France & Germany; key historical events up to 31/12/1869
Click here for events in France &
Germany from 1/1/1870
Page last
modified 25/1/2021
This
agglomeration which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman
Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire – Voltaire
1)
Maps of Heligoland, Mediaeval
times.
2)
Maps of France, Germany, 843 – 880.
3)
Maps of Germany at Treaty of Verdun and
under Charlemagne.
4)
Growth of Prussia, 1415 – 1914.
Colour key:
People
Napoleon I 1769-1821
French Revolution
Murat
Mazarin /
Conde 1643-52
Huguenot
wars; 1560-1619
Thirty Years War
Hundred Years War 1337-1453
Chlothar I
843-880. Treaty of Verdun to Treaty of Ribemont. The
formation of modern France, Germany, Italy
17/6/1869 Wilhelmshaven,
Germany’s first military port, was officially inaugurated.
29/11/1868, Antoine Berryer, French statesman, died in
Augerville (born 1790).
6/5/1868, Louis Cormenin, French political lobbyist,
died (born 6/1/1788).
29/2/1868, Ex-King Louis of Bavaria died in Munich, aged 81.
Louis
was a patron of the arts and his capital, Munich, was a centre of culture. Louis
had an affair with an Irish dancer, Marie Gilbert (stage name Lola Montez). This affair
provoked a revolution; Louis had to abdicate in 1848, and Marie
died destitute in new York in 1861, aged 43.
1/7/1867. The German Federal Constitution came into force.
17/4/1867, The North German Reichstag adopted the new federal
Constitution. Four years later all of
the German Empire had adopted it.
8/2/1867, As Prussia became increasingly powerful under Prime Minister
Otto von Bismarck and King Wilhelm I, political differences between
Germany and the Hapsburgs of Austria, who had ruled Austria since 1278. This weakened Austria to the point where
Hungary threatened to break away, and to save the unity of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire, Austria was forced to agree to a Dual Monarchy, where each State had a
separate government and a convoluted system of joint Ministers to oversee the
Empire. However
this in turn alienated ethnic minorities within Austro-Hungary, ultimately
sparking off demands for Serbian independence and the assassination of Archduke
Ferdinand that led to World War One.
22/11/1866, Amable Barante, French historian, died (born
10/6/1782 in Riom).
3/10/1866, The states north of the Mainz joined a new
North German Confederation under Prussian leadership. Austria
was finally excluded from the German Confederation. The formerly independent duchy of Nassau,
Germany, 1,830 square miles, was incorporated with the Kingdom of Prussia.
Prussia annexed Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, and Frankfurt Am
Main. The southern German states agreed that their troops should come under
the command of Prussia in the event of war.
3/7/1866, In
northern Czechoslovakia, the Austrian
army was routed by Prussian forces at the Battle of Sadowa (Koniggratz).
The victory by Bismarck was sealed at the Treaty
of Prague, by which Austria renounced her claim to Schleswig-Holstein,
where Germany would later build a great naval base at Kiel and build the Kiel
Canal linking the Baltic and North Seas.
29/6/1866, The Hanoverian army was forced to capitulate to the Prussians
after a defeat in the Battle of Lasngensalza. King George V of Hanover had refused, contrary to the wishes of his Parliament,
to agree to Prussian demands that the Kingdom of Hanover remain neutral in the
war between Prussia and Austria. In 9/1866 Hanover was formally
annexed by Prussia.
15/6/1866,
Prussian troops crossed the frontiers of Hanover, Saxony, and
Hesse-Cassel.
14/6/1866, The
brief Austro-Prussian War began,
over a dispute between Prussia and Austria over the Duchies of Schleswig and
Holstein.
7/6/1866,
Prussian troops entered Holstein. This
was the start of the Austro-Prussian War.
8/4/1866. Bismarck
arranged an alliance between Italy and Germany.
Italy promised to join Germany against Austria if war broke out in the next
three months.
28/9/1862, Bismarck
made his ‘blood and iron’ speech.
23/9/1862. Bismarck arrived in Berlin and was
made Prime Minister of Prussia.
8/11/1865, Andre Dupin, French statesman, died (born
1/2/1783).
8/4/1865, Erich von Ludendorff, German soldier, was
born.
30/10/1864. By the Peace
of Vienna, Denmark gave up Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenberg. These provinces came under Austrian and
Prussian rule.
10/3/1864, Maximilian II, King of Bavaria, died.
1/2/1864, Austrian and Prussian troops under the command of
Friedrich von Wangle invaded Schleswig, Denmark. Although the British monarch, Queen Victoria,
was pro-German, the British Prince Edward, the future King Edward VII – who had only
months earlier married Alexandra of Denmark – was shocked; they
supported Denmark. The Second Schleswig War began. This event ensured that
under King
Edward VII’s reign, British foreign policy was pro-Danish,
anti-German, and Britain formed a triple
entente with France and Russia against Germany.
10/1/1864, Francois Hamelin, French Admiral, died (born
2/9/1796).
1862,
The first gambling casino opened in Monte Carlo.
2/2/1861, The Franco-Monagesque Treaty restored independence
to Monaco.
2/1/1861, Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia died aged 65.
He was succeeded by his brother and Regent, Wilhelm I.
5/12/1860, Friedrich Dahlmann, German politician, died
(born 13/5/1785).
5/10/1859, Henry Prince of Battenberg was born (died
20/1/1896).
10/7/1859, The Treaty of Villafranca was signed.
3/9/1859, Jean Jaures, French Socialist leader, was
born.
27/2/1859, Friedrich Bleek, German scholar, died (born in
Holstein 4/7/1793).
27/1/1859,
Kaiser Willhelm II was born in Potsdam, near Berlin. He was the son of the German Emperor
and the grandson of Queen Victoria.
7/10/1858, Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia was certified
insane, and his brother, 61-year-old Wilhelm, was made Regent.
10/7/1858, Napoleon III of France secretly met Count Cavour at Plombieres. The two
agreed to jointly attack Austria.
20/3/1858, Johannes Gossner, German preacher and
philanthropist, died (born 14/12/1773).
13/3/1858, Felice Orsini, Italian revolutionary, was
executed for his part in the assassination attempt on Napoleon III in Paris.
14/1/1858, An Italian assassin threw a bomb at French Emperor
Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie as they drove to the Paris
Opera. The bomb, thrown by Felici Orsini, missed its target but killed
eight bystanders and injured 100. Orsini planned the attack in London, causing
anti-British sentiment in France.
28/10/1857, Louis Cavaignac, French General, died (born
15/10/1802)
28/5/1857, Jean Hyde de Neuville, French politician, died
(born 24/1/1776).
24/4/1856, Philippe Petain, French Army Marshall, was born
in Cuchy a la Tour.
21/5/1853, Jacques Cavaignac, French politician, was born
(died 25/9/1905).
For Crimean War see Russia 1850s
4/4/1853, The customs
union signed by various German states was extended for another 12 years;
Austria remained excluded.
29/1/1853, Napoleon III of France married Eugenie de Montijo in Paris.
1852, Napoleon III gave the Bois de
Bolougne to Paris for a public
park.
2/12/1852, Louis Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor of
France as Napoleon III. The Second
French Empire was proclaimed.
22/10/1852, Hans Gagern, German political writer, died
(born 25/1/1766).
10/7/1852, Rene Exelmans, Marshal of France, died (born
13/12/1775).
17/4/1852, Etienne Gerard, French General, died (born
4/4/1773).
1/3/1852, Theophile Delcasse, French statesman, was
born.
5/2/1852, Arnail Jaucourt, French politician, died (born
14/11/1757).
12/1/1852, Joseph Joffre, French Army Marshall and
Commander in Chief on the Western Front, was born in Rivesaltes.
18/11/1851, Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover, died (born
5/6/1771).
5/11/1851, Charles Dupuy, French statesman, was born.
2/10/1851, Marshal Ferdinand Foch, French General who led
the counteroffensive that defeated Germany in 1918, was born in Tarbes, France.
21/5/1851, Victor Bourgeois, French statesman, was born
in Paris.
24/12/1850, Frederic Bastiat, French economist, died in
Rome (born in Bayonne 29/6/1801).
26/8/1850, Death of Louis Philippe, the ‘citizen king’, who
abdicated rather than face a middle-class revolt.
25/7/1850, Battle of Idstedt; Denmark defeated Germany.
31/5/1850, France
passed a law requiring voters to be resident in the same place for three years
before qualifying for a vote. This was
to exclude migratory workers, who tended to be radical.
16/4/1850, Swiss waxworks show proprietor Madame Marie Tussaud died. She was born on 1/12/1761 in Strasbourg. She learnt the
art of wax modelling from her uncle, Philippe Curtius. Before the French Revolution
Mme Tussaud
was art tutor at Versailles to Louis XVI’s sister, Elizabeth. After a period in
prison she was tasked with making death masks from the heads of those
guillotined, some of whom she recognised as friends. She left Paris in 1802,
along with her waxwork models, and two sons from a failed marriage to a French
engineer, Francois
Tussaud. She spent 33 years touring Britain before opening a
permanent display in London.
10/6/1849, Thomas Bugeaud,
Marshal of France, died (born 15/10/1784).
3/5/1849, Bernhard, Prince von Bulow, German Chancellor
and Prime Minister of Prussia (1900-09) was born.
24/4/1849, Joseph Gallieni, French soldier, was born.
19/3/1849, Alfred von Tirpitz, German
Admiral, was born in Kustrin, Brandenburg, Prussia.
20/12/1848, Louis Napoleon
Bonaparte was proclaimed President of France.
11/12/1848. Louis
Napoleon Bonaparte was elected President of the French Republic by a
large majority.
26/8/1848. Denmark and Prussia signed a truce at Malmo. Both
agreed to evacuate the disputed territory of Schleswig-Holstein.
27/6/1848, Denis Affre, Archbishop of Paris, died (born in St
Rome, Tarn, 27/9/1793)
26/6/1848. Riots in Paris from the 23rd to
the 26th June.
10/5/1848, The French Assembly spurned the proposal of Louis Blanc
to establish a Ministry of Labour and Progress, a bold measure to implement Blanc's
socialist agenda.
2/5/1848. Prussia invaded Denmark over the Schleswig-Holstein question.
20/4/1848, Friedrich Balduin, German soldier, died (born
24/10/1794).
20/3/1848, Ludwig I, King of Bavaria, abdicated.
17/3/1848, Protests in Berlin against the conservatism of
Prussian ruler Frederick
William IV.
3/3/1848, Louis-Philippe of France arrived in England,
following his abdication. Meanwhile
economic depression and hunger, and discontent amongst the growing middle
classes, was spurring revolution across Europe. Demonstrations occurred in
Vienna and across Hungarian cities; ethnic minorities within the
Austro-Hungarian Empire were demanding self-rule. Venice proclaimed
independence from Austria.
2/3/1848, Universal male suffrage was enacted in France,
giving the country nine million new voters.
28/2/1848, French workers demonstrated in the Place de
l'Hôtel-de-Ville, Paris, to demand a Ministry of Labour and the 10-hour day.
26/2/1848, The Second
French Republic was proclaimed. See 24/2/1848.
25/2/1848, Lamartine rejected the proposed Socialist Red
Flag as the new French flag, preferring the ‘liberal democratic’ Tricolour to
the ‘Blood Flag of anarchy’.
24/2/1848, The French
monarchy fell as King Louis Philippe fled to
exile in England. See 26/2/1848.
22/2/1848, In France a socialist ‘banquet’, or political
meeting, to commemorate the birthday of George Washington was banned. This ban caused
major unrest and riots in the following days.
2/10/1847, Paul von Hindenburg, German politician, was
born.
27/10/1846, Louis Bourmont, Marshal of France, died
16/3/1846, Jules Joffrin, French politician, was born
(died 17/9/1890).
11/11/1845, Jules Guesde, French socialist, was born.
25/8/1845, Ludwig II, King of
Bavaria, was born.
5/5/1845, Eleonore Cavaignac,
French politician, died.
18/12/1844, Ludwig Brentano,
German economist, was born.
15/9/1844, Gustav Hugo,
German jurist, died (born 23/11/1764).
31/1/1844, Henri Bertrand,
French General, died in Chateauroux (born 1773)
29/1/1844, Ernst I, Duke of
Saxe Coburg Gotha, died (born 2/1/1784).
25/1/1844, Jean d’Erlon,
Marchal of France, died (born 29/7/1765).
6/9/1843, Yves Guyot,
French politician, was born.
1/6/1843, Karl Grolman,
Prussian soldier, died (born 30/7/1777).
20/1/1843, Pierre Cambon,
French diplomat, was born.
18/8/1842, Louis Freycinet,
French navigator, died (born 7/8/1779).
8/5/1842, Jules Dumont,
French navigator, died (born 23/5/1790).
6/2/1842, Alfred Dodds,
French General, was born.
20/12/1841, Ferdinand Buisson,
French educationalist, was born.
28/9/1841, Georges Clemenceau, French Prime Minister
1917-20, was born.
23/5/1841, Franz Baader, German philosopher, died (born
17/3/1756 in Munich)
23/6/1841, Etienne Garnier-Pages, French politician, died
(born 27/12/1801).
30/1/1841, Francois Faure, President of France, was born
(died 16/2/1899).
13/1/1841, Bertrand Barere, French politician, died (born
in Tarbes 10/9/1755).
15/12/1840, Napoleon’s body was interred in Les Invalides,
Paris.
23/11/1840, Louis Bonald, French politician, died (born
near Millau 2/10/1754)).
7/7/1840, Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia died at 69.
He was succeeded by his 44-year-old son, Friedrich Wilhelm IV.
8/6/1840, Jean Bouchotte, French politician, died (born
in Metz 25/12/1754).
22/2/1840, Ferdinand Bebel, German Socialist, was born in
Cologne.
4/2/1840, Antoine Boulay, French politician, died in
Paris (born in Vosges 19/2/1761).
5/5/1839, Eduard Gans, German jurist, died (born
22/3/1797).
1/12/1838, Claude Choiseul-Stainville, French soldier,
died (born 1760).
25/6/1838, Francois Haxo, French military engineer, died
(born 24/6/1774).
2/4/1838, Leon Gambetta, French statesman, was born
(died 31/12/1882).
11/8/1837, Marie Carnot, 4th President of the Third
French Republic, was born (died 24/6/1894).
29/4/1837, George Boulanger, French General, was born in
Rennes (committed suicide in Brussels 30/9/1891).
19/4/1837, Johann Ancillon, Prussian statesman and
historian, died (born 30/4/1766 in Berlin).
12/2/1837, Francois Barbe-Marbois, French politician
(born 1745 in Metz) died.
1836, The Arc de Triomphe, Paris, was completed (begun by Napoleon
to commemorate his victories between 1790 and 1814). It is Europe’s largest
triumphal arch, 50 meres high and 45 metres wide.
6/11/1836, Charles X, King of France, died (born 1757).
7/3/1836, Count Antoine Francais, French politician,
died (born 1756).
19/2/1836, Guiseppe Fieschi, conspirator to assassinate Louis Philippe, was guillotined.
3/1/1836, Marie Fourtou, French politician, was born
(died 1897).
17/11/1835, Karl Bottiger, German archaeologist, died in
Dresden (born in Reichenbach 8/6/1760).
18/9/1835, Jean Courvoisier, French politician, died
21/7/1835, Eugene Brisson, French statesman, was born.
24/6/1835, Jacques Beugnot, French politician, died (born
in Bar sur Aube 1761).
18/3/1835, Christian Bernstorff, Prussian statesman, died
(born in Copenhagen 3/4/1769).
2/3/1835, Francis II, last Holy Roman Emperor, died. He was succeeded, as Emperor of Austria only, by his 4-year-old
son, Ferdinand
I.
19/11/1834, Richard Avenarius, German philosopher, was
born in Paris (died in Zurich 18/8/1896).
7/8/1834, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, French inventor, died.
7/2/1834, Louis Bourrienne, French politician, died in
Caen (born in Sens 9/7/1769).
1/1/1834, The German zollervein (customs union) now
extended to all German states except Austria and the north-eastern states.
3/5/1833, Jean Constans, French politician, was born at
Beziers (died 7/4/1913 in Paris).
27/4/1833, Joseph Emmerich, French politician, died (born
30/5/1773).
22/3/1833, A customs union, or zollverein, was signed
between Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Prussia, and Hesse-Darmstadt. Austria was
excluded. This zollverein covered 17 states with a total population of 20
million. Until now, 67 different tariffs and 13 non-Prussian enclaves, each
with a different fiscal system, had hampered economic development. The
zollverein was the idea of the economist Friedrich
List, who returned to Prussia from the USA in 1832. Germany
was also being united by the spread of the railways out from Berlin.
1832, France ceased to brand its
galley slaves with the letters TF (Travaux Forces).
30/7/1832, Jean Chaptal, French statesman, died (born
4/6/1756).
29/7/1832, Amand Bazard, French Socialist, (born in Paris
1791) died.
28/6/1832, Metternich
insisted on the German Confederation’s acceptance of the Six Articles. This
uniformised the behaviour of sovereigns across German States, forbade public
meetings, and introduced surveillance of suspicious characters.
5/4/1832, Jules Ferry,
French politician, was born (died 17/3/1893).
18/10/1831, Frederick III, Emperor of Germany, was born.
24/8/1831, August Gneisenau, Prussian Field-Marshal, died
(born 1760).
20/5/1831, Henri Gregoire, French Revolutionary died
(born 4/12/1750).
9/3/1831, King Louis-Philippe founded the French Foreign Legion. Its headquarters
was at Sidi-bel-Abbes in Algeria. In 1962 the headquarters was moved to Aubagne, France. See 5/7/1830.
24/2/1831, Georg Caprivi, German statesman (died
6/2/1899) was born.
15/12/1830, Karl August Ferdinand von Borcke (born
18/2/1776) a Prussian general and the first recipient of the Iron Cross, died.
9/12/1830, Friedrich Geffcken, German statesman, was born
(died 1/5/1896).
7/8/1830, Louis Philippe accepted the Crown of France.
2/8/1830, The July
Revolution in France ended. Charles X abdicated.
29/7/1830, French liberals opposed to Charles X seized Paris.
28/7/1830, Alexandre Hauterive, French statesman, died
(born 14/4/1754).
27/7/1830, Revolutionary riots in Paris, The July Revolution, sparked by the harsh
policies of King
Charles X.
29/5/1830, Louis Gohier, French politician, died (born
27/2/1746).
17/3/1830, Laurent Gouvion, Marshal of France, died (born
13/5/1764).
23/1/1830, Gaston Galliffet, French General, was born
(died 8/7/1909).
5/9/1829, Pierre Daru, French statesman, died (born
12/1/1767).
14/7/1829, Edward Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury, was
born in Birmingham (died in Ireland 11/10/1896).
7/4/1829, Moritz Brosch, German historian was born (died
14/7/1907).
24/3/1829, Jean Cavaignac, French politician, died (born
1762).
26/11/1828, Rene Goblet, French politician, was born (died
13/9/1905).
14/11/1828, Charles Freycinet, French statesman, was born.
2/10/1828, Charles Floquet, French politician, was born
(died 18/1/1896).
24/9/1828, Several German states founded the Commercial Union
of Central Germany, signing a customs agreement with Prussia.
14/6/1828, Augustus Charles died (born 3/9/1757).
23/4/1828, Frederick Augustus, King of Saxony from 1873
(died 10/6/1902) was born.
11/1/1828, The
Prussian zollervein, or customs
union, was extended to Hesse Darmstadt.
From 1825 a new Prussian finance minister, Friedrich von Motz, had begun to
extend the Prussian customs union or zollervein. Independent enclaves or city states had
previously served as smuggling centres, hindering tax collection. In May 1829 Bavaria, whose ruler Louis I
was keen on the zollervein, joined. See
1/1/1834.
10/8/1827, Paul Falk, German politician, was born (died
1900).
1/6/1827, Charles Freppel, French politician and Bishop,
was born (died 12/12/1891).
19/5/1827, Paul Challemel-Lacour, French politician, was
born (died 26/10/1896).
26/6/1826, Adolf Bastian, German ethnologist, was born in
Bremen.
5/5/1826, Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, was born in
Grenada., Spain.
28/11/1825, Maximilien Foy, French statesman, died (born
3/2/1775).
13/10/1825, Maximilian I, King of Bavaria, died.
3/10/1824, Harry Arnim, German diplomat, was born (died
1881).
16/9/1824, Louis XVIII, King of France, died aged 68, leaving a strong and prosperous country, in
contrast to its defeat under Napoleon. However his attempts at
constitutional reform were thwarted by the ultra-royalists. He was succeeded by
his brother, Charles
X.
10/7/1824, Rudolf
Bennigsen, German politician, was born in Luneburg (died 7/8/1902).
11/4/1824, Jean Drouet,
French Revolutionary, died (born 1763).
28/2/1824, Charles Blondin,
French tightrope walker famous for his crossings of Niagara Falls, was born in
Hesdin near Calais, as Jean Francois Gravelet.
29/1/1824, Louise Caroline, Countess of Albany, died.
2/8/1823, Lazare Carnot, French General, died (born
1753).
22/7/1823, Ludwig Bamberger, German politician, was born
in Mainz (died 1899).
1/6/1823, Louis Davout, Marshal of France, died (born
10/5/1770).
18/3/1823, Antoine Chanzy, French General, was born (died
4/1/1883).
26/11/1822, Karl Hardenberg, Prussian statesman, died
(born 31/5/1750).
1/4/1822, Louis Bertillon, French anthropologist, was
born in Paris (died in Neuilly 28/2/1883).
16/1/1822, Henri Aumale, French statesman, was born in
Paris (died in Zucco, Sicily 7/5/1897).
28/11/1821, Henri Baudrillart, French economist, was born
in Paris (died in Paris 24/1/1892).
5/5/1821, Napoleon Bonaparte died, in exile on St Helena, in the Atlantic
(born 15/8/1769). The cause may have been
arsenic poisoning, or it may have been stomach cancer, which also killed Napoleon’s
father.
21/3/1821, Ernst Engel, German political economist, was
born (died 8/12/1896).
25/12/1820, Joseph Fouche, French statesman, died (born
21/5/1763).
29/9/1820, Henri Chambord, contender for the French
throne, was born (died 24/8/1883).
14/4/1820, Pierre Chesnelong, French politician, was born
(died1894).
12/9/1819, Gebhard von Blucher, Prussian Field Marshall
who helped the Allies to victory against Napoleon, died in Silesia.
27/5/1819, George V, King of Hanover, was born.
14/8/1819, Antoine Gramont, French statesman was born
(died 18/1/1880).
21/11/1818, France was admitted to the Quadruple alliance, now
the Quintuple alliance (see 20/11/1815).
France’s war indemnity was cut.
29/9/1818, The Congress of Aix La Chapelle began.
13/8/1816, Heinrich Gneist, German politician, was born
(died 22/7/1895)
26/5/1818, A Bill presented by the economist and councillor Karl Maaseen
was adopted. It abolished customs procedures within Prussia and lifted
trade restrictions.
23/10/1817, Pierre Larousse, French lexicographer, was
born.
6/8/1817, Pierre Dupont, French statesman, died (born
14/9/1739).
29/4/1817, Vincent Benedetti, French diplomat, was born
in Bastia, Corsica (died in Paris 28/3/1900).
16/4/1817, Martin Delbruck, Prussian statesman, was born
(died 1/2/1903).
26/1/1817, Jean Godin, French socialist, was born (died
1888).
10/12/1816, August Goeben, Prussian General, was born
(died 1880)
15/10/1816, Stanislas Dupuy, French naval architect, was
born (died 1/2/1885).
12/6/1816, Pierre Augereau, French soldier, died.
3/6/1818, Louis Faidherbe, French general, was born
(died 29/9/1889).
25/2/1816, Friedrich Bulow, Prussian General, died (born
16/2/1755).
7/12/1815, Marshall Ney, a famous general of Napoleon,
convicted of high treason, was executed by firing squad for supporting Napoleon
at Waterloo when ordered by the Allies to arrest him.
20/11/1815, A second
Treaty of Paris reduced France to its 1789 frontiers (see 30/5/1814), stripped her of the port of Savoy,
and created an organisation charged with the collective security of Europe.
Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia renewed their Quadruple Alliance
and agreed to exclude the Bonaparte dynasty from French rule for another 20 years.
An Allied army of occupation was installed in Paris. An Allied army of
occupation was installed in Paris. Under this Alliance, each power agreed to
supply 60,000 soldiers in the event of French aggression.
16/10/1815, Napoleon arrived at St Helena, see 8/8/1815.
13/10/1815, Joachim Murat, King of the Two Sicilies, was
executed.
26/8/1815, Jean Jaureguiberry, French Admiral, was born
(died 21/10/1887).
22/8/1815, Pro
Royalists won the first free elections in France.
8/8/1815, Napoleon set sail for
exile on St Helena. He arrived there on 16/10/1815.
2/8/1815, Guillaume Brune, Marshal of France, died (born
13/3/1763).
17/7/1815, Napoleon attempted to escape to America from Rochefort but
was captured by the British.
15/7/1815, Napoleon surrendered to Captain Maitland of the ship Bellerophon
at Rochefort.
7/7/1815, The Allies
entered Paris victoriously a second time, and King
Louis XVIII returned to Paris.on 8/7/1815.
1/7/1815, A battle between
the French and the Allies at
Ligny, near Fleurus, Belgium.
26/9/1815, Holy Alliance formed between Russia, Austria,
and Prussia.
25/6/1815, Napoleon abdicated in Paris for a second time.
21/6/1815, Napoleon reached Paris.
18/6/1815, Sunday; the Battle
of Waterloo was fought, in driving rain., in the flat Belgian countryside. Combined British and Prussian forces,
15,000 and 8,000 respectively) led by the Duke of
Wellington and Field Marshall Blucher
decisively defeated the French (25,000) under Napoleon. Napoleon miscalculated,
underestimating his enemies. The French
soldiers were aware of an advancing force on their right flank; Napoleon
knew this was the Prussian Army, but reckoned he could defeat the British
before they arrived, then re-deploy. He
told the French Army these were more French soldiers. When the Prussians opened fire on the French
it seemed as these ‘French’ soldiers had changed sides; a cry of ‘treason’ went
up, and the French Army disintegrated. Napoleon
himself retreated westwards, but was held up at Genappe, only four miles from
the battlefield, as a mass of men attempted to cross the only bridge over the
River Dyle. Finally, only minutes before the Prussian cavalry arrived at
Genappe, Napoleon
succeeded in crossing the bridge and galloped away towards Paris. See 26/2/1815.
16/6/1815, Battle of Quatre
Bras.
15/6/1815, Napoleon defeated
the Prussians under Blucher at the Battle of Ligny, Netherlands. The Prussians lost 12,000 men,
against French losses of of 8,500. Napoleon
was hoping, by invading The Netherlands, to eliminate Britain and Prussia from
the coalition against him.
8/6/1815, Abandoning the idea of re-establishing the old
German Empire, the 39 disparate German
States formed a Union whose constitution was laid down in the Federal Act
which came into force this day. However
the rulers of States such as Bavaria, Hanover, Wurttemberg, Baden, and Saxony
were unwilling to cede any authority to a central government.
23/5/1815, Ferdinand IV formally retook the Neapolitan throne.
20/5/1815, Murat fled to
Corsica and the pro-Napoleon Neapolitans, now under the command of General Michele
Caracosa, signed a treaty agreeing to the restoration of King Ferdinand
IV.
3/5/1815, Murat was
heavily defeated at the Battle of Tolentino by General Bianchi’s Austrian I
Corps.
9/4/1815, Murat was
defeated at the Battle of Occhiobello.
8/4/1815, Edmond Scherer, French
politician, was born (died 16/3/1889).
1/4/1815, Otto von Bismarck,
German statesman, was born at Schonhausen in Brandenburg.
25/3/1815, Britain,
Austria, Prussia, and Russia, concluded a new alliance against France. On 10/4/1815 Austria also declares war on Joachim
Murat, the King of Naples, who has
allied himself with Napoleon. On 3/5/1815 Murat was defeated by the Austrians at Tolentino. Murat
fled Naples on 20/5/1815 and entered France. On 3/6/1815 Murat was replaced by Ferdinand IV, the former King of
Naples.
20/3/1815, Napoleon re-entered Paris; Louis XVIII had hurriedly left
the previous night, and fled for Ghent. British fears that Elba was too close a
place to France to exile Napoleon
were realised.
17/3/1815, Britain,
Russia, Austria and Prussia mobilised 150,000 men each to fight Napoleon.
15/3/1815, On
hearing of Napoleon’s
escape, Joachim
Murat, King of Naples and Napoleon’s brother in law, declared war on
Austria.
14/3/1815,Marshal Ney, who had
been sent to arrest Napoleon at Auxerre, instead joined him with
6,000 men.
7/3/1815, The first French
troops rallied to Napoleon.
1/3/1815, Napoleon landed at Cannes, southern France, with a
force of 1,500 men, and marched on Paris.
26/2/1815, Napoleon escaped from exile on Elba. He arrived in
Paris on 20/3/1815.
18/1/1815, Stanislas Boufflers, French statesman, died in
Paris (born near Nancy 31/5/1738).
2/12/1814, Marquis de Sade died in a lunatic asylum at
Charenton.
1/11/1814, The Congress of
Vienna opened, following Napoleon’s defeat.
29/6/1814, Edmond Dubois-Crance, French Revolutionist,
died (born 1747).
30/5/1814. The Treaty of Paris returned France to its 1792
borders (see 20/11/1815). France
renounced all claims to Germany, Italy, Holland, Switzerland, and Malta.
24/5/1814, Pope Pius VII, exiled by Napoleon
Bonaparte, returned to Rome.
3/5/1814, Louis XVIII entered Paris, to rule as a constitutional
(Bourbon) monarch, ending his exile
in England.
28/4/1814, Napoleon departed from the port of Frejus for Elba.
11/4/1814, Napoleon officially abdicated, see
6/4/1814.
6/4/1814, Napoleon, granted a pension and sovereignty of the island
of Elba, agreed to abdicate at Fontainebleau (he abdicated on 11/4/1814).
He retained the title of Emperor. On 3/5/1814 Napoleon
landed on Elba.
31/3/1814, Paris, encircled, poorly
defended, and flooded with refugees, surrendered.
Marmont
was the French commander who surrendered.
20/3/1814, Napoleon was defeated at Arcis sur Aube, 17 miles NE of
Troyes, leaving the way open for the Allies to occupy Paris.
12/3/1814, British forces
under Wellington
occupied Bordeaux, following, on 10/3/1814, Napoleon’s
defeat at Laon.
17/1/1814, Murat defected from Napoleon’s
rule, and the French domination of Italy
was at risk.
31/12/1813, Prussian forces under Blucher
crossed the Rhine frontier into France, pursuing retreating French forces.
30/12/1813, Danzig surrendered to the Allies, who
then threatened to invade France if Napoleon did not come to terms.
26/12/1813, Modlin and Torgau captured by the Allies.
5/12/1813, Lubeck surrendered to the Allies.
11/11/1813, Dresden surrendered to the Allies.
10/11/1813, Wellington crossed
the frontier into France in pursuit of Marshal Soult.
18/10/1813. Napoleon was
defeated at Leipzig, Saxony, by the Prussians, Swedes, and Austrians. The French lost
Germany. Casualties totalled
110,000. See 31/12/1813.
8/10/1813. Having
liberated Spain
from the French, British troops under Wellington invaded southern France.
3/10/1813, Clement
Garnier, French economist, was born (died 25/9/1881).
6/9/1813. While trying to
take Berlin, Napoleon’s forces under Marshall Ney
were defeated by the Prussians under Bulow, at Dennewitz.
27/8/1813, Battle of
Dresden, the last major victory of Napoleon.
12/8/1813. Austria declared war on France. England
was giving financial support to Spain, and the Spaniards
together with English troops were advancing
from the south against France. Napoleon was therefore now fighting almost the
whole of Europe.
21/6/1813. The victory of Wellington
at Vitoria in the
Peninsular War. Spain was lost by the French. Napoleon had deposed the Spanish monarch and
replaced him with his own brother, Joseph. However this act provoked major
Spanish popular resistance against France and led to Napoleon’s defeat there.
15/6/1813, Britain formed a
new alliance with Prussia and Russia
against Napoleon.
12/6/1813. Napoleon pulled
out of Madrid.
For more
events of Peninsular War, see Spain-Portugal
30/5/1813, The French took Hamburg.
23/5/1813, Geraud Duroc,
French General, died (born 25/10/1772).
22/5/1813. Napoleon I
defeated an allied army of Russians and Prussians at Bautzen, Saxony.
2/5/1813. Napoleon defeated a combined Russian and Prussian army at Grossgorchen, near Lutzen.
18/3/1813. Russian troops reached Hamburg, and on 27/3/1813 they
occupied Dresden, capital of Saxony.
13/3/1813. Prussia declared war on France, but was defeated at Lutzen and Bautzen.
16/1/1813, Georges Darboy, Bishop of Paris, was born
(died 17/5/1871).
4/3/1813. The Russians reached Berlin,
which surrendered without a fight.
15/1/1813, Francois Grevy, French President 1879-87, was
born (died 9/9/1891)
20/12/1812. The retreating
remains of Napoleon’s Russian invasion force
reached eastern Prussia.
26/11/1812, The Battle of Berezina. The Russians won; French plans to
over-winter at Smolensk had been thwarted.
18/11/1812, Russian forces closing in on the retreating French in western Russia won
the Battle of Polotsk.
16/11/1812, French
troops retreating from Moscow successfully broke
through a Russian roadblock at Krasnoi.
9/11/1812. One of the
worst winters on record in northern Europe began, severely affecting Napoleon’s troops as they retreated from Moscow (see 14/9/1812). Napoleon’s army endured
temperatures as low as –37 C for 27 consecutive days. On 9/12/1812 Napoleon’s troops reached the
undefended city of Vilnius; some
35,000 French troops died during the last four days of the march westwards to Vilnius. Napoleon
had already fled Vilnius on 5/12/1812, and returned to Paris, abandoning
his army to the Russians. On 10/12/1812 the Russians reached Vilnius
and vented their fury on Napoleon’s army.
Most of the French had already died of cold, hunger, and disease by the
time the Tsar entered Vilnius on 22/12/1812.
3/11/1812, French
troops retreating from Moscow successfully broke
through a Russian roadblock at Vyazama.
2/11/1812. Napoleon’s forces
re-occupied Madrid
after a British force failed to capture
Burgos, which
they laid siege to in September 1812.
24/10/1812, Battle of
Maloyaroslavets. The French had planned a retreat from Moscow through undamaged
terrain, white they might gather sustenance. However the Russians positioned
artillery to cover the bridges over the River Luzha, which the French had to
cross to achieve this planned retreat. After a series of fierce battles, the
French did capture the town, but the Russian artillery still commanded the
bridges. The French now had no choice but to attempt a retreat through the
devastated terrain they had previously advanced through.
23/10/1812, An anti-Napoleonic
faction in Paris attempted a coup, believing Napoleon to have died in Russia.
21/10/1812, Otto von Camphausen, Prussian statesman (died
18/5/1896) was born.
19/10/1812, Napoleon’s forces began their retreat from Moscow.
18/10/1812, Russian forces defeated the French at the Battle of Tarutino, south of
Moscow.
16/9/1812, French troops in
Moscow destroyed what the
Russian had left.
14/9/1812. Napoleon entered Moscow, which had
been abandoned and burned by the Russians in their scorched earth policy. This denied Napoleon’s
army much-needed winter quarters.
Winter was approaching (see 9/11/1812) and Napoleon
was forced to retreat. Napoleon failed to persuade Czar Alexander
to come to terms, and his army began to leave Moscow to return to France on 19/10/1812.
For Napoleon
in Russia see also Russia, 1812
For more
events of Peninsular War see also Spain
1810s
7/9/1812. Napoleon’s forces marching to Moscow defeated the Russians under Kutzov at the Battle of
Borodino, 70 miles west of the city. Each side lost some
40,000 men.
18/8/1812. Napoleon’s forces entered Smolensk.
16/8/1812, The Battle of
Smolensk
began. The Russians initially defended the city with a tenacity that the
French had not anticipated, then managed to withdraw to avoid encirclement. The
Russians destroyed all buildings and bridges as they fell back, leaving Napoleon’s
forces having captured nothing but ruins.
12/8/1812. Viscount Wellington’s British forces entered Madrid in the war against Napoleon’s
brother, Joseph
Bonaparte.
22/7/1812. British forces
under the Duke
of Wellington defeat the French at Salamanca, western Spain, during the Peninsular
War.
24/6/1812. Napoleon began his conquest of Russia. France and Russia had been
allies but relations had deteriorated between them. This day La Grande Armee crossed the River Niemen
into Russia. On 28/6/1812 he captured Vilnius, capital of Poland. Napoleon headed the biggest army ever
assembled up to that time, 614,000 men of at least 20 different nationalities. Within 6
months, 90% of them would be dead. Napoleon
wanted Russia under Tsar Alexander I to join
the French blockade of Britain. Napoleon’s army was welcomed as he entered
Lithuania and Poland, as liberators from the Russians, who had taken control of
these countries in 1795.
26/4/1812, Alfred Krupp,
German arms manufacturer, was born in Essen, in the Ruhr.
28/2/1812, Johann Archenholz, German historian, died at
Oyendorf, Hamburg (born 3/9/1743 in Langfuhr, Danzig).
For more
events of Peninsular war see Spain
29/10/1811, Louis Blanc, French politician, was born in
Madrid (died in Cannes 6/12/1882).
28/9/1811, Friedrich Hecker, German radical politician,
was born (died 24/3/1881).
31/8/1811, Louis Bougainville, French navigator, died in
in Paris (born in Paris 11/11/1729).
20/3/1811, Napoleon Bonaparte’s son was born; he was nominated as the King of Rome.
13/2/1811, Achille Bazaine, French Marshal, was born in
Versailles (died in Madrid 23/9/1888).
1810, The Krupp Works, Essen, Germany, opened.
27/9/1810, (Spain) Wellington
defeated the French at Busaco, in
the Peninsular War. Wellington then withdrew behind the Lines
(fortifications) of Torres Vedras
which Wellington
had built to protect Lisbon and waited as the French forces starved and
retreated.
23/9/1810, Ernest Cissey, French general, was born (died
15/6/1882).
30/7/1810, Leonhard Blumenthal, Prussian Field-Marshal,
was born in Schwedt on Oder (killed at Quellendorf 21/12/1900).
19/7/1810, Queen Louise of Prussia died, aged 34.
22/5/1810, Eon de Beaumont (Chevalier d’Eon), French
politician, died (born 7/10/1728)
2/4/1810, Napoleon married Marie-Louise, daughter of the Austrian
Emperor, having rejected Josephine because of her inability to fill the
royal nursery.
26/3/1810, Maximilian Gagern, German politician, was born
(died 17/10/1899).
17/2/1810, Napoleon annexed the Papal States.
4/2/1810, Czar Alexander refused Napoleon
the hand of his sister Anna, aged 15.
21/1/1810, Pierre Failly, French general, was born (died
1892).
16/12/1809, Napoleon divorced Josephine Beauharnais, because she has not given him a son, during their
13-year marriage.
8/8/1809, Heinrich Abeken, Prussian government official,
was born (died 1872).
28/7/1809, At the Battle of Talavera, in the Peninsular War,
the Duke of
Wellington was victorious over the French Admiral Soult.
15/7/1809, Napoleon Bonaparte annulled his marriage to Josephine. He married the
Austrian Archduchess Marie Louise in April 1810.
6/7/1809, Napoleon gained victory at Wagram over Austria. Pope Pius VII
was arrested. Austria had tried to
regain its old position whilst Napoleon was occupied in Spain. See 14/10/1809.
5/7/1809, Napoleon annexed
the Papal States.
27/6/1809, Francois
Canrobert, Marshal of France, was born (died 28/1/1895).
10/6/1809, Napoleon was excommunicated by Pope Pius VII. On 6/7/1809
Pope Pius was arrested for this act.
6/6/1809, Franz Ahrens, German scholar (died 25/9/1881)
was born.
21/5/1809, Battle of Aspern-Essling, fought
between Napoleon’s French troops and
the Austrians. Napoleon lost. Austria had reopened hostilities against
France in 1809, with a re-organised army.
However Napoleon reacted swiftly
and pushed down the Danube to occupy Vienna.
22/4/1809, Napoleon defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Eckmuhl.
20/4/1809, Napoleon inflicted a major defeat on the Austrian Army under
Archduke
Louis and General Hiller at
Abensburg, Bavaria.
10/4/1809. Austria declared war on France and its army
entered Bavaria.
21/3/1809, Jules Favre, French statesman, was born (died
20/1/1880).
12/3/1809. Britain signed a treaty with Persia, forcing the French
out of the country.
16/1/1809, The British won a
rearguard action against the French,
under Nicolas
Soult, at Corunna in the Peninsular War. Britain had invaded Spain in the hope of raising
anti-Napoleonic support but found this lacking. Corunna enabled the British
forces to be successfully evacuated. However the British commander, Sir John Moore,
was killed in this battle.
15/1/1809, Pierre Joseph
Proudhon, French socialist and political writer (died 1895) was
born.
3/12/1808, Napoleon entered Madrid. He installed Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain.
14/10/1808, The closure of
the Conference of Erfurt (began 27/9/1808); a settlement of European affairs
between Napoleon
I of France and Czar Alexander I of Russia. It was also
attended by the 34 princes of the Confederation of the Rhine. In return for
territorial gains in Europe (Finland, Moldova and Wallachia) Alexander I
agreed not to hinder the French war effort in Spain, and to assist Franc if it
was attacked by Austria.
12/10/1808, Victor Considerant, French socialist, was born
(died 1893).
6/9/1808, Louis Anquetil, French historian, died (born
21/2/1723 in Paris).
21/8/1808, British troops
under Wellington defeated the French under General Junot. This was at the Battle of Vimiero, during the Peninsular War. The Peninsular
War absorbed some 300,000 of Napoleon’s
best troops, and was ended when Napoleon heard reports that Austria, backed by
Britain, was arming against him.
20/7/1808, Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, entered Madrid; meanwhile Spanish
patriots defeated the French army at Bailen.
29/6/1808, Johann Baptist Alzog, German theologian, was
born in Ohlau, Silesia (died 1/3/1878).
2/5/1808, The people of Madrid rebelled against Napoleon’s
rule. The French had replaced the Spanish monarch with Napoleon’s elder brother, Joseph.
Moreover, Marshal
Joachim Murat proposed removing the children of the Royal Family to
France. This precipitated a riot with a crowd assembled at the Royal Palace to
prevent this removal. The French dealty with the protest harshly, killing many,
which merely inflamed matters further.
1/5/1808, King Charles IV of Spain
abdicated in favour of Joseph Bonaparte.
20/4/1808, Napoleon III, Emperor of France, was born.
23/3/1808, French forces occupied Madrid.
2/2/1808, French forces occupied Rome.
17/12/1807, The Milan Decree
was issued.
29/11/1807, The
Portuguese Royal Family fled to Brazil as France invaded Portugal, which
had refused to join the Continental System.
11/11/1807, Britain
extended its naval blockade to Russia after the Anglo-Russian alliance against
France was broken, see 7/7/1807.
2/11/1807, Louis Breteuil, French diplomat, died (born
7/3/1730).
5/9/1807, British forces seized the
North Sea island of Heligoland from Denmark. In 1980 Britain ceded the island
to Germany in return for Zanzibar.
2/9/1807, Britain bombarded and
destroyed the Danish
fleet at Copenhagen, to prevent its use by France or Russia.
18/8/1807, Napoleon I created the Kingdom of Westphalia, and set up his
brother Jerome
as ruler.
7/7/1807. Napoleon signed the Treaty
of Tilsit, making peace with Russia and Prussia. Prussia
continued to exist as a kingdom, but was forced to cede all its lands west of
the Elbe, as well as most of its recent acquisitions in Poland. Out of the former Prussian territory between
the Elbe and the Weser, Napoleon
created the Kingdom of Westphalia,
installing his brother Jerome as King.
14/6/1807. Napoleon gained victory at Friedland Prussia, against the Russians, under Levin Bennigsen.
26/5/1807, The
French took Danzig.
22/5/1807, Henry Edgeworth
de Firmont, last confessor to Louis XVI, died (born 1745).
4/5/1807. The Finkenstein Treaty was signed between France and Persia. The
French agreed to military aid and advice, to assist Persia in expelling the Russians
from Georgia. In return Persia pro missed to assist France in any French
invasion of British-held
India.
26/4/1807, Charles
Frossard, French General, was born (died 25/8/1875).
18/3/1807, British
troops occupied Alexandria,
but were forced out again by the Turks.
8/2/1807, Napoleon’s army fought a combined force of Russians and
Prussians at Eylau, East Prussia. Napoleon’s
advance into Poland was halted, temporarily.
26/12/1806, Battle of Pultusk, fought 60 km NNE of Warsaw, between the Russians and the French. The
French came off slightly better, although both sides claimed victory.
21/11/1806. Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree forbidding the
importation of British goods and even excluding
from harbours under his control or in friendly countries any vessel that had
touched at a British port. This was effectively an economic blockade of
Britain, causing British food prices to rise and the
British textile industry to decline.
27/10/1806, French forces
entered Berlin. Creation of the Confederation of the Rhine. Napoleon united the states he had created,
including Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Hesse-Darmstadt, Nassau, and Berg. The Confederation of the Rhine had an
independent internal policy but no foreign policy independent of Napoleon,
and had to supply troops to Napoleon if required. The
old German Empire ceased to exist politically; Germany became a mere
geographical area.
14/10/1806. Napoleon’s army
defeated the Prussians at Jena. The French General Davout also defeated the
Prussians this day at Auerstadt. Napoleon entered Berlin in triumph and Frederick William had to flee to
Konigsberg.
10/9/1806, Johann Adelung, German grammarian (born
8/8/1732) died.
6/8/1806, Francis II renounced the crown of the Holy
Roman Empire.
16/5/1806. Britain blockaded the European coast from Brest to
Hamburg.
15/2/1806. France and
Prussia signed the Treaty of Paris, by which Prussia closed its ports to
British goods. Britain declared war on Prussia.
23/1/1806. William Pitt the Younger, twice Prime Minister
(the first when only 24), died at Putney aged 47. He was buried in Westminster
Abbey. Napoleon was
still strong in Europe. Prussia, who had been reluctant to join the Allies, now
had to live with French domination of the puppet state of the Confederation of
the Rhine.
31/12/1805. The French
Revolutionary Calendar introduced
after the Revolution was abandoned
for the Gregorian Calendar.
14/12/1805, Nelson blockaded the French Mediterranean ports, and Spain
declared war on Britain.
2/12/1805. Battle of Austerlitz near Brunn, Moravia. The French
under Napoleon I defeated a combined force
of the Russians and Austrians.
Napoleon, with 70,000 troops, faced an enemy reinforced to 86,000 men by the
arrival of new Russian troops. A Russian attempt to outflank Napoleon’s right was
thwarted by Napoleon’s thrust towards the weakened Allied centre. The Allies
lost 18,500 men to just 900 French casualties. Austria sued for peace, and was
forced to abandon her territorial interests in Italy, also losing lands in the
western Alps. The British Prime Minister, Pitt, was
dismayed. The Russians withdrew from
fighting France, and Napoleon now occupied much of southern Germany. See 26/12/1805.
24/11/1805, Jacques Cazales, French politician, died (born
1758).
14/11/1805. Napoleon’s army entered Vienna.
21/10/1805. Battle of Trafalgar. Death of Nelson. Nelson blockaded the combined fleets of France
and Spain in Cadiz. The French Admiral, Villeneuve, attempted to break out, but
British ships sank or captured most of the French and Spanish ships. The
French had planned to link up with the Spanish fleet in the West Indies and so
lure the British into giving chase across the Atlantic. However Nelson
guessed at the French tactics and the Admiralty was warned. A British fleet
under Calder found the French fleet off Cape Finistere and they put into
Spanish harbours. The French fleet later emerged to sail, not for Britain, but
to return to the Mediterranean. The French were intercepted off Cape Trafalgar,
and destroyed in the Battle of Trafalgar. This destroyed Napoleon’s
chances of dominating the English Channel, so prevented a French invasion of
England.
20/10/1805, The outnumbered
French army of Napoleon defeated an
Austrian army at Ulm;27,000 Austrian troops surrendered. Napoleon had already realised he cold not gain
control of the English Channel, or overcome British naval supremacy, so before
the Battle of Trafalgar he had directed his forces eastwards, against Austria.
Austria had to submit to the Treaty of
Presburg, by which Venetia was ceded to the French Kingdom of Italy and the
States of the Lower Rhine were forced into the Confederation of the Rhine, a
French dependency. The Electors of Bavaria and Wurttemberg became Kings
independent of Austria, and Austria had to pay Napoleon a war contribution of
40 million francs.
15/10/1805, Karl Mack, Prussian General, was forced to surrender to Napoleon at Ulm.
19/8/1805, Saint Hilaire Barthelemy, French politician,
was born in Paris (died 24/11/1895).
26/5/1805, Napoleon was crowned King of Italy in Milan Cathedral.
8/2/1805, Louis Blanqui, French politician, was born
(died1/1/1881).
17/1/1805, Duperron Anquetil, French orientalist, died in
Paris (born 27/12/1731 in Paris).
2/12/1804, Napoleon
Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of
France at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, by Pope Pius VII.
18/7/1804, Gustav Hindersin, Prussian General, was born
(died 23/1/1872).
10/6/1804, Georges Cadoudal, French Royalist, was
executed in France (born 1771).
21/5/1804, The Pere
Lachaise cemetery was opened in Paris.
18/5/1804, Napoleon
Bonaparte was appointed Emperor of
France. He was crowned Emperor on
2/12/1804 in the presence of Pope Pius VII. He had ruled in name since he
was made Consul for Life in 1802, when a referendum gave him 3 million votes,
with only a few thousand against. He had reformed the economy and government,
and made France a great power again.
21/3/1804, A new civil code,
the Code Napoleon, came into force in
Paris.
20/3/1804, The Duc d’Enghien
was shot at Vincennes for plotting to restore the French monarchy.
9/1/1804, Aurelle de
Paladines, French General, was born in Malzieu, Lozere (died in
Versailles 17/12/1877).
5/1/1804, Elie Forey,
Marshal of France, was born (died 20/6/1872).
2/12/1803 , The French
army set up camp at Boulogne, preparing to invade England.
18/3/1803, France and
England were at war again, in
contravention of the Treaty of Amiens,
signed in 1802 See 25/3/1802.
30/10/1802, Charles Calonne, French statesman (born 1734)
died.
15/10/1802, Louis Cavaignac, French General, was born
(died 28/10/1857).
10/8/1802, Franz Aepinus, German natural philosopher, died
10/8/1802 in Dorpat (born 13/12/1724 in Rostock).
2/8/1802, Napoleon Bonaparte was made Consul for life.
19/5/1802, France instituted the Legion d’Honneur, the
highest award for civil or military distinction.
25/3/1802, The Treaty of Amiens was signed between the British, Spanish,
Dutch, and the French, ushering in a fragile peace between the 2 countries that lasted just over 12
months. Both counties were exhausted from continual warfare. Napoleon
still detested the British and
both countries built up their navies as Britain
still feared a French invasion. See 18/5/1803.
12/12/1801, John, King of Saxony, was born (died
19/10/1873).
6/10/1801, Lazare Carnot, French statesman, was born
(died 16/3/1888).
15/7/1801, The Roman
Catholic Church was re-established in France.
2/4/1801, Nelson put his blind eye to his telescope at the Battle of Copenhagen, aboard the Elephant,
thus failing to see Admiral Parker’s command to stop fighting. He continued the action until the French-Danish fleet was totally
subdued.
21/3/1801, At the Battle of
Alexandria, The French made a surprise attack on the British near
Alexandria, Egypt. The
British under General
Abercrombie defeated the French, but Abercrombie himself was mortally
wounded.
2/3/1801, The British
landed a force at Aboukir Bay, Egypt, to
try and evict the French from that country.
9/2/1801, By the Peace of Luneville, the cession of the
west bank of the Rhine to France was confirmed. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved.
See also Egypt for British-French military
conflict 1801 in Egypt
24/12/1800. An unsuccessful
attempt was made on Napoleon’s life
at Rue St Nicaise by French Royalists.
