nelson & Sons).

28o The Third Republic, 1871-1918

rendered abortive by the support which Germany, Austria,
and Russia gave to France against Great Britain, and pro-
duced no alleviation in the hostility of France to England.
The opening of the year 1885 saw the failure of the British
Expedition to Khartoum, and the possibility of an outbreak
of war between England and Russia over Central Asian
questions. Lord Lyons wrote a most interesting letter to
Lord Granville at this crisis. He pointed out that the
French realized Bismarck's design to embroil England and
Russia, to separate England and France, and to set up an
alliance between France and Germany. It was believed by
some that Bismarck hoped to reconcile the French to the loss
of Alsace and Lorraine by handing over to them Belgium, or
a part of Belgium, while Germany annexed Holland.^

Theearly months of 1885 formed indeed a critical period
in the history of Europe. In March Ferry, who had been
in office two years and one month, fell, owing to a strong
feeling against his spirited colonial policy ; towards the end
of April the British Government asked for a credit of eleven
millions in view of the uncertain attitude of Russia. The
' Penjdeh incident ', the news of which reached England
early in April, had caused a financial panic, and war with
Russia seemed by no means an unlikely event. Bismarck's
hopes of a rupture between the English and Russian nations
were thus far from being groundless. In a letter to Lord
Granville, written early in May, Lord Lyons declared that
the symptoms apparent in Paris indicated that Bismarck
was also busily employed in getting up a European coalition
against England on the Egyptian question, and that he had
attempted ' to seduce or terrify the French Government '.

The French, however, had not entirely given up their
^ Lord Lyons, p. 504.

The Third Republic, 1871-1918 281

determination to recover Alsace and Lorraine on the first
opportunity. They were well aware that Bismarck was their
real enemy, and accordingly the possibility of a rupture
between England and Russia was viewed in Paris with great
apprehension.

About the same time (March 1885) the basis of an arrange-
ment between France and England, with regard to the
Egyptian debt, was settled to the great satisfaction of Lord
Lyons, though France was still in the midst of acrimonious
quarrels with England on the subject of China and Tongking.
The situation, ' the most serious that the British race had
faced since the years 1810-11',^ however, gradually im-
proved, and the danger of a European war passed away,
though the jealousy which marked the French attitude
towards England was in no way lessened. In February 1887
Lord Salisbury wrote thus to Lord Lyons : ' The French are
inexplicable. One would have thought that under existing
circumstances it was unnecessary to make enemies — that
there were enough provided for France by nature just now.' ^

Nevertheless, at the very time when Lord Salisbury was
writing these words, England guaranteed Italy against an
attack from France. Lord Salisbury was resolved to ' assure
the status quo in the Mediterranean ', while the possibility
of a Franco-Russian alliance was the subject of discussion in
France. Russia, Germany, and Austria had made an alliance
at Skierniewice in the autumn of 1884 to last for three years ;
and, partly owing to the Schnaebele incident ^ in April

^ Quarterly Review, ]\i\y 1910, p. 117. '^ Lord Lyons, p. 532.

^ Schnaebele, a French Police Commissioner, was arrested by German
agents in Alsace. Russia protested, and the German Emperor released
him without consulting Bismarck, who is thought to have hoped that
the incident would lead to war with France.

282 The Third Republic, 1871-1918

1887, it was not renewed. It is said that both France and
Russia had attempted in the previous autumn to detach
Italy from her alliance with Germany and Austria, but the
Italian Premier, Signor Depretis, declined these overtures,
and the alliance of Germany, Austria, and Italy was renewed
in 1887. France at this time (1887-8) was passing through
the Boulanger crisis, which was anxiously watched by Europe,
Boulanger's object being, in view of the New Army Bill in
Germany, to strengthen the French army, and to bring
about a close alliance with Russia. Before the close of 1888,
Boulanger was removed from the army for insubordination ;
but in January 1889 he was elected a member of the
Assembly. The Tirard-Constans Ministry indicted him for
treason, and on April i he fled to Brussels. The danger to
the Republic — for at one time Boulanger's popularity did
seem to be a danger — was now averted.

Meanwhile, the interest of France in colonial expansion,
especially in Africa, had steadily deepened. After the close
of the Congress of Berlin the alliance of Germany and Austria
was strengthened, in 1883, by the adhesion of Italy. This
event was a consequence of the seizure of Tunis by France
in 1 88 1. Protests were made by the Italian and Turkish
Governments ; but as both England and Germany had assured
France that they were agreeable to the French occupation
of Tunis their protests were unavailing. From the moment
of the proclamation of the French regency over Tunisia,
the two Latin sisters were estranged. Italy allied herself
with Germany and Austria, and in 1888 the two Powers
were on the brink of rupture. Though it was averted, a
tariff-war between Italy and France followed and con-
tinued for eleven years. This suspension of friendly rela-
tions between these two countries was one of the earliest

The Third Republic, 1871-1918 283

difficulties arising from the partition of Africa. In 1885
Germany annexed the continental possessions of the Sultan
of Zanzibar; and in 1889 and 1890 agreements were entered
into by the French and English Governments regulating
their relations on the Gambia and at Sierra Leone, at the
same time defining their spheres of influence in Central
Africa. In 1890 the French protectorate over Madagascar
received formal recognition.

The dismissal of Bismarck by the Emperor William II, in
March 1890, startled Europe, for it was obvious that the
peace of Europe depended upon the sole will of an autocrat
whose character at that time was a closed book to European
statesmen. Four months later (July) England and Germany
made an agreement, the former yielding Heligoland and
receiving full possession of the island of Zanzibar.

This agreement was followed in 1891 by the renewal of
the Triple Alliance, by a visit in July of the Emperor William
to England, and by a visit, in the same month, of the French
Channel Fleet to Kronstadt.

The continued hostility of France towards England is diffi-
cult to explain, except on the supposition that successive
French Governments could not forget or forgive England's
occupation of Egypt. Perhaps, too. Frenchmen still resented
Great Britain's success in India and Canada, at the expense
of France, in the eighteenth century. Owing to this attitude
of France Lord Salisbury was forced to regard the Triple
Alliance as ' the best guarantee for European peace '; but the
fact that he invited the French Fleet, on its triumphal return
from Kronstadt, to visit Portsmouth, where it was reviewed
by Queen Victoria, showed that he had no feeling of hostility
to France.

The years 1 890-1 have been described as the calmest since

284 The Third Republic, 1871-1918

the war. Freycinet became Prime Minister in the spring of
1890, and the Republic, which had been weakened during the
' Boulanger Movement ', seemed consolidated. No change
of ministry took place in 1891 ; but the tranquillity of these
years was followed in 1892 by discussions on the relations of
France with the Church, and in the autumn by ' the bursting
forth of the Panama scandal ', The insolvency of the com-
pany which had been formed for carrying through the
Panama project involved several ministers and ex-ministers
such as M. de Freycinet, and the net result was the weakening
of the Government of the Republic. The elections of 1893
and 1894 were of little interest except as showing that the
French population, even including that of Paris, had become
utterly indifferent to internal politics. The following years,
however, saw the country somewhat roused from its apathy,
and fully alive to events at home and abroad.

The year 1895 marked the conclusion of the Franco-
Russian alliance; it also witnessed the opening of the famous
Dreyfus affaire, which was one of the chief topics of
domestic interest in France from 1895 to 1899. In 1895
Captain Alfred Dreyfus was sentenced to imprisonment
for life for having betrayed military secrets to the Triple
Alliance. From 1896 to 1899 France was the scene of a vio-
lent controversy on the subject of the guilt or innocence of
Dreyfus. The violent anti-Semitic feeling in France for a
time checked all attempts to reopen the case, and gradually,
among a comparatively small number of Frenchmen, an
uneasy misgiving became apparent. At length, in February
1899, M. Loubet became President of the Senate after the
death of Faure, and shortly after his appointment the united
divisions of the Cour de Cassation ordered that a second trial
should be held at Rennes. In August the trial took place, and

The Third Republic, 1871-1918 285

Dreyfus was again found guilty. The ministry, however,
advised the President to pardon the prisoner ; and to the
satisfaction of all moderate Frenchmen the Dreyfus affaire
was ended, though during the remainder of the year the
passions excited ovei the trial led to something like anarchy
in Paris,

Meanwhile the Waldeck-Rousseau ministry had, in June,
succeeded that of Dupuy (which had opposed the proposal of
a new trial of Dreyfus), and held office till June 1902, when
the Prime Minister retired on account of bad health. The
ministry had lasted about three years, and was of longer
duration that that of any ministry since 1871. After some
negotiations M. Combes became Prime Minister, and re-
mained in office till January 1905. The opening of the
twentieth century found the Republic firmly established with
the Constitution of 1875 practically unaltered, and the
majority of the nation bent on a campaign against the in-
fluence of the Roman Catholic Church, which was regarded
as distinctly anti-republican. For some four years the
campaign Avas carried on with ever-increasing violence till,
in 1904, members of religious orders were interdicted from
teaching, and in 1905 a bill for the separation of the Churches
from the State was carried.

It is thought that only the scandals connected with the
Panama Canal prevented the Tsar from making, at that
time, the alliance with France which was in effect con-
cluded by Nicholas II in 1895. During the life of Alex-
ander III there was undoubtedly an entente between the
two countries, and the Tsar had visited France in October
1893. He never cared for democratic institutions, and it was
not till June 10, 1895 (he died in the previous November),
that Nicholas II, his successor and son, acknowledged that an

286 The Third Republic, 1871-1918

alliance existed between France and Russia — and it is pro-
bable that the alliance only signified a defensive agreement
to provide against the possibility of an attack on the part of
the Triple Alliance in Europe. Meanwhile, the relations of
France with Great Britain and Italy remained in a very
strained condition.

Already in possession of Algiers and Tunis, France had now
to be reckoned with in all questions concerning the Congo
Free State, over which she had acquired the right of pre-
emption. Henceforward, Frenchmen had before them the
dream of a great African Empire. Their activities were not,
however, confined to Africa, for already, as has been pointed
out above, they had established a protectorate over the king-
dom of Annam, thus securing the command of the coast-line
from Saigon to Tongking. The possession of Tunis and of
Cochin-China, which, like Cambodia, was a legacy of the
Second Empire, led them to make great efforts to secure
a number of colonists ; for it was hoped that the existence
of a French settlement in Tongking and Cochin-China
would strengthen the commercial and political influence of
France in that part of the East Indies.

In both Africa and Asia the enterprise of the French
brought them into contact with the British, and on three
occasions the outbreak of war seemed almost inevitable.

