Smithsonian History: From the Dawn of Civilization to the Present Day

Page 1


100,000 – 3,000BCE

t h e m o v e to m e ta l

B E F O R E

A F T E R

F

Villages become towns The earliest farming settlements were small, compact villages. As farming spread throughout southwestern Asia after 8000 BCE, village life became more complex. No community was self-sufficient. Each relied on its neighbours for commodities such as grain, building materials, and toolmaking stone see page 20 . Access to specific resources and technologies led to specialization, which is seen as one of the key aspects of the growth and development of towns. obsidian Çatalhöyük in Turkey, for example, see page 40 specialized in and controlled the trade in obsidian, a fine and highly prized volcanic glass used for making tools. Villages such as this grew rapidly and became small towns. As trade connections became more complex, villages located at the crossroads of important trade routes were able to reap the benefits. Jericho in the Jordan Valley, for example, became a flourishing town, founded on the crossroads of trade routes between the Mediterranean coast and areas far inland.

LARGE HUNTING AXE

››

SPLITTING AXE

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Ritual and worship Trade links and specialization made people more reliant on others, and as a consequence both ritual and social life became more elaborate. At Çatalhöyük, what appear to be family shrines, where people commemorated their ancestors see pages 32, 34 and worshipped a fertility goddess, have been excavated revealing, among other items, goddess figurines GODDESS FIGURINE made of clay.

ARROW POINT

Stone axes Axes like these were developed over thousands of years from about 100,000 BCE. The earliest stone hand axes did not have handles and had a more general use from scraping animal skins to chopping wood.

inds of rare and precious metals such as gold have always drawn great interest. Around 7,000 years ago, a metal like copper was no less significant a find. Copper ore is relatively common around the Mediterranean, found in nuggets and outcrops that are easy to identify due to their distinctive green colour. Very malleable, and with a distinctive reddish colour, copper was mainly used as a shiny, ornamental metal during its early history. The earliest artefacts were made from hammered copper and consisted mainly of crude axes and beads; examples of these have been found in Turkey and the mountains of Iran. The breakthrough that allowed stronger metals to be made came with the discovery of copper smelting. This is believed to have begun at some point before 5000 BCE in Mesopotamia and may have resulted from ore being dropped in a hearth by accident, perhaps during clay pot firing at high temperatures. Early metalworkers (smiths) smelted copper in open fires. They soon began to use holes lined with clay, then crucibles, to produce ingots of standard sizes and shapes that were traded over long distances. The

smiths also discovered that hammering metal after heating it tempered it and made the edge less brittle.

gold appliqué item, to be sewn onto clothes

Trading up Raw copper ore outcrops were patchily distributed, so long-distance trade both in metal ingots and finished items soon developed. Lowland Mesopotamia had no native metal, which meant that both copper and gold, the two most prestigious ornamental metals, were imported from Turkey and the Iranian Plateau. The traffic in these materials soon reached large proportions, with growing lowland Mesopotamian towns exchanging grain and other commodities for imported artefacts and ornaments. This trade stimulated both overland travel and transport along the Tigris and Euphrates

The Move to Metal The lure of metal is age old. A symbol of wealth and prestige in the early days of metalworking, when copper was as prestigious as gold, it soon became an indispensable part of everyday life. From farming to warfare, metal had a key part to play in the development of the human story.

Metalworking started in Anatolia and Mesopotamia (modern-day Turkey and Iraq) in around 5000 BCE and spread westwards through Europe, reaching northern Europe by 2000 BCE. Its spread was facilitated by widespread trade which was growing during this period.

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SPORADIC TRADE ROUTE SPREAD OF METALWORKING

46

GOLD GRAVE ORNAMENTS Location Varna, Bulgaria hole for thread

NP

Date 4200 BCE

The cemetery at Varna was discovered by accident in 1972. Over 200 graves were excavated, revealing the oldest find of gold artefacts in the world. The grave of one male individual, Grave 14, contained almost 1,000 gold objects, including beads, bracelets, and rings.

Prestige and power

PLOHV

Material Gold Usage Funerary ornament

rivers, where rafts made of wood and inflated goatskins probably came into use before 3000 bce.

1

Metal moves west

beaten gold

hammered decorative detail

Farming flourishes Long-distance trade became increasingly important through southwestern Asia as farming communities settled in the lowlands and highlands and spread into Mesopotamia. By 5000 BCE, large farming villages flourished between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in what is now northern Iraq. The tentacles of farming settlements spread downstream into the low-lying delta of southern Mesopotamia see page 42 , the true “Land Between the Rivers”, which was settled as early as 4800 BCE, probably considerably earlier, as sea levels rose in the Persian Gulf after the Ice Age see page 26 . Meanwhile, settlements along the Nile traded with one another along the river, soon forming small and intensively competitive kingdoms. As increasingly distant societies became aware of one another, so raw materials and new technologies were able to spread into new areas.

zoomorphic design

In southern Mesopotamia, farmers turned to simple irrigation agriculture to make best use of summer floods. how we know

Otzi the Ice Man In 1991, a frozen Bronze Age man, nicknamed Ötzi, dating to c.3350 BCE was found in the Italian Alps. Arsenic, found in his hair, showed that he had been copper working. Stress lines on his bones showed he had suffered from malnutrition in his youth. Chemical signatures from his teeth, bones and intestines reveal that the Ice Man lived south of the Alps. At the time of death, Ötzi was fleeing attackers – an arrowhead lies in one shoulder and he parried a dagger attack with his hands before dying, perhaps of exposure.

Egyptian villagers built canals to direct the flow of the Nile floods. These experiments produced grain surpluses that supported many non-farmers, not only rulers and their followers, but priests, merchants, soldiers, and specialist craftsmen. Under the effects of the spread and intensification of farming, the pressure of population growth, and the demands of increasingly complex trade patterns, towns grew and the first cities appeared. Trade routes now covered long distances and had grown in value, creating new social and economic networks. One of the main

effects of these factors was a profound change in human society. New needs and new roles were established. Copper and gold were such rare materials that ornaments and tools made from them soon became significant symbols of rank and prestige, further stimulating differences in social status.

Buried treasure The earliest copper mines in Europe are in southern Bulgaria and date to around 5100 BCE. Particularly rich and spectacular graves have been discovered at Varna, on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, yielding fine gold and copper artefacts dating to about 4200 BCE (see above). Copper metallurgy later developed in Italy and Spain, while copper ore was abundant in Britain, where it was exploited by 300 BCE.

New inventions The period around 5000–3000 BCE saw the rapid development of ever larger, more complex communities and was a time of significant innovation: metalworking, written scripts, the invention of sailing vessels on the Nile and Euphrates. These inventions spread rapidly, as a ripple effect of cultural change spread as far as the Indus Valley, Central Asia, and Europe.

From copper to bronze Copper had limited use for tools like axes until smiths learned how to alloy (mix) it with arsenic, tin, and lead to create bronze. Bronze produced tougher working edges, suitable for tools and weapons. see page 90 ›› As trade intensified, weapons became standardized over a wide area. From about 2000 BCE , metalworking was a growth industry throughout temperate Europe. Among the most spectacular metal finds in Europe is the Nebra sky disk from Germany, a disk made of bronze with gold sheet NEBRA SKY DISC measuring about 30cm (12in) in diameter. It dates to around 1600 BCE and is believed to represent the moon and stars. The smiths at this time also made prestigious gold ornaments that were highly prized and buried with important chieftains.

Making a mint The copper and bronze trade in both ore and finished artefacts became a staple of ancient Mediterranean economies. The Aegean Bronze Age Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations of the 2nd millennium BCE see page 84 ›› thrived off the metal trade. Minoan and Mycenaean ships transported copper ingots in a distinctive, flat shape that enabled them to be packed on ships, such as the one that has been excavated MASK OF at Uluburun, off the AGAMEMNON southern coast of Turkey. c.1550 BCE

Gold fever In January of 1848 a work crew camped on the American River at Coloma near Sacramento, USA found a few tiny nuggets of gold. This discovery began one of the largest human migrations in history as half a million people from around the world descended upon California in search of instant wealth. Soon, truly cosmopolitan cities such as San Francisco had sprung up on the west coast. GOLD NUGGET

Beyond bronze Smelting and alloying opened up a whole new world of posibilites. After bronze came iron, which could only be extracted and worked at higher temperatures . Steel, an alloy of iron and carbon, came into use as early as 500 BCE in China see page 178 ›› becoming a mass produced metal with the development of the Bessemer Furnace in 1855 during the Industrial Revolution. see page 306 ››

47


100,000 – 3,000BCE

t h e m o v e to m e ta l

B E F O R E

A F T E R

F

Villages become towns The earliest farming settlements were small, compact villages. As farming spread throughout southwestern Asia after 8000 BCE, village life became more complex. No community was self-sufficient. Each relied on its neighbours for commodities such as grain, building materials, and toolmaking stone see page 20 . Access to specific resources and technologies led to specialization, which is seen as one of the key aspects of the growth and development of towns. obsidian Çatalhöyük in Turkey, for example, see page 40 specialized in and controlled the trade in obsidian, a fine and highly prized volcanic glass used for making tools. Villages such as this grew rapidly and became small towns. As trade connections became more complex, villages located at the crossroads of important trade routes were able to reap the benefits. Jericho in the Jordan Valley, for example, became a flourishing town, founded on the crossroads of trade routes between the Mediterranean coast and areas far inland.

LARGE HUNTING AXE

››

SPLITTING AXE

››

Ritual and worship Trade links and specialization made people more reliant on others, and as a consequence both ritual and social life became more elaborate. At Çatalhöyük, what appear to be family shrines, where people commemorated their ancestors see pages 32, 34 and worshipped a fertility goddess, have been excavated revealing, among other items, goddess figurines GODDESS FIGURINE made of clay.

ARROW POINT

Stone axes Axes like these were developed over thousands of years from about 100,000 BCE. The earliest stone hand axes did not have handles and had a more general use from scraping animal skins to chopping wood.

inds of rare and precious metals such as gold have always drawn great interest. Around 7,000 years ago, a metal like copper was no less significant a find. Copper ore is relatively common around the Mediterranean, found in nuggets and outcrops that are easy to identify due to their distinctive green colour. Very malleable, and with a distinctive reddish colour, copper was mainly used as a shiny, ornamental metal during its early history. The earliest artefacts were made from hammered copper and consisted mainly of crude axes and beads; examples of these have been found in Turkey and the mountains of Iran. The breakthrough that allowed stronger metals to be made came with the discovery of copper smelting. This is believed to have begun at some point before 5000 BCE in Mesopotamia and may have resulted from ore being dropped in a hearth by accident, perhaps during clay pot firing at high temperatures. Early metalworkers (smiths) smelted copper in open fires. They soon began to use holes lined with clay, then crucibles, to produce ingots of standard sizes and shapes that were traded over long distances. The

smiths also discovered that hammering metal after heating it tempered it and made the edge less brittle.

gold appliqué item, to be sewn onto clothes

Trading up Raw copper ore outcrops were patchily distributed, so long-distance trade both in metal ingots and finished items soon developed. Lowland Mesopotamia had no native metal, which meant that both copper and gold, the two most prestigious ornamental metals, were imported from Turkey and the Iranian Plateau. The traffic in these materials soon reached large proportions, with growing lowland Mesopotamian towns exchanging grain and other commodities for imported artefacts and ornaments. This trade stimulated both overland travel and transport along the Tigris and Euphrates

The Move to Metal The lure of metal is age old. A symbol of wealth and prestige in the early days of metalworking, when copper was as prestigious as gold, it soon became an indispensable part of everyday life. From farming to warfare, metal had a key part to play in the development of the human story.

Metalworking started in Anatolia and Mesopotamia (modern-day Turkey and Iraq) in around 5000 BCE and spread westwards through Europe, reaching northern Europe by 2000 BCE. Its spread was facilitated by widespread trade which was growing during this period.

n "#% n "#% n "#% SITE

››

››

››

SPORADIC TRADE ROUTE SPREAD OF METALWORKING

46

GOLD GRAVE ORNAMENTS Location Varna, Bulgaria hole for thread

NP

Date 4200 BCE

The cemetery at Varna was discovered by accident in 1972. Over 200 graves were excavated, revealing the oldest find of gold artefacts in the world. The grave of one male individual, Grave 14, contained almost 1,000 gold objects, including beads, bracelets, and rings.

Prestige and power

PLOHV

Material Gold Usage Funerary ornament

rivers, where rafts made of wood and inflated goatskins probably came into use before 3000 bce.

1

Metal moves west

beaten gold

hammered decorative detail

Farming flourishes Long-distance trade became increasingly important through southwestern Asia as farming communities settled in the lowlands and highlands and spread into Mesopotamia. By 5000 BCE, large farming villages flourished between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in what is now northern Iraq. The tentacles of farming settlements spread downstream into the low-lying delta of southern Mesopotamia see page 42 , the true “Land Between the Rivers”, which was settled as early as 4800 BCE, probably considerably earlier, as sea levels rose in the Persian Gulf after the Ice Age see page 26 . Meanwhile, settlements along the Nile traded with one another along the river, soon forming small and intensively competitive kingdoms. As increasingly distant societies became aware of one another, so raw materials and new technologies were able to spread into new areas.

zoomorphic design

In southern Mesopotamia, farmers turned to simple irrigation agriculture to make best use of summer floods. how we know

Otzi the Ice Man In 1991, a frozen Bronze Age man, nicknamed Ötzi, dating to c.3350 BCE was found in the Italian Alps. Arsenic, found in his hair, showed that he had been copper working. Stress lines on his bones showed he had suffered from malnutrition in his youth. Chemical signatures from his teeth, bones and intestines reveal that the Ice Man lived south of the Alps. At the time of death, Ötzi was fleeing attackers – an arrowhead lies in one shoulder and he parried a dagger attack with his hands before dying, perhaps of exposure.

Egyptian villagers built canals to direct the flow of the Nile floods. These experiments produced grain surpluses that supported many non-farmers, not only rulers and their followers, but priests, merchants, soldiers, and specialist craftsmen. Under the effects of the spread and intensification of farming, the pressure of population growth, and the demands of increasingly complex trade patterns, towns grew and the first cities appeared. Trade routes now covered long distances and had grown in value, creating new social and economic networks. One of the main

effects of these factors was a profound change in human society. New needs and new roles were established. Copper and gold were such rare materials that ornaments and tools made from them soon became significant symbols of rank and prestige, further stimulating differences in social status.

Buried treasure The earliest copper mines in Europe are in southern Bulgaria and date to around 5100 BCE. Particularly rich and spectacular graves have been discovered at Varna, on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, yielding fine gold and copper artefacts dating to about 4200 BCE (see above). Copper metallurgy later developed in Italy and Spain, while copper ore was abundant in Britain, where it was exploited by 300 BCE.

New inventions The period around 5000–3000 BCE saw the rapid development of ever larger, more complex communities and was a time of significant innovation: metalworking, written scripts, the invention of sailing vessels on the Nile and Euphrates. These inventions spread rapidly, as a ripple effect of cultural change spread as far as the Indus Valley, Central Asia, and Europe.

From copper to bronze Copper had limited use for tools like axes until smiths learned how to alloy (mix) it with arsenic, tin, and lead to create bronze. Bronze produced tougher working edges, suitable for tools and weapons. see page 90 ›› As trade intensified, weapons became standardized over a wide area. From about 2000 BCE , metalworking was a growth industry throughout temperate Europe. Among the most spectacular metal finds in Europe is the Nebra sky disk from Germany, a disk made of bronze with gold sheet NEBRA SKY DISC measuring about 30cm (12in) in diameter. It dates to around 1600 BCE and is believed to represent the moon and stars. The smiths at this time also made prestigious gold ornaments that were highly prized and buried with important chieftains.

Making a mint The copper and bronze trade in both ore and finished artefacts became a staple of ancient Mediterranean economies. The Aegean Bronze Age Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations of the 2nd millennium BCE see page 84 ›› thrived off the metal trade. Minoan and Mycenaean ships transported copper ingots in a distinctive, flat shape that enabled them to be packed on ships, such as the one that has been excavated MASK OF at Uluburun, off the AGAMEMNON southern coast of Turkey. c.1550 BCE

Gold fever In January of 1848 a work crew camped on the American River at Coloma near Sacramento, USA found a few tiny nuggets of gold. This discovery began one of the largest human migrations in history as half a million people from around the world descended upon California in search of instant wealth. Soon, truly cosmopolitan cities such as San Francisco had sprung up on the west coast. GOLD NUGGET

Beyond bronze Smelting and alloying opened up a whole new world of posibilites. After bronze came iron, which could only be extracted and worked at higher temperatures . Steel, an alloy of iron and carbon, came into use as early as 500 BCE in China see page 178 ›› becoming a mass produced metal with the development of the Bessemer Furnace in 1855 during the Industrial Revolution. see page 306 ››

47




1 0 0 , 0 0 0 – 3 , 0 0 0 B CE

chapter six

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05 Panel crosshead 8pt/10.5pt 05 Panel main text. Formata Light Condensed 8pt/10.5 pt Agnim atum quamet, vel ullam nit volor sum 05 panel bold grey 8/10.5pt Formata medium condensed duipisl doluptat. Sit, quat nim nos alit erostrud do od luptat ad tat, Agnim atum quamet, �� 20 vel ullam nit volor sum aliscincil duipisl doluptat. Sit, quat nim nos alit erostrud do od molortie feugue et praesequat 05 Panel label vendign prat luptat ad tat, quat wismodolore magnis adiat, conse dolobor si.Rit laorem adip ea feuisim ilit augiat. Acinciduis alit dolent velenibh e Agnim erostrud atum quamet, vel ullam nit volor sum aliscincil duipisl doluptat. Sit, quat 7 1/4 inches nim 2 2/3 3 3/4 4 5/16 nos alit do od r prat luptat ad tat, quat wismodolore magnis adiat, conse dolobor si. praesequat vendign ismolut Ilit wiscidunt vendreros nibh eum zzrilis aut diat, quismolesent lor accum zzrillan ut wis aut lortinisi estio delesequatio consequam, veliquis eu feuis dolums ut la feugait erostrud ulla con heniam adit num veliquam iuscipis alit atio del dolorem in hent nim dolorerat, quipissi.Te vero consequ atumsan el iuscilit iurem velessis adignis modit, quat, andre conum niat, sis acinci blaore velenibh 05 Panel label erosto core enit lobore magna consequam vel er si euguer si tat. Em iusto do conullum zzriliquisl prat luptat ad tat, quat wismodolore magnis adiat, conse dolobor si. conulla ad molobor Wisit dunt adiate commodio odipisit ad te modolor acillan volum quam ip exeros alit lan utatie facipsummy nullaore magniat wissi blaore feugiam commod eros eum enibh esecte vel in venibh el elit adigna faccum diatet lor siscidunt ut nulput ulla feummol orpero odionulla feu feuisl dit, vullam quatum vulla feuip erostrud dolor adipis 05 Panel main text indent. Formata Light

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goethe In 1991, a frozen Bronze Age man, nicknamed Ötzi, dating to c.3350 BCE was found in the Italian Alps. Arsenic, found in his hair, showed that he had been copper working. Stress lines on his bones showed he had suffered from malnutrition in his youth. Chemical signatures from his teeth, bones and intestines reveal that the Ice Man lived south of the Alps. At the time of death, Ötzi was fleeing attackers – an arrowhead lies in one shoulder and he parried a dagger attack with his hands before dying, perhaps of exposure.

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05 panel crosshead 05 Panel main text. Formata Light Condensed 8pt/10.5 pt Agnim atum quamet, vel ullam nit volor sum aliscincil duipisl doluptat. Sit, quat nim nos alit erostrud do od luptat ad tat, 05 Panel main text indent. Formata Light Condensed 8pt/10.5 pt Agnim atum quamet, vel ullam 84 �� nit volor sum aliscincil duipisl doluptat. Sit, quat nim nos alit erostrud do od molortie feugue et praesequat vendign prat luptat ad tat, quat wismodolore magnis Rit laorem adip ea feuisim ilit augiat.Acinciduis alit dolent velenibh er praesequat vendign ismolut Ilit wiscidunt vendreros nibh eum zzrilis aut diat, quismolesent lor accum zzrillan ut wis aut lortinisi estio delesequatio consequam, veliquis eu feuis dolumsandre conum niat, sis acinci blaore velenibh erosto core enit lobore magna consequam vel er si euguer si tat. Em iusto do conullum zzriliquisl

conulla ad molobor Wisit dunt adiate commodio odipisit ad te modolor acillan volum quam ip exeros alit lan utatie facipsummy nