ANTH 205 Lecture 31
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France
History and Culture
- Official name: "French Republic" (Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic)
- Among highest standards of living and life expectancies (about 65 million people)
- 5th largest economy by GDP
- 3rd largest nuclear stockpile
- French is official language, one of most widely distributed languages
- Geographically balanced:
- Mountains on border with Spain
- Dry, warm in south near Mediterranean
- Lots of Atlantic coastline
Major Power
In last 500 Years, france has been major power in Europe and worldwide
- 17th–18th centuries
- colonized large parts of North America and Southeast Asia
- 19th–20th centuries
- 2nd largest colonial empire of time (only to that of England)
Very influential culture
Pre History
- H. Erectus
- 1 Mya, maybe 1.8 Mya
- Domestication of fire in France
- Neanderthals
- 300–30 Kya
- Evidence of cooking and burial of dead
- H. Sapiens
- 50 Kya
- Cave paintings (Lascaux caves) 17 Kya
Climate warmed and stabilized 7.5–4 Kya, giving way to large settlements and farming
The Celts
- Show up 1000–500 BC
- Migrated from Central Europe
- Superior technology: Iron
- Weapons (warriors) and Plows (farmers)
- Spread through all of France by 100 BC Called Gauls, named after a Celtic tribe
- Threatened Rome: Rome began conquest in 121 BC, and complete by 51 BC
The Franks
(Where France gets its name from)
In 4th century AD, Germanic Tribe called the Goths started harassing Rome.
Meanwhile, in 5th Century, Franks move into Gaul and embrace Christian Gallo-Roman culture.
Roman Empire began to collapse, and Merovingian [1] Dynasty takes power:
- First King of France (Clovus I)
- Pope kicks last king out
Charlemagne
Carolingian Dynasty
- Pepin the Short Crowned in 754 by Pope Stephen II
- Pepin's son Charlemagne reigned 768&nadsh;814
Expanded Rule of Franks
Organized empire into counties:
- Each overseen by governing agent: count
- Ensured loyalty through oath of fealty and close monitoring
- Line of paternal succession
Charlemagne was so highly regarded that he was crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor [2] by Pope Leo III on 25 Dec. 800
After Charlemagne (9th and 10th centuries), things start falling apart.
Louis I
- Son of Charlemagne
- Inherited empire
- Divided among his 3 sons
- Viking invasions [3] further destabilized France
Rich guys with a lot of weapons took over: Feudalism
Capetian Dynasty
Hugh Capet crowned king in 987
- Lead to House of Valois, House of Bourbon, and House of Orléans
- These three houses would rule france for about 800 years.
Obtained rule back from feudalism
By 1300, Royal authority had been reestablished
- Clear French identity emerged
- First universities in Europe
France and England
Crisis of heirs (all daughters, having affairs with knights) ended Capetian Dynasty in 1328
England had their eye on French throne
House of Valois claimed throne (contested by the House of Plantagenet in England; semi-legitimate claim)
Resulted in Hundred Years' War (1337–1453)
- French Victory
- Bolstered sense of French nationalism and pride
- St. Joan of Arc (peasant girl who led many successful victories)
French Renaissance
Late 15th – early 17th century
Religious Turmoil
France remained Catholic country
- Standardization of French Language
- Scientific Developments
- Art and Architecture
House of Bourbon
Rule started in 1598 with Henry IV
- Issued Edict of Nantes in 1598, giving rights to Protestants
- Assassinated by Catholic extremist in 1610
- Monarchy fell to Louis XIII (only 8 years old)
- Cardinal Richelieu called the shots
Louis XIV
le Roi-Soleil (The Sun King)
Assumed throne
- in 1643
- after death of Louis XIII
- he was 5 years old
Cardinal Mazarin called the shots until his death in 1661
Longest reigning European king: 1643–1715
Believed in Divine Right of Kings
- God-given power to rule
- Used this power to conquer new territory
- Single-handedly made France most powerful nation in France
- Had a thing for leggings
Moves Throne from Paris to Versailles, the royal hunting lodge
Did some renovations to make it the largest palace in the world:
- 67,000 m2
- 2300 rooms
- 6000 paintings
- 1500 drawings
- 15,000 engravings
- 2000 sculptures
- 5000 pieces of furniture
- 3000 people living there
- 2000 kitchen staff (didn't get to live in Versailles)
Louis XV
Reigned 1715–1774
Louis XIV was crazy but awesome, but Louis XV was an ineffective ruler
- Didn't care about little people
- Let power slip back into hands of aristocracy
- Failed to cope with increasing demands of French population
- Lost North American territory to British
Louis XVI
Reigned 1774–1791
1776: American Revolution
Allies with Americans in 1778, sends an army and a navy
- Projected that Americans couldn't have won the war without Help of French
Won the war (Treaty of Paris, 1783) but very costly:
- Got back at British
- French state in Financial Ruin
- Tried to correct by Raising taxes
Hungry Peasants
Bad harvests reduced grain supply
Drove up price of bread, the main source of nutrition for poor peasants
Conspiracy theories started to circulate, but it was just a convergence of natural couses
In 1789, an average worker earned 15–30 sous per day
Price of bread rose from 9 to 15 sous per day
Family of 4 needed 2 loaves per day to survive
Bread riots: peasants had no bread
Marie Antoinette: Credited with saying "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche" ("Let them eat cake"), but probably never actually did...
Perfect Storm
Financial hardship + inflation + famine = Revolution
Watch Les Miserables! That's an order!