The Russian Alliance had thus led Frenchmen to recur to
Ferry's policy of establishing an Empire in the Far East. His
projects had received the full support of Germany ; and in
1893-4 his successors hoped to carry out his plans by the aid
of the Russian Government. They were all the more en-
couraged in their views as it was the general belief that Russia
and England would, before many years were over, enter upon
a tremendous conflict for the possession of India.

The Third Republic, 1871-1918 287

In the event of a Russian victory France could hope to
gain valuable additions to her territory. It is therefore not
surprising that in 1893 difficulties arose as to the extent of
the spheres of influence possessed by France and Great
Britain in Siam. The aim of Ferry to secure for France a
protectorate over Siam has already been mentioned; but with
his fall in 1885 all chance of realizing his hopes had dis-
appeared. Nevertheless, in July 1895 the attitude of the
French became so threatening that war with Great Britain
seemed in December to be within sight. Luckily peace was
preserved, and it was finally settled by an agreement on
January 5, 1896, that Central Siam should be neutralized.
Some months later the news of the advance of the French
down the right bank of the Niger and of the occupation of
Boussa (which was under the British protectorate) reached
England ; and as the French refused to abandon their claim
to the country west of the Niger, matters reached a point
so critical that in February 1897 hostilities seemed inevi-
table. Owing, however, to the conciliatory attitude of
M. Hanotaux, and the diversion of public interest in France
to the Far East, the outbreak of war with England was again
averted, and in June 1898 a convention of general delimita-
tion, settling the respective claims of England and France in
Africa, was agreed to — France evacuating Boussa.

Meanwhile, events of far-reaching importance were being
enacted in the Far East, where in 1894 war broke out between
China and Japan. In April 1895 the war closed with the
Treaty of Shimonoseki, by which Japan gained the island of
Formosa, the Pescadores group, and the Liaotung peninsula.
Russia, France, and Germany, however, insisted that Japan
should not secure territory which included Port Arthur.
Japan acceded, but in 1898 Russia herself occupied Port

288 The Third Republic, 1871-1918

Arthur, and France and England occupied respectively the
ports of Kwang Chow Wan and Wei-Hai-Wei, Germany
takin? Kiaochou. France also obtained various concessions
from China, who engaged herself not to cede to any Power
the provinces of Yunnan and Canton, nor the island of
Hainan (all in the French zone of influence), and put France
into possession of the railways and mines of Yunnan. These
and other concessions illustrate the importance of the year
1898 to France. During the same year France had joined
England, Italy, and Russia in settling the Cretan question.

The activities of the French in Africa, however, never
ceased, and a third crisis in their relations with Great Britain
took place in the autumn of 1898, when Colonel Marchand
(the agent, it is said, of a Franco-Russian conspiracy to seize
the Upper Nile), who probably was unaware of the existence
of the Convention of the previous June, occupied Fashoda,
thus making a serious attempt to encroach upon the Nile
Valley, though in 1895 Sir Edward Grey had declared that
any such encroachment would be regarded as an unfriendly
act. Fortunately, in M. Delcasse France had a statesman
who realized that the real foe of his country was Germany ;
and early in 1899 agreements were arranged, with regard
to the Nile Valley and the hinterland of Tripoli, which were
satisfactory to both nations.

France had no reason to be dissatisfied with her colonial
policy in Africa. The rapid extension of her power over the
hinterland of North-West Africa, and the successful manner in
which she hemmed in the German colony of the Cameroons
(a success ratified by a convention with Germany in 1904),
are alike admirable.

During the Boer War the attitude of the French nation
was similar to that of the English press towards France during

The Third Republic, 1871-1918 289

the Dreyfus affaire, and was distinctly unfriendly, though in
1900, when the Boer War was at its height, French, English,
German, Japanese, and Russian troops were acting together
in occupying Pekin and in suppressing the Boxer outbreak.

To sum up, it is evident that during the period from 1878
to 1904 the quarrels of France with England, Spain, and
Italy often seemed serious. But the quarrels were always
amicably settled by agreements and compromises. Neither
England, Spain, nor Italy have shown any lasting resentment
at France's colonial activities, and the result is that friendly
relations now exist between all these Powers.

C. 1904-18
The Anglo-French Entente — War with Germany

During the last twenty years of the nineteenth century the
foreign policy of France thus passed through many phases.
During that period three facts stand out. The first is that
gradually among many Frenchmen there arose, towards the
end of the century, a feeling that the question of the
reconquest of Alsace and Lorraine should not be allowed
to stand in the way of an amicable understanding with
Germany. The second is that French and English colonial
rivalry, from 1880 to 1903, brought the two countries to
the verge of war on at least three occasions. The third is
that from about 1903 it was recognized in France that the
true interests of the country would be best served by an
understanding with England. This became all the more
essential owing to the Japanese successes, in 1905, over the
Russian army and fleet, which for a time considerably
lessened the value of the alliance with Russia.

After the close of the Boer War, during which the intention

1832.8 TT

290 The Third Republic, 1871-1918

of Germany to become a great naval as well as a great mili-
tary Power had become manifest, agreements were made
by France with Great Britain, and by the latter Power with
Russia. The Anglo-French Entente of 1904 closed a period
of friction between the two countries which had existed since
the Treaty of Berlin in 1878; while in 1907 an Anglo-Russian
agreement was come to, much to the satisfaction of the
French nation. The Triple Entente was now constituted.
By the agreement of April 1904 France definitely recognized
Great Britain's predominant position in Egypt, and both
Powers came to an agreement on questions relating to Siam,
Nigeria, the New Hebrides, Madagascar, and Newfoundland.
This Anglo-French Entente was not made a moment too
soon, for early in 1905 the battle of Mukden was fought, and
it was evident that for some time to come Russia would be a
quantite ?iegligeable in European politics. The German Em-
peror at once took action, visited Tangier in April, declared
that Germany was deeply interested in Morocco, and en-
couraged a violent anti-French journalist campaign. Del-
casse, who, as the chief author of the Anglo-French Entente,
was regarded with special hostility by the Emperor, found
himself obliged to resign on June 6: and the French
Government in September consented to a conference on
the Moroccan question. The conference was held at
Algeciras in January 1906, and was disappointing to Germany :
the Anglo-French friendship remained unshaken, and even
Italy, though a member of the Triple Alliance, supported
France. France made it quite evident that, while she had
no intention of conquering or of annexing economically
Morocco, she had legitimate claims to a privileged position
in that country. One most important result of the crisis
of 1905 was, that it made it quite apparent to M. Rouvier's

The Third Republic, 1871-1918 291

ministry, firstly, that only the abandonment of British
friendship would satisfy Germany, and secondly, that the
conference had shown the loyalty of England to her ally,
and the immense value of that loyalty.

Thus the policy of alliance with England — a policy always
advocated by Gambetta — had been definitely accepted by
France. It was a policy favoured also by Clemenceau, that
powerful * cabinet maker ' who, in 1906, at the age of sixty-
five, entered the Sarrien ministry — ' the ministry of all the
talents ' — as Minister of the Interior. On the resignation of
M. Sarrien in October Clemenceau became Premier, his
ministry including M. Caillaux, ' an adventurous financier ',
M. Pichon at the Foreign Oflice, General Picquart — the
supporter of Dreyfus — at the War Office, and M. Viviani
the first Minister of Labour. The Third Republic, up to
the appointment of M. Clemenceau, had seen twenty-seven
prime ministers, many of them men of great ability. But
none of them had shown greater ability or foresight than had
M. Clemenceau, who at a critical time in European history
never wavered from the policy of friendship with England —
a policy which he had steadily advocated for many years.

In 1 88 1 Vacherot, after advocating the maintenance of
the Balance of Power in Europe, had stated that such a
balance could only be maintained by means of alliances.
' France ', he said, ' can find opportunities to ally herself now
with England, now with Russia, now with Italy, and now
again with those three Powers. simultaneously, if a common
and compelling interest urges such a coalition in the interest
of European equilibrium, threatened by the predominance
of Germany strengthened by Austrian support.' ^

As an illustration of the complete failure to understand the
^ Cambridge Modern History^ vol. xii, p. 99.
U 2

292 The Third Republic, 1871-1918

significance of the Franco-Russian alliance, it may be of some
interest to notice that in the November number of the
Nineteenth Century, 1897, the late Signor Crispi wrote a
severe attack on the alliance of the Russian Empire vnth the
French Republic, and, moreover, criticized the claim of
France to Alsace and Lorraine, declaring that Alsace is
German, Lorraine of uncertain nationality. He also made
the somewhat surprising statement that ' the inhabitants of
the Rhenish provinces, who by the fortunes of war in 1871
were placed again in the fatherland that was theirs of old,
show no signs of a disposition to change '. He closed his
article by comparing the Franco-Russian alliance of the
last decade of the last century with the Treaty of Erfurt of
1808, and hinted that the question of Poland would shortly
sever the friendship existing between Russia and France.

In 191 1 the Anglo-French Entente was again threatened,
when the German Government suddenly dispatched the
Panther to Agadir, nominally as a reply to a French expedi-
tion which had been sent to Fez, in reality hoping to secure
the excellent harbour of Agadir on the Atlantic coast of
Morocco. The intention of the Germans to possess a naval
station on the Atlantic was, however, frustrated by the
determined attitude of the British Government. After
negotiations with France, Germany obtained not a port on
the Atlantic but a small inland piece of the French Congo.

In the present war France is resolved to recover Alsace
and Lorraine, torn from her in 1871. On March i, 1 871, in
the Assemhlee Nationale which met at Bordeaux, the deputa-
tion from Alsace-Lorraine read the following protest : ' We
declare once more to be null and void any treaty which dis-
poses of us without our consent. . . . Your brothers of Alsace
and Lorraine, separated at this moment from the common

The Third Republic, 1871-1918 293

family, will conserve for France, absent from their homes, a
filial affection, until that day when they will come and once
more take their place there.' On August 2, 1914, German
troops entered French territory. The reply of the French
nation will be the reconquest of Alsace and Lorraine.