3/12/1800, Battle of Hohenstaufen; the French defeated the Austrians.
17/11/1800, Achille Fould, French politician, was born
(died 5/10/1867).
26/10/1800, Helmuth von Moltke, Prussian general, was born
in Mecklenberg.
30/9/1800, Napoleon signed the Treaty
of Mortefontaine, settling a naval dispute between France and America.
5/9/1800, French troops
occupying Malta surrendered to Britain.
France won control of Italy
14/6/1800. At the Battle of Marengo, near Alessandria,
north west Italy,
the French under Napoleon heavily defeated the Austrians during
the French Revolutionary Wars.
The French won back Italy, gaining control of the Po Valley, and then advanced
into southern Germany.
9/6/1800,
Napoleon won the Battle of Montebello,
south of Milan.
2/6/1800,
Napoleon’s army occupied Milan.
17/5/1800,
Napoleon’s army reached Aosta. Italy,
having traversed the Great St Bernard Pass.
14/5/1800,
Napoleon’s army reached Martigny on its
march south east into Italy.
24/3/1800, A
French army under Kleber defeated the Turks at Heliopolis.
Napoleon became dictator
19/2/1800, Napoleon
Bonaparte appointed himself First
Consul of the newly formed French dictatorship.
9/1/1800, Jean
Championnet, French General, died (born 1762).
24/12/1799, In France, a
public referendum led to the end of the French
Revolution and the founding of the First Republic.
15/12/1799, France
declared a new constitution.
9/11/1799, After a
coup, Corsican General
Napoleon Bonaparte
was appointed Consul, with Sieyes and Ducis. He made his name at the
defeat of the British fleet at the revolt of Toulon, 1793.
9/10/1799, Napoleon returned to France.
25/9/1799, Napoleon gained victory at Zurich.
18/9/1799, Napoleon gained victory at Alkmaar, Holland.
23/8/1799. Leaving the French
Army under Kleber,
Napoleon left to return to France.
20/8/1799, Heinrich Gagern, German politician, was born
(died 22/5/1880).
15/8/1799, Napoleon was
defeated at Novi.
25/7/1799. Napoleon gained victory over the Turks at Aboukir.
7/6/1799, Battle of
Zurich. Napoleon
defeated a Russian army.
10/5/1799, Napoleon withdrew from attacking Acre after an 8th unsuccessful assault.
29/12/1798, Formation of the Second Coalition against France; Britain,
Austria,
Russia, Naples and Portugal.
21/11/1798, Jerome Blanqui, French economist, was born in
Nice (died 1854).
9/9/1798, The Ottoman
Empire declared war on France
because of its occupation of Egypt.
1/8/1798, At the Battle of the Nile, at Aboukir Bay, Admiral Nelson, on the ship Vanguard, destroyed 11 out of
13 French battleships which were the convoy that took Napoleon to Egypt.
The French commander was Brueys,
aboard the ship L’Orient. The
crew were mostly ashore getting water, leaving no one to man the 120 French
guns. This effectively trapped the
French Army in Egypt.
Five French ships with 5,000 men were
sunk, 2 ships were captured, and 2 ships managed to escape from Nelson. On 10/2/1799 Napoleon left Egypt for Syria, occupying
Gaza
on 24/2/1799. On 7/3/1799 Napoleon captured Jaffa,
where his soldiers massacred over 2,0000
Albanian prisoners. On 17/5/1799 Napoleon lifted the siege of Acre
after failing to capture it.
21/7/1798, At the Battle of the Pyramids, Napoleon,
soon after his invasion of Egypt, defeated
an army of some 60,000 Mamelukes. Napoleon now intended to establish a
French base in Egypt from where he could harass British-India sea traffic. He
could also attack the Ottoman Empire form here via Syria. He sought to assure
the ulema, the Egyptian intelligentsia, that he was no modern Crusader but had
come to empower them and facilitate Egyptian self-rule independent of the
Ottomans. However the Egyptians were not yet ready for such self-determination,
and failed to follow the French initiatives.
2/7/1798, The French
invaded Egypt,
see 31/8/1801.
13/6/1798, Johann Baehr, German scholar, was born in
Darmstadt (died in Heidelberg, 29/11/1872).
11/6/1798. Malta surrendered to Napoleon
Bonaparte. On 2/9/1798 the
Maltese revolted against French occupation, forcing the French troops to take
refuge in the citadel of Valetta.
19/5/1798. Napoleon left France for Egypt.
11/2/1798, French troops captured Rome.
16/11/1797, Death of the Prussian King Frederick William II, aged 53. He was succeeded by Frederick William III.
17/10/1797. Napoleon made peace with
Austria at Campo-Formio. Austria to
cede the Belgian provinces to France in return for Venice, Dalmatia and Istria.
19/9/1797, Lazare Hoche,
French General, died (born 24/6/1768)
4/9/1797, A French army
coup halted the plans of British backed Royalists in Paris.
25/6/1797. Admiral Nelson
was wounded in the right arm by grapeshot, during the Battle of Santa Cruz, off
Tenerife. He had the arm amputated that
afternoon.
14/5/1797, Napoleon conquered Venice.
18/4/1797¸ Napoleon signed preliminaries of peace with Austria.
13/4/1797, Napoleon captured Leoben on his advance from Italy into
Austria.
22/3/1797, (1) Napoleon captured Gorizia, in an advance from Italy into Austria..
(2) Wilhelm I, Emperor of
Germany, was born.
19/2/1797, Napoleon captured Tolentino, Italy, where he signed a treaty
with the Papacy
(The Peace of Tolentino)
9/2/1797, Napoleon captured Ancona, Italy.
2/2/1797, Napoleon captured Mantua, Italy.
1/2/1797, Napoleon captured Bologna, Italy.
14/1/1797, Battle of
Rivoli. Napoleon’s
first decisive victory over the Austrians.
15/12/1796, A French
fleet under General
Hoche sailed from Brest to invade Ireland. However a storm dispersed
the fleet off Kerry and the invasion was called off.
5/10/1796. Spain
declared war on Britain by signing the
Treaty of San Il Defonso, allying it with Revolutionary France. The
Treaty was engineered by Spanish Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy, lover of King Charles IV’s wife Maria Luisa.
De Godoy
was opposed to monarchist Britain.
Many ordinary Spanish opposed the Treaty, which diminished Spain as an imperial
power and weakened her influence in The Americas.
2/9/1796, Francois Hamelin, French Admiral, was born
(died 10/1/1864).
30/6/1796, Napoleon marched into central Italy, taking Florence this
day.
23/6/1796, Pope Pius VI signed an armistice with Napoleon.
3/6/1796, Napoleon advanced to Verona, thereby securing all of
Austrian Lombardy.
17/5/1796, Napoleon advanced to Brescia.
15/5/1796, Napoleon occupied Milan.
10/5/1796, Napoleon won the Battle of Lodi.
28/4/1796, Napoleon reached an armistice with Sardinia.
13/4/1796, Napoleon won the Battle of Millesimo.
10/3/1796. Napoleon gained victory at the Battle of Lodi.
9/3/1796. Napoleon married Josephine de
Beautharnais.
2/3/1796. Napoleon was appointed Commander in Chief of the Army of
Italy and The Alps.
8/2/1796, Barthelemy Enfantin, French social reformer,
was born (died 1/9/1864).
26/10/1795. Napoleon was appointed General of the Army of the Interior.
5/10/1795. Napoleon participated in defeating a Royalist uprising in
Paris. He became Commander of the Army of the Interior.
1/10/1795, Belgium was incorporated in the French Republic.
13/8/1795, Karl Homeyer, German jurist, was born (died
20/10/1874).
15/7/1795. The Marsellaise was officially adopted as the French National Anthem. It had been written by the French
Army Captain Rouget de Lisle in 1792, whilst he was
stationed at Strasbourg.
27/6/1795, A force of French
Royalists, under D’Hervilly and Puisaye, landed at Quiberon to try and start a
pro-monarchist rebellion. They were defeated by General Hoche, all prisoners
being shot.
23/6/1795, Off the
port of Lorient, NW France, a British fleet under Lord Bridport defeated the
French under Villaret-Joyeuse.
17/6/1795, Jean Goujon,
French politician, died (born 13/4/1766).
7/5/1795, Antoine Fouquier-Tinville,
French revolutionary, was guillotined (born 1746).
5/4/1795, Frederick William of Prussia signed a peace
treaty with France (First Treaty of Basle), to leave himself free to deal with
his eastern frontier. The west bank of the Rhine was given to
France.
2/1/1795, The French captured the
Dutch fleet as it stood frozen into the River Texel. William V escaped to
England as the French established a Batavian Republic.
16/11/1794, Jean Carrier,
French Revolutionary, was guillotined (born 1756).
3/11/1794, Francois Bernis,
French statesman, died in Rome (born 22/5/1715).
24/10/1794., Friedrich
Balduin, German soldier, was born (died 20/4/1848).
20/8/1794, Napoleon was
released, see 10/8/1794.
10/8/1794, In France, Napoleon
Bonaparte was briefly arrested because of his connections with the
Jacobins, a radical political group.
28/7/1794, Maximillien Robespierre, 36, French leader of the Jacobins during the French
Revolution, was guillotined in
Paris. Anti-Jacobin sentiment rose. Robespierre’s zeal for use of the guillotine
made even his former friends uneasy. See 27/7/1793.
17/7/1794, The Paris
Commune, set up in 1791, was suppressed.
12/7/1794. Admiral Nelson
lost his right eye at the siege of the French garrison at Calvi in Corsica.
26/6/1794, The French defeated the Austrians at the Battle of
Fleurus.
18/6/1794, Francois Buzot, French Revolutionary, died
(born 1/3/1760).
17/6/1794, Marguerite Guadet, French revolutionary, died
(born 20/7/1758).
1/6/1794, The Battle of the Glorious 1st June. The British
fleet under Lord
Howe defeated the French under Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse, 700km west of
Ushant.
10/5/1794, Elizabeth, daughter of Louis the Dauphin, born
3/5/1764, was executed.
28/4/1794, Charles Estaing, French Admiral, born 1729,
was executed for his close relations to the French Queen.
22/4/1794, Jean Epremesnil, French magistrate, was
guillotined (born 5/12/1745).
12/4/1794, Jean Gobel, French politician, was guillotined
(born 1/9/1727)
5/4/1794, George Jacques Danton, French revolutionary leader, was guillotined for
treason, nine months after his dismissal from the Committee of Public Safety
which was ruling France.
24/3/1794, Jean Cloots, French Revolutionary, was
guillotined.
26/2/1794, Hans Hassenpflug, German statesman, was born
(died 15/10/1862).
18/12/1793. The British withdrew from Toulon and Napoleon
was appointed General de Brigade.
7/12/1793, Madame
du Barry, last mistress of King Louis XV
of France, was guillotined by the Revolutionary Council.
29/11/1793, Antoine Barnave, orator of the French Revolution, was executed at
The Tuileries (born in Grenoble 22/10/1761).
8/11/1793, In Paris, the
Revolutionary Government allowed the public to view the Royal art collection
for the first time.
3/11/1793, Execution by
guillotine of French playwright Olympe de Gouges, Horrified by the bloodshed
that was characterising the French Revolution, she had called for a referendum
that would let the people decide between a Republic or restoration of the
monarchy. She was executed along with other moderate Girondists.
31/10/1793, Jacques Brissot. French Girondist, was executed.
30/10/1793, Claude Fauchet, French Revolutionary Bishop,
was executed (born 22/9/1744).
16/10/1793, Marie
Antoinette,
born 2/11/1755, the Queen of France as wife of Louis
XVI, was convicted of treason and guillotined in Paris. See 21/7/1793. Aged 38, she had been held in prison
for over a year; since August in solitary confinement.
27/9/1793, Denis Affre, Archbishop of Paris, was born in
St Rome, Tarn (died 27/6/1848).
17/9/1793, Revolutionary
France passed the Law of Suspects.
This was a wide-ranging measure that authorised the arrest of anyone who had
supported tyranny or federalism, former nobles and their relatives, also
emigres. It was the basis for the Reign
of Terror, and was repealed in 1795.
28/8/1793, Adam Custine, French General, was guillotined.
23/8/1793, France
introduced the first national conscription, claiming all unmarried men aged
18 to 25.
1/8/1793, The kilogram was introduced in France as the first metric weight.
27/7/1793, Maximilian Robespierre, Jacobin
leader, became a member of the Committee of Public Safety, established to
guard against an attack on France by neighbouring countries after the execution
of King
Louis XVI. See 28/7/1794.
17/7/1793, Charlotte Corday was guillotined for the murder of Jean Paul Marat,
see 13/7/1793.
14/9/1783, Gaspar Gourgaud, French soldier, was born
(died 1852).
13/7/1793, Jean Paul Marat, French
Revolutionary, was stabbed to death by a Girondist (right-wing) supporter, Charlotte
Corday. Marat’s zeal for execution of royalty and
government ministers had made him many enemies.
4/7/1793, Friedrich Bleek, German scholar, was born in
Holstein (died 27/2/1859).
11/6/1793, Napoleon had to leave Corsica with his family and went to
Toulon.
31/5/1793, The Reign of
Terror, in which thousands went to the guillotine, in the French Revolution,
began.
26/4/1793, Nicolas Changarnier, French General, was born
(died 14/2/1877).
20/3/1793, An army of peasant Royalists defeated the
Republicans in the Vendee region of
France. See14/3/1793.
18/3/1793, Austrian forces defeated a French Revolutionary
Army at the Battle of Neerwinden.
14/3/1793, A force of
counter-revolutionaries in western France was trying to restore the monarchy. See 20/3/1793.
7/3/1793, France declared war on Austria, and also on Spain
on 7/3/1793.
1/2/1793, Britain declared war on France. The
British economy entered a depression.
21/1/1793, (1) The county of Nice was annexed to France.
Monaco was annexed to France on 14/2/1792.
(2) Louis XVI, King of
France since 1774, was executed by
guillotine in the Place de la
Revolution, Paris, convicted of treason. The executioner was called Sanson.
His trial had ended with the death sentence on 19/1/1793. See 16/10/1793.
13/1/1793, Nicolas Bassville, French politician, died
(born in Abbeville 7/2/1753).
19/11/1792, The new French Republican Government offered to
help any other nation that wished to overthrow its monarchy; Britain saw this
as provocative.
6/11/1792, The French
under General Dumouriez decisively
defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Jenappes, Belgium. As a result of this
battle, the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium) were annexed by revolutionary
France.
27/10/1792, France invaded the Spanish Netherlands.
30/9/1792, French troops took Speyer, in the Rhineland.
22/9/1792, This day was declared the beginning of Year One of
the New French Republic. A new
‘Revolutionary Calendar’ was introduced, consisting of 12 30-day months divided
into 3 10-day weeks. The months were given names corresponding to the
prevailing weather or harvest conditions. An extra 5 days (6 in leap years)
were added as holidays at the end of each year. This calendar ran in France
until it was abolished in 1805 by Napoleon I.
21/9/1792.
France formally abolished the
monarchy and declared itself a Republic.
20/9/1792, The Battle
of Valmy. The Prussians failed to
successfully attack the French, in wet marshy conditions, and retreated; the
French considered it a victory.
17/9/1792, The French Crown
jewels were stolen in Paris.
20/8/1792, The
Prussian army took Verdun.
19/8/1792, The French
Revolutionary Tribunals were set up.
10/8/1792, The French mob
invaded the Palace of Versailles. The
French Royal Family was imprisoned.
Napoleon participated in the
assault on the Tuileries Palace.
14/7/1792. The Prussians threatened to invade France to
restore the French monarchy. However an attempted Prussian invasion of France
failed.
3/7/1792, Ferdinand, Prussian General, died (born
12/1/1721).
25/4/1792. The
guillotine was first erected in Paris, at the Place de la Greve. It was
first used to behead a highwayman called Pelletier. The guillotine had been
designed to make executions more humane but swiftly became a symbol of the
tyranny of the French Revolution. Beheading took less than half a second.
In fact a version of the guillotine was in use in Ireland as early as 1307. During the French Revolution an estimated 40,000
people were guillotined. The last
public execution in France was on 17/6/1939 and the guillotine was last
officially used in France on 10/9/1977. See 20/3/1792.
24/4/1792. Claude Rouget de l’Isle composed the French
National Anthem, the Marseillaise.
20/4/1792. France declared war on Austria. Austria was
allied with Prussia but there was disunity between the two commanders. In
1793 England and Holland joined in against France, which was attempting to
annex Belgium, an Austrian possession. Ultimately Austria received Bavaria
as a compensation for Belgium going to France.
20/3/1792, The French legislature approved the use of the guillotine, see 25/4/1792.
1/3/1792, Leopold III, Holy Roman Emperor, died unexpectedly, aged 44. He was succeeded by his
24-year old son, Francis II, last of
the Holy Roman Emperors.
20/2/1792, The Battle of Valmy. French
Revolutionary forces successfully drove back an invading Prussian force. This
greatly boosted French Revolutionary morale.
7/2/1792, Austria and Prussia signed a military alliance
against France.
24/1/1792. In Paris, five
days of looting ended in a riot as the cost of living soared.
21/9/1791, The National Assembly announced that France was
now officially a Republic.
19/9/1791, Camille Barrot, French politician, was born in
Villefort, Lozere (died in Bougival 6/8/1873).
9/9/1791. French
Royalists
took control of Arles and barricaded themselves inside the town.
4/9/1791, King Louis XVI was forced to approve the new French constitution, making him a mere civil servant.
27/8/1791, European monarchs
backed King
Louis XVI against the Revolution.
16/7/1791,
Louis XVI was
suspended from office until he agreed to ratify the new French Constitution.
21/6/1791, The French royal
family attempted to flee Paris in disguise but are forced to return after being
arrested at Varennes. The King, disguised as a valet, intended to meet
supporters at Pont de Sommeville but they were delayed and the villagers got
suspicious of the soldiers, who had to hide in the woods and got lost. The King pressed on to Varennes,
142 miles from Paris, where he was recognised by a horseman sent by Lafayette, head of the National Guard, to look for
him. Louis’ powers were suspended by the
Assembly on 25/6/1791. However Louis’ brother, the Count of Provence, did succeed
in fleeing Paris for Brussels.
26/5/1791, The French
Assembly forced Louis XVI to hand over the State and Crown assets.
18/4/1791. National Guardsmen prevented Louis XVI
and his family from leaving Paris. On
26/4/1791 Louis
XVI was forced to hand over all the assets of the Crown to the State.
13/4/1791. Pope Pius VI threatened to suspend all priests in France who swore
allegiance to the State (see 13/1/1791) unless they recant within 40 days.
2/4/1791, Death of Count de
Mirabeau, a moderate leader of the French Revolution.
13/1/1791. The
French Assembly introduced a universal tax
on rent and property values. The
requirement for French priests to swear allegiance to the State stirred up
rebellion amongst the clergy.
27/10/1790. France adopted the decimal
system of weights and measures.
6/10/1790, Leopold was crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Frankfort.
22/7/1790, In France, the clergy were removed from the control
of Rome, and Church property was nationalised.
12/7/1790, Reform of the
French clergy, who must now be elected.
19/6/1790. The French
Assembly passed a law abolishing the
hereditary nobility.
15/6/1790, French Protestant
militia massacred 300 Roman Catholics.
23/5/1790, Jules Dumont, French navigator, was born (died
8/5/1842).
8/5/1790, France began
the process of metrication when its National
Assembly approved Talleyrand’s
proposal for a unified system of weights and measures.
4/3/1790, The modern day French departments were created by
the National Constituent Assembly, They were drawn so as to break up older
traditional historic regions, thereby emphasising national unity, and designed so that the entire territory of each
department was within one day’s horse ride of the capital, for security.
20/2/1790, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, died. His
reforms had provoked rebellion in Belgium and Hungary.
19/2/1790, Thomas Favras, French Royalist, was executed
(born 26/3/1744).
21/1/1790, In Paris, Dr Joseph
Ignace Guillotin demonstrated to the National Assembly of Paris a
new machine for ‘humane’ executions using a heavy blade falling on the victim’s
neck.
13/1/1790, Luc Urbain
Guichen, French Admiral, died (born 1712).
21/10/1789, Martial law was imposed in Paris after a baker was
killed by the mob, accused of hoarding bread.
5/10/1789, Parisian women,
frustrated by bread shortages, marched on Versailles to demand the King move to
Paris, where he could be monitored more closely.
27/8/1789, The new French regime (French National Assembly) drew up the Declaration
of the Rights of Man and of Citizen.
26/8/1789. Miners in the
Pyrenees protested against their working conditions.
4/8/1789, The feudal system was abolished in France. Peasants
attacked their landlords.
22/7/1789, A revolutionary
mob murdered the Bailiff of Paris.
14/7/1789. Fall of the Bastille, Paris. It was stormed by the
citizens of Paris and burned to the ground, at the start of the French
Revolution. From 16/7/1789 the French nobility began to flee France. The Bastille had been built in 1369, and designed
by Hugues Aubriot (died 1383). At dawn on the 14/7/1789 the mob had stormed Les
Invalides, hoping to find arms to repulse an expected attack by soldiers loyal
to King
Louis XVI. They found 32,000
rifles but no ammunition; a rumour spread that the ammunition was at the
Bastille. The Bastille was guarded by 80 soldiers deemed unfit for front-line
duties, reinforced by 30 Swiss Guards, and with cannon. Neither the prison
governor nor the army showed much will to fight the mob. Seven prisoners within
were released.
12/7/1789, Fires burnt in
Paris after two days of rioting. The population were angered by a threat to
disband the Assembly.
11/7/1789, The Marquis de
Lafayette presented the Declaration of Human Rights to the French
National Assembly.
30/6/1789, The revolutionary
mob in Paris attacked the Abbaye prison.
20/6/1789, The French Revolution began. See
5/5/1798. The Third Estate, excluded from Versailles,
formed a new assembly at a tennis court nearby, to oppose the dominance of the
aristocracy.
17/6/1789, In France, the Third Estate constituted itself as the French
National Assembly. The Third
Estate was the commoners, after the Clergy and the Nobility. These last two Estates, under 3% of the
population, owned 40% of the land. They were also exempt from taxes, placing an
undue tax burden on the middle classes.
4/6/1789, The Dauphin Louis, heir to King Louis XVI, died aged 7.
5/5/1789, The French King opened the States General Assembly at Versailles. The French middle class wanted to break
down the monopoly of power and wealth held by the aristocracy. The French King felt insecure because of the unpopularity
of his Austrian wife, Marie Antoinette, the
bankruptcy of the French Treasury, and the increasingly democratic mood of the
French Army following on from the American Declaration of Independence. See 20/6/1789. France had also suffered humiliation
in the Seven Years War (1756-630, losing to Britain; France had lost her North American colonies, and bad harvests in 1788
and 1789 had almost doubled the price of bread.
28/4/1789. 300 workers at the
Reveillon wallpaper factory were killed when troops opened fire on rioters
there. The protest was over proposed pay cuts. France had been in financial
crisis for months now, the state overburdened by an expensive aristocracy and
clergy. On 22/5/1789 the nobility joined with the clergy in giving up their
financial privileges.
6/1/1788, Louis Cormenin, French political lobbyist, was
born (died 6/5/1868).
29/11/1787. Louis XVI of France promulgated an Edict of Tolerance, allowing civil
status to Protestants.
4/10/1787, Francois Guizot, French statesman, was born
(died 12/9/1874).
22/2/1787, France was nearly bankrupt, with a
national debt of UK£ 800 million.
25/8/1786,
Ludwig I, King of Bavaria, was born.
17/8/1786, Frederick the Great,
military leader and King of Prussia since 1740, died in Potsdam, aged 74.
Under his rule Prussia grew from under 46,000 square miles to over 71,000
square miles, and its population rose from 2.2 million to 5.8 million. Prussia
had a standing army of 200,000, well armed and disciplined. Britain often gave
financial aid to Prussia, in its wars against France and Austria. He was
succeeded by his inept 41-year-old nephew, who ruled as Freidrich Wilhelm II for 11 years.
8/8/1786, Mont Blanc, 4,807 metres high, was conquered by a
local man, Dr
Michel Gabriel Paccard of Chamonix, along with his porter Jacques
Balmat.
28/11/1785, Achille Duc de Broglie, French statesman, was
born (died 25/1/1870).
21/5/1785, August Bekker, German philosopher, was born
(died in Berlin 7/6/1871).
13/5/1785, Friedrich Dahlmann, German politician, was
born (died 5/12/1860).
8/5/1785, Etienne Choiseul, French statesman, died (born
18/6/1719).
27/3/1785, King Louis XVII of France was born.
17/10/1784, Napoleon, aged 15, entered the Ecole Militaire in Paris. He
graduated a year later, coming 42nd out of 58.
15/10/1784, Thomas Bugeaud, Marshal of France, was born
(died 10/6/1849).
2/1/1784, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha, was born
(died 29/1/1844).
1/2/1783, Andre Dupin, French statesman, was born (died
8/11/1865).
3/9/1781, Eugene de Beauharnais, French soldier and
stepson of Napoleon
I, was born in Paris (died 1824).
5/1/1781, France attempted another invasion of the Channel
Islands (see 1/5/1779). This too failed and they never attempted to invade
again.
23/12/1780, France was
suffering a deepening financial crisis, in part caused by the costs of supporting
the Americans against Britain.
4/7/1780, Charles, Prince of Lorraine, died (born
12/12/1712).
1/6/1780, Karl von Clausewitz, military strategist, was
born, in Burg, near Magdeburg, Prussia.
10/8/1779, Louis XVI freed the last remaining serfs on royal
land.
7/8/1779, Louis Freycinet, French navigator, was born
(died 18/8/1842).
15/5/1779, Napoleon,
aged 9, entered the Military School at Brienne.
13/5/1779, At the Peace
of Teschen, Austria made peace with Frederick of Prussia. Austria received a small part of Bavaria, the
Innvertiel, and renounced all claims to the Bavarian inheritance.
1/5/1779, France attempted an invasion of the Channel
Islands. French troops landed on a beach on Jersey but were beaten back by the
Island’s militia. See 5/1/1781.
27/7/1778, The
Battle of Ushant, between Britain and France.
30/7/1777, Karl Grolman,
Prussian soldier, was born (died 1/6/1843).
13/2/1777, In Paris,
the Marquis de Sade was
arrested, and later condemned to death. However he escaped from prison before
the execution.
13/12/1775, Rene Exelmans,
Marshal of France, was born (died 10/7/1852).
30/11/1775, Jean Courvoisier,
French politician, was born
3/2/1775, Maximilien Foy,
French statesman, was born (died 28/11/1825).
24/6/1774, Francois Haxo,
French military engineer, was born (died 25/6/1838).
10/5/1774, King Louis XV of France died aged 64 of smallpox, after a reign of nearly 59
years. He was succeeded by his 19-year-old grandson. He ruled as Louis XVI
until 1792, with his Austrian-born Queen Marie Antoinette.
14/12/1773, Johannes
Gossner, German preacher and philanthropist, was born (died
20/3/1858).
6/10/1773, Louis Philippe, King of France, was born.
3/8/1773, Marie Gontaut, Governess to the children of
the French Royal Family, was born (died 1857).
30/5/1773, Joseph Emmerich, French politician, was born
(died 27/4/1833).
4/4/1773, Etienne Gerard, French General, was born (died
17/4/1852).
25/10/1772, Geraud Duroc, French General, was born (died
23/5/1813).
2/8/1772, Louis Enghien, French soldier, was born (died
1804).
5/6/1771, Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover, was born
(died 18/11/1851).
15/9/1770, (see 15/5/1768), Corsica formally submitted to
French rule.
10/5/1770, Louis Davout, Marshal of France, was born
(died 1/6/1823).
19/4/1770, Marriage of King Louis XVI of France (1754-93) to Marie
Antoinette (1755-93)
15/8/1769, Napoleon, Emperor of France
1804-15, was born in Ajaccio, Corsica;
he died on 5/5/1821. He was the son of a lawyer. See 18/6/1815. Had he been born the previous
year he would not have been French, but Genoese, see 15/5/1768.
9/7/1769, Louis Bourrienne, French politician, was born
in Sens (died in Caen 7/2/1834).
13/4/1769, Charles Decaen, French soldier, was born (died
1832).
3/4/1769, Christian Bernstorff, Prussian statesman, was
born in Copenhagen
(died 18/3/1835).
10/1/1769, Michel Ney, French Army marshal, the most
famous of Napoleon’s
marshals, was born in Saarlouis, son of a cooper.
24/6/1768, Lazare Hoche, French General, was born (died
19/9/1797)
15/5/1768. By the Treaty of Versailles, France purchased
the island of Corsica from Genoa.
Some Corsicans wanted total independence, but see 15/9/1770.
12/2/1768, Francis II, last Holy Roman Emperor, was born.
7/1/1768, Joseph Bonaparte, eldest brother of Napoleon
and King of Naples and Spain, was
born on Corsica.
22/12/1767, Jacques Bridaine, French preacher, died (born
21/3/1701).
27/2/1767, Jacques Dupont, French statesman, was born
(died 1855).
12/1/1767, Pierre Daru, French statesman, was born (died
5/9/1829).
23/10/1766, Emmanuel Grouchy, Marshal of France, was born
(died 29/5/1847).
30/4/1766, Johann Ancillon, Prussian statesman and
historian, was born in Berlin (died 19/4/1837).
13/4/1766, Jean Goujon, French politician, was born (died
17/6/1795).
25/1/1766, Hans Gagern, German political writer, was born
(died 22/10/1852).
18/8/1765, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, died. He was
succeeded by Josef II (1741-90).
29/7/1765, Jean d’Erlon, Marchal of France, was born
(died 15/1/1884).
27/3/1765, Franz Baader, German philosopher, was born in
Munich (died 23/5/1841).
23/11/1764, Gustav Hugo, German jurist, was born (died
15/9/1844).
24/9/1764, Joseph Dessaix, French General, was born (died
26/10/1834).
13/5/1764, Laurent Gouvion, Marshal of France, was born
(died 17/3/1830).
15/4/1764, Madame de Pompadour,
French courtier and mistress of Louis XV, died in Versailles.
28/10/1763, Heinrich Bruhl, German politician, died (born
13/8/1700).
23/6/1763, Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon,
was born on the French island of Martinique as Marie Rose Tascher de la Pagerie.
Her marriage to Napoleon
was dissolved when she failed to produce an heir.
21/5/1763, Joseph Fouche, French statesman, was born
(died 25/12/1820).
13/3/1763, Guillaume Brune, Marshal of France, was born
(died 2/8/1815).
15/2/1763, Austria, seeing
hope for a decisive victory over Prussia recede with peace between Russia and
Prussia, made peace with Prussia at Hubertusberg this day. Frederick evacuated Saxony but retained
Silesia. Austria had failed to
destroy Prussia before Prussian power was consolidated.
10/2/1763. The end of the Seven Years War. France ceded Canada to Britain at the Treaty of Paris. See 26/7/1758 and 13/9/1759. The same treaty gave
Florida to Britain in exchange for Britain returning Cuba, which it had invaded on 12/8/1762,
to Spain; Spain
also regained Louisiana and the Philippines. Britain gained all of America east
of the Mississippi. Britain also gained Minorca, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia,
Tobago, St Vincent, Grenada, Dominica, and Senegal, as well as becoming
pre-eminent in India; Britain therefore became the world’s major colonising
power. Frederick of Prussia retained Silesia, which set Prussia on the road to
also becoming a major European power.
3/11/1762, Britain
concluded a peace with France at Fontainbleau. See 10/2/1763.
See also East Europe and Russia for Seven Years War
29/10/1762, The
Austrians were defeated at the Battle of Freiburg. The war was making Austria bankrupt and
Austria was questioning whether the war was worth it for the recovery of one
province. Austria and Prussia agreed on
an armistice on 24/11/1762 for the
winter of 1762/3.
9/10/1762, The
Austrians under Daun
were defeated by Prussia at Schweidnitz.
16/8/1762, The
Austrians under Daun
were defeated by Prussia at Reichenbach.
21/7/1762, The
Austrians under Daun
were defeated by Prussia at Burkersdorf.
22/5/1762, Peace was
formally agreed between Russia and Prussia (Treaty of Hamburg). Russian forces
began to return home.
5/1/1762, Elizabeth I
of Russia died; her successor Tsar Peter III
made peace with Prussia. This was
fortunate for Frederick
of Prussia because after the end of the Pitt Ministry in England, the
English were moving towards making peace with France and therefore no longer giving financial support to
Prussia. See 15/2/1763 and
5/10/1761.
16/12/1761 The
Russians under Pyotr
Aleksandrovitch Rumyantsev captured the Prussian port and fort of
Kolberg. It had been a bad year for Frederick of Prussia, with French forces
making progress eastwards in south western Germany, and the Austrians under Laudon
capturing Schweidnitz on 1/10/1761, ensuring they could over-winter in Silesia.
Frederick
had failed to prevent the Russian Army, 50,000 strong, joining up with the
72,000-strong Austrian Army on 23/8/1761. Frederick’s
biggest concern was that since the change of monarch and the resignation of Pitt in Britain, he could no longer
rely on British support. Without a major
change of fortune, Prussia faced certain defeat in 1762.
19/2/1761, Antoine Boulay,
French politician, was born in Vosges (died in Paris 4/2/1840)
22/10/1761, Antoine Barnave,
orator of the French Revolution, was born in Grenoble (executed at The
Tuileries 29/11/1793).
5/10/1761, In
Britain, Pitt resigned, and Britain
virtually abandoned support for Prussia.
6/3/1761, Antoine
Francois Andreossy, French soldier and diplomat, was born in
Castelnaudary (died 1828).
22/1/1761, France
communicated to Russia that it desired peace in the war against Prussia.
Austria communicated similarly to Russia the following day. However Russia
rejected this proposal, as its original purpose in eliminating the threat it
saw in Prussia, would then remain unsatisfied.
23/11/1760, Francois Babeuf,
French political agitator, was born in Saint Quentin (died 1790).
3/11/1760
Frederick of
Prussia won the Battle of Torgau against the Austrians but failed to
follow up this success and achieve his objective of capturing Dresden.
25/10/1760,
George II died suddenly at 8am, in Kensington, London, aged 76. His successor George III was inclined to concentrate on
British, not Hanoverian, interests, and disliked William
Pitt, Earl of Chatham, who had promoted the Anglo-Prussian Alliance.
Without British help, Prussia could not continue fighting.
26/7/1760,
The Austrians under Laudon captured Glatz from Prussia.
8/6/1760,
Karl
Bottiger, German archaeologist, was born in Reichenbach (died in
Dresden 17/11/1835).
23/6/1760,
The Austrians under Laudon defeated the Prussians at Landshut.
21/5/1760, Russia
and Austria signed a secret convention, never shared with France, that would
give East Prussia to Russia as compensation for its war losses in supporting
the Austrians against Prussia.
2/3/1760,
Lucie
Desmoulins, French politician, was born (died 1794).
1/3/1760, Francois Buzot,
French Revolutionary, was born (died 18/6/1794).
20/11/1759, Naval
battle at Quiberon Bay, France. Admiral Hawke’s
British first fleet destroyed the French invasion fleet under Admiral Conflans,
during the Seven Years War. The French had planned to invade Britain with a
fleet of flat-bottomed boats carrying some 20,000 soldiers. However the British
navy kept this invasion fleet bottled up in its home base of Brest, France. In
November 1759 a gale forced the British Navy to return to Torbay, Devon; when
the gale died down the French quickly escaped from Brest with 19 battleships.
The British navy went looking for the French, as they spotted them another
storm approached from the west. The French sought refuge in Quiberon Bay,
assuming that the numerous reefs and rocks would deter the British from
following. However the British did follow into the Bay. Many French battleships
were run aground, wrecked or captured. The French lost 14 battleships and 2,500
men killed; the British lost 2 ships and 400 men. The French navy was broken,
leaving Britain in commend of the seas.
9/11/1759, Edward Hawke
withdrew from blockading Brest (19/8/1759); the French fleet set sail, to be
defeated by tyhe British at Quiberon Bay (20/11/1759).
26/10/1759, George Danton,
French revolutionary, was born (guillotined 5/4/1794).
14/9/1759, The
Austrians under Daun
took Dresden from the Prussians.
19/8/1759, The
Battle of Lagos. Choiseul had managed to extricate France from much of its
commitment to support Austria, so the French could commit more resources to
fighting Britain. Choiseul planned an invasion, with landings
from London to Scotland. To transport this invasion the French Mediterranean
fleet was ordered to sail from Toulon to join the Atlantic fleet at Brest. On
its way northwards past Portugal, the French fleet was attacked by Admiral Edward
Boscawen off Lagos, Portugal, and scattered. Meanwhile Edward Hawke
was blockading the French port of Brest (see 9/11/1759).
12/8/1759, Frederick,
who had been unable to prevent the Austrians under Daun and the Russians under Saltykov
joining forces, was heavily defeated by them at Kunersdorf. Frederick
lost 18,000 men in six hours. The Russians did not capitalise on this victory,
but Daun
then marched on Dresden.
1/8/1759, At the
Battle of Minden (Seven Years War), six British-Allied army
regiments defeated a larger French force, in north-west Germany.
23/7/1759. 70,000
Russians under Saltykov
defeated 26,000 Prussians under von Wedel at Zullichau.
9/7/1759, The
French, under the Duc de Broglie, took Minden on the River
Weser.
20/9/1759, Marie Herault,
Frenchy politician, was born (executed 5/4/1794).
13/4/1759, Ferdinand of
Brunswick, who had enjoyed success against the French in southwest
Germany, was defeated at Bergen, near Frankfurt am Main, by the Duc de Broglie.
See also East Europe and Russia for Seven Years War
For
British-French conflict in Canada, 1700s, see Canada
14/10/1758, The
Austrians under Daun
launched an unexpected counter-attack against the Prussians at Hochkirk;
Prussian losses were 9,500 against 7,500 for the Austrians. Daun
began an advance on Dresden, but fell back to Pirna when he heard of Frederick’s
march on Lusatia. However the Austrian victory at Hochkirk raised French
morale; they had been inclined to abandon the war against Prussia.
25/8/1758, Frederick of
Prussia moved around Fermor’s east flank and his 36,000 men
attacked the Russians at Zorndorf (Sarbinowo). Prussian losses were 13,500,
against Russian casualties of 42,000 (21,000 killed). Frederick now left Christoph von
Dohna to pursue the defeated Russians; Frederick moved south to assist
his brother, Prince
Henry, against the Austrians under Daun at Dresden.
20/8/1758, Frederick’s
forces arrived at Frankfurt on Oder, ready to attack the Russians besieging
Kustrin.
15/8/1758, Russian
forces under Fermor
began a siege of the Prussians at Kustrin.
10/8/1758, Armand Gensonne,
French politician, was born (executed 31/10/1793).
20/7/1758, Marguerite
Guadet, French revolutionary, was born (guillotined 17/6/1794).
23/6/1758, Emmerlich’s
Anglo-Hanoverian army, 40,000-strong, defeated 70,000 men under the Comte de
Clermont at Krefeld. This victory enabled Emmerlich to hold all of
northern Germany against France, despite French victories further south in
Hesse and Thuringia.
16/4/1758, Frederick of
Prussia defeated the Austrians at Schweidnitz, Silesia.
27/3/1758, An
Anglo-Hanoverian force under Ferdinand of Brunswick crossed the Rhine at
Emmerlich, near the Dutch frontier (see 23/6/1758).
6/5/1758, Birth of Maximillien
Robespierre, French revolutionary who instituted the Reign of
Terror, and was eventually guillotined himself.
22/1/1758, William Fermor,
Scottish emigrant to Russia who had taken the place of Apraksin (see 30/8/1757) in
September 1757, took the East Prussian capital, Konigsberg (Kaliningrad) from
Prussia. However a spring thaw melted the snow and made the roads impassable,
temporarily immobilising Fermor.
5/12/1757, Frederick of
Prussia, now confronted by an Austrian army which had invaded
Silesia and seized Breslau, defeated them this day at Leuthen and recovered Breslau, capital of Silesia. Frederick’s
43,000 men attacked the 72,000 Austrians under Charles of Lorraine with a
sudden cavalry charge followed by a heavy artillery bombardment. Frederick’s
losses amounted to 6,000, against 22,000 lost by Charles, including 12,000 taken
prisoner. Meanwhile the Swedes, who had invaded Prussian Pomerania in September
1757 (without Russian approval), were also forced back into Swedish Pomerania,
where they held against the Prussians at Stralsund. With the Russians under Apraksin
also having retreated (see 30/8/1757), the was began to turn in Prussia’s
favour.
22/11/1757, In
Silesia, Austria took Breslau (Wroclaw) from Prussia.
15/11/1757, Jacques Hebert,
French revolutionary, was born (guillotined 24/3/1794).
14/11/1757, Arnail Jaucourt,
French politician, was born (died 5/2/1852).
11/11/1757, In
Silesia, Austria took Schweidnitz (Swidnica) from Prussia.
5/11/1757, Frederick,
faced by a French Army advancing from Thuringia towards Berlin, won a major
victory against them at Rossbach. 21,000 Prussian troops faced 41,000 French and allied men but the cautious
tactics of the French commander Soubise were at odds with his more aggressive
ally Saxe-Hildburghausen,
and the Prussian cavalry forces were more mobile, under the leadership of Friedrich
Wilhelm von Seydlitz. In two hours fighting, the Prussian lost 550
men against allied losses of 7,000. Encouraged by this victory the British
repudiated Klosterzeven (see 26/7/1757) and sent troops to reinforce the
Hanoverians.
7/9/1757, Prussian
forces under Fredrick
Francis of Brunswick-Bevern were defeated at Moys (Zgorzelec) in
Silesia by the Austrians.
6/9/1757, Marquis de
Lafayette, Frenchman who fought with the American colonists for
independence from Britain and was a key figure in the French Revolution, was
born.
3/9/1757, Augustus
Charles was born (died 14/6/1828).
30/8/1757, A Russian
army of 90,000, having crossed Poland and entered Prussia, heavily defeated the
Prussians under Hans
von Lehwaldt at Gross-Jagersdorf, west of Gumbinnen. Unexpectedly
the Russian commander, Apraksin, then withdrew. The health of the Russian Empress
Elizabeth, who hated Prussia, was becoming uncertain and her
successor, the future Peter III, liked Frederick and opposed the fight
against Prussia. Therefore Apraksin risked the displeasure of his future
master if he continued his aggression in Prussia.
26/7/1757, A French
Army of 100,000 defeated the Hanoverian, Prussian and British allied forces
under William
Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, a younger son of King George II of England. This
was at Hastenbeck, south west of Hanover. On 8/9/1757 the French forced Cumberland
to sign the Convention of Klosterzeven, which stipulated the disbandment of Cumberland’s
forces in Germany.
18/6/1757, Frederick,
ruler of Prussia, sought to turn back an advancing Austrian army,
50,000 strong under von Daun, but was heavily defeated at Kolin
this day. Frederick had to give up Bohemia
and raise the siege of Prague.
17/5/1757, Russian
troops advanced on Konigsberg, Prussia.
6/5/1757, The
Battle of Prague. Frederick’s Prussian Army of 64,000 routed an
Austrian Army of 66,000 under Browne and Prince Charles of Lorraine. This
defeat came before the Austrians could be reinforced by more troops under Leopold Joseph,
Graf von Daun. 14,000 Austrians were killed, 16,000 escaped to join von Daun,
and the rest fled into Prague itself where they were besieged by Frederick.
1/5/1757, Austria
and France signed the Second Treaty of Versailles, allying themselves for an
offensive against Prussia. Under this Treaty, Austria would regain Silesia
(from Prussia) but would cede the Austrian Netherlands (to be divided between King Louis XV
of France and his Spanish Bourbon cousin Philip Duke of Parma). Philip’s
Italian possessions would revert to Austrian rule. France would garrison
105,000 of its troops in Prussia, in addition to supplying 30,000 men to the
Austrian Army (increased from an earlier figure of 24,000). France would
provide an annual subsidy to Austria of 12,000,000 livres. Meanwhile on
11/1/1757 France had concluded a secret treaty with Russia whereby France
agreed to help Russia in the event of any attack on Russia by Turkey
(contravening a long-standing detente between France and Turkey). In return for
this Russia would supply 80,000 men against Prussia. Allparties swore not to
make separate peaces with Prussia, which was to be partitioned between the
Allies.
18/4/1757, Frederick of Prussia left his winter quarters
and marched on Prague. See 16/10/1757.
16/10/1756, The army
of Saxony capitulated to Frederick of Prussia at the fortress of
Pirma. See 18/4/1857. Most of the Saxon
Army joined with Prussia. Russia would have marched to help Austria against
Prussia, but this would entail Russian troops crossing Poland. Although France
would nominally have welcomed this, as it would relieve the French from helping
Austria, and Poland was allied to France, in secret the French would not
welcome any Russian influence upon Poland.
1/10/1756, The
Battle of Lobositz (midway between Dresden and Prague). The Prussians defeated the Austrians..
10/9/1756, Frederick
entered the Saxon capital, Dresden, with his army of70,000. The Saxon Army,
20,000, fell back to Pirna to the south east. Prussia assured Poland of it’s
good intentions but was not believed; Poland was also friendly with France.
Meanwhile an Austrian army under Ulysses von Browne, of 32,000 men, was moving
from Bohemia to unite with the Saxons. To counter this threat, Frederick
moved into Bohemia, towards Lobositz (see 1/10/1756).
29/8/1756, Frederick II of
Prussia invaded Saxony, setting off a European war. Britain was
allied with Prussia, against Austria and France, see 16/1/1756, and 1/7/1756.
Austria wanted to regain its province of Silesia, taken by Frederick II of Prussia during the War of the
Austrian Succession (1740-48). Frederick , believing in attacking first,
invaded Saxony to detach it from the Franco-Austrian alliance.
4/6/1756, Jean Chaptal,
French statesman, was born (died 30/7/1832).
27/5/1756, Maximillian I,
King of Bavaria, was born.
18/5/1756, Britain
declared war on France. This was the start of the Seven Years War.
1/5/1756, Alarmed
by the Convention of Westminster,
(see 16/1/1756), the French concluded a defensive treaty with Austria, who was
under threat from the Prussians. The Russians were also concerned at the
Anglo-Prussian alliance and sought closer ties with Austria and France.
16/1/1756. George II
secured an agreement, the Convention of
Westminster, by which Frederick of Prussia guaranteed to help
England if Hanover was attacked, and England promised to help Prussia if
Silesia was attacked. This guaranteed
the neutrality of the Prussian states under Frederick II in the escalating
Anglo-French dispute. However it was also alarming to Russia, who saw the Treaty as a potential
Anglo-Prussian alliance against them. See 1/5/1756.
Start of the Seven Years War
17/11/1755, Louis XVIII, King of France after the fall of
Napoleon, was born in Versailles.
2/11/1755, Marie Antoinette, Austrian princess and Queen
Consort of Louis
XVI of France, was born in Vienna.
10/9/1755, Bertrand Barere, French politician, was born
in Tarbes (died 13/1/1841).
16/2/1755, Friedrich Bulow, Prussian General, was born
(died 25/2/1816).
25/12/1754, Jean Bouchotte, French politician, was born in
Metz (died 8/6/1840).
8/11/1754, Germain Garnier, French politician, was born
(died 4/10/1821).
2/10/1754, Louis Bonald, French politician, was born near
Millau (died 23/11/1840).
23/8/1754, Louis XVI, King of France, was born at
Versailles, the only son of Louis XV.
18/8/1754, Francois Chasseloup-Laubat, French General,
was born (died 1833).
17/8/1754, Louis Freron, French Revolutionary, was born
(died 1802).
14/4/1754, Easter Sunday. Alexandre Hauterive, French
statesman, was born (died 28/7/1830).
13/2/1754, Guillaume de Bonne-Carriere, French
politician, was born in Languedoc (died 1825).
2/2/1754, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord, French
foreign minister to Louis XVIII and Napoleon Bonaparte, and
ambassador to Britain, was born.
23/11/1753, Guillaume Dumas, French General, was born
(died 16/10/1837).
18/10/1753, Jean Cambaceres, French statesman, was born
(died 1824).
23/4/1753, Francois Bouvet, French Captain, was born
(died 21/7/1832).
20/2/1753, Louis Berthier, French politician, was born in
Versailles (died in Bamberg 1/6/1815).
7/2/1753, Nicolas Bassville, French politician, was born
in Abbeville (died 13/1/1793).
20/9/1752, Louise Caroline, Countess of Albany, was born
in Mons.
11/6/1752, Christian Haugwitz, German syatesman, was born
(died 1831).
9/2/1751, Henri Aguesseau, Chancellor of France (born
27/11/1668) died.
31/5/1750, Karl Hardenberg, Prussian statesman, was born
(died 26/11/1822).
18/2/1750, Georg Bilfinger, German statesman, died in
Stuttgart (was born in Wurttemberg 23/1/1693).
4/12/1750, Henri Gregoire, French Revolutionary was born
(died 20/5/1831).
19/7/1747, The battle of Assietta. The troops of Charles
Emmanuel III of Piedmont halted the advance on Turin by a
Franco-Spanish force, during the War of
the Austrian Succession.
5/5/1747, The Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II was born.
23/3/1747, Claude Bonneval, French adventurer, died in
Constantinople (born 14/7/1675).
15/9/1746, Pierre Desforges, French dramatist, was born
(died 13/8/1806).
27/2/1746, Louis Gohier, French politician, was born
(died 29/5/1830).
9/12/1745, Claude Fournier, French Revolutionary, was
born (died 1825).
5/12/1745, Jean Epremesnil, French magistrate, was born
(died 22/4/1794).
13/9/1745, Francis I became Holy Roman Emperor.
11/5/1745, The Battle
of Fontenoy took place in Belgium, during the War of the Austrian Succession. Marshal de Saxe won a French victory over British and Allied
forces. William
Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, had been sent with Austrian, British,
Dutch and Hanoverian troops to relieve Tournai, Belgium, under siege by the
French. Cumberland’s
army was beaten back with casualties of 7,000 and forced to retreat during the
night towards Brussels. The British suffered further setbacks in Flanders and
as troops were called back to fight the Young Pretender, Charles Edward Stuart. The
British made peace with France at Aix la Chapelle in 1748.
20/1/1745, Death of Frederick II of Prussia.
8/12/1744, Marie Chateauroux, mistress to King Louis XV
of France, died (born 1717).
22/9/1744, Claude Fauchet, French Revolutionary Bishop,
was born (died 30/10/1793).
26/3/1744, Thomas Favras, French Royalist, was born
(executed 19/2/1790).
17/9/1743, Marie Condorcet, French Revolutionary, was
born (died 1794).
3/9/1743, Johann Archenholz, German historian, was born
in Langfuhr, Danzig (died 28/2/1812 at Oyendorf, Hamburg).
19/8/1743, Comtesse du Barry, the last mistress of Louis XV,
was born in Vancouleurs as Marie Jeanne Becu, daughter of a dressmaker.
27/6/1743, The Battle of Dettingen. The last battle in which a
British monarch commanded an army on the battlefield. George II defeated the
French at the Battle of Dettingen, in Bavaria, during the War of Austrian
Succession.
29/1/1743, Andre Fleury, French statesman, died (born
22/6/1653).
16/12/1742, Gebhard Blucher, Prussian General, was born in
Silesia (died in Silesia 12/9/1819).
13/3/1741, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, was born.
See also events in Austria
8/2/1741, Neisse and Brieg still held out but the Prussians
stormed and occupied Glogau on 9/3/1741. At the Battle of Mollwitz, 10/4/1741,
the Prussians narrowly won the day. Europe realised that Prussia was now a
major military power and France sent an envoy, Marshal Belleisle, to negotiate
an alliance with Frederick. The
‘Silesian adventure’ now became the War of the Austrian
Succession. France supported the Elector of Bavaria. Sweden was supposed
to stop Russia attacking Prussia but on 3/9/1742 the Swedes were heavily
defeated by the Russians at Wilmanstrand, and Sweden capitulated in 1742 at
Helsingfors, the Swedish capital. At the Peace of Dresden, 25/12/1745 Frederick
recognised the Elector
of Bavaria as ruler of Austria in return for his acquiring Silesia.
The war of the Austrian Succession ended on 18/10/1748 with the Peace of Aachen
(Aix la Chapelle).
20/10/1740, Emperor Charles VI died unexpectedly. Maria Theresa,
aged 23, became ruler of Austria. Frederick II of Prussia,
taking advantage of Austria having a young female ruler, prepared to invade the
wealthy Austrian provoince of Silesia. Meanwhile
Bavaria and Saxony also had claims on Austrian lands (their claims supported by
France), and Spain wanted the Italian provinces of Austria. Hungary supported
Austria.
5/10/1740, Johann Baratier, German scholar of precocious
genius, died (born in Schwabach near Nuremberg 10/1/1721).
2/6/1740, Birth of Marquis de Sade, French writer who was
imprisoned in the Bastille for his sexual perversions.
31/5/1740, Frederick William I
of Prussia died aged 51. He had made his country into a significant military
power with a standing army of 83,000 men. He was succeeded by his 28-year old
son, Frederick II, who then occupied part of
Silesia, starting a war with Austria.
14/9/1739, Pierre Dupont,
French statesman, was born (died 6/8/1817).
5/6/1738, Isaac de Beausobre, French
theologian, died (born in Niort 8/3/1659).
31/5/1738, Stanislas
Boufflers, French statesman, was born near Nancy (died in Paris
18/1/1815).
6/5/1738, Robespierre, French revolutionary, was born in
Arras.
27/9/1736, Rene Duguay-Trouin, French sea captain, died
(born 10/6/1673).
21/4/1736, Eugene of Savoy died (born 18/10/1663).
17/1/1736, German
architect Matthaus Poppelman died, aged 74.
9/10/1735, Karl Brunswick,
German General, was born (died at the Battle of Quatre Bras, 16/7/1815).
12/6/1734, James Berwick,
French Marshal, died at the siege of Philipsburg (born in Moulins 21/8/1670).
4/3/1733, Claude de Forbin, French naval
commander, died (born 1656).
8/8/1732, Johann Adelung, German
grammarian, was born (died 10/9/1806).
7/12/1731, Duperron
Anquetil, French orientalist, was born in Paris (died 17/1/1805 in
Paris).
7/3/1730, Louis Breteuil, French diplomat,
was born (died 2/11/1807).
11/11/1729, Louis
Bougainville, French navigator, was born in Paris (died in Paris
31/8/1811).
7/10/1728, Eon de Beaumont
(Chevalier d’Eon, French politician, was born (died 22/5/1810).
1/9/1727, Jean Gobel, French politician,
was born (guillotined 12/4/1794).
22/5/1725, Ewald Hertzberg,
Orussian statesman, was born (died 22/5/1795).
13/12/1724, Franz Aepinus,
German natural philosopher, was born in Rostock (died 10/8/1802 in Dorpat).
22/9/1723, Jacques Basnage,
French politician, died (born in Rouen 1653).
10/8/1723, Guillaume
Dubois, French statesman, died (born 6/9/1656).
21/2/1723, Louis Anquetil,
French historian, was born in Paris (died 6/9/1808).
12/12/1772, Bertand Clausel,
Marshal of France, was born (died 21/4/1842).
29/12/1721, Madame de Pompadour, French Mistress of Louis XV
of France, was born in Paris as Jeanne Antoinette Poisson.
14/4/1721, Michel Chamillart, French statesman, died
(born 1652).
12/1/1721, Ferdinand, Prussian General, was born (died
3/7/1792).
10/1/1721, Johann Baratier, German scholar of precocious
genius, was born in Schwabach near Nuremberg (died 5/10/1740).
31/7/1720, Emmanuel Aiguillon, French soldier, was born
(died 1782).
24/7/1720, Financial crisis hit Paris as the South Sea Bubble collapsed.
28/6/1719, Etienne Choiseul, French statesman, was born
(died 8.5.1785).
2/8/1718, A Quadruple Alliance was formed between Britain,
France, Holland,
and Austria,
against Spain,
after Spain seized Sardinia and Sicily, threatening another European war. Under
the Treaty of Utrecht (11/4/1713) Sardinia had been assigned to Austria and
Sicily to Savoy (see also 17/2/1720). However King Philip V of Spain, influenced by his wife
Elizabeth
Farnese of Parma and her advisor Giulio Alberoni, seized these
islands. Admiral
Byng was sent to defend Sicily, with Austrian troops. In a sea
battle off Cape Passaro, he totally destroyed the Spanish fleet. Meanwhile
French troops occupied northern Spain. The purpose of the Quadruple Alliance were, to maintain the terms of the Peace of
Utrecht, for Spain to renounce any claim to the French throne, and to guarantee
the Protestant succession in Britain. The four powers would also assist each
other if any were attacked. Spain initially backed a Jacobite invasion of
Britain, but after the dismissal of Cardinal Alberoni in December 1719 Spain
changed policy and joined the Alliance, which provided a forum to discuss
territorial disputes in Europe.
4/8/1717, A treaty of friendship was signed between France
and Russia.
15/9/1715, Jean Gribeauval, French General,was born (died
1789).
1/9/1715, King Louis XIV of
France, the ‘Sun King’
died at Versailles, of gangrene of the leg, after reigning for 73 years, the
longest in European history, aged 77. He famously said ‘L’etat, c’est moi’. The
five-year-old Louis
XV succeeded him, and reigned for almost 59 years; the regency was
in the hands of Philip
of Orleans, aged 41.
5/7/1715, Charles Ancillon, French educationalist, died
(born in Metz, 28/7/1659).
22/5/1715, Francois Bernis, French statesman, was born
(died in Rome 3/11/1794).
19/10/1714, Reneee Crequy, French socialite, was born
(died 1803).
8/6/1714, Sophia, Electress of Hanover, died.
7/3/1714, Treaty of
Rastatt signed.
13/8/1713, Frederick William
consolidated the Prussian State by an ordinance
reducing the power and autonomy of Prussian nobles.
25/2/1713, Frederick I, first King of Prussia, died aged 55 after a 12-year
reign. He had welcomed Protestant refugees from France, and spent on universities
and public buildings. He was succeeded by his 24-year old son, Frederick
Wilhelm I, who ruled until 1740.
12/12/1712, Charles, Prince
of Lorraine, was born (died 4/7/1780).
24/1/1712, Frederick the Great, (Frederick
Wilhelm I, son of Frederick I) Prussian king and military
leader, was born.
22/8/1711, Louis Boufflers, French Marshal, died in
Fontainebleau (born 10/1/1644).
14/6/1711, The
Jewish quarter of Frankfurt was destroyed in what was one of the largest fires
in Germany before the 20th century.
17/4/1711, Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, died of
smallpox, aged 32. He was succeeded by his 26-year-old-brother, who ruled as
Charles VI.
15/2/1710, The French King Louis XV was born. His weak and indecisive rule set the scene for the French Revolution.
War of the Spanish Succession
11/4/1713, France in the Treaty of Utrecht ceded
Gibraltar and Newfoundland to Britain. This Treaty established terms of
peace with Louis XIV, and ended the War of the Spanish Succession. The
Treaty also preserved the balance of power in Europe by preventing either Bourbon France or Hapsburg Austria from dominating
the territories of the Spanish Succession. Philip V became King of Spain
but had to renounce all claims to the French throne. Britain also gained
Minorca and Gibraltar. Sicily went to the Duke of Savoy and Prussia gained
Upper Gelderland, Neuchatel, and Valengin. European
powers were exhausted by a war that had dragged on for 12 years.
For
more events of the War
of the Spanish Succession, see Spain
11/9/1709, At the Battle of Malplaquet in
northern France, near Mons, The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene won a costly
victory over the French in the War of
the Spanish Succession. 100,000 Austrian, British, Dutch and German
soldiers were intending to besiege the French at Mons but were met by a French
force of 90,000. In an attack on the French the Allies lost 24,000 men; the
French lost 12,000. The French then withdrew but Allied losses prevented
further exploitation of this victory.
23/5/1706, The Battle
of Ramillies, between Louvain and Namur in Belgium. Allied British and Dutch armies under Marlborough
intercepted a French offensive. 15,000 French and 5,000 Allied soldiers died.
The result of Ramillies was that
Brussels, Antwerp and most of the Spanish Netherlands surrendered. By the end
of 1706 the French held only Namur and Mons in The Netherlands.
13/8/1704, The
Battle of Blenheim took place, in
Germany, where Anglo-Austrian forces under the Duke of Marlborough
and Prince
Eugene, 52,000 men, defeated the French and Bavarian armies, 56,000
men, in the War
of the Spanish Succession. The
French and their allies, the Bavarians, had encamped on the west bank of the
Nebel, a small stream running into the left bank of the Danube, about a mile or
two from the Danube itself. Marlborough and Eugene had also encamped on
another tributary of the Danube, five miles eastwards of the French/Bavarian
forces. Early in the morning of the 13 August Marlborough’s forces began
moving towards the French, and caught them by surprise at 7.am.
With the defeat of the two French armies
under Tallard
and Marsin,
the sun began to set on a decade-long tradition of French military triumph.
Vienna was saved from capture by the French.
12//9/1703, The Hapsburg
Archduke
Ferdinand was proclaimed King of Spain, War of the
Spanish Succession began. France had already, in 1701, begun to
occupy key fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands, following the death of the
Spanish monarch Charles
II on 2/10/1700, with no heir.
8/12/1708, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, was born.
28/12/1706, Pierre Bayle, French philosopher, died in
Rotterdam (born near Pamiers 18/11/1647).
5/5/1705, The Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I
died at Vienna, aged 54, after a 47 year reign.
He was succeeded by his son, who ruled until 1711 as Josef I.
13/5/1704, Louis Bourdaloue, French Jesuit, died in Paris
(born in Bourges 20/8/1632).
21/3/1701, Jacques
Bridaine, French preacher, was born (died 22/12/1767).
18/1/1701, Frederick I
was crowned King of Prussia at Konigsberg. He ruled for 12 years.
13/8/1700, Heinrich Bruhl,
German politician, was born (died 28/10/1763).
6/8/1697, Charles VII,
Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died 20/1/1745).
6/8/1695, Francois de
Harlay, 5th Archbishop of Paris, died (born 14/8/1625).
4/1/1695, France’s Marshal
Luxembourg died aged 66. He was succeeded by Duc de Villeroi Francois de Neufville, aged
51, who proved to be a far less capable military commander in the War of the
League of Augsburg than his predecessor. In September 1695 England recaptured
Namur from the French.
11/10/1693, Charleroi
surrendered to the French.
22/5/1693, The town of Heidelberg was captured by the French;
Heidelberg Castle surrendered on 23/5/1693.
23/1/1693, Georg Bilfinger, German statesman, was born in
Wurttemberg (died in Stuttgart 18/2/1750).
24/7/1692, At the Battle of Steinkirk (Steenkirken), the
French under the Duc de Luxembourg defeated England’s King William III.
19/5/1692, At the battle of La Hogue, the British
and Dutch
destroyed a French fleet off Cap de la Hague. The French fleet under Colbert
was severely reduced, ending French hopes of invading England.
17/10/1690, Marguerite Alacoque, French nun who was
beatified by Pope Pius IX in1846, died (born 22/7/1647 near Autun).
18/4/1690, Charles Duke of Lorraine died (born 3/4/1643).
12/5/1689, English King William III joined the League of Augsburg (formed 9/7/1686) against
France.
2/2/1688. Abraham Duquesne, French naval officer, died.
24/6/1687, Johann Bengel, German scholar, was born in
Winenden (died 1742).
11/11/1686, Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Conde, died
(born 8.9.1621).
9/7/1686, The Leauge of Augsburg
was created against French King Louis XIV. It comprised an alliance of
Spain (King
Carlos II), Sweden (King Charles IX), the Holy Roman Empire (Emperor Leopold
I) and the Electors of Bavaria, Saxony and The Palatine. The League
was aimed at curbing French expansionism, and King Louis XIV had been
clandestinely supporting the Ottoman
Empire against Austria.
18/10/1685, Louis XIV
revoked the Edict of Nantes which had been issued by Henry IV of |France and had
given Huguenots
equal rights with Catholics. The laity were also forbidden to emigrate; Louis XIV
was concerned about the drain of skilled Huguenot merchants
and craftsmen, many of whom had fled to England.
1/10/1685, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died
20/10/1740).
6/9/1683, Jean Colbert, French politician, died (born
1619).
1/4/1683, Poland made
a treaty of mutual defence with the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, against the threat
from Ottoman
Turkey
6/5/1682,King Louis XIV arrived at his new chateau of Versailles.
28/11/1681, Jean Cavalier, French Camisard leader, was
born (died 1740).
28/9/1681, Louis XIV’s army captured the previously independent
city of Strasbourg. The French now controlled all of Alsace, except
Mulhouse.
29/6/1679, The Peace of St Germain, forced on the Elector of
Brandenburg by King Louis XIV of France, made him surrender all territories in Pomerania conquered from Sweden
5/2/1679, The Third Treaty of Nijmegen ended seven years of
war in Europe.
19/9/1678, Christoph Galen, Prince-Bishop of Munster,
died (born 12/10/1606).
26/7/1678, The Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I was born.
16/11/1677, French troops occupied Freiberg.
11/4/1677, The Battle of Cassel; Philippe I of Orleans defeated William of
Orange.
1676, Les Invalides, Paris was completed; it was a combined hospital and
retirement home for soldiers.
23/12/1675, Cesar Choiseul, French Marshal, died (born
1602).
18/9/1675, Charles Duke of Lorraine died (born 5/4/1604).
28/6/1675, Sweden, allied to King Louis XIV of France,
invaded Brandenburg, butr were defeated at the Battle of Fehrbellin. The
Elector of Brandenburg then launched an invasion of Swedish Pomerania.
14/7/1675, Claude Bonneval, French adventurer, was born
(died in Constantinople 23/3/1747).
17/4/1675, Marie Aiguillon, charity worker for the poor, died
(born 1604).
5/1/1675, French forces inflicted a heavy defeat on the
German Army at Turckheim, forcing them to abandon an invasion of France and
withdraw back across the Rhine.
2/8/1674, Philippe II, Regent of France, was born.
10/6/1673, Rene
Duguay-Trouin, French sea captain, was born (died 27/9/1736).
21/8/1670, James Berwick,
French Marshal, was born in Moulins (died at the siege of Philipsburg
12/6/1734).
30/6/1670, Henrtietta,
sister of English King Charles II, died aged 26 at St Cloud. She
was allegedly poisoned by her estranged husband, Philip, Duc d’Orleans.
1/6/1670, Two Treaties of Dover – one public, one secret – were made by Charles II with Louis XIV. Charles II secretly agreed to
declare his conversion to Catholicism and subsequently to restore it to Britain.
Charles II
did not announce his conversion, to the annoyance of Louis
XIV. The public Treaty committed Britain and France to declare war on
Holland – if this war was successful, Britain would receive Zeeland and the port
of Ostend. Britain would assist Louis XIV’s claim on the Spanish throne. The private Treaty, known only to Charles II
and a select few of his government ministers, stated that Charles would re-establish Catholicism
in Britain in return for £150,000 from France and the use of 6,000 French
troops to cope with any ‘internal resistance’.
27/11/1668, Henri
Aguesseau, Chancellor of France (died 9/2/1751) was born.
28/6/1668, King Louis XIV
issued letters of patent ‘to establish a music academy’. This was the start of
the Paris Opera.
2/5/1668, Treaty of
Aix la Chapelle.
13/1/1668, The Triple Alliance was formed between England,
Holland,
and Sweden
to defend The Netherlands from the ambitions of the French King, Louis XIV,
who was pursuing a claim based on his wife’s rights as Spanish Infanta. This was the War
of Devolution which was ended on 2/5/1668 by the Peace of Aix la Chapelle.
31/7/1667, The Peace
of Breda ended the war between England and the Netherlands.
Trade laws were modified in favour of the Dutch, who also gained Surinam
but recognised British possession of New York.
See 18/6/1667 and 2/2/1665. The English sought peace with the Dutch in
order to curb the growing military power of (Catholic) France. In the ‘War of
Devolution’ France had already seized the Spanish Netherlands and
Franche-Comte; Holland and England now sought to mediate in this war between
France and Spain. The other principal Protestant power in Europe, Sweden, then
joined with (Protestant) Holland and Britain in a Triple Alliance (formalised
by the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle, 2/5/1668).
However (Catholic) King Charles II regretted this Triple Alliance
against France and began negotiations with Louis XIV that led to the Treaties of Dover
(1/6/1670).
20/1/1666, The French Queen Mother, Anne of Austria, died in Paris
of breast cancer aged 64.
18/10/1663, Eugene of Savoy was born (died 21/4/1736).
27/10/1662, King Charles II
sold Dunkirk to the French King Louis XIV (Treaty of Dunkirk) for 2.5 million livres.
1661, Louis XIV of France began work
on the Palace of Versailles.
The Mazarin Regency
9/3/1661, With the death of the French Regent, Cardinal
Mazarin of cancer, the personal rule of King Louis XIV of France began. Louis
was aged just 22 and knew that he was inexperienced in politics and would very
much miss the advice of Mazarin. Louis signalled that his rule
was to be Absolutist (see 2/1653), by demanding that the entire Court, not just
his immediate family, mourn for Mazarin.
9/6/1660, King Louis XIV of France, the ‘Sun King’,
married Maria
Theresa of Spain.
17/5/1660, Abraham de Fabert, Marshal of France, died
(born 1599).
3/5/1660, At the Peace of Oliva (near Danzig), Frederick
William ceded Eastern Pomerania to Sweden.
7/11/1659. The war between France and Spain ended.
Spain’s treasury was empty and England had joined on the side of the French.
28/7/1659, Charles Ancillon, French educationalist, was
born in Metz (died 5/7/1715).
8/3/1659, Isaac de Beausobre, French theologian, was
born in Niort (died 5/6/1738).
4/6/1658, The Battle
of the Dunes was fought near Dunkirk. Marshal Turenne commanded the French and
English armies, against the Spanish under Don Juan of Austria and the Prince of
Conde. The Spanish were attempting to relieve Dunkirk, which Turenne
was besieging. The Spanish were defeated, and Dunkirk surrendered to the British;
King Charles II later sold it to the French..
11//7/1657, Frederick I, King of Prussia, was born.
2/4/1657, The Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III died aged 48. He was succeeded by his 16-year old son,
Leopold I.
6/9/1656, Guillaume
Dubois, French statesman, was born (died 10/8/1723).
21/10/1651, Jean Bart,
French naval commander, was born in Dunkirk (died 1702).
25/6/1656, The Treaty of Mareinburg was concluded between Sweden and
Brandenburg-Prussia. The Poles under John Casimir
had expelled the Swedes, and under this Treaty Brandenburg-Prussia was promised
part of the spoils should Poland be defeated by Sweden.
24/8/1654, Battle of Arras. Turenne attacked the Spanish forces who
were besieging Arras; Arras was relieved but the besieging forces under Conde
managed to withdraw safely.
3/6/1654, Coronation of King Louis XIV
of France.
22/6/1653, Andre Fleury, French statesman,
was born (died 29/1/1743).
2/1653,
Mazarin,
who had left France in summer 1652, because he sensed he had lost public
support, now returned once again. The Fronde conflict was now truly over, with the
French now looking to the King to restore law and order. This paved the way for
Louis XIV’s
absolutist rule (see 9/3/1661).
21/10/1652, The exiled
boy-King, Louis
XIV, returned from exile to Paris.
2/10/1652, In Paris,
the middle class disputed with the Fronde, and allowed Louis XIV to enter the city.
7/4/1652, In
France, the Battle of Bleneau; Conde
defeated Marshall
Turenne, who had defected
back to the Royalist side. However Conde still felt under pressure from the
underlying strength of Turenne’s position. Both armies marched to
Paris to negotiate with the Parlement.. In July 1652 the Duchesse de
Montpensier persuaded the Parisians to open the city gates to the Fronde
(anti-Royalist) army, and the Bastille’s guns were turned on Turenne’s
Royalists. See 2/10/1652.
13/3/1652, Claude
Bouthillier, French statesman, died in Paris (born 1581).
12/1651, Mazarin returned to France with 7,000 troops to suppress Conde’s
rebellion. Turenne was now on Mazarin’s side.
6/8/1651, Francois
Fenelon, French author and Archbishop of Cambrai (1695-1715) was
born in Perigord (died 7/1/1715 in Cambrai).
4/1651, Mazarin, hated by the French Princes, had
retired from France. However his absence left a power vacuum, and the Fronde conflict,
which had subsided during summer 1651, later began again.
15/12/1650, Battle of
Blanc-Champ. The
Fronde, under Turenne, was defeated. Turenne
subsequently changed sides to the Royalists.
13/12/1650, Pressis-Preslin
(for Mazarin) secured the surrender of the town of Rethel. Turenne,
who was marching to relieve the town, now fell back hurriedly.
24/9/1650, Charles de
Valois Angoulmeme (died (born 28/4/1573 in Fayet Castle).
13/9/1650, Ferdinand,
Elector of Cologne, died (born 7/1/1577).
14/1/1650, In
France, Cardinal
Mazarin ordered the arrest of Conde and his associates.
However in early 1651 the French Parlement dismissed Mazarin
and released Conde.
Mazarin
left France.
8/2/1649, Gabriel Daniel,
French Jesuit historian, was born in Rouen (died 1728).
1/1649, Conde’s army, having been freed up by the Peace of Westphalia, now began an anti-Mazarin
rebellion, besieging Paris. The two sides then signed the Peace of Rueil, in 3/1648. This Peace lasted until the end of 1649.
24/10/1648, The Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years
War. The Treaty was between the Holy Roman
Empire and France. Under it,
a large part of Alsace, formerly a German dukedom, was ceded to France,
which seized the rest at the Peace of Ryswick, 1697. Sweden also received territories on the
German coast of the Baltic, Spain was forced to acknowledge the independence of
the United
Netherlands, and the Protestant states of Saxony and Brandenburg
(=Prussia) received additional territories.
22/10/1648, The French Parlement, having no army of its
own to call upon to counter the Parisian rioters, was forced to issue placatory
reforms, freeing prisoners; it then fled from Paris.
10/9/1648, Nicolas Desmarets, French statesman, was born
(died 1721).
20/8/1648, Conde defeated the Spanish at the Battle of Lens. This
news encouraged Mazarin, who then arrested the ;eaders of
the Parlement;
this provoked riots in Paris..
5/1648, A tax was levied on
judicial officers of the French Parlement, provoking resistance.,
29/5/1648, Conde captured Ypres.
17/5/1648, Battle of
Zusmarshausen, Germany.
13/5/1648, Conde commenced a siege of Ypres.
18/11/1647, Pierre Bayle, French philosopher, was born
near Pamiers (died in Rotterdam 28/12/1706).
22/7/1647, Marguerite Alacoque, French nun who was
beatified by Pope Pius IX in1846, was born near Autun (died 17/10/1690).
14/3/1647, The Treaty of Ulm.
Elector
Maximillian I of Bavaria made an agreement with France to end his alliance with Ferdinand III,
Holy Roman Emperor.
12/10/1646, Francois de Bassompierre, French courtier
(born 1579) died in Tillieres, Normandy.
3/8/1645, Battle of
Allerheim, Germany
2/5/1645, Battle of
Mergentheim, Germany.
3/10/1644, Battle of
Freiburg, Germany
3/8/1644, At Freiberg,
Saxony, the French fought a combined force of Bavarians and Austrians during
the Thirty Years War. Fighting at Frieburg also occurred on 5th
and 15th August.
10/1/1644, Louis Boufflers, French Marshal, was born
(died in Fontainebleau 22/8/1711).
24/11/1643, Battle of
Tuttlingen, Germany.
8/7/1643,The Protestants of France were guaranteed freedom of worship,
reaffirming the Edict of Nantes.
14/5/1643. Louis XIV
became King of France at the age of four years, 231 days, and then reigned
for over 72 years. He succeeded his
father, Louis
XIII.
19/5/1643, Battle of Rocroi.
The French, under the Prince of Conde, defeated the Spanish.
3/4/1643, Charles Duke of Lorraine was born (died
18/4/1690).
4/12/1642, Cardinal
Richelieu (Armand du Plessis),
French politician and chief minister to Louis XIII from 1624, died aged 57 in Paris. He was succeeded by Mazarin. Mazarin
was to alienate the nobility of France, and parliament, due to his policies of
high taxation (see 5/1648) and supremist position, provoking the rebellion by
the Fronde.
2/11/1642, In the
Thirty years War, at Breitenfeld, Swedish forces under Torstensson defeated the
Imperialists under Archduke Leopold and Prince Piccolomini, who were attempting
to relieve the siege of Lepizig.
12/9/1642, Henri Cinq-Mars,
French courtier, was executed (born 1620).
17/9/1640, The French
captured Turin.
9/6/1640, The Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, was born.
19/1/1639, Noel Alexandre, French theologian (died 1724)
was born in Rouen.
5/9/1638, Louis XIV,
King of France, known as the ‘Sun King’, born in St German en Laye, just
outside Paris.
15/2/1637, Holy
Roman Emperor Ferdinand II died, aged 57, in
Vienna. He was succeeded by his 28-year old son, who ruled as Ferdinand III
until 1657.
15/8/1636, The Spanish besieged Corbie, France.
8/7/1636, Sir John Hepburn, Scottish soldier, killed at
the siege of Zabern, Thirty Years War.
19/5/1635, France declared war on Spain.
Spain initially had success, capturing Corbie, near Amiens. However the Spaniards did not follow up their
successes and faced with revolts in Portugal and Catalonia, lost Artois and
Roussillion.
10/3/1635, The Academie
Francaise in Paris was expanded to become a national academy for the
artistic elite.
2/1/1635, Cardinal Richelieu
established the Academie Francaise to
protect the purity of the French language.
6/9/1634, Battle of
Nordlingen, Germany. Hapsburg forces defeated Sweden.
15/5/1633, French
military engineer Sebastian le Prestre de Vauban was born in
Nivernais, France. He developed a system of fortifications to defend France
against invasion.
16/11/1632, Gustavus II, King of Sweden from 1611, killed as his
army gained victory in the Battle of Lutzen (Thirty Years War) near Leipzig. He
was succeeded by his 6-year old daughter, Christina; in the interim, Sweden was governed by
Count Axel
Oxenstierna.
31/8/1632, Battle of
Alte Veste, Germany.
20/8/1632, Louis
Bourdaloue, French Jesuit, was born in Bourges (died in Paris
13/5/1704).
15/4/1632, Battle of
Rain, Bavaria. Swedish forces destroyed the Bavarian army, which had been
allied to the Hapsburgs.
1631, The Leipzig
Manifesto was issued. The Protestant States of Saxony and Brandenburg
wanted to drive foreign forces, the (Protestant) Swedes, from German soil but
at the same time to counter the Edicts of Restitution, which was aimed at
restoring Catholicism to Germany. The Leipzig Manifesto ruined Swedish
hopes for support by Protestant German princes against the German Emperor.
23/12/1631, The
Swedes captured Mainz, Germany.
17/9/1631, During the Thirty
Years War, a battle was fought between Gustavus II, King of Sweden
(1594-1632) and the Holy Roman Empire forces under Tilly at Brietenfeld,
Germany. (see 4/7/1630). The Swedes
overwhelmingly won. Gustavus II had extended the Kingdom of Sweden right around
the eastern Baltic, turning it into a ‘Swedish lake’. Gustavus now began to
conquer the wealthy lands of the rivers Main and Rhine.
4/7/1631. The first employment agency, the ‘Bureau
d’Adresse’ was established in Paris by Theophraste Renaudot. It charged 3 sous to
both employers and employees; unless too poor to pay, when the bureau was
free. In 1639 the Paris police ordered
that all unemployed strangers arriving in Paris must register at the bureau within
24 hours or be sent to the galleys for vagabondage. Vacancies were mainly for
domestic servants and shop assistants.
See 12/8/1649.
1630, The Academie Francaise was intiated as an informal group meeting at the
house of Valentin
Conrart, for the purpose of maintaining the purity of the French
language. Members were sworn to secrecy, as assemblies of any kind were then
illegal in France. However when Cardinal Richelieu heard of the society, he
supported it and gave his patronage to it. The first French dictionary was
published by the Academie in 1694.
14/10/1630, Sophia, Electress of Hanover, was born.
4/7/1630, During the Thirty
Years War, Gustavus Adolphus, Protestant King of Sweden, landed at Peenemunde with an
army of 13,000 men, in an attempt to bring the entire Baltic under Swedish
control. See 17/9/1631.
2/10/1629, Pierre de Berulle, French statesman, died
(born near Troyes 4/2/1575).
25/9/1629, The Treaty
of Altmark ended the Polish-Swedish war, for six years. Gustavus of Sweden was now, summer 1627, to start a campaign
in northern Germany.
28/6/1629, France’s Huguenot civil wars
finally ended with the Peace of Alais.
6/3/1629, Ferdinand II,
Holy Roman Emperor, issued the Edict of
Restitution. Under this, all
Catholic properties lost to Protestantism since 1552 were to be restored and
only Catholics and Lutherans (not Calvinists, Hussites, or other groups) were
to be allowed to practise their faith.
28/10/1628, The siege
of La Rochelle ended; the last refuge of the Huguenots in France fell.
24/8/1626, Battle of
Lutter, Germany. The Danes were routed by the Hapsburgs.
25/4/1626, Battle of
Dessau, Germany. Mansfield was defeated by Wallenstein.
14/8/1625, Francois de
Harlay, 5th Archbishop of Paris, was born (died 6/8/1895).
29/4/1624,
Louis XIII
of France appointed Richelieu as his chief minister.
6/8/1623,
Battle of Stadtlohn, western Germany. The Protestant Army was destroyed.
10/1622, Louis XIII of France capture the
Protestant city of Montpellier,and blockaded La Rochelle.
10/9/1622,
Heidelberg was captured from Frederick.
7/9/1622,
Denis
Godefroy, French jurist, died (born 17/10/1549).
20/6/1622, Battle of
Hochst, Germany.
6/5/1622, Battle of
Wimpfen, southern Germany.
8/9/1621, Louis II de
Bourbon, Prince of Conde, was born (died 11/11/1686).
8/11/1620, Protestant Bohemian
forces were defeated by the Catholics (Hapsburgs and Bavaria) under Maximillian
at the Battle of the White Mountain (Thirty Years War). The
Protestant Kingdom of Bohemia had revolted against its rulers, the
Hapsburgs, and Bohemia
had invited Frederick, Elector of the Palatinate of the Rhine, to
become its new monarch. Frederick’s advisors counselled against this move,
as rebel Protestant Bohemia was likely to lose against the
Hapsburgs, but Frederick
took up the monarchy of Bohemia nevertheless. Frederick was forced to flee to
Bavaria, and stripped of his title as Elector of the Rhineland Palatinate by
the Holy Roman Emperor. Spain’s Catholic Army occupied his lands. Frederick
died in 1632 during a clandestine visit to the Palatinate, leaving his widow Elizabeth
to bring up their 20 children, produced in some 20 years of marriage.
3/7/1620, The Treaty
of Ulm was signed.
8/10/1619, The Treaty of Munich was signed by Ferdinand II and Maximillian I, Elector of
Bavaria.
28/8/1619, Ferdinand II was
elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
10/8/1619, The Treaty of Angoulmeme ended the civil
war in France.
23/5/1618, The defenestration
of Prague. Rebel nobles hurled the Holy
Roman Emperor’s advisers from the
windows of Hradcany Castle (they survived due to landing in a refuse heap),
triggering the Thirty Years War (Reformation). Rebel Protestant Bohemian nobles
were in protest against their Catholic King, who had been elected as Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II. The conflict this started spread to involve other European powers,
who were eager to cash in on the weakened state of a severely-split Germany.
See also eastern Europe.
6/9/1618, Jacques Duperron, French cardinal, died (born
15/11/1556).
24/4/1617, Concino Concini, Minister of King Louis, died.
20/1/1612, Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, died aged 59. He was succeeded by his brother, Matthias.
11/11/1611, Henri de Turenne, French Marshall-General during the Thirty Years War, was
born.
17/10/1610, Louis XIII was crowned King of France.
27/5/1610, Ravaillac was executed in Paris.
14/5/1610. King Henry IV of France, ‘Good King Henry’,
was murdered by a mad Catholic monk, Francois Ravaillac, in Paris. Ravaillac
jumped onto the carriage wheel of the King’s carriage and plunged a knife into
his chest. He wanted to avert King Henry’s planned war against Catholic
Spain and Austria. He was succeeded by King Louis XIII, aged 8. The French Huguenots
were alarmed, realising that their freedom of worship could be at risk once
again.
12/10/1606, Christoph Galen, Prince-Bishop of Munster, was
born (died 19/9/1678).
13/7/1608, Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, was born
(died 2/4/1657).
14/5/1608, Charles, Duke of Lorraine, died.
5/4/1604, Charles Duke of Lorraine was born (died
18/9/1675).
14/7/1602, Cardinal Mazarin, politician, was born.
31/5/1601, Gebhard, Elector of Cologne, died (born 1547).
6/10/1600, Henry IV of France married Marie de Medici.
10/4/1599, Gabrielle d’Estrees, mistress of King Henry IV
of France, died (born 1573).
2/5/1598, The Treaty of Vervins ended the Franco-Spanish War.
Spanish troops
withdrew from Picardy.
13/4/1598. Henry IV of France issued the Edict
of Nantes, giving Huguenots
equal rights with Catholics. See 24/8/1572, and 18/10/1685.
25/9/1597, King Henry IV of France captured Amiens from
the Spanish.
9/6/1595, Battle of
Fontaine-Francaise; Huguenot victory.
25/5/1595, German scholar Valens Acidalius died in Neisse.
22/3/1594, Henry
IV entered Paris.
25/7/1593, In a shrewd move, King Henry IV of France declared himself a
Catholic, although still at heart a Huguenot sympathiser,
in order to fend off the threat of Catholics attacks upon him and to secure his
rulership of Paris.
21/5/1592, Parma escaped Protestant
forces at Coudebec and marched south east to resupply forces at Paris.
17/5/1592, The Duke of Parma
withdrew from besieging Coudebec. His forces had been reduced to 15,000, and
the Dutch Protestants were able to resupply Coudebec by
sea, sailing up the River Seine.
21/4/1592, The Duke of Parma
raised the siege by Protestants of
Catholics holding out at Rouen.
27/3/1592, Henry of Navarre, Protestant, restarted the siege
of Catholics holding Rouen.
24/3/1592, The Duke of Parma,
Catholic, began a siege of Protestants holding
the town of Coudebec, on the lower Seine.
9/2/1592, Parma attacked Protestants at Neufchatel.
4/2/1592, Military
skirmish at Aumale, west of Amiens, between Catholics and Huguenot
Protestants.
16/1/1592, The Catholic Duke of Parma
marched south west from Amiens with 30,000 men.
24/5/1591, Sir John Norreys, leading an expeditionary force sent by Queen Elizabeth
I, took the town of Guincamp after a brief siege, to assist the
Protestant King
Henry of Navarre., in his fight against the Catholics in France.
14/3/1590, Battle of
Ivry; Huguenot victory.
21/9/1589, The Battle of
Arques, NW France; Huguenot victory.
1/8/1589, Henry III, King of France, murdered by a mad Dominican
monk. On his deathbed he nominated the Protestant-sympathising Henry of Navarre as his successor.
5/1/1589, Catherine di
Medici, Italian wife of King Henry II of France, died.
23/12/1588, Henry of Lorraine, 3rd Duke
of Guise, (born 31/12/1550) was murdered, for being too presumptive
and acting as the ‘effective King of France’.
12/5/1588, Day of the Barricades in Paris; popular uprising
against King
Henry III.
20/4/1588, Johann Bugenhagen, German Protestant reformer,
died (born 24/6/1485).
28/10/1587, Non-French
Protestants coming to help the Huguenots free King Henry III
from the influence of the Catholics were defeated by Guise
at Montargis. Henry
III was now compelled to sign the ‘Edict of Union’, nominating the
Cardinal of Bourbon as his successor.
20/10/1587, Battle
of Coutras; Huguenot victory. However see 28/10/1587.
2/2/1587, Francois
des Adrets, French Protestant leader, died.
21/1/1586, Augustus
I, Elector of Saxony, died in Dresden (born 31/7/1526 in Freiberg).
9/9/1585, Cardinal Richelieu French
politician and chief minister of King
Louis XIII from 1624, who was ruthless at crushing all
opposition to the monarchy, was born near Chinon.
7/7/1585. King Henry III of France bowed to Catholic pressure and revoked the
tolerance allowed to Hugenots.
10/6/1584, The Duke
of Anjou died, and French Huguenot-Catholic
tensions heightened. Catholics were
alarmed that on the death of King
Henry III of France,
the Crown would pass to Henry of Navarre, who was sympathetic to the
Protestant cause.
9/12/1582, France
adopted the Gregorian calendar; the day after 9/12/1582 was 20/12/1582.
30/8/1580, Emmanuel Philibert,
Duke of Savoy, died (born 8.7.1528).
9/7/1578, Ferdinand II,
Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died 15/2/1637).
17/9/1577, The Peace of Bergerac was signed between King Henry III of France and the Hugenots.
7/1/1577, Ferdinand, Elector
of Cologne, was born (died 13/9/1650).
12/10/1576, The Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian II died, aged 49. He was succeeded by
his son Rudolf.
Another temporary truce between French Huguenots and
Catholics
5/5/1576, Peace of Monsieur
was signed between Huguenots and Catholics. However hostilities soon
recommenced, see 10/6/1584.
10/10/1575, The Battle of Dormans. Catholic
forces under Duke
Henry of Guise defeated the Protestants,
capturing Philippe
de Mornay amongst others.
14/2/1575, Henry III of France married Louise de
Lorraine-Vaudemont.
13/2/1575, Henry III of France was crowned at Reims.
4/2/1575, Pierre de Berulle, French statesman, was born
near Troyes (died 2/10/1629).
30/5/1574, King Charles IX of France died aged 24. He was
succeeded by his 23-year-old brother, who ruled as Henry III for 15 years, under
the domination of his mother, Catherine de Medici.
1573, Death of Michel de l’Hopital. Born 1507,
he became Superintendent of Finances in 1554, and was Chancellor of France from
1560. He attempted to quieten down
religious conflict in France by restraining the Catholic
executioners. However he retired in 1568 to his estate near Etampes.
Edict of Bolougne; Huguenot-Catholic tensions remained.
16/7/1573, The Edict of
Boulogne limited Huguenot
worship to the cities of La Rochelle, Momtauiban and Nimes. However neither
Catholics nor Huguenots were satisfied and tensions
remained.
28/4/1573, Charles
de Valois Angoulmeme was born in Fayet Castle (died 24/9/1650).
26/4/1573, Marie de Medici, Queen of France, was born.
29/10/1572, Francois Briquemault, French Huguenot, was executed.
24/8/1572, The St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre took
place in Paris. Thousands of
French Huguenots
were killed by order of the Catholic French court. See 13/4/1592. Gaspard de Coligny,
Huguenot leader, was killed. This was 6 days
after the marriage of Catholic Marguerite de Valois, daughter of Henry II of
France, also known as Catherine de Medici, to the Protestant Henri de
Bourbon, King of Navarre. The bride’s mother , Catherine was anxious over the
influence of Protestants on the couple.
13/1/1571, John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Custrin, died
(born 3/8/1513).
3/1/1571, Joachim II, Elector of Brandenburg, died (born
13/1/1505).
Peace of St Germain ended Huguenot conflict – but
broken again in 1572.
8/8/1570, Peace
of St Germain ended the Third French War of Religion. However this peace
was broken two years later by the plan of Catherine de Medici, King Charles IX and the Duke of Anou
to massacre the Huguenots (24/8/1572).
3/10/1569, At the Battle of Moncountour, Royalist forces
of Tavannaes
and Anjou defeated Coligny’s Huguenots.
24/8/1569, At the Battle of Orthez, Huguenot
forces under Gabriel
de Montgomery defeated Royalist forces under General Terride in French
Navarre. Catholics surrendered on
condition that their lives would be saved.
The Huguenots agreed but then massacred them
anyway.
10/6/1569, German Protestant troops reinforced Gaspard de Coligny, Huguenot, near Limoges.
13/3/1569, At the Battle of Jarnac, Royalist troops under
Marshal
Gaspard de Tavannes defeated the Huguenots
under the Prince
of Conde, who was captured and murdered. A large number of Huguenot
troops escaped, under Gaspard de Coligny.
Temporary truce; then Huguenot
French civil war continued.
28/9/1568, The French monarchy declared the Huguenots outside the law.
Huguenots again took up arms.
23/3/1568, Peace between the French Huguenots and Catholics
was concluded at Longjumeau. However this truce only lasted a few weeks. Pope Pius V was still demanding the total
suppressiom of the Huguenots.
20/3/1568, Albert, 1st Duke of Prussia, died in Tapiau
(born 16/5/1490 in Ansbach).
10/11/1567, Huguenots were
defeated at St Denis.
18/4/1567, Wilhelm von Grumbach, German adventurer, was
executed (born 1/6/1503).
13/9/1565, Guillaume Farel, French religious reformer,
died (born 1489).
25/7/1564, Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, died.
18/2/1563, Francis,
Duke of Guise, was assassinated
whilst besieging Orleans.
19/12/1562, The Battle of
Dreux;
Catholics defeated the Huguenots.
Start of Huguenot Civil War in France
11/4/1562, Huguenot leaders issued a statement, at
Orleans, declaring that, whilst they remained loyal subjects of the French
Crown,, they must take up arms to preserve their freedom of worship.
1/3/1562, The Guises
slaughtered a group of Huguenots
who were worshipping at a barn in Vassy. Armed conflict between Catholics and Huguenots was now
inevitable.
1/1562, An edict assured religious liberty
to the Huguenots.
9/10/1561, The Colloquy
of Poissy broke up. This was an attempt to find a working agreement between
the Catholics and the Huguenot Protestants,
which nearly succeeded.
5/12/1560, Francis II, King of France, died, aged 16, he was succeeded by
his brother, 10-year old Charles IX.
Origins of the Huguenot Conflict in France
3/1560, The Conspiracy of Amboise, a Huguenot plot to
kidnap the French King, Francis II, was uncovered and its ringleaders
executed. This was followed by the Edict
of Romorantin, which put a ban on the Protestant religion.However Coligny, an influential Protestant in France,
raised objections to this assault on freedom of worship. However the Guise Party (The Guises
were Catholics, opposed to religious reform, who were the uncles of Mary Stuart,
who had married King
Francis II) then attempted to pass death sentence on the Prince of
Conde. This sentence was not carried out, and now Catherine de Medici became regent on
the accession of Charles IX. She
alternated between compromise/concessions and harsh repression.
10/7/1559, Henry II, King of France, died aged 40. He was succeeded by his
14-year old son, Francis II. The Duc de Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine were
Regents.
2/4/1559, The Peace of Cateau-Cambresis, ending the wars of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
in Europe. Italy was recognised as a Spanish sphere of influence, and Franche
Comte was to be part of the Spanish monarchy. French possession of Metz, Toul
and Verdun was confirmed. A strategic marriage was arranged between King Philip II
of Spain and Elizabeth Valois, daughter of King Henry II
of France.
21/9/1558. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor from 1519 to
1556, died. His reign was marked by almost constant wars with France, through
which he gained control of Italy in 1529 at the Peace of Cambrai.
7/1/1558. Calais, the last English possession on mainland
France, was taken by the French under the Duke of
Guise. The English had captured Calais in 1346 after a year
besieging it.
10/8/1557, The Battle of St Quentin. Spanish forces under the Duke of Savoy
defeated the French under the Constable of Montmorency. The French were
driven out of Italy.
8/1/1557, Albert,
Prince of Bayreuth, died in Pforzheim (born 28/3/1522 in Ansbach).
15/11/1556, Jacques Duperron, French cardinal, was born
(died 6/9/1618).
16/1/1556, Emperor Charles V abdicated.
25/9/1555, The Peace of Augsburg was signed between Holy Roman
Emperor Charles V and the Schmalkaldic
League, at the city of Augsburg.
It cemented the division within Christendom between Catholicism and
Protestantism, and allowed German states to choose either Roman Catholicism or
Lutheranism as their State Religion.
14/12/1553,
Henry IV,
King of France, was born.
2/8/1553, Battle of Marciano. A French army invading Tuscany was defeated.
15/8/1552, Hermann, Elector of Cologne, died (born
14/1/1477).
18/7/1552, Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, was born.
19/9/1551, Henry III, King of France, was born.
31/12/1550, Henry of Lorraine, 3rd Duke of Guise, was born
(died 25/12/1588).
27/6/1550, Charles IX, French monarch who ordered the massacre of the Hugenots on St Bartholomew’s Day in
1572, was born.
17/10/1549, Denis Godefroy, French jurist, was born (died
7/9/1622).
9/8/1549. England declared war on France.
30/6/1548, The Interim of Augsburg. A solution devised at the
Diet of Augsburg by Charles V to solve the religious divisions of
the Holy Roman Empire by devising a loosely-defined Catholicism that was
acceptable to the Protestant Princes. It allowed the laity to receive the
Communion cup and for Protestant Ministers to keep their wives. However the
Catholics were unenthusiastic and most of the Protestant princes rejected it.
Pope Paul refused to endorse it until August 1549.
1547, French
replaced Latin as the official language of France.
23/4/1547, Battle of Muhlberg. Charles (1500-58), who became
King of Spain
in 1516 and Holy Roman Emperor in 1519, was opposed to the growth of
Lutheranism (Protestantism). At
Muhlberg, Charles
defeated the Protestant princes, allowing him to impose the Interim of Augsburg (1548) which was a
temporary compromise making minimal concessions to these Protestants. Many German Protestants who felt these
concessions were inadequate fled to England, assisting the Reformation there.
31/3/1547, King Francis I of France died, aged 52.
3/8/1546, In Paris the printer Etienne Dolet was hanged and
burned for heresy, after printing the works of humanists such as Erasmus.
24/9/1545, Albert, Archbishop of Mainz, died.
14/9/1544. Henry VIII
of England captured Boulogne. On 7/6/1546 the English
and French signed the Peace of Ardres. This said Boulogne was to remain in
English hands for another eight years.
19/7/1544, Henry
VIII laid siege to the French town of Boulogne, in revenge for
French military assistance to Scotland.
19/1/1544, Francis II, King of France, was born.
12/1/1539, The Treaty of Toledo was signed by Charles V
(Holy Roman Emperor, and King of Spain), and Francis I (King of France). Each agreed to make no further alliances with
England. The origin of this Treaty was
the dispute between King Henry VIII of England and Pope Paul III.
10/8/1539. King Francis of France ordered that all legal
documents were henceforth to be drawn up in French, not Latin. He also ordered
all priests to keep records of baptisms and deaths.
18/6/1538, The Truce
of Nice; peace was declared between Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and King Francis I
of France.
1/1/1538, German and Swiss states introduced the Gregorian
Calendar.
11/7/1535, Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg, died (born
21/2/1484).
9/7/1535, Antoine du Prat, Chancellor of France, died
(born 17/1/1463).
2/2/1534, The Great Swabian League was dissolved.
16/8/1532, John the Steadfast, Elector of Saxony, died
(born 30/6/1468).
13/8/1532, Union of
Brittany and France: The Duchy of Brittany was absorbed into the Kingdom of
France.
27/2/1531, German Protestants formed the Schmalkaldic League,
to resist Charles V.
23/2/1530, Carlos
I of Spain was crowned Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Italy
by Pope
Clement V.
5/8/1529, The Treaty
of Cambrai was signed, between Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and King Francis of
France. France abandoned its claims in Italy, but kept Burgundy.
20/8/1528, Georg von Frundsberg, German soldier, died
(born 24/9/1473).
15/8/1528, Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, French military
leader (born 1485) died.
8/7/1528, Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, was born
(died 30/8/1580).
31/7/1527, The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II was born.
6/5/1527, German mercenaries sacked the city of Rome, an event considered by many to mark the end
of the Renaissance. This occurred during warfare between the Holy League
and the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.
31/7/1526, Augustus I, Elector of Saxony, was born in
Freiberg (died 21/1/1586 in Dresden).
22/5/1526, France
repudiated the Treaty of Madrid, and formed the League of Cognac, against Charles V. This League included the Pope, Milan, Venice,
and Florence.
14/1/1526, The Peace
of Madrid; Francis
I of France agreed to cede Burgundy to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. France also abandoned all claims to Flanders,
Artois, Naples, and Milan.
1525, The Prussian Territory of
the Order of the Teutonic Knights became the Duchy of Prussia.
15/5/1525, The Battle of Frankenhausen.
7/5/1525, The Peasant’s Revolt in Germany was
defeated. It had begun in 1524 when the peasants demanded abolition
of feudal dues, serfdom, and tithes.
24/2/1525, The Battle of Pavia. Pavia,
held by the French, had been under siege by Spanish forces since October 1524.
Italy itself was a territory being fought over by the rival powers of France,
Germany, Turkey
and Spain. The French under King Charles VIII defended Pavia with cavalry
and cannon, but the Spanish had adopted the arquebus or hackenbushe, an early
version of the handgun; this weapon replaced the Spanish crossbow. The arquebus meant an unskilled infantryman
could kill a skilled knight and Pavia was the start of the dominance of the
handgun as a military weapon.
12/5/1523, Imbert
de Batarnay, French statesman, died.
28/3/1522, Albert,
Prince of Bayreuth, was born in Ansbach (died 8/1/1557 in
Pforzheim).
6/6/1520, Henry VIII
and Francis
I of France met in a glittering ceremony at The Field Of The
Cloth Of Gold near Calais.
28/6/1519, Charles V was elected as Holy Roman Emperor.
He was already the ruler of several territories across Europe,in Italy,
Austria, Spain and the Low Countries. He had ambitions to establish a wealthy
Catholic pan-European State which would push back the Ottoman threat, In
practice the varied peoples he ruled were disinclined to surrender power to a
remote central authority, or to pay taxes to him, and religious differences
between his lands persisted. Other European powers were suspicious of his
pan-European aims. This resulted in his reign being one of almost continual warfare.
12/1/1519, The Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian I, died aged 59. He had been King of
Germany and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493. He was succeeded by Spain’s Carlos I,
elected Holy Roman Emperor as Charles V.
1517, The port of Le Havre was founded.
Reign of King Louis XII of France (1498-1515)
1/1/1515. King Louis XII of France was succeeded by his
nephew, Francis,
who continued France’s policy of attempting to invade Italy.
9/10/1514, Louis XII, King of France, married Mary Tudor.
16/8/1513, The Battle of the
Spurs. King
Henry VIII defeated the French.
3/8/1513, John, Margrave
of Brandenburg-Custrin, was born (died 13/1/1571).
1512, Albrecht Durer became Court Painter to the Holy Roman
Emperor Maximillian I.
3/8/1509, Etienne Dolet,
French scholarly writer, was born (executed 3/8/1546).
13/1/1505, Joachim II,
Elector of Brandenburg, was born (died 3/1/1571).
1/6/1503, Wilhelm von
Grumbach, German adventurer, was born (executed 18/4/1567).
21/4/1503, The Battle of Cerignola, Italy. The Spanish under Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba defeated the French
under the Duc de Nemoura, who
was killed. This was the first battle
considered to have been won by gunpowder and small arms.
10/3/1503, Ferdinand I, Holy Roman
Emperor, was born.
23/2/1503,
At the Battle of Ruvo, the Spanish defeated the French.
12/9/1500, Albert III, Duke of Saxony, died in Emden
(born 27/1/1443).
20/2/1500,
Charles V,
Holy Roman Emperor, was born.
8/4/1498, Charles VIII of France died suddenly, aged 27.
He was succeeded by his cousin, the Duc d’Orleans, as Louis XII.
Reign of Charles VIII of France (1484-98)
25/2/1496, Eberhard, Duke of Wurttemberg, died (born
1445).
6/7/1495, At the Battle of Fornovo, near Parma, the French Army
secured its retreat from Italy by defeating a combined Milanese-Venetian force
under Giobvanni
Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of
Mantua. France had contested with Spain over who would control Italy. Charles VIII
of France expected support from his one-time allies, the Milanese, but when he
arrived in Italy he found they had joined with Venice, the Papacy and the Holy
Roman Empire to oppose his plans for Italy.
12/9/1494, Francis I, King of France, was born.
6/2/1493, Maximilian I of Germany became Holy Roman
Emperor.
19/1/1493, King Charles VIII of France returned Cardagne
and Roussillon in the eastern Pyrenees to Spain under the Treaty of Barcelona.
1491, Frency forces occupied Brittany, ending its independence, see
9/9/1488.
19/12/1490, Anne of Brittany married Maximillian I, Holy Roman Emperor,
by proxy.
16/5/1490, Albert, 1st Duke of Prussia, was born in
Ansbach (died 20/3/1568 in Tapiau).
17/2/1490, Charles Bourbon, Constable of France, was born
(died 6/5/1527).
10/11/1489, Henry II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, was
born (died 1568).
9/9/1488, Anne of Brittany became Duchess of Brittany at
the age of 11. Her marriage to King Charles VIII in 1491 effectively ended Breton
independence from France.
28/7/1488, At the Battle
of Saint Aubin du Cornier, troops loyal to King Charles VIII of France
defeated forces led by the rebel Duke of Orleans and Duke of Brittany in the main engagement of the Mad War.
14/2/1488, The Great Swabian league was formed.
11/3/1486, Albert III, Elector of Brandenburg, died
11/3/1486 in Frankfort (born 9/11/1414 in Tangermunde).
24/6/1485, Johann Bugenhagen, German Protestant reformer,
was born (died 20/4/1558).
21/2/1484, Joachim I,
Elector of Brandenburg, was born (died 11/7/1535).
Reign of Louis XI of France, 1461-83
30/8/1483, Louis XI, King of France, died, aged 60. He
unified France after the Hundred Years War. He was succeeded by his 13-year old son, Charles VIII.
23/12/1482, Burgundy
and Picardy were absorbed into
France by the Treaty of Arras.
Meanwhile other
Burgundian lands in the Low Countries passed to the Hapsburgs due to the
marriage of Charles’
only child, Margaret,
to the future Holy Roman Empire, Maximilian I.
10/7/1480, Rene, Count of Anjou, died without an heir. Louis XI annexed his territory.
1477, The death of Charles the Bold, Duke
of Burgundy 1467-77, in battle brought Burgundy back firmly under French
control. Burgundy, seeking at least de facto independence from France, had allied with Britain durting the Hundred
Years War,l and by marriage were united with Flanders. However France retained its
hold on Champagne, separarating the two parts of Burgundy.
14/1/1477, Hermann, Elector of Cologne, was born (died
15/8/1552).
5/1/1477, Battle of Nancy.
1476, First known mention of the
Bayeux Tapestry, recorded in an
inventory at Bayeux Cathedral.
24/9/1473, Georg von Frundsberg, German soldier, was born
(died 20/8/1528).
24/11/1468, Jean Dunois, French commander who achieved
many victories against the English during the Hundred Years War, died (born 1403).
30/6/1468, John the Steadfast, Elector of Saxony,was born
(died 16/8/1532).
15/6/1467, Philip the Good,
Duke of Burgundy, died, aged 71, after a 48-year reign. He was succeeded by his son, Charles the
Bold, who began a 10-year power struggle with Louis XI of France. He was the
last Duke of Burgundy.
19/10/1466, King Casimir IV signed the
Second Peace of Thorn, ending the
warfare which began in 1454 when Casimir IV agreed to help the Prussian
Confederation against the Teutonic Knights.
1465, League of the Common Weal set
up in France as an aristocratic counterweight to King Louis XI.
1464, Louis
XI of France founded the Poste
Royale, the first national postal service.
17/1/1463, Antoine du Prat, Chancellor of
France, was born (died 9/7/1535).
22/7/1461, Charles VII of France died aged 58 (ruled sonce
1427). He was succeeded by his son, Louis XI.
22/3/1459, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian was born.
25/11/1456, Jacques Couer, French trader, died.
End of Hundred Years war; English evicted from
France.
19/10/1453, France recaptured Bordeaux from the English.
Bordeaux had fallen to France in 1451, but the English retook it. By now
England was pre-occpied with the Wars of the Roses.
17/7/1453. The end of the Hundred
Years War, when the French defeated the English at Castillon. Now
only Calais remained in English
hands; in 1449 England occupied nearly a
third of France.
19/3/1452, Frederick, King of Germany, was crowned Holy
Roman Emperor by Pope Nicholas.
20/8/1451, The French captured Bayonne, the last English stronghold in
Guyenne.
30/6/1451, French troops under the Comte de Dunois
invaded Guyenne and captured Bordeaux.
16/9/1450, Louis Aleman, French Cardinal, died in Arles.
12/8/1450, Cherbourg, the last English territory in Normandy,
surrendered to the French.
6/7/1450, Caen surrendered to the French.
15/4/1450, The Battle of Formigny. Fought near Caen, the French defeated
an English force sent to halt King Charles VII’s reconquest of Normandy.
29/10/1449, The French recaptured Rouen from the English.
28/8/1448, France’s
first regular infantry, the Francs-Archers, was formed. By ordinance of
Montils les Tours, each parish was to select its best archer, who was to
practice on Sundays and feast days, and was exempt from the taille. They had to
be ready to mobilise instantly when required.
27/1/1443, Albert III, Duke of Saxony, was born (died
12/9/1500 in Emden).
18/12/1442, Pierre Cauchon, French Bishop, died.
17/6/1442, Frederick III Holy Roman Emperor was crowned
King of Germany at Aix la Chapelle.
26/10/1440, Gilles de Rais, Marshal of France, was hanged.
21/2/1440, The Prussian
Confederation was formed.
9/12/1437, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund died, aged 69. He was
succeeded by hs son in law, Albrecht of Hapsburg.
13/4/1436, The English lost Paris to the French.
20/9/1435, Charles VII concluded the Treaty of Arras with
the Duke of Burgundy. This deprived England of an ally, further isolating it.
10/11/1433, Charles, Duke of Burgundy was born
5/3/1432, Charles VII concluded the Treaty of Rennes.
16/12/1431. The Bishop of Winchester, Henry Beaufort, crowned King Henry VI King of France.
Joan ofArc raises French
morale from 1429; executed by English 1431
30/5/1431. Jeanne D’Arc, a peasant girl from Donremy, was
burned at the stake in Rouen for heresy. She had been taken prisoner by the
Burgundians in May 1430 and handed over to Pierre Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais. She
endured a year of inquisition and torture. She was canonised in 1920 on the
anniversary of her death.
26/8/1429. Jeanne D’Arc made a triumphal entry into Paris.
17/7/1429, Charles VII
was crowned King in Reims.
16/7/1429, The French Army
reached Reims, which surrendered to Charles VII without a fight.
18/6/1429. Jeanne D’Arc, 17 years old, defeated the British at the Battle of Patay.
Historians are still in dispute over Jeanne
D’Arc’s role in the Hundred Years War
between Britain and France. Born a
peasant’s daughter on 7/1/1412, she believed she was led by divine guidance
and her mission was to make sure that Charles VII became King of France and not the English Henry V.
The French and the English came face to face at Patay on 18/6/1429 and Jeanne D’Arc
had promised the French a greater victory than ever they had seen so far. The
English army was indeed routed and also its reputation for invincibility, as
the Earl of
Salisbury’s 5,000 men were forced back across the River Loire. She was captured by the English a year later,
on 24/5/1430, with the help of French collaborators, and burnt as a witch on
30/5/1431. She was canonised in 1920.
For Hundred Years War events see also Britain
7/5/1429, The French captured
the English fort of Les Tourelles, inspired by Joan
of Arc. This was pone of several strongholds around
Orleans lost by the English. The following day, 8/5/1429, the English began
retreating, but Joan of Arc forbade the French to pursue because it was a Sunday.
29/4/1429, Joan of Arc
arrived to
relieve the Siege of Orléans.
27/4/1429, French troops
mustered at Blois and set off for Orleans. Orleans had been almost surrounded
by English troops since 12/10/1428, although it was possible for the French to
enter and leave.
13/2/1429, Joan of Arc
left Vancouleurs, a town loyal to the
French Dauphin, and travelled across English-held territory to Chinon to meet
the Dauphin. The French nobility were unsure if she was mad or a heretic, but then
decided to use her to raise French morale so as to defeat the English at
Orleans.
3/7/1423, Louis XI, King of France, was born.
21/10/1422, King Charles VI of France died (born
3/12/1368).
English power in France uncertain after death of Henry V; his successor just 9 months old.
Influence of Joan of Arc, revitalised the
French.
31/8/1422. King Henry V
died in Vincennes, France, struck down by dysentery.. He was just about to
take the crown of both France and England; his son, Henry
VI, was just 9 months old, and English
power in France looked uncertain again.
For Hundred
Years War events see also Britain
1/12/1420, Henry V made a triumphal entry into Paris, see 25/10/1415 and
21/5/1420.
21/5/1420, Under the Treaty
of Troyes, King
Henry V of England became ruler of France also, following his
victory at Agincourt. Henry V married Catherine de Valois and when Charles de
Valois died Henry would inherit the throne, so long as Henry
and Catherine
produced a male heir. Under French Salic Law, a woman could not rule France.
10/9/1419, John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, died
(born 28/5/1371).
19/1/1419, In the Hundred Years' War, Rouen surrendered to Henry V of England, which
took Normandy under the control of England.
1415, Frederick of Hohenzollern used
the wealth he had amassed as Burg-Graf of Nuremberg to purchase, from Holy Roman
Emperor Sigismund, the governorship of the State of Brandenburg (see map here). From here the Hohenzollern
Margraves (Mark-grafen, or border Counts) expanded their influence north east
into Pomerania and Mecklenburg, and southawrds into Saxony, at the expense of
the Counts (Marks) of these regions. Ongoing conflict with the Slavic peoples
and the absence of easily-defensible frontiers for Brandenburg ensures that
this political entity became highly militarised as Prussia and then Germany. In 1618 the Duchy of Prussia passed by
inheritance to the Margrave of Brandenburg.
Battle of Agincourt, Hundred Years War. English
snatched victory from possible defeat, and secured their hold on Brittany –
until 8/1422
25/10/1415. Battle of Agincourt, 20 miles inland from
Boulogne. The English forces, after the capture by the French of Harfleur, had
set out to march to Calais through Picardy. Henry
V could have simply garrisoned Harfleur and
returned the way he had come, by sea, but he decided to march through enemy
French territory to the English enclave of Calais to make a political point. Their
crossing of the River Somme was delayed by torrential rains and the French set
out to block their passage. The French troops set up at the northern end of a
defile of open ground between the woods of Agincourt and Tramercourt. The
English were short of food and supplies and hunger might have eventually forced
their surrender. The French outnumbered the English three to one. However
King Henry V was able to use his archers, in the restricted space of the
battlefield, to mow down the French cavalry and so win the battle. Thick mud, from the rains, restricted the movement
of the French cavalry. The English victory gave Henry
the finances and reputation to continue the war. Four
years later the whole of Normandy was under British control, and in 1420 the
Treaty of Troyes recognised Henry as heir to the French throne, see 1/12/1420.
21/9/1415, Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, was born.
14/8/1415, Henry
V’s fleet arrived at Chef de Caux, 10 miles west
of Harfleur. Harfleur was a port from which the French had made many raids on
the English south coast.
9/11/1414, Albert
III, Elector of Brandenburg, was born in Tangermunde (died 11/3/1486
in Frankfort).
6/1/1412, Joan of Arc was born.
15/7/1410. The Poles
and Lithuanians defeated the Teutonic Knights at the First Battle of Tannenberg
/ Battle of Grunwald). The Order of the Teutonic Knights had established a
State in Prussia, from where they launched Crusades against their non-Christian
neighbours to the east, including the Duchy of Lithuania. In 1386 the ruler of
Lithuania converted to Christianity and married the Queen of Poland; on her
death he became ruler of Poland, as King Ladislav
II Jagiellon. The Teutonic Knights contested the sincerity if his
conversion, and in 1409 their Grand Master, the volatile Ulrich von Jungingen, declared
war on Poland and Lithuania. He had underestimated the power and unity of the
joint Polish-Lithuanian State. In Summer 1410 a joint Polish-Lithuanian army,
led by King
Jagiellon and Grand Duke Witold of Lithuania, marched upon
the Teutonic Knights capital at Marienberg. The Knights confronted the invaders
at a point between the villages of Grunwald and Tannenberg; they enjoyed
initial success but were outflanked by Lithuanian cavalry and mostly
slaughtered. However the Poles did not press on and take Marienberg, and peace
terms were mild. In Soviet Russia, some credit was claimed for this battle
because troops from Smolensk also supported the Poles. In an early German
victory over Russia in World War One, the Germans called this battle
‘Tannenberg’ to avenge defeat 5 centuries earlier.
18/5/1410, Rupert, King of Germany, died an Landskron,
near Oppenheim, aged 58. He was succeeded by 42-year-old Sigismund of Luxembourg, who
ruled until 1437.
23/4/1407, Olivier de Clisson, French soldier, died (born
1336).
12/9/1404, Francis I, King of France, was born.
27/4/1404,
Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, died.
22/2/1403, Charles VII of France was born (died
22/7/1461).
4/12/1370, Battle of Pontvallain, Hundred Years War. The French won by avoiding a
set-piece battle where English archers would have the advantage, instead
harrying the English raiding parties as they headed back south, unprepared for
battle.
19/3/1397, Pierre D’Ailly became Bishop of Cambrai.
26/6/1396, King Richard II of England married Isabella of
France, daughter of King Charles VI of France. This was intended
to effect a reconciliation between the two countries in the Hundred Years War.
However Richard
was later dethroned by Henry of Lancaster (Henry IV), and
Anglo-French hsotilities resumed.
13/6/1396, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, was born.
Charles V
of France
16/9/1380, King Charles V of France, aged 43, died at
Vincennes after eating poisonous mushrooms. He had ruled since 1356, and was
succeeded by his 12-year-old son, King Charles VI, who ruled until 1422 (despite
bouts of insanity from 1392 onwards).
13/7/1380, Bertrand du Guesclin, Constable of France,
died.
29/11/1378, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV died aged 62. His lands
were divided amongst his three sons.
21/6/1377, Charles V of France recommenced hostilities in Artois and Guienne,
and attempted to unite Brittany and France.
27/6/1375, The English under King
Edward III, having lost territory in the Loire,
Gironde, region, concluded the Treaty of Bruges.
1372, France defeated the British fleet at La
Rochelle. Britain expelled from Acquitaine.
28/5/1371, John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, was born
(died 10/9/1419).
1369, France recommenced the Hundred Year’s War.
3/12/1368, King Charles VI of France was born (died
21/10/1422).
15/2/1368, The Emperor Sigismund was born.
3/4/1367, In the Hundred Year’s War, the English under the Black Prince defeated a Spanish and French
army at the Battle of Navarrete. The
Spanish Kingdom of Castile was in civil war, between rival claimants for the
throne, Pedro
and his brother Enrique.
The French under Bertrand du Guesclin and the English under Edward the
Black Prince intervened, backing Enrique and Pedro respectively. The French and English
met at Najera (Navarrete), where English longbowmen massacred the French
cavalry. Pedro gained the throne but never repaid the
English for the expense of their army. The heavy French footsoldier casualties
brought some relief to the countryside,
with fewer unemployed soldiers roaming and plundering it.
For
Hundred Years War events see also Britain
12/4/1365, Treaty of Guerande. The French House of Blois ceded its
rights to Brittany.
29/9/1364, Battle of Auray.
Although officially at peace after the Treaty of Bretigny, England and France
continued to fight over control of Brittany. French military commander Bertrand du
Guesclin faced English commander John Chandos. The English-backed
claimant Jean
de Montfort was contending with Charles du Blois for the Dukedom of Brittany.
In the fighting for the city of Auray, Charles du Blois was killed; however after de Montfort
was installed as Duke of Brittany he changed allegiance and swore fealty to the
King of France. The English gained nothing.
16/5/1364, Du Guesclin victory at the Battle of Cocherel.
8/4/1364, John II, The Good, King of France, died aged
45 as a prisoner in England, where he had been held since the Battle of
Poiiers, 1356 (born 1319). His body was sent back to France with honours, and
he was succeeded by his 27-year-old son, who reigned until 1380 as Charles V.
1360, The first Franc coin was minted, by King John II
of France.
Treaty of Bretigny, temporary end to Hundred Years
War. Terms not honoured.
24/10/1360, The Treaty
of Brétigny was ratified at Calais, marking the end of the first phase of
the Hundred
Years' War. Under
its terms, King
John II of France, who had been captured at Poitiers, would be
released for a ransom of 3 million Ecus. Calais, Guines, Ponthieu and all of
Aquitaine would be ceded to Edward III of England. In return Edward,
who had besieged Rheims (December 1359 – January 1360) but failed to capture
it, promised to renounce claims to the French Crown when John renounced sovereignty over
Aquitaine. In fact these renunciations
never took place and the Hundred Years War resumed 1369.
10/6/1358, End of the Jacquerie
peasant rebellion in France (began 30/5/1358).
19/9/1356. The English, led by Edward the Black Prince,
defeated the French under King John II, at the Battle of Poitiers,
western France, in the Hundred Years War.
Edward III had been raiding in
northern France and was making his way back south when he learnt that te French
were making to intercept him. Laden with baggage, the English moved more slowly
and the French met them 5 km east of Poitiers. The English found a site with
restricted access for the French knights, and English archers took down many
French knights. King
John himself was captured, and only released when a huge ransom was
paid in 1360.
5/5/1352, Rupert, king of Germany, was born.
22/8/1350. King John II, (the Good) succeeded Philip VI
as King of France.
12/8/1350, Philip IV, King of France, died at Nogent le
Roi, aged 57, after a 22-year reign. He was succeeded by his 31-year-old son,
who reigned for 14 years, but dominated by bad counsellors.
11/10/1347, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV of Bavaria died
aged 60 in a hunting accident on a bear hunt near Munich. Charles of Luxembourg
now became Holy Roman Emperor, reigning until 1378 as Charles IV.
Hundred Years War – English invade France, Battle
of Crecy, English capture Calais
4/8/1347, Calais surrendered to the English. The city remained in English
hands until 1588.
26/8/1346. The Battle of Crecy
took place, 32 miles south of Boulogne.
The outnumbered army of Edward III,
aided by his son Edward the Black Prince, defeated the French under Philip IV, who fled, leaving over 1,500 French
dead. On 3/8/1347 the English captured Calais after nearly a year’s
siege, which began on 3/9/1346. This
battle, during the Hundred Years War, was the first time the English
had used longbows in continental
warfare. The crossbow assault at Crecy decimated the French-Geonese archers and
the French knights behind, attempting an attack through the Genoese, caused a
troops jam into which the English longbowmen continued to fire. The French
retreated; Edward decided against pursuing the survivors but marched on north
to attack Calais.
12/7/1346, An
English invasion force landed unopposed at St Vaast, western Normandy, with the
aim of capturing Paris. This force was defeated by a superior French army
and the English attempted a retreat back to England, marching west 60 miles in
four days. However the French followed their march just to the south, denying
the Seine Valley to the English. The English needed a port to evacuate their
forces. The English now had to cross the lower Somme between Amiens and the
sea, but this tract was tidal, full of treacherous marches, passable only along
narrow causeways for a few hours a day at low tide. Crossing points to the
north of the Somme were guarded by the French. The English attempted to force a
crossing of the Somme at Crecy.
11/7/1346. Charles V of Luxembourg was elected Holy Roman
Emperor at the instigation of Pope Clement VI.
15/1/1342, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, was born.
1341, France imposed a salt tax to pay for the cost
of the war with England.
24/6/1340, The English fleet, under Edward III (see 21/9/1327) defeated
the French fleet at the Battle of Sluys. The French fleet was virtually
destroyed, giving Edward III control of the sea. However both the French and
English rulers were short of money and unable to pay their troops; so Edward
III, and Philip VI of France, settled at the Treaty of Esplechin.
The
dispute between England and France had links to the Flemish weavers who
rebelled but were defeated on 24/8/1328 by the new Philip VI of France. Also
Philip VI supported the Scots under David Bruce against the English, see
21/9/1327. In 1336 Edward III renewed his claim to the French throne. In 1338
Edward III cut wool exports to Flanders, forcing up wool prices and causing
economic hardship to the weavers there. Edward then lifted the wool embargo,
and encouraged the weavers to rebel again against Philip VI, to secure the
unification and independence of Flanders.
Origins of the Hundred Years War – rival English
and French claims on the French throne
1328, The last Capetian ruler of France died. The
French Crown passed to the related Valois Dynasty. However the English monarch,
Edward III,
had a rival claim to the French throne through his mother. The newly-enacted Salic
Law of France, however., banned any royal succession except through the
male line (see 1317 France below). England initiated the Hundred Years War,
1337-1453.
See also Benelux,
1300s.
24/5/1337, Philip VI of France took Gascony from English control.
21/1/1337, King Charles V of France was born (died
16/9/1380).
1/2/1328, King Charles IV of France died aged 33,
without an heir, ending the Capetian line. Under the Salic Law (succession through the male line only) he was succeeded
by his 35-year-old cousin who ruled as Philip IV until 1350. He established the
Valois Dynasty, which endured until 1589.
King
Frederick III of Germany
13/1/1330, Frederick III
of Germany died at Gutenstein.
16/3/1325, Charles Count of Valois died (born 12/3/1270).
17/1/1328, Louis of Bavaria was
crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
13/3/1325, The Treaty
of Trausnitz was signed. Frederick III,
I return for his freedom, acknowledged Louis IV as King of
Germany. Frederick also undertook to return to captivity if he could not
persuade his brother Leopold to similarly acknowledge Louis
IV.
28/9/1322, In a decisive battle for the German
kingship, Frederick III was deefated
and sent as a prisoner to Trausnitz, where he remained for three years. See 13/3/1325.
13/11/1314, Albert, Landgrave of Thuringia, died.
25/10/1314, Frederick III
was crowned King of Germany by the Archbishop of Cologns, and war started between
him and Louis IV.
A majority of electors had chosen Louis, 27, but a minority had opted
for Frederick, 28.
See 28/9/1322.
19/10/1314, Frederick III
was chosen as King by a minority of electors; the majority chose Louis
of Bavaria.
9/11/1313, Louis IV, Duke of Bavaria, defeated Frederick III, King of Germany, at the Battle of
Gamelsdorf.
Philip V of
France
2/1/1322, Philip V, King of France, died, aged 28, after
a 6-year reign. He ended the war with
flanders, and persecuted French Jews, taxing 150,000 livres from the Jews
of Paris alone. He
was succeeded by his 27-year-old brother who ruled for 6 years as King Charles IV,
last of the direct line of Capetian Kings. See
1/2/1328, France, above.
1317, France adopted the Salic Law, which prohibited women from
succeeding to the throne.
5/6/1316, King Louis XI of
France died, aged 26, after an 18-month reign. He was succeeded briefly by his
son, John, born after his death. However John died on 22/11/1316. Philip, Louis’
22-year-oled beother, proclaimed himself King and ruled as Philip V until early 1322.
14/5/1316, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV was born.
29/11/1314, Philip IV, King of France, died aged 69. He
was succeeded by his 25-year-old son who ruled as Louis X but died in 1316.
24/8/1313, King Henry VII of Germany was poisoned, and died in
Italy.
Albert I of Germany
1/5/1308, Albert I of Habsburg, King of Germany and Holy Roman
Emperor, was murdered by his nephew,John (Parricida). This followed a humiliating
defeat of Albert’s forces whilst attempting an invasion
of Thuringia.
2/4/1305, Jeanne, Queen of Navarre, died.
24/8/1298, Albert I, 48, was elected
King of Germany. He ruled until 1308
Adolph of
Nassau
2/7/1298, Adolph of Nassau was killed
in battle with his successor, Albert of Austria.
23/5/1298, Adolf of Nassau was deposed
as King of Germany.
5/5/1292, Adolf of Nassau (born 1250)
was elected as King of Germany, principally as a means of blocking Hapsburg
claims to the German throne through Albert of Austria. However he became too ambitious for the
comfort of the Electors of Germany and he was deposed in 1298. He died in
battle against Albert I of Austria in 1298.
4/10/1289, Louis XI, King of France,
was born.
Philip III of France
5/10/1285, Philip III, King of France, died of the Plague
whilst retreating from Gerona, after a 15-year reign. He was succeeded by his
17-year-old son who rued until 1314 as King Philip IV.
15/11/1280, Albertus Magnus, German scholar, died in
Cologne.
25/8/1270, Louis IX of France died at Carthage of the
Plague whilst leading an 8th Crusade. He was succeeded after
a reign of nearly 44 years by his 25-year-old son, who reigned until 1285 as Philip III.
12/3/1270, Charles Count of Valois was born (died
16/12/1325).
Rudolf I of Germany
15/7/1291, Rudolf I,
King of Germany, died at Spires, aged 73, after an 18-year reign.
29/9/1273, The Great Interregnum of Germany ended with
the election of Rudolph,
Count of Hapsburg, aged 55, as King Rudolph I. He reigned for 18 years. He
promised to lead a further Crusade, and was then recognised by Pope Gregory X,
who crowned him on 24/10.1273.
1254. A 19-year interregnum began in Germany with the death of Conrad IV,
last Hohenstaufen King. See 29/9/1273.
Frederick
II and Conrad IV of Germany
21/5/1254, Conrad IV, Holy Roman Emperor,
King of Germany, died aged 26. Born in 1228, he ruled from 1237. The election
of his 2-year-old son Conradin
was barred by German and Papal opponents of Conrad, and opponents of the
late Frederick
II. Conradin
– executed 1268 - see also Italy (and Sicily)
1251, Peasant’s Revolt in northern France, around Amiens.
12/12/1250, Death of Frederick II,
Holy Roman Emperor, from dysentery (born 1194). He was aged 55, and
had reigned for 38 years. He was succeeded by hs 22-year-old son, who narrowly
escaped assassination at Regensburg and went on to rule until 1254 as Conrad IV.
3/4/1245, Philip III, King of France, was born.
1244, Provence became part of
Capetian France.
9/4/1241. The Mongols defeated an
army of Teutonic Knights at the
Battle of Liegnitz, Silesia.
1237, The city of Berlin was
founded.
1/5/1231, In Germany the Privelige of Worms gave the German princes almost total
independence. They controlled all jurisdiction, mints, and tolls within their
domain.
17/3/1230, The Archbishop of Bremen, Gerhard II, convened a
Great Church Gathering at Bremen. There he organised the excommunication of the Stedinger for such crimes as worshipping wax
images of the Devil and consulting evil spirits. In reality the Stedinger had
been granted permission, in 1106 by an earlier Archbishop of Bremen, to reclaim
the marshlands at the estuary of the River Weser for agriculture. The work was
hard, digging drainage ditches and building
dikes but the inhabitants of this land, called Stedingen, were at least
free from Feudalism. They paid a nominal tax to the Archbishop but owned no
feudal duties to any Lord. Over time the feudal Lords of the region and the
Archbishops of Bremen came to see the freedom of the Stedinger as a threat.
Relations deteriorated as the Counts of Oldenburg built two fortresses in
Stedingen, at Lechtenburg and Luneberg, kidnapping local people from the area,
and in turn the Stedinger formed local militias for their own protection. Gerhard II
went to Rome to secure Pope Gregory II’s agreement for a Crusade against the Stedinger, which
began in Spring 1233. By the end of 1234 the Stedinger society had been
eradicated, although some families claiming descent from the Stedinger remain
today in Germany and the USA.
8/5/1228, Isabella, wife of King Frederick II of Germany,
died.
26/4/1228, Conrad IV, Holy Roman Emperor,
was born (died 1254).
29/9/1227, Pope Gregory IX excommunicated King Frederick
of Germany a second time, for delaying his Crusade.
22/11/1220, Frederick was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Honorius
III. He promised the Pope that he woiuld undertake a new Crusade,
but instead got involved in harsh measures to repress a rebellion in Sicily.
Louis VIII of France
8/11/1226, Louis VIII, King of France, died aged 39. He
had renewed the ‘Crusade’ of 1213-18 against the Albigensian heretics. He was
succeeded by his 12-year-old son who took the throne 29/11/1221 at Reims to
rule for 44 years as King Louis IX.
23/5/1125, Holy Roman Emperor Henry V died at Utrecht. He was
succeeded by the 55-yerar-old Lothair, who
was crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle on 13/9/1125.
6.8.1223, Louis VIII was crowned King of France.
Philip
Augustus of France
14/7/1223, Philip Augustus, King of
France, died aged 57 after a reign of 43 years. His son now reigned as Louis VIII,
but he was physically weak and his reign only lasted 3 years before he died
22/5/1215, King Philip II
Augustus of France
received instructions from the Pope to abandon his invasion of Britain,
following 4/3/1215. King John of England had considerable economic
interests in the District of Flanders, whose cloth merchants received almost
all their wool from England, With English agents in many Flemish
towns, France feared losing influence over the region to England.
27/7/1214, The Battle of Bouvines. Near Lille, France, Philip II Augustus of France defeated an English-German-Flemish alliance. This dashed
the hopes of King
John of invading France on two fronts to recover the Angevin (meaning ‘of Anjou’) lands, and
this humiliation for John brought on the Magna Carta rebellion.
30/5/1213, Battle of Damme: King John’s English fleet under William
Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury destroyed a French fleet off the
Belgian port of Bruges, in the first major victory for the fledgling Royal
Navy. This forced King Philip II Augustus to abandon plans for the
invasion of England.
18/9/1180,
Louis VII, King of France, died aged 59, after a 43-year reign. He was succeeded by his
15-year-old son who reigned as Philip II Augustus until 1223.
Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV
19/5/1218, Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV died.
1/5/1218, Rudolf I, King of Germany, was born.
25/7/1215, Frederick II was crowned German King at Aix la
Chapelle.
25/4/1214, Saint Louis, King of France, was born.
8/4/1213, The Assembly of Soissons.
21/6/1208, The German King of Swabia was murderd at
Bamberg by 26-year-old Otto of Wittelsbach, who now usurped his
position.
1/4/1204, Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of King Henry II of
England, died. She was buried at Fonteraud. In June 1204 England lost Normandy
and other lands in France including Anjou, maine and parts of Poitou to the
French King, Philip Augustus.
27/5/1199, King John became King of England. He also became heir
to the Angevin lands in France.
9/6/1198, Otto of Brunswick was crowned King of Germany
and Holy Roman Emperor, Otto IV.
28/9/1197, The Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI died.
1196, By the Treaty of Louviers, King Richard I
of England, and the Angevin lands, regained some territories which Philip
II had seized whilst Philip II was away on crusades.
26/12/1194, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, was born at
Iesi, Italy.
Frederick
Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor
10/6/1190. Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa)
drowned in a river on his way to the Holy Land in the Third Crusade. He was
succeeded by his son, who had been crowned Caesar 4 years ago at Milan and had
been serving as Regent. His son Henry was crowned in 1191 and reigned until
1197.
5/9/1187, Louis XIII, King of France, was born.
19/8/1186, Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, died (born
23/9/1158)
1/11/1179, Louis
VII, in declining health, had his son crowned as King of the Franks,
Phillip II. In 1190 Phillip II became the first
monarch to style himself ‘King of France’.
30/11/1178, Barbarossa
was crowned King of Burgundy at Arles.
13/11/1170, Albrecht ‘The
Bear’ of Brandenbirg died ageed 70, having divided his lands between his six
sons.
29/7/1166, Henry II, Count of Champagne,
was born.
21/8/1165, Philip
Augustus, King of France, was born.
1158, The Baltic port city of Lubeck was founded by Hanseatic
traders in grain, timber and fish.
1158, The city of Munich
was founded.
23/9/1158, Geoffrey, Duke
of Brittany, was born (died 19/8/1186)
9/3/1152, Frederick Duke
of Swabia was crowned at Aix la Chapelle as Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa,
to succeed Conrad III.
Conrad III, Holy Roman Emperor
15/2/1152, Conrad III,
Holy Roman Emperor, died at Bamberg (see 7/3/1138). Born in 1093, he ruled from
1093.
7/9/1151, Geoffrey, Duke
of Brittany, died (born 24/8/1113).
21/4/1142, French scholar
Peter
Abelard was born at Chalon sur Saone.
7/3/1138, Conrad III
(1093-1152) was again chosen as Holy Roman Emperor (see 18/12/1127). He was
crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle on 13/3/1138, but was still opposed by Henry the Proud,
the powerful Duke of Bavaria and Saxony. Henry the Proud died in 10/1139, but Conrad
still faced opposition from Henry’s brother, Welf. Peace was finally arranged
at Frankfort in 5/1142, with Henry the Lion (son of Henry the Proud) installed as
Duke of Saxony, whilst Bavaria was given to Conrad’s stepbrother, Henry
Jasomirgott, Margrave of Austria, who married Gertrude, widow of Henry the Proud.
4/12/1137, Holy Roman Emperor Lothair II died aged 67.
King Louis VI of France
1/8/1137, Louis VI, King of France, died,
aged 56. He was succeeded by his 16-year old son, Louis VII.
18/12/1127, Conrad III (1093-1152) was
chosen as Holy Roman Emperor, in opposition to Lothair. He hastily crossed the
Alps to be crowned King of Italy at Monza, 6/1128. Whilst being acknowledged as
King in northern Italy he was rejected as King by both rival Popes, Innocent II
and Anacletus
II. He failed to consolidate his holdings in Italy, and returned to
Germany in 1132, where he fought with Lothair until 10/1135. He then submitted to Lothair,
was pardoned, and recovered his estates, When Lothair died in 12/1137, Conrad III
was again chosen as Emperor on 7/3/1138.
24/8/1113, Geoffrey, Duke of
Brittany, was born (died 7/9/1151).
1109, Louis VI of France declared war on England.
7/1108, King Philip I of France died aged 56, after a
reign of nearly 48 years. He was succeeded by his 27-year-old son, who reigned
as Louis VI
until 1137. Louis VI faced continuel rebellions from rebellious barons, and it
took hm 24 years to eradicate the bandits who plundered travellers on the roads
around Paris.
28/9/1106. King Henry of England defeated his brother Robert at the Battle of Tinchebrai in France
and reunited England and Normandy,
divided since William the Conqueror died, see 5/8/1100 and 9/9/1087.
7/8/1106, Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, died (born
11/11/1050)
9/9/1087. William the Conqueror died, aged 60, in Rouen,
France, from injuries sustained when his horse stumbled. He had ridden out to
see the ruins of the town of Mantes, having sacked and burnt it in retaliation
for French raids on his territory, but the horse stepped on hot ashes and
jolted. He was succeeded in Normandy by Robert Curthose and in England by William Rufus,
William II,
who was crowned on 26/9/1087. See 2/8/1100, and 28/9/1106.
8/1/1081, Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died
23/5/1125).
25/1/1077, German King
Henry IV, who was losing popular support because of his
excommunication by Pope Gregory VII, arrived at Canossa Castle,
northern Italy, to do penance in reconciliation. He knelt in the snow in a
monk’s hair shirt for three days before the Pope admitted him. “Going to
Canossa” became a saying for reluctant penance, especially in Germany.
14/11/1060, Geoffrey Martel, Count of Anjou,
died (born 14/10/1006)..
4/8/1060, Henry I, King of France, died after a 29-year
reign, aged 52. He was succeeded by his 8-year-old son who ruled as King
Philip I until 1108.
Holy Roman
Emperor Henry III
5/10/1056, Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, died, aged 38. He was succeeded as
German King by his 5-year-old son, who reigned as Henry IV until 1106. His mother Agnes acted as Regent until 1065.
11/11/1050, Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died
7/8/1106)
25/12/1046, The German King was crowned Holy Roman Emperor Henry III in Rome by Pope Clement II.
11/1/1043, Agnes
(1024-77), daughter of William V the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine and Agnes of
Aquitaine, married Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor. Henry
III died in 1056 and
Agnes
(daughter) served as Regent for her minor son, Henry IV. However when Henry IV
came of age, Agnes
refused to relinquish the throne. She was eventually deposed by the efforts of
two German bishops; she thereafter lived in Rome, as a staunch supporter of Pope Gregory
VII, until her death in 1977.
4/6/1039, Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II died in Utrecht, aged 49, having
ruled from 1024. He was succeeded as German King by his 21-year-old son, Henry.
10/3/1039, Seige of Mauze.
1032, The Kingdom of Arles came back
under the control of the Holy Roman Empire, see 951.
20/7/1031, Robert II, (The Pious), King of France, died
aged 61 He was succeeded by his 23-year-old son Constance
of Aquitaine, who ruled as Henry I
until 1060.
26/3/1027,
Easter Sunday. Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II was crowned in Rome.
13/7/1024,
The Holy Roman Emperor Henry II died
aged 51 after a 10-year reign. He was succeeded as King of the Germans and Holy
Roman Emperor by his 34-year-old son, who ruled as Conrad II until 1039.
28/10/1017, Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died
5/10/1056).
14/10/1006, Geoffrey Martel, Count of Anjou, was born
(died 14/11/1060).
12/5/1003. Sylvester II, (Gerbert of Aurillac) the first French Pope, died. Elected in 999
with the backing of Otto III, he encouraged the Holy Roman
Emperor’s ambition to re-create the Roman Empire of the west.
23/1/1002, The Holy Roman Emperor, Otto III, died aged 21, whilst fighting Rome.
He was succeeded as King of the Franks and Bavarians by his 28-year-old cousin Henry, Duke of
Bavaria, who became Holy Roman Emperor in 1014.
17/12/999, Adelheid,
widow of King
Otto I of Germany, mother of King Otto II and grandmother of King Otto III,
born 931, died.
14/10/996, Hugh Capet, King of the Franks, died aged 58.
He was succeeded by his 26-year-old son who ruled as Robert II until 1031.
15/6/991, Empress Theophano, Byzantine-born widow of King Otto II of
Germany, died.
5/987, Louis V, King of the Franks
died, aged 20; allegedly poisoned by his mother, Emma. His death ended the Carolingian Dynasty, founded by Charlemagne
in 800. He was succeeded by 49-year-old Hugh Capet, starting the Capetian Dynasty that endured until 1328. The Archbishop of Reims
had declared the Frankish monarchy to be elective rather than hereditary, so as
to deny the throne to the late king’s uncle, Charles, and engineer the
succession of the Archbishop’s friend, Hugh. Hugh Capet ruled until 996.
2/3/986, Lothair, King of
the Franks, died, aged 44. He was succeeded by his 19-year-old son who
ruled briefly as Louis V (le
Faineant).
7/12/983, The Holy Roman Emperor Otto II died in
his palace in Rome, aged 28. He was succeeded by his 3-year-old son.
7/5/973. Otto I,
King of Germany, died. aged 60, after an 11-year reign. He was succeeded by his
18-year-old son, Otto
II, who had been joint Emperor since Christmas 967, and who in
972 had married the Byzantine Princess
Theophano, daughter of Romanus II. Otto II ruled until 7/12/ 983.
965,
Bremen was granted the right to hold
a market, to levy its own port dues and to mint money.
2/2/962, The Saxon Otto I
was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope
John XII.
17/6/956, Hugh The Great
died, 2 months after gaining mastery of Burgundy. He was succeeded by his
18-year-old son, Hugh
Capet, who was reluctantly acknowledged as Duke of the
Franks by his cousin, Lothair,
King of the Franks.
10/8/955, At the Battle of Lechfeld, near Augsburg, Otto I
of the Holy Roman Empire heavily defeated the Magyars, stopping their westwards invasion into Germany.
10/9/954, Louis IV, King of
France, died aged 33. He was succeeded by his 13-year-old son Lothair who
reigned until 986.
951,
The Kingdoms of Upper and Lower Burgundy were reuniyed, to become the Kingdom
of Arles (Arelat). See 1032.
2/7/936, Henry the Fowler,
King of Germany, died aged 60 after a 17-year reign. He was succeeded by his
23-year-old son, who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 and ruled as Otto I
until 973.
9/928,
France’s King Louis III
(The Blind) died at Arles aged 48 after a 27-year reign, 23 years
of which were sightless.
924,
Berengar I,
Holy Roman emperor from 915, also King of Italy from 888, was killed by his own
men.
15/6/923, Robert I, King of
France, was killed in battle.
29/9/922, In France, Charles III (The Simple)
was deposed by rebellious barons and replaced by King Odo who was crowned this day at Reims.
918,
Conrad I,
King of Germany from 911, died.
23/11/912, The Holy
Roman Emperor, Otto the Great,
was born.
911,
The Duchy of Normandy was founded,
when Charles III (The
Simple), King of the Franks, granted lands around Roeun to Rollo (Rolf), leader
of the Vikings. In return Rollo
converted to Christianity and took the name ‘Robert’.
8/11/911, Following the death of King Louis III (The Child)
at age 18, the son of Conrad,
Count of Lanhgau, was chosen as German King, at Forchheim.
12/889,
Holy Roman Emperor Arnulf
died aged 49. He was succeeded as German King by his 8-year-old son, Louis, who ruled
until 911 as Loius III (The
Child). He was the last of the Carloingian Kings.
13/1/888, With the death of Charles the Fat, the Frankish kingdom was split again, and this
time permanently. Odo,
Count of Paris became King of the
Western Franks.
26/11/885, Paris was
attacked by the Northmen but they failed to take the city, despite a long siege
lasting until October 886. In the end they were bought off by Charles the Fat,
with 700 pounds of silver. They were sent off to ravasge Burgundy, then in revolt
against Frankish rule.
12/12/884, King Carloman of
France died whilst out hunting and was succeeded as King of
the West Franks by Holy Roman Emperor Charles III (The Fat), son of the late Louis the German.
5/8/882,
Louis III, King of France died,
aged 19. His brother Carloman succeeded
him.
880, The Treaty of Ribemont
transferred Middle France, also known as Lotharingia (Lorraine, today) to East
Francia (now, Germany).
10/4/879, King
Louis II (The Stammerer) of France died at Compeigne, aged 32, after a
reign of 18 months. He was succeeded jointly by his sons, Louis III and Carloman,
and divided the kingdom between them a few months later.
12/8/875, Holy Roman Emperor Louis II died in Brescia, aged 50.
8/8/870, The Treaty of Mersen was signed. Charles
the Bald and his half-brother Louis
the German divided the Kingdom of their nephew Lothair II (died 869) between them.
8/8/869, Lothair II, King of
Lotharingia, died.
23/7/864, Edict of Pistres: Charles the Bald ordered defensive
measures against the Vikings.
These four Treaties – Verdun, Prum, Mersen and Ribemont – effectively
created the modern States of France,
Germany and Italy out of the old Frankish Merovingian lands.
Click Here for map of France and
Germany – Transition from Merovingian lands to France, Germany.
29/9/855, Treaty
of Prum. Holy Roman Emperor
Lothair abdicated in Prum aged 60. He divided his kingdom between his three
sons. 33-year-old Louis II received Italy, which he had already governed since
844, and now ruled until 875. His brother Lothair
II received Austrasia, which he renamed Lotharingia, later, Lorraine A
third son received Provence and southern Burgundy.
22/8/851, Battle of Jengland. Duke Nominoe of
Brittany died in 851, and the Frankish Emperor Charles the Bald took the
opportunity to march in with 4,000 armoured Frankish infantry and 1,000
lightly-armed Saxon foot soldiers. He could have taken cavalry but chose not
to. The new Duke of Brittany, Erispoe, ambushed the invading force at Jengland as
they advanced up the old Roman road from Nantes, using Breton horsemen who
threw javelins at the foot soldiers. They then withdrew, but any Franks who
pursued them were then cut down in disarray. The Franks retreated on the second
day of battle, demoralised by the clandestine departure of their leader
earlier. A few weeks later at the Peace of Angers, Charles the bald recognised
Erispoe as King of Brittany, with greatly expanded borders. This is considered
as the birth of the Breton state.
1/11/846, Louis II, King of France, was born.
28/3/845, Siege of Paris ended when Paris was sacked by a Viking raiding
fleet, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collected a huge ransom in exchange for leaving. The Vikings
also sacked Hamburg and Melun.
10/8/843, The Treaty of Verdun
divided the Holy Roman Empire into three equal shares The imperial crown and central portion from Frisia to Italy went to Lothair. Louis the German received Germany, and Charles the Bald, son of Pepin, received France.
25/6/841, The Battle of Fontenoy
(Carolingian Civil War).
5/5/840, One of the sons of Charlemagne, Emperor Louis of Bavaria, died of fright during a solar
eclipse. His other sons quarrelled, causing
the division of his empire into France, Germany, and Italy, see 843.
834,
Louis I
restored to the Frankish throne.
825, The
Castle of Mammaburg was constructed, between the Alster and Elbe Rivers. This
was the start of the City of Hamburg.
28/1/814,
Charlemagne
died of pleurisy, aged 71.
25/12/800,
Charlemagne was crowned first Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III.
782, Charlemagne
conquered West Saxony.
779, Failed Carolingian
invasion of Spain; siege of Saragosa.
15/8/778.
Roland,
(Count
Hruodland) a loyal ally of King Charles of the Franks, or Charlemagne,
was killed in the Pyrenees in an ambush by the Basques. The Basques were never conquered even by the Romans. Roland was
returning to France after a successful campaign against the Arabs in Spain.
774, Charlemagne
defeated Lombardy,
adding it to his Empire.
772, Charlemagne
began the conquest of East Francia (modern-day Germany).
4/12/771,
Carloman I,
King of the Franks, died, leaving his brother Charlemagne sole king of the now complete
Frankish kingdom.
24/9/768, Pepin III, King of
the Franks, died.
759,
Pepin III
expelled the Arabs from Languedoc, extending Frankish rule to the Pyrenees.
751,
Pepin III
was elected King of the Franks; her was crowned in 754..
2/4/742, Charlemagne was born.
22/10/741. Death of Charles Martel
(see 25/10/732) at his country palace at Quierzy, aged 53. He divided his realm
between his older son, Carloman, and his younger son, Pepin (Pippin). Carlonan
received the eastern lands (now Germany) whilst Pepin received the west
(France).
735,
Charles Martel
conquered Burgundy.
25/10/732. The
Frankish General, Charles Martel,
won a major victory over the Arabs at Poitiers. In 718
an Arab siege of Constantinople had been defeated. The Arabs had crossed
the Pyrenees, sacked Bordeaux and Poitiers, and were advancing on the wealthy
monastery of St Martin at Tours. Eudo,
Duke of Aquitaine, appealed to Charles who brought
the Frankish army south to help. The Arabs, their leader killed, retreated
south, probably to put down a Berber
uprising in north Africa. The Berbers were resentful that, although they had made a
considerable contribution to the invading Muslim armies, the Arabs nevertheless
took most of the best grazing lands and booty for themselves.
721, Muslim forces were deafeated near Toulouse, and
their commander, As
Sanh ibn Malik, was killed. However officer Abd al Rahman
took charge and led an orderly retreat to Narbonne
where they regrouped. From here they overran the entire French Mediterranean
coast as far east as the Rhone estuary.
720,
The Arabs
invading Spain
crossed the Pyrenees into France, and took Narbonne.
They had
ambitions to occupy the entire ‘Great Land’ as they called Europe, perhaps even
reaching as far as the Balkans and then attacking Constantinople from the rear.
16/12/714, Pepin II, ruler of
the Franks, died.
639,
Dagobert I,
last Frankish King of the Merovingian
Dynasty died (born 605, ruled from 629).
629,
Death of Chlothar II
(born 584, ruled from 613).
15/10/614. Chlothar II,
now sole ruler of the reunited Franks
after the execution of Queen
Brunhild, issued the Edict of Paris, in an attempt to stamp
out corruption in his dominions.
29/11/561, King Chlothar I ("the Old"), son of Clovis I, died at Compeigne at age 64 (reigned from 558). The Merovingian Dynasty was continued by his four sons —Charibert I, Guntram, Sigbert I, and
Chilperic I. Chlothar I had reunited the
realms of his father Clovis but upon Chlothar’s death his lands were again
divided amongst his four sons. Charibert ruled the Paris region, Guntram
received Burgundy, Sigbert ruled Metz, and Chilperic ruled north of Soissons.
558,
Chlothar I, son of Clovis, reunited the
Kingdom of the Franks – see 27/11/511 and 29/11/561.
555,
The Kingdom of Bavaria was founded,
as a Germanic tribe known as the Bavuyars invaded and settled the region.
536,
Provence, formerly part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, came under the rule of the
Franks.
534,
The Frankish Kings Chlothar I and Childebert I
overthrew Godomar,
King of the Burgundians, taking over his lands.
532,
Battle of Autun. The Burgundians
were defeated by the Franks, leading to the Frankish conquest of Burgundy.
25/6/524, Battle of Vezeronce. The four children of Clovis united
against the Burgundians. There
was a revenge motive for this action because their grandfather King Childperic I
of Burgnndy
had been killed hy his brother Gundobad, whose son Sigismund
was King of Burgundy in 524. Sigismund was
captured and taken to Orleans by Choldomir.
However Sigismund’s brother Godomar
mustered a new Burgundian Army and drove the Franks out of Burgundy.
Choldomir
then ordered the execution of Sigismund, but later on Choldomir himself
was killed in fighting against the Burgundians. Godomar remained as ruler of at least part
of Burgundy
until his overthrow and death in 534.
27/11/511. Clovis, King of the
Franks, son of Childeric I, Merovingian
Dynasty, died aged 45 in Paris. His
kingdom was divided up amongst his four sons, Theuderic in Reims, Chlodomir in
Orleans, Childebert in Paris,
and Clothar in Soissons.
Clovis had been a pagan, one of the Franks, who unlike the other Germanic
tribes, had not converted to Christianity. But he had married a Burgundian
princess, Clotilda, who was
Christian. She sought to convert her husband. During the Battle of Tolbiac
(Zulpich, Germany), against the Alemanni, Clovis promised to convert if his wife’s
God would grant him victory. Although Clovis’ troops were on the verge of defeat, the Alemanni King was killed and his
army surrendered. Clovis was then
baptised by ‘Saint’ Remigius in Reims
Cathedral, perhaps on 25/12/496. Clovis failed to take the Burgundian Kingdom to the south-east.
However he did defeat the Visigoths in southwest Gaul, in 507. In
recognition of this victory, Clovis was granted an honorary consulship by the eastern Roman
Emperor, Anastasius. This gave Clovis a status above
other western kings, and legitimised his rulership among his Gallic-Roman
citizens. When he died in 511, Clovis was sole ruler
of three quarters of Gaul.
508,
Clovis established Paris (Lutetia) as
capital of the Frankish lands.
507,
The Franks defeated the Visigoths at the Battle of Vouille. The Franks
conquered Acquitaine and drove the remaining Visigoths into Spain.
498,
Clovis was baptised a Christian.
495,
Clovis conquered the Alemmanni Kingdom, which at that time comprised modern day Alsace
and parts of modern day Switzerland. Their territory now formed part of the
Frankish Kingdom.
486,
Clovis of the Franks defeated Syagrius, the last Roman ruler in northern Gaul, at the Battle of Soissons.
482,
Accession of Clovis I
on the death of Childeric
I.
473,
Gundobad
became King of the Burgundians.
460,
Cologne captured by the Franks.
457,
Death of Merwig
(Merovech), King of the Franks, 448-457. He gave his name to the Merovingian
Dynasty, whose fortunes were established by his grandson, Clovis.
443,
The Burgundians settled in the Rhone
Valley as Foederati (a people
without Roman
citizenship but allied to Rome).
437,
Death of Gunnar
(Gunther, Gundicarus), born ca. 385, first recorded King of the Burgundians. He was an ally
of the Romans but was killed when his army was heavily defeated by the Huns.
410,
The Franks settled in parts of Gaul (see also Roman Empire).
357,
King
Chomodomarius of the Alemmanni was taken prisoner by Julian (later,
Roman Emperor), after the tribe was defeated at Strasbourg.
280,
First recorded mention of the Germanic Thuringii
Tribe.
272,
The first Bishop
of Paris, Saint Denis,
was beheaded along with two of his disciples on a hill near Paris, subsequently
called MontMartre, Martyrs Hill.
213,
The German tribe Alemanni were first
mentioned by the Roman historian Dio Cassius. They lived along the River Main
in modern-day Germany.
See also Roman Empire
for events in Germany 1st, 2nd, centuries CE
100 BCE,
A powerful Celtic state emerged in Gaul.
600 BCE,
The old port of Marseilles was
founded by Greek
colonists as the port of Lacydon.
700 BCE,
The Celts moved into France from
eastern Europe.