TABLES

Q

o
u

o

w

p
o

K

w

= „

O rQ

II

THE FRENCH BOURBONS

Henry IV (j) = Margaret ot Valois, d. ot Henry II

I (2) = Mary, d. of Francis, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Louis XIII. Elizabeth = Philip IV
1610-43 of Spain

Louis XIV =p Marie Ther^Fe,

1643-1715

I^uis, Dauphin, d. 1711

d. of Philip

Louis, D. of
Burgundy, d. 171 2

is XV, 1715-74

Philip V
of Spain

Louis

Louis, Dauphin, d. 1765

^,

Henrietta Maria = Charles I
of England

Philip, D. of Orleans,
d. 1701

Philip, Regent, d. 1723

Louis, D. of Orleans,
d. 1752

Louis Philippe, D. of Orleans,
d. 1785

Louis Philippe, ' Egalite,'
executed 1793

Louis Philippe,
1830-48

Louis XVI, r^uis XVIII, Charles X,
1774-92 1814-24 1824-30

Louis XVII

Due d'Angouleme
(no issue).

Charles, Duke of Berry

Henri,

Comte de Chambord

(no issue)

Ill

THE BOURBONS IN SPAIN AND THE SICILIES

Philip V, grandson of Ix)uis XIV, 1700-46 (abd. 1724-5)

Louis, Ferdinand VI,

Charles III

, Philip, D. of Parma,

1724-5 1746-

-59

1759-
1

-88

d. 1765

Charles IV,

Ferdinand I,

1 788-1808 (resigned)

K. of the Two Sicilies,
I 759-1825

Ferdinand VII,

1

1814-33

Francis I,

Isabella II,

1825-30

1

1833-68

'

Ferdinand II,

(deposed)

1830-59

Alfonso XII,

Francis II,

1875-85

1859-60
(deposed)

Alfonso XIII,

1885-

_s

2 1^ 5'.

w

<

o

pq

W
t— I

u

w

«

- 3 w C — O

\H-^

■u cj t; -^

lO o

-%-.r

'■^p:.'

00 ^

z

o
~ w

o

<:

ih

•S.S M

CL, 'O a>

.ye

V

tc 'o'S

o 03 a

iw

V

THE REVOLUTIONARY CALENDAR

Vendemiaire

September.

Brumaire .

October.

Frimaire

November.

Niv6se

December.

Pluvi6se

January.

Ventose .

February.

Germinal .

March.

Flor^al .

April.

Prairial

May.

Messidor .

June.

Thermidor

July.

Fructidor .

.August.

INDEX

Aachen, lo.
Abelard, 22.

Abercrombie, General, 223.
Acadia (Nova Scotia), 160, 166,

168.
Acre, 25, 220.
Acton, Lord (quoted), 189, 197,

208.
Adela of Champagne, 24.
Adrian VI, Pope, 103.
Africa, North, 182.

— West, 152.
Agenais, the, 39.
Agincourt, battle of, 63, 69.
Agnadello, battle of, 95.
Agnes of Meran, 27.

— Sorel, 71.
Aigues-Mortes, 36, 106.
Aire, 28.

Aistwulf, 8.

Aix, 106.

Aix-la-Chapelle, Treaty of, (1668)

153 ; (1748) 178, 180.

Alais, Peace of, 134.
Alaric II, 4.
Alberoni, 171.
Albigenses, the, 22-5, 31-4.
Albret, House of, 100.

— Henry d', loi.
Alcuin, 12.

Alemannia (Suabia), 8.
Alesia, 3.

Alexander I, 229, 233, 254.

— II, 259, 262, 274.
Alexandria, battle of, (1801) 156;

(1882) 278.
Alfonse (brother of Louis IX), 34,
36, 39-

Alfonso IX, 32.

— King of Naples, 90.
Algiers, 107, 286, 287.
Almanza, battle of, 165.

Alsace, 79, 82, 138, 143-8, 155,
216, 268, 270, 273, 281, 292,

293-
Alva, 115.

Amadeus of Savoy, 158.
Amauri de Montfort, 32.
Amboise, George of, 93.

— Pacification of, 1 14.

— Treaty of, 1 1 6.

— Tumult of, 113.

America, 90, 159, 160, 176, 183,

208, 209.
Amiens, 25, 126.

— Treaty of, (1527) 105.
Amsterdam, 154.
Anagni,43.

Anastasius, Emperor, 5.
Andernach, 16.
Angers, 87.

— Treaty of, 13, 133.
Angouleme, Treaty of, 132.
Anjou, II, 23, 27, 28, 40, 59, 125.

— Henry Duke of (Henry III),
116, 120-3.

Anne of Austria, 132, 135, 137,
140, 147.

— of Brittany, 89, 93.

— of Russia, 175.
Antilles, the, 152.
Antwerp, 49.

Aquitaine, 8, 14, 15, 36, 50, 63.
Arabia, 6.

Aragon, 37, 39, 40, 85.
Archbishop of Paris, 173.

— of Rouen, 151.
Ardres, Treaty of, 108.

300

Index

Aries, 14.
Armada, the, 50.
Armagnacs, the, 63-6.
Arnaud Amalric, 31.
Arques, battle of, 124.
Arras, 84.

— Treaty of, (141 5), 63, 68, 70,
72 ; (1480) 86, 87.

Arthur, Prince, 27.

Artois, 51, 61, 84, 107, 108, 148.

— Robert of, 41, 47.
Assienti Contracts, the, 167.
Atella, capitulation of, 92.
Athelstan, 17.

Athis, Treaty of, 42.
Augsburg, League of, i, 157.
August 10 (1792), 213.
Augustus, Emperor, 3.

— II (of Poland), 174.

— Ill (of Poland), 174, 179.
Aumale, battle of, 125.
Aurai, battle of, 56.
Austrasia, 6, 7, 8, 14.

Austria, i, 2, 82, 92, 175, 179,
180, 183, 189, 208, 213, 215,
216, 219, 222, 224, 227-9, 233-51
237, 262, 272, 274, 280.

Austrian Succession War, the, 167,
i7i> 1755 i79> 180, 189.

Auvergne, 28, 35.

Avars, the, 9.

Avignon, 41, 43, 49.

Azores, the, 123.

B

Babylonish Captivity, the, 41, 43,

61 n.
Badajoz, Treaty of, 223.
Baden, 224, 235.
— Treaty of, 167.
BaiUisy the, 29.
Bailly (1789), 210.
Baldwin IV, 27.
BaUiol, John, 47.
Baltic, the, 228, 229.

Bank of France, 160.

— of St. Peter, 160.
Bantry Bay, 231.
Bar, 174.
Barante, 246.
Barbarossa, 106, 107.
Barbary States, the, 87.
Barcelona, 37.

— Treaty of, 86, 91, 105.
Barnet, battle of, jj.

Barrier Fortresses, the, 162, 167.
Bartenstein, Convention of, 229.
Basel, 138, 143.

— Council of, 70.

• — Treaties of, 215.

Basques, the, 3, 9.

Bastille, the, 59, 132, 146, 191.

Bautzen, 238.

Bavaria, 9, 10, 142, 154, 157, 162,

176, 216, 224, 235.
Baylen, 232.
Bayonne, 58, 231, 232.

— Conference, 115.
Bazaine, 266.
Beaconsfield, Lord, 278.
Beatrice of Provence, 36.
Beaufort, Due de, 141.
Beaujeu, Lord, 86.

— Anne of, 86, 89.
Beaumarchais, 206.
Beauvais, jj.
Becket, Thomas a, 24.
Bedford, Duke of, 66, 68.
Belfort, 268.

Belgium, 201, 208, 214, 215, 222,

249-51, 264, 265, 273, 280.
Belgrade, Treaty of, 175.
Belle Isle, 181.
Benedetti, 264.
Benedict XI, 43.

— XII, 49.

— XIV, 178.
Beresina, the, 238.
Berezowski, 262.
Bergamo, loi.
Bergerac, Treaty of, 123.
Berlin, 239, 263, 273.

Index

301

Berlin, Treaty of, (1742) 176;

(1878) 274, 282, 290.
Bernadotte, 239.
Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac,

^ of Septimania, 15.

Bernard, St., 22.

Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, 138, 139.

Berne, 80.

Bernis, 180.

Berri, Due de, 59, 74, 167, 246.

— Duchesse de, 250.
Berwick, Treaty of, 51.
Besanfon, 155.
Beziers, 31.
Biarritz, 256.
Billaud-Varennes, 215.
Bisaccia, Due de, 275.
Bismarck, 256, 261 seq., 280, 281.
Black Prince, the, 51, 57, 58.
Blanche of Castile, 32, 34, 35, 37.

— of Navarre, 51.
Blancmesnil, 145.
Blenheim, battle of, 164.
Blois, 132.

— Treaties of, 94.
Bliicher, 240, 243.
Boer War, the, 288, 289.
Bohemond of Tarentum, 19.
Bologna, 99.

Bonaparte, 219 {see Napoleon).
Boniface VIII, 41-3.
Bordeaux, 34, 41, 51, 57, 58, 71,
73, 147, 267, 268, 292.

— Due de, 249.
Bosnia, 274.
Bossuet, 150, 191.
Bouchain, 166.
Bouflers, 164.
Boulogne, 27, 108.
Bourbaki, 267.

Bourbon, Cardinal of, 123-5.

— Duke of {c. 1487), 69, 76.
Bourbonnais, the, 152.
Bourbons, the, 59, 103, 104, 127,

165, 172, 242, 243.
Bourges, 19, 37, 65, 70.

Bouvines, battle of, 2, 27, 28,

31-
Boxers, the, 289.
Boyne, battle of the, 158.
Brabant, 61, 84, 153, 164.
Brandenburg, 152, 157.

— Albert of, 80.
Brazil, Prince of, 230.
Breisach, 155.

— 9id, 155.

Breisgau, the, 139.
Breitenfeld, battle of, 137.
Brest, 58.

— flotilla, 181.

Bretigny, preliminaries of peace

at, 53-
Brie, jj.
Brienne, Lomenie de, 206, 207,

209.
Brihuega, battle of, 166.
Brille, 118.
Brissot, 212.
Brittany, 11, 13-15, 23, 34, 49,

58, 76, 78, 85, 89, 96, 126, 152,

154, 171, 187, 217.

— Duke of, 52, 58, 74.
Broglie, Due de, 250, 275.
Broussel, 145.

Bruges, 27.

— Treaty of, 58.
Briihl, 147.

Brumairc (i8th). Revolution of,

220.
Brune, General, 220
Brunhilda, 5.
Brunswick, 154.

— Duke of, 213.
Bucharest, Treaty of, 237.
Buckingham, Marquess of, 230;

quoted, 205.

— Earl of, 134.
Buffet, M., 276.
Bugeaud, General, 252.
Burgundy, 4, 6, 8, 14, 55, 96, 102,

104, 108, 119, 153.

— Dukes of, 59, 61, 63, 74,
167.

302

Index

Butler, the, 29.

Buzot, 211.

Byzantine Court, the, 11.

Caboche, 63.
Caen, 87.
Caesar Borgia, 93.
Cahors, 122.
Caillaux, M., 291.
Cairo, 182.

Caisse (PEscompte, 195.
Calais, 41, 51, 58, 59, 63, 71, 81,
108, no.

— Peace of, 53.

— Truce of, 50.
Calonne, 135, 142-4, 146.
Calvinists, the, 97, 98, 121.
Cambodia, 279.
Cambrai, 4, 49.

— League of, 94.

— Treaty of, 105.
Cameroons, the, 288.

Campo Formio, Treaty of, 219,

220, 230.
Canada, 90, 160, 168, 169, 176-8,

180, 181, 196, 197, 283.
Cannes, 242.
Canterbury, 24, 102.
Cape Bonavista, 167.

— Breton Island, 97, 167.
Capet, House of, 2.
Carcassonne, 31.
Carinthia, 109.
Carloman, 7-9.

Carnot, (1789 seq.) 215; (1875

seq.\ 276.
Cartier, J., 97.
Casale, 134, 136, 148.
Casimir-Perier, (1875 5^y.) 250,276.
Cassano, battle of, 220.
Cassel, 27.
Cassino, 12.

Castelfidardo, battle of, 257.
Castile, 49, 57, 85.
Castlereagh, 241, 242.

Catalonia, ji, 139, 148.
Cateau-Cambresis, Treaty of, no,

"3-. , .

Catharine of France (wife of

Henry V), 64.
Catharine de' Medici, 109, 113,

118-20.
Catherine I, 172.

— II, 181, 184, 185, 192, 199, 208,
213.

Catholic League, the, 137.
Catholic Reform Bill (Enghsh),

the, 248.
Catinat, 158, 162.
Cavaignac, General, 253.
Cavour, 242, 254-6.
Cayenne, 152, 219.
Cellamare, 171.
Cerdagne, 86, 148.
Ceresole, battle of, 108.
Cevennes, the, 3, 156 «.
Chaluz, 25.
Chamberlain, the, 29.
Chambord, Comte de, 270, 272, 275.
Chambre de St. Louis, 145.

— des Comptes, 44, 145.

— des Enquetes, 44.

— des Requites, 44.

— Grand, 44.

— introuvable, 245.
Chanibres de Reunions, 156.
Champagne, 37, 77, 78, 87.
Champ-de-Mars, 212.
Champlain, 160.
Channel Islands, the, 53.
'Chanson de Roland,' 9, 19.
Chanzy, 266, 278.

Charles the Great, 2, 8-13, 31, 37,

103.
Charles I (England), 133, 134, 144.

— II (England), 168, 193.

— II (Spain), 153, 157, 159, 161.

— Ill (Spain), 181.

— IV (Emperor), 47, 57.

— IV (Spain), 231.

— V (Emperor), i, 94, 100-10,
166.

Index

303

Charles V (France), 55, 59 «., 72.

— VI (France), 51, 59, 63-5.

— VII (France), 65-72.

— VIII (France), 9, 89-97, 140.

— IX (France), 113, 117, 118,
120.

— X (France), 248, 249.

— X (Sweden), 149.

— XII (Sweden), 165.

— ■ VI (Emperor), 161, 166, 171,

175-

— (Archduke, temp. 1800), 235.
— ■ of Amboise, 84.

— of Anjou, 36, 40, 42.

— of Blois, 56.

— of France {temp. Louis XI),

77-

— of Navarre, 52, 53, 56, 58.

— of Valois, 45.

— the Bald, 14-16.

— the Bold, 14, 72, 74, 83, 84.

— the Fat, 14, 16.

— the Simple, 16, 17.

— Emmanuel of Sardinia, 177.

— Emmanuel of Savoy, 126, 134,

135-

— Martel, 6.
Charlotte of Savoy, 72.
Charton, 145.
Chateaubriand, 247.
Chateau Gaillard, 27.
Chatillon, battle of, 71.

— Conference at, 241.
Chauvelin, 174, 175.
Cherasco, Treaty of, 136.
Cherbourg, 58.
Chevreuse, Madame de, 146.
Chiavenna, 103.
Chievres, 100.

Childeric, 7.
Chilperick, 6.
China, 278, 287, 288.
Chinon, 25, 66.
Chislehurst, 271.
Choiseul, 2, 181, 184-7.
Chouart (Grosseilliers), 168.
Christian IV of Denmark, 260.

Christina of Savoy, 139.

Church, the, 17, 190, 191 ; (after

1 871) 248, 276, 277, 284, 285.
Cialdini, General, 257.
Cinq Mars, Henry Marquess of,

Cintra, capitulation of, 232, 233.
Cissey, General de, 275.
Civil Constitution, the, 213.
Clair-sur-Epte, Treaty of, 16.
Clarendon, Constitutions of, 29.
Claude, Princess, 94.
Clemenceau, M., 2, 291.
Clement V, 43.
-VI, 51.

— VII, 104, 105.

— VIII, 124, 126.

— XI, 167.
Clericis laicos, 42.
Clermont, 210.
Cleves, Duke of, 107.
Clisson, 61.

Clito, William, 21.
Clotaire I, 5.

— II, 6.
Clotilde, 4.
Clevis, 4, 5.
Clugny de Nuis, 196.
Cluny, 36.
Coblentz, 15.
Cocherel, battle of, 56.
Cochin-China, 278, 279, 286.
Cognac, 117.

— League of, 104, 105.
Colbert, 128, 150-4, 160.
Coligny, 1 14, 1 16-19.
Collot d'Herbois, 215.
Colmar, 138.

Cologne, 157, 164.

Combes, M., 285.

Commerce, Treaty of, with Eng

land (1786), 201-2; (1860)257.
Commines, Philippe de, 50, 78, 79,

88.
Committee of Public Safety, 215,

216.
Commune (1871), the, 268-70.

304

Index

Compiegne, 52, 68, 146.

Compte rendu, the, 198.

Comtat Venaissin, 40.

Concini, 132.

Concordat of 1802, the, 224.

Conde, Henry of, 121, 122, 131,

I39> i4579> 151J 154-
Confederation of the Rhine, 224,

228.
Conflans, Treaty of, 75, yj.
Congo, 286, 292.
Conseil du Roi, 44.
Consilium Aegyptiacum, 182.
Constable, the, 29.
Constance of Castile, 24.
Constantine, Emperor, 10.
Constantine (Algeria), 251.
Constantinople, 39, 87, 106, 182,

199, 220 n., 274.
Constituent Assembly of 1789,

123, 200, 212.
Constitution of 1875, the, 285.
Consulate, the, 221, 222-7.
Conti, Prince of, 179, 194.
Continental System, the, 228 seg.,

237-
Contrat Social, the, 181, 191.
Convention, the, 215, 218.
Copenhagen, battle of, 223.
— Treaty of, 149.
Corbeil, Treaty of, 37.
Corbie, 61, 74, 81.
Corbiere, 247.
Corfu, 220.
Corn War, the, 194.
Coromandel Coast, 182.
Corsica, 185.
Corvee, the, 195, 209.
Court of Peers, 30.
Courtrai, battle of, 41.
Cravant, battle of, 66.
Crecy, battle of, 50, 56, 63.
Crefeld, battle of, 180.
Cremona, 162.
Crepy, Peace of, 108.
Crevecoeur, 85.
Crillon, 200.

Crimean War, 189,254,255,266,273.

Crispi, Signor, 292.

Cromwell, Oliver, 148, 160.

Crusade, the First, 19.

Cuba, 181.

Cumberland, Duke of, 180.

Curia Regis, 30.

Cyprus, 36.

Dagobert, 6.

Damietta, 36.

Dammartin, 75, 85.

Danes, the, 16.

Danton, 216.

Danzig, 214, 229.

D'Aranda, 185.

Dauphin, the, 69, 70, 81, 83.

Dauphine, 51, 66, 70, 207.

David Bruce, 48.

Davout, 239.

' Day of Dupes,' the, 137.

D'Aiguillon, 187.

D'Argenson, 177, 189.

D'Artois, 210, 246 {see Charles V).

D'Aurelle de Paladines, 266.

De Broglie, Comte, 179, 180.

— Due, 275.
Decade, the, 219.
Decaen, General, 225.
Decazes, tXit, Due, 245, 246.

— Louis, C. E. A., Due de Gliicks-
berg,_273, 276.

D'Enghien, 228.

D'Estaing, 200.

De Failly, General, 262.

De Gramont, Due, 264.

D'Havreneourt, 179.

Delcasse, 3, 288.

De Monts, 160.

De Morny, 258.

Denain, battle of, 166.

Denmark, 107, 135, 149, 152, 154,

222, 229, 230, 258-60.
Dennewitz, 240.
De Peyronnet, 247.

Index

305

Derby, Earl of, 50.

Des Alleurs, 179.

Dessoles, 246.

Dettingen, 176.

Devolution, War of, 152.

Diamond Necklace, the affair of

the, 205.
Diderot, 209.
Didier, 9.
Dieppe, 97, 1 14.
Diet, the German, 139.
Diocletian, 4.

Directory, the, 154, 218-21.
Doctrinaires, the, 246, 249.
Dole, 85.

Dolet, Etienne, 97.
Dominica, 200.
Dominicans, the, 35.
Donation of Pepin, the, 8, 9.
Don Carlos, 173, 175.
Don Luis, 171.
Doria, Andrea, 105.
Doubs, valley of the, 268.
Dover, Secret Treaty of, 154.
Dresden, 240.
Dreux, battle of, 114; capture of,

126.
Dreyfus, 284, 285, 291.
Dubois, Cardinal, 171, 172.
Dubois-Crance, 211.
Dufaure, 277.
Du GucscUn, 56-8.
Dumbarton Castle, 109.
Dumouriez, 215, 217.
Dunkirk, 141, 148.
Dunois, 75.

Dupleix, 177, 180, 182.
Dupont, General, 232.
Duport, 211.
Duquesne, 154.
Dutch, the, 153.

Eadgifu, 17.

East India Company, the French,
169.

1832.8

East Indies, the, 225, 286.
Ebro, the, 10, 233.
Ebroin, 6.

Economists, the, 191.
Edict of January 1562, 114.
Edward I, 40-2, 44, 45.

— ni,47, 53>5S5 123-

— IV, 76, 77, 81, 86.

— VI, 109.

Egypt, 182, 185, 220, 223, 227,

277-9? 281, 290.
Ehrenbreitstein, 138.
Einhard, 12.
Elbe, the, 237, 241, 242.
Eleanor of Aquitaine, 22, 23.

— daughter of Henry II of Eng-
land, 32.

— of Castile, 40.

Elizabeth, Queen, 114, 115, 118,
1 19, 123, 226.

— of Russia, 181.

— of Spain, 125.

— of York, 76.

Empire, the Austrian, 166.

— the first French, 228 seq.

— the second French, 265,
286.

— the Holy Roman, 37, 85, 215,
222, 224, 228, 230.

Ems telegram, the, 264.

Encyclopaedists, the, 190, 209.

England, 38, 47, 75, jj, 85, 97, 102,
112, 126, 134, 150, 153-5, 157-9,
161, 162, 168, 169, 171, 176, 180,
185, 197, 199, 200, 204, 212,
214-17, 220, 222, 226 seq.,
247 seq., 277 seq., 287 seq.

Enrico, Don, 57.

Erfurt, 234.

— Treaty of, 292.
Escurial, Treaty of the, 174.
6tampes, 147.

Staples, Treaty of, 91.

Etienne Marcel, 52, 53, 189,

208.
Etruria, kingdom of, 226.
Eugene, Prince, 162, 164, 165.

3o6

Index

Exhibition, the Great (1867), 262.
Eylau, battle of, 228.

Falkland Islands, 185.
Falstaflf, Sir John, 66.
Family Compact, the First, 174,

175-

— the Second, 176.

— the Third, 181, 185.
Farmers-General, the, 197.
Fashoda, 288.

Faubourg St. Antoine, battle, of

the, 147.
Faure, 284.
Favre, Jules, 259.
Fehrbellin, battle of, 154.
Fenelon, 150, 191.
Ferdinand II (Emperor), 98, 135,

136, 142.

— Ill, 142.

— VII (Spain), 231, 239, 247.

— Archduke, 107.

— of Aragon, 85, 86, 91, 93, 95.

— of Brunswick, 180.
Ferrand of Portugal, 27, 28.
Ferrantino, 91.

Ferry, Jules, 277-9, 280, 286, 287.

Feuillants, the, 211.

Fez, 292.

' Field of Cloth of Gold,' the, 102.

Finale, 161.

First of June, battle of the, 217.

Firth of Forth, 109.

Five Hundred, the, 221.

Five Ordinances, the, 249.

Flanders, 25, 27, 28, 37, 41, 49, 53,

60, 61, 81, 83, 84, 104, 108, 125,

152, 153, 164, 165.
Fleur de Lys, 160.
Fleurus, battle of, 215.
Fleury, 83, 169, 172-6.
Fleury-sur-Loire, Treaty of, 15.
Fleux, Peace of, 123.
Flodden, battle of, 95.
Florence, 100, 105.

Florence, Treaty of, 223.
Flushing, 118.
Fontainebleau, 135.

— Treaty of, 201.
Fontaine-Fran^oise, campaign of,

126.
Fontanet-en-Puisaye, battle of, 13.
Fontenoy, battle of, 178.
Formosa, 287.
Fort Duquesne, 180.
Fouquet, 151.
Fourier, 252.
France, Isle of, 177.
Francesco Sforza, 90, 91, 104.
Franche-Comte, 84, 86, 148, 153,

155.
Francis I, 96, 97, loi, 106-9.
-11,113.

Francis Joseph, Emperor, 256.
Francis, Count of Aumale, 109.
Francis of Lorraine, 175.
Francis of Paola, St., 88.
Franciscans, the, 35.
Franconia, Circle of, 157.
Franco-Turkish Treaty (i535)j

106.
Frankfort, peace negotiations at,

240, 241.

— Treaty of, 267, 268, 273.
Frederick I (Barbarossa), 23, 24.

— II, 28, 35, 37, 42.

— in, 79-

— VII (Denmark), 258, 259.

— the Great, 176, 181, 201, 202.

— William II, 212.

— Wilham III, 229.
Free Companies, the, 55.
Freiburg, 155.

— Treaty of, 100.

French Revolution, 44, 48, 1695;^.,

202 seq.
Freycinet, 267, 277, 284.
Friedland, battle of, 229.
Friedlingen, battle of, 164.
Froissart, 50.
Fronde, the, 142, 143, 145, 208,

209.

Index

307

Fronde, First, War of, 145, 146.

— the New, War of, 146.

— Provincial, 147.
Fructidor (i8th), 218, 219.
Fuenterrrabia, 171.

Fulk of Anjou, 11, 21.
Furnes, battle of, 42.
Fiirstenberg, W. von, 157.
Fiirstenbund, the, 201.

Gabelle, the, 60.

Gallia, 3.

Gallican Church, the, 70, 117, 127.

Gallo-Narbonensis, 3.

Gambetta, 65, 267, 271, 277-9,

291.
Gambia, the, 283.
Garibaldi, 257, 262.
Garigliano, battle on the, 94.
Gascony, 41, 47, 57, 71.
Gaston de Foix, 95.

— of Orleans, 135, 140.
Geneva, 98.

— Treaty of, 100.
Genoa, 66, 103, 105.
Gentz (quoted), 204.
Geoffrey of Anjou, 21.
Germany, 2, 79, 90, 97, 136, 157,

182, 222, 228, 229, 240, 260-74,
279-82, 286-93.

— Revolution in (1803-6), 224.
Gerona, 40.
Gertruydenberg, 166.

Ghent, 27, 61, 107.
Gian Galeazzo, 90.
Gibraltar, 164, 167, 181, 197.
Gilds, the, 195.
Girondists, the, 212, 215.
Gisors, 22, 23, 25.

— Treaty of, 21.
Gloucester, Duke of, 66.
Godfrey of Bouillon, 19.
Golden Bull, the, 57.

Gonzaga, Charles, Duke of Nevers,
134-

Gonzaga, Vincenzo di, 134.
Gorce, de (quoted), 257, 258.
Goree, 181, 200.
Gortschakoff, 274.
Granada, Treaty of, 93.
Grand Alliance, the, 157, 162.
Grande Ordonnance of March 1357,

52-
Granson, battle of, 82.
Granville, Lord, 280.
Gravelines, 102, no.
Great Elector, the, 157.
Greeks, the, 87, 247.
Greenwich, Treaty of, 126.
Gregory VII (Hildebrand), 19, 42.

— XIV, 124.
Grenada, 181, 200.
Grenoble, 135, 235.
Grenville, Lord, 205, 230.
Grevy, M., 276.

Grey, Sir Edward, 288.

Grisons, the, 103, 134.

Gross-Beeren, 239.

Guadet, 212.

Guelders, 79.

Guerande, Treaty of, 56.

Guerin, 28.

Guiana, 185.

Guienne, 41, 47, 50, 75, 77, 152,

154.
Guinegate, battle of (the Spurs), 95.
Guines, 51, 53.
Guipuzcoa, 161.
Guise, Count of, 103.

— Francis Duke of, no, 114.

— Henry Duke of, 116, 121, 122,
126.

Guises, the, 113, 119, 127.
Guizot, 246, 249-52.
Gustavus III, 187.

— Adolphus, 136, 137.

H

Habsburg, House of, 1 01, 118, 127,

129, 137-41.
Hadrian, Pope, 9.

X 2

3o8

Index

Hague, The, 165, 204.

Hainan, 288.

Hainault, 84.

Hamburg, 239.

Hanau, battle of, 240.

Hanotaux, M., 287.

Hanover, 228.

Hanseatic League, the, 87.

Harcourt, 139.

Harley, 166.

Harris, Sir J., 204.

Havana, 181.

Havre, 71, 1 14.

Hebert, 216.

Heilbronn, League of, 137, 139.

Heligoland, 283.

Helvetic Republic, the, 224.

Henriade, La, 191.

Henrietta Maria, 133.

Henry I (England), 20, 21, 29.

— I (France), 18.

— n (England), 3, 7, 23-5, 29, 34.

— n( France), i, 109-1 1, 113, 125.

— HI (England), 31, 33, 34, 35, 37.

— HI (France), 123, 124.

— IV (England), 2.

— IV (France), 96, 99, 124-9,
152, 160.

— V, Emperor, 21.

— V (England), 63-5.

— VI (England), 65, 77.

— VII (England), 86, 151.

— VIII (England), i, 95, 96, 101-
3, 107, 108.

Herrings, battle of the, 66.

Herzegovina, 274.

Hesse Cassel, 217.

Hohenzollern candidature, the
(1870), 264.

Holland, 28, 138, 142, 153-5, 157,
158, 162, 171, 199-205, 214-17,
220, 224, 226, 237, 250, 253, 280.

Holstein, 260.

Holy Places, the, 254.

Honorius III, 32.

Howe, Admiral, 217.

Hrolf, 16.

Hudson's Bay, 166, 168.
Hugh the Great, 17.

— Capet, 17, 18.

— of Vermandois, 19.
Hugonot, 84.

Huguenots, the, 108, in, 114,
120, 121, 131-4, 139, 151.

Humbercourt, 84.

* Hundred Days,' the, 245.

Hundred Years' War, the Fifst,
41, 47,49»58.

— the Second, 158, 169, 176, 226,

243-
Hungary, 107, 155, 164.

I

India, 160, 170, 176-8, 180, 182,

183, 1 9.7, 2 1 9, 229, 286.
Indian Mutiny, 256.
Infanta, the Spanish, 172.
Ingeborgis, 27.
Innocent III, 31.

— IV, 36.
Innsbruck, 109.
Inquisition, the, 34, 39.
Intendants, the, 145.
Investiture question, the, 19.
Ireland, 197, 231.

Isabella of Aragon, 39.
— - of Bavaria, 61.

— of Burgundy, 55.

— of Castile, 85, 86.

— of Hainault, 25.
Itahan League, the, 134.

Italy, 35, 86, 89-92, 95-7, 135,
136, 158, 159, 164, 165, 219, 220,
224, 230, 231, 253, 255-9, 262,
289.

IMS devoliitionis, 153.

Ivry, battle of, 2, 125.

— Treaty of, 24.

J

Jacobins, the, 12, 125, 212, 219,
242.

Index

309

Jacobites, the, 167.
Jacquetta of Luxemburg, 68.
James I, 133.

— II, 158, 162, 248.

James Edward (the Old Pretender),

162, 165.
James van Artevelde, 49.
Jansenists, the, 98, 149, 167, 174,

191.
Japan, 287, 289.
Jargeau, battle of, 147.
Jarnac, battle of, 116.
Jean d'Albret, 85.
Jean Sans Peur, 62.
Jeanne (wife of Louis XII),

93-
Jemappes, battle of, 214.
Jena, battle of, 228.
Jerusalem, 22, 23, 36, 91.
Jesuits, the, 124, 127, 172, 179,

186, 248.
Joan of Arc, 47, 65-8.
Joanna of Naples, 60.
John, King of England, 25, 27,

28, 31.

— Duke of Normandy, 50 ; King
of France, 51-5.

— VIII, Pope, 16.

— XXII, Pope, 49.
— -of Bohemia, 49.

— of Calabria, 73, 75, 76.

— of Gaunt, 58.

— Knox, 41.

— Montfort, 56.

— Sigismund, 107.

— Sobieski, 156.

Joly de Fleury, 198, 203.
Joseph II, 73, 192, 193, 195, 199-
201, 208.

— Bonaparte, 232.

— Father, 136, 139.
Josephine, 229, 235.
Juarez, 261.
Julius Caesar, 3.
Julius II, 96.
Junot, 230, 231.
Jurandes, the, 194.

Kalisch, Treaty of, 238.
Kardis, Treaty of, 149.
Kaunitz, 199.
Khartoum, 280.
Kiaochou, 288.
Kiel Canal, the, 261.
Klosterzevcn, Convention of, 180.
' Knights of Chivalry,' 55.
Knights Templars, the, 43, 44.
Koniggratz, battle of {see Sadowa).
Korsakov, 220.
Kronstadt, 283.
Kulm, battle of, 240.
Kutchuk-Kainardji, Treaty of,

188.
Kwang Chow Wan, 288.

La Bicocca, battle of, 102.

La Bourdonnais, 177, 182.

La Charite, 117.

Lafayette, 212, 249, 250.

La Fere, 122.

La Forest, 106.

La Henriade, 191.

La Hire, 66.

La Hogue, battle of, 158.

Lally, 183.

Lambeth, Treaty of, 32.

La Marck, 118.

Lamoriciere, General, 257.

Landriano, battle of, 105.

Langson, defeat at, 278, 280.

Languedoc, 31, 33, 37, 40, 51, 59,

66, 84.
La Noue, 119.
Laon, 16.
La Perouse, 200.
La Riviere, 191.
La Rochelle, 113, 117, 120, 133,

134-
— battle of, 58.
La Sainte Ligue, 122.
Lateran Council, 32.

310

Index

La Tremouille, 93, 95.

Lauffeldt, battle of, 178.

Lautrec, 102, 105.

La Vendee, 250.

Law, John, 171, 172.

League, the Catholic, 122-4, 127.

League of Public Weal, 74.

League of the Rhine, the, 152.

Lech, battle of the, 137.

Lefevre d'Ormesson, 203.

L'Hopital, 1 13-15, 117.

Leibnitz, 182.

Leipzig, battle of, 240, 265.

Le Mans, 25, 266.

Lens, battle of, 143.

Leo III, 10.

— X, 96, 99, 102.
Leonora GaUgai, 132.
Leopold I, Emperor, 154-7, 161.
Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, 250.
Le Tellier, 167.

Le Trosni, 191.

Les Itnportans, 140.

Lett res Philosophiques, 191.

Lettres Provinciates, 149.

Levant, the, 87.

Lewis IV, Emperor, 49.

Liege, 76, jj.

Ligny, battle of, 243.

Ligurian Republic, 222, 226.

Lille, 165.

Limoges, 57, ii6.

Limousin, 32.

Lindet, 215.

Lionne, H. de, 150, 151.

Lisaine, battle of the, 267.

Lisbon, 230, 234.

Lit de Justice, 144.

Loire, Army of the, 266.

Lombards, the, 7-9.

Lombardy, 105.

London, 31, 168, 190, 280.

— Treaty of, (1359) 5' 5 ('S'S)
loi ; (1841) 251.

Longjumeau, Edict of, 116.
Longueville, 146.
Lords, House of, 165.

Lords of the Lilies, the, 86.
Lorenzo de' Medici, 90.
Lorraine, 28, 82, 135, 138, 143^

159, 161, 175, 268, 270, 273, 280,

292, 293.

— Cardinal of, 116.

— Charles II of, 126.

— Duke of, 83, 138, 143, 159, 175.
Lorris, Treaty of, 36.
Lothaire, King, 17.

— Emperor, 13.
Lotharingia, 14.
Loubet, 284.
Loudun, Treaty of, 132.
Louis II, Emperor, 13.
-V, 17.

— VI, 20-5, 30.

— VII, 22, 30, 33.

— VIII, 32.

— IX, 30, 33, 34, 36-9.

— X, 45, 52.

— XI, 2, 14, 22, 50, 55, 69, 70, 72-
80, 82-8, 93.

— XII, 89, 90, 92-7, 99.

— XIII, 97, 99, 131, 132, 134, 138,
140.

— XIV, 2, 97, 117, 127, 128, 140,
143, i47> H9) i5o-67> 169, 170,
172, 182, 183, 189, 193, 209.

— XV, 140, 149, 170-2, 179, 184,
185, 188-91.

— XVI, 52, 149, 171, 178, 192-6,

198, 199, 213,216,245.

— XVIII, 241-3, 245, 248.

— Count of Flanders, 61.

— Duke of Anjou, 60.

— d'Outremer, 17.

— of Baden, 165.

— the Debonaire, 13.

— the German, 15, 16.

— Blanc, 253.

— Bonaparte, 237.

— Philippe, 185, 249 seq.
Louisbourg, 177.
Louise of Savoy, 105.
Louisiana, 169, 176, 181.
Louvois, 150.

Index

311

Lucerne, 80.
Lucien Bonaparte, 232.
Ludovico Sforza, 90, 93.
Luneville, Treaty of, 223, 224, 227,

232.
Luther, 97, loi.

Lutherans, the, 102, 103, 105, 106.
Liitzen, battle of, 238.
Luxemburg (the Duchy), iio,

222, 262, 264.

— siege of (i68i), 155.
Luynes, 132, 133.
Lyons, 82, 87, 128, 137.

— Lord, 195, 280, 281.

M

Macchiavelli, 115.
Macdonald, General, 240.
McMahon, Marshal, 272, 275.
Madagascar, 152, 290.
Madame de Maintenon, 156.
Madame de Prie, 172.
Madame du Barry, 185.
Madras, 177.
Madrid, 103, 233, 234, 237.

— Treaty of, 104, 106.
Maastricht, 201.
Magenta, battle of, 256.
Magna Carta, 28.
Magnano, battle of, 220.
Mahan, Admiral (quoted), 176.
Mahe, 177.

Maillotins, the, 60.
Maine, 23, 27, 28, 38.

— Duke of, 70.

— Duke and Duchess of, 171.
Mainz, 137, 152.
Malesherbes, 192, 195.
Malestroit, Truce of, 50.
Malplaquet, battle of, 166.
Malta, 159, 220, 226, 228.
Manila, 181.

Mantua, 105, 139.

— Duchy of, 134, 135.
Marchand, Colonel, 288.

Mardyke, 141, 148.
Marengo, battle of, 222, 229.
Margaret of Austria, 86, 94.

— of Burgundy, 45.

— of England, 75, jj^ 81.

— of Flanders, 57.

— of France, 23.

— of Provence, 35.

— of Valois, 117, 119.

Maria Theresa (Austria), 173, 175,

176, 177, 180. _
Maria Theresa (wife of Charles X),

248.
Mariage de Figaro, 206.
Marie Antoinette, 193, 194, 198,

216.
Marie de' Medici, 131, 132.
Marie Leszczynska, 172.
Marie Louise, 235.
Marie Therese, 153.
Marignano, battle of, 99, 108.
Marillacs, the, 137.
Marlborough, Duke of, 164-6.
Marmont, 241.
Marmouset, the, 61.
Marrac, Chateau de, 231.
Marsaglia, battle of, 158.
Marseilles, 3.
Martignac, 248.
Martin IV, Pope, 40.
Martinique, 181, 185.
Mary (d. of James II), 154.

— of Burgundy, 83, 84.

— of Lorraine, 109.

— Queen of England, i, loi.

— Queen of Scots, 109, 113.
Mary Tudor (sister of Henry VIII),

96.
Massena, 220.
Matilda, Empress, 21.
Matthew Paris, 33.
Maupeou, 187, 188.
Maurepas, 193, 195, 196, 198, 199.
Maurice of Saxony, 109.
Maximihan, Archduke, 84, 85.

— Emperor, 91, loi.

— Emperor of Mexico, 261, 262.

3I2

Index

Maximilian of Bavaria, 136, 142,

162, 164.
Mayenne, Due de, 124-6.
Mayors of the Palace, 6.
Mazarin, 2, 137, 140-51, 182.
Meaux, 53, 108.

— Conspiracy of, 115, 116.

— Treaty of, 34, 36.
Medici, the, 100.
Mediterranean, the, 105, 106, 139,

158, 161, 182, 185, 220, 226, 234.
Mehemet Ali, 251.
Melanchthon, 97.
Memoire sur les Colonies (Vauban),

182.
Mercoeur, 125, 126.
Mergentheim, battle of, 141.
Merovingians, the, 4-6.
Mersen, Treaty of, 16.
Messina, 25.
Metternich, 239, 240.
Metz, no, 142, 155, 187,267, 270.
Meulan, Count of, 28.
Mexico, 261, 265.

— Civil War in, 258, 260, 261.
Michieli, 1 19.

Milan, 90, 91, 93, 94, 100-3, ioSj
108, 162.

— Convention of, 165.
Milanese, the, 93, 161.
Minorca, 167, 180, 197.
Mississippi, the, 161, 169, 176.
Modena, 139.

Mole, 251.
Moltice, von, 268.
Moncada, 104.
Mon?on, Treaty of, 134.
Moncontour, battle of, 117.
Mons, 118.

Mons-en-Pevele, battle of, 42.
Monsieur, Peace of, 121.
Montauban, 117, 120, 133.
Montbarrey, 196.
Montbeliard, 138.
Montcalm, 182.
Mont Cenis, 16.
Montdidier, 74, 81.

Montebello, battle of, 222, 256.
Montereau-sur-Yonne, 64, 65.
Montesquieu, 190, 191.
Montfort, John de, 56.

— Simon de, 31, 32.
Montl'heri, battle of, 75.
Montmorency, 1 14, 116; (Francis)

117.
Montmorency, Mathieu de, 247.
Montmorin, 202, 205.
Montpellier, 51.

— Treaty of, 133.
Montpensier, Duke of, 117.

— Mile de, 171.
Montserrat, 200.
Moore, Sir John, 234.
Morat, battle of, 82, 8j.
Morocco, 290, 292.
Moscow, 237.
Moselle, the, 268.
Mukden, battle of, 290.
Munster, 139, 142.
Murat, 232.

N
Namur, 158.
Nancy, 82, 83.
Nantes, the Edict of, 127, 128 ;

Revocation of, 156.
Naples, 73, 75, 90-2, 100, 107, no,

162, 215, 223, 232, 235.
Napoleon I, 2, 9, n, 27, 138, 158,

164, 185, 215, 220, 222 seq. {see

Bonaparte).

— Ill, 184, 2!,^ seq.
Narbonne, 7.

Nassau, Louis of, n6, 118.
National Convention, 245.
Navarino, battle of, 249.
Navarre, 59, 85, 100, loi, 102.

— Antony of, 1 14.

— Henry of, 114, 117-19, 121-4
{see Henry IV).

Necker, 192, 193, 196-9, 203, 204.
Neerwinden, battle of, 215.
Nelson, Lord, 158.
Nemours, Due de, 250, 251.

Index

313

Nesle, 77.

Netherlands, the, 85, 100, loi, 107,
122, 123, 127, 141, 149, 164, 182.

— the Spanish, 138, 142, 153.
Neuss, 80, 81, 200.
Neustria, 6, 7, 14.

Nevers, 61.

Neville's Cross, battle of, 50.

New England, 161.

— France, 97, 160.

— Hebrides, 290.

— Orleans, 181.
Newfoundland, 97, 166, 168.
New Learning, 98.

Ney, 170, 240, 245.
Nice, 106, 165, 257.

— Treaty of, 106.
Nicholas I, 254.

— II, 285.

Nicopolis, battle of, 62.
Niemen, the, 237.
Niger, the, 287.
Nigeria, 290.

Nile, battle of the, 220.

— valley of the, 288.
Nimeguen, Peace of, 155.
Nimes, 120, 128.
Nogaret, 43.

Nogent, 61.

Nordlingen, battle of (1645), '4'-

Normandy, 23, 27, 28, 38, 56, 58,

64, 75> 76, i25> 154-
Northern League, 223, 225.
Notables, meeting of the, 204.
Notre-Dame, 33.
Novara, battle of, 95.
Nova Scotia (Acadia), 168.
November 16 and 19, Decrees of,

214.
Novi, battle of, 220.
Noyon, Peace of, 100, loi.

O

Odilon Barrot, 252.
Odo of Paris, Count, 15.
Ohio, the, 176.

Oldenburg, 237.
Oliva, Treaty of, 149.
OUivier, 257, 259, 264.
Olmiitz Convention, 253.
Omer Talon, 144.
Orbitello, battle of, 141.
Ordinance of 1220, the, 29.
Ordonnance de la Gendarmerie-, 69.
Orleanists, the (after 1871), 275.
Orleans, 5, 37, 113, 114, 117.

— Duchess of, 157.

— Duke of (c. 1634), 138.

— Louis, Duke of, 61-3, 89.

— Regent, 167, 170, 171.

— Siege of, 66.
Orsini, 256.
Osnabriick, 142.
Ostend, 165.
Ostrogoths, the, 4.
Otto IV, 28.
Ottoman Empire, 219.
Oudenarde, battle of, 165.
Oudinot, 239.
Oxenstierna, 137, 138.
Oxford, 241.

Paderborn, 10.

Palatinate, the, 157.

Palermo, 253.

Palestine, 25, 36.

Palmerston, Lord, 260.

Pampeluna, 59.

Panama Canal, 284.

Panther, the, 292.

Papacy, the, 127, 186, 224, 233,

255, 2S7.
Papal Schism, the, 61 n.
Pardo, Convention of the, 172.
Paris, 5, 13, 15, 51-3, 59, 60, 62,

63> 65, 69, 73-5, 103, 119, 125-7,

140, 144, 145, 147, 150, 262, 265

seq.

— Comte de, 270, 275.

— Treaty of, (1259)38, 39; (1303)
41; (1657) 148; (1763) 181,

314

Index

184, 186; (1814) 2415 (1815)
243; (1856)254.

Paris, University of, 87.
Parlement of Paris, the, 43, 44, 87,

104, 123, 127, 138, 140, 144-7,

150, 170, 171, 173, 174, 178, 184,

186-8.
Parlements (provincial), 116, 150,

170, 187, 188.
Parliament of 1295 (England), 43.

— the English, 144.
Parnia, 125, 139, 173, 175.
Particelli d'Emery, 144.
Partition Treaties, 161.
Pascal, 149.

Passau, Treaty of, no.
' Pastoureaux,' the, 37.
Patay, battle of, 68.
Paul I, 220, 223.
Paul the Deacon, 12.
Paulette, the, 128.
Pavia, 7, 9, 14.

— battle of, 103.
Peasants' War, the, 103.
Pedro, Don (the Cruel), 57.

— of Aragon, 31.

Pekin Expedition, the, 289.
Pembroke, Lord, 58.
Peninsular War, the, 12.
Pepin I, 6.

— II, 6.

Perigord, 32.

Peronne, 56, 74, 76, 121.

Perpignan, 107.

Persia, 229.

Pescadores, the, 287.

Peter III (Aragon), 38, 40.

— Ill (Russia), 181.

— of Hagenbach, 80.
Philip I (France), 18, 19.

— II (Augustus), 2, 24, 25, 27-33.

— II (Spain), 109, 123, 125, 126.

— Ill (France), 39, 40.

— IV (France), 2, 40-5.

— IV (Spain), 132, 153.

— V (France), 45, 47.

Philip V (Spain), 162, 166, 173.

— VI (Valois), 47-51, 59.

— Duke of Burgundy, 51, 55, 60,
61, 64, 68, 72, 74, yj.

— Hurepel, 34, 35.

— Duke of Anjou, 161.

— (son of Mary of Burgundy), 94.

— van Artevelde, 60, 61.
Philippsburg, 138, 148, 155, 157.
Placenza, 106, 175.

Picardy, 28, 77, 78, 103, 119.

— League of, 122.
Pichon, M., 291.
Picquart, General, 291.
Picquigny, Peace of, 81.
Piedmont, 106, 136, 158, 165, 227,

.257-
PIgnerol, 151.
Pinerolo, 135, 136, 142.
Pinkie, battle of, 109.
Pisa, 95.

Piteous Peace, the, 76.
Pitt, William, 214.
Pius VII, 233, 235.
Plaswitz, armistice of, 238.
Plombleres, 256.
Polssy, Colloquy of, 113.
Poitiers, battle of, 6, 51, 56, 58,

"3, "7-
Poitou, 27, 28, 32, 35, 38, 53, 132.
Poland, 120, 149, 156, 173, 174,

179, 184, 185, 250, 258, 259, 260,

292.

— Second and Third Partitions of,
97, 216.

Pollgnac, Prince de, 248.

Polish Succession War, the, 173,

174.
Politiques, the, 117, 121, 140, 141.
Pompey, 3.

Pomponne, A. de, 150.
Pondlcherry, 159, 169, 177.
Ponthleu, County of, 53.
Port Arthur, 287.

— Nelson, 169.
Port-Royal, 167.
Portsmouth, 283.

Index

315

Portugal, 57, 97, 139, 148, 164, 167,

215, 223, 230, 231.
Pouilly, Treaty of, 64.
Pragmatic Sanction (of Bourges),

70,73; (1516) 100; (Austrian)

173, 175-
Prague, 176.

— battle of, 142.
Praguerie, the, 69, 70.
Presbyterianism, 45, 109.
Pressburg, Treaty of, 228.
Press Law, the, 248.
Prevots^ the, 29.
Prieurs, the, 215.

Prince Regent, the (George IV),

242.
Protestant Union, the, 129.
Provence, 5-7, 38, 87, 165.
Prussia, 2, 167, 184, 216, 217, 224,

228, 234, 237, 243, 247, 254,

262 seq., 292, 293.
Pyrenees, the, 152.

— Peace of the, 140, 148, 149.

Q

Quadruple Alliance, the, 171.
Quebec, 160, 168, 181.
Quesnay, F., 191.
Quesnoy, 166.
Quiberon Bay, battle of, 181.

R

Rabelais, 98.

Radisson, 168.

Ratisbon, Truce of, 156, 157.

Raucoux, battle of, 178.

Ravaillac, 129.

Ravenna, 8, 95.

Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse,

19.
-VI, 31.
-VII, 34, 35-
Red Sea, the, 182.
Redesdale, Lord (quoted), 260 n.
Reformation, the, 96, 97.

Reform Movement (England), 249.
Reginald of Boulogne, 27.
Reichenbach, Treaty of, 239.
Reinach, Joseph (quoted), 260.
Remigius, 4.
Renaissance (twelfth century), 22.

— the French, 92, 96-8.

— the Italian, 90, 92.
Rene of Lorraine, 79, 83.
Restoration, the First, 241.

— the Second, 243, 245.
Rethel, 61.

Retz, Cardinal, 145-7.
Revolution, the French, 1,44,96-

8, 100, 192, 195, 196, 202, 208

seq.

— the English (1688), 153.

— of 1848, 253.

— of Three Days, 249.
Rheims, 5, 51, 56, 68.

— Cathedral of, 22.
Rhenish Confederacy, 138.
Rhine, 176, 219, 262.

Rhone, battle on the (1569),

117.
Richard I, 25, 36.

— II, 62.

Richelieu, Cardinal, 2, 44, 120,
128, 133-40, 144, 160.

— Due de (1696-1788), 180, 182.

— Due de (1766-1822), 245, 246.
Richemont, 71.

Ried, Treaty of, 240.
Rivoli, Treaty of, 139.
Robespierre, 191, 217.
Robert of England, 2i.

— of Flanders, 19.

— the Pious, 18.

— the Strong, 15, 16.

— Duke of France, 16, 17.
Rocroi, battle of, 141.
Roederer, 232.

Roger de Loria, 40.
Roli^a, 232.
Romagna, 95.
Rome, 104, 256, 264.
Rooke, Admiral, 164.

3i6

Index

Roosebeke, battle of, 6i.
Roosevelt, Theodore, quoted, 204.
Rossbach, battle of, 180.
Rouen, 15, 25, 27, 60, 64, 74, 78, 96.
Rouher, 258.

Rousseau, 96, 98, 181, 483.
Roussillon, 37, 73, 86.
Rouvier, M., 290.
Roye, 77, 81.
Royer-Collard, 246.
Rudolf, Duke of Burgundy, 17.
Rueil, Treaty of, 143, 146.
Rupert, Prince, 168.
Russell, Eatl, 259,
— Lord Odo, 274.
Russia, 172, 181, 208, 220, 228,
246, 250, 254, 259, 264, 274 sea.,

285.-7-
Ryswick, Peace of, 157, 159, 161.

Saarbriicken, battle of, 265.
Sadowa, 259, 262, 267.
Saigon, 286.
Saint-Contest, 179.
Saint-Cyr, 246.
Saint-Denis, 8.

— battle of, 116.
Sainte Chapelle, 22, 33.
Saintes, battle of, 35.
Saint-Germain, Peace of, 117.
Saint-Jean-d'Acre, 37.
Saint-Jean-d'Angely, 117.
Saintonge, 160.

Saint-Pol, 75, 76, 81, 82, 105.

Saint-Simon, 252.

St. Andre, Marshal, 1 14.

St. Bartholomew, Massacre of,

118, 119, 121, 186.
St. Cloud, battle of, 63.
St. Dominique, 185.
St. Gotthard, battle of, 152.
St. Helena, 243.
St. John, 166.
St. Lawrence, the, 97.

— Gulf of, 181.

St. Lucia, 181, 241.
St. Malo, 34, 97.
St. Omer, 28, 84.
St. Pierre, 181.

St. Quentin, battle of, 77, 81, 110.
St. Vincent, 181.
Saladin, 25. .

Salamanca, battle of, 237.
Salic Law, the, 46.
Salisbury, Earl of, (1214) 28 ;
(1428) 66.

— Marquess of, 281, 283.
Sancerre, 120.
Sandwich, 102.
Saracens, the, 16, 37.
Saragossa, 233.

Sardinia, 171, 177, 217, 219, 243,

254, 255, 259.
Sarrien, M., 291.
Savona, 94.
Savoy, 79, 105, 106, 164, 165, 214,

217,256,257.

— Duke of, 1 59.
Saxe, Marshal, 177.
Saxons, the, 8.
Saxony, 152, 157.
Scharnhorst, 238.
Scheldt, opening of the, 214.
Schism, the Papal, 62.
Schleswig, 25S-60.
Schnaebele, 281.
Schonbrunn, Treaty of, 235.
Schouvaloff, 274.

Scotland, 24, 41, 48, 49, 51, 53,

95, 109, III, 165.
Scbastiani, 225.
Sebastopol, 254.

Second Coalition, war of the, 220.
Sedan, battle of, 259, 265, 266.
Seguier, 151.
Segur, Comte de: 196.
Seize Mai, 276.
Seneschal, the, 29.
Senlis, Treaty of, 86 w., 92.
Septennate, the, 275.
Septimania, 5.
Serres, 267.

Index

317

Seven Years' War, the, i, 169, 170,

178, 179, 183.
Seychelles, the, 241.
Shimonoseki, Treaty of, 287.
Siam, 159, 287, 290.
Sicilian Vespers, the, 40.
Sicily, 40, 43, 91, 93, 100, 107, 1 10,

162, 171.
Sierra Leone, 283.
Sigebert, 5.

Sigismund of Austria, 79, 82.
Silesia, 176, 179, 180.
Simon, Jules, 259, 276.
' Sixteen,' the, 125, 126.
Sixtus V, 124.
Skierniewice, 281.
Sluys, battle of, 49.
Smith, Sir S., 231.
Soissons, 5.

— battle of, 86.

— Congress at, 172.
Solferino, battle of, 256.
Somerset, Protector, 109.
Somme Towns, the, 69, 72, 73.
Sorbonne, the, 87, 97, 127.
Soult, 234, 251.

Spain, 57, 58, 86, 92, 100-3, lo?;
1 18-21, 123, 125-7, 153-7, 159-
73, 176, 215, 217, 223, 226, 228,
229,231-9,247,267,289.

Spanish Succession, the, 153,
156 «., 161, 163, 168-70, 226.

— Marriages, the, 251.

— Netherlands, the, 138, 142, 153.
Stanislaus Leszczynski, 174.
States-General (France), 43, 45,

48, 52559571, 170; (156O 113;

(15.76) 121; (1590) 126.
— • (United Provinces), 162.
Steenkerke, battle of, 158.
Stein, 240.
Stephen (King of England), 75.

— of Blois, 19.
Stettin, 239.

Stockach, battle of, 222.
Stralsund, 228.
Strassburg, 13, no, 155, 159.

Suez Canal, the, 274, 278.

Suffolk, Duke of, 68.

Suger, 2, 23.

Suleiman I, 105, 106.

Sully, 2, 128.

Suvorov, 220.

Sweden, 153, 154, 157, 179, 184,

185, 217, 222, 228-30, 237, 239.
Swiss League, the, 80.
Switzerland, 79, 81, 82, 93, 96,

100, 220, 226, 227.
Syria, 219, 251.

Taboureau, 196.

Tagus, the, 230.

Taille, the, 69.

Taillebourg, skirmish at, 35.

Talbot, 68, 71.

Talleyrand, 2, 186, 234, 245.

Tancred, 19.

Tauroggen, 238.

Tavannes, Marshal, 109.

Teligny, 118, 119.

Templars, Order of the, 45.

Ten Free Towns, the, 143.

Terray, 187, 188.

Teschen, Treaty of, 199, 200.

Testry, battle of, 6.

Tewkesbury, battle of, 77.

Theodoric IV, 5.

Theodulfus, Bishop, 12.

Thermidor, Revolution of, 216.

Therouanne, battle of, 85, 95,

no.
Thiers, 2, 249-52, 259, 265, 267,

Third Coalition, the, 228.

Thirty Years' War, the, i, 133,

135 seq.
Tilly, 137.

Tinchebrai, battle of, 21.
Tilsit, Treaty of, 223, 233.
Tirard-Constat Ministry, 282.
Tobago, 200, 241.
Tolbiac, battle of, 4.
Tongking, 279, 286.

3i8

Index

Toplitz, Treaty of, 240.
Torcy, 165.
Torstenson, 141.
Tortosa, 142.
Toul, no, 142.
Toulon fleet, 181.
Toulouse, 15,24,31, 32,33.
Touraine, 23, 27, 28.
Tournai, loi, 102, 104, 155.
Tours, 5, 25, 74, 89, 95, 266.

— Truce of, 70.

Trafalgar, battle of, 158, 227, 228.

Transylvania, Prince of, 141.

Trebbia, battle of the, 220.

Trier, 79, 138.

Trieste, 235.

Triple Alliance, the, (1668) 153 ;

(1717) 121 ; (1788) 203 ; (1914)

290.
Tripoli, 288.

Triumvirate, the, 187, 267.
Trivulzio, 93.
Trochu, General, 266.
Trois fiveches, 109, no.
Troyes, Treaty of, 64, 65.
Tunis, 106, 196, 282, 286.
Turenne, 139, 141, 142, 147, 148,

154.
Turgot, 186, 189, 192-8, 204,

205.
Turin, 139.

— battle of, 165.

— Treaty of, 174, 257.
Turkey, 62, 103, 105-7, "9> i55-7j

175, 184, 185, 199, 200, 203,
228, 229, 254, 274, 278, 282.

Tuscan Ports, the, 161, 175.

Tuscany, 93, 215, 235.

Two Sicilies, the, 38, 91, 93, loi,
175, 223j 257.

Tyrol, the, 93, 164, 235.

U

Ulm, 228.

— Treaty of, (1647) 142-

University of Paris, 31, 62, 87.

Upper Rhine, Circle of, 157.
Urban II, 19.
Utrecht, Peace of, 182.

Vacherot, M., 291.
Valen^ay, 232.
Valencia, 103.
Valenciennes, 119.
Valmy, battle of, 2.
Vandamme, 240.
Vassy, Massacre of, 1 14.
Vauban, 128, 150, 182.
Vaucelles, Truce of, no.
Vendome, Treaties of, 34.
Venice, 90, 92, 94, loi, 103, 107,

119, 256, 262.
Vera Cruz, 261.
Vercingetorix, 3.
Verdun, 2, no, 142.

— Treaty of, 13, 14.
Vergennes, 2, 192, 199-204.
Verneuil, battle of, 66.
Verona, Congress of, 247.
Versailles, 152, 180, 207.

— Treaty of, (1756 and 1757) 180 ;
(1783) 200, 202.

Vervins, Treaty of, 126.
Vesoul, 84.
Vexin. the, 25.
Victor Amadeus I, 135.

11,165.

Ill, 248.

— Emmanuel II, 257.
Victoria, Queen, 274, 283.
Vienna, 141, 156, 164.

— Third Treaty of, 174, 175.
Vigo Bay, 164.
Villafranca, armistice of, 256.
Villars, 164, 166.
Villaviciosa, battle of, 152, 166.
Villele, 247.

Villemur, battle of, 125.
Villeneuve, Guillaume de, 92.
Villeroi, 162, 164.
Vimiero,^232.

Index

319

Vincy, battle of, 6.

Visigoths, the, 36.

Vivarais, the, 152.

Viviani, M., 291.

Vizille, 207.

Voltaire, 57, 183, 186, 189-91.

Vouille, 5.

W

Waddington, M., 277.
Wagram, battle of, 235.
Walcheren expedition, 235.
Waldeck-Rousseau, 285.
Wallenstein, 136, 137.
Walpole, Robert, 169.
Wars of Religion, 113-27.
Wars of the Roses, 72, 151.
Warwick, Earl of, JJ.
Wat Tyler, 60.
Waterloo, battle of, 243.
Wei-Hai-Wei, 288.
Wellington, Duke of, 237, 243,

248.
Wenzel, Emperor, 62.
West India Company, 160.
Westminster, Treaty of (1756),

180.
Westphalia, Treaties of, 140, 142,

143) 145) 157-
White Ship, the, 21.

White Terror, the, 245.
Whitworth, Lord, 224, 225.
Wilhelmina of Holland, 202.
William I (England), 18.

— I (Germany), 268.

— I (Holland), 250.

— n (England), 22.

— n (Germany), 283.

— HI (England), 154, 157-9, i^i,
162.

William I of Orange (1558-84),

116, 120, 123.
William V (Stadtholder), 202, 203.
Windsor, Treaty of, 103.
Wittenberg, 239.
Wiirtemberg, 224, 235.
Wiirzburg, 137.

York, General von, 238.

Ypres, 27.

Yve-Saint-Baron, Truce of, 41.

Zacharias, Pope, 7.

Zanzibar, 283.

Zurich, 80.

— Treaty of, 256.

Zusmarshausen, battle of, 142.

Zutphen, 79.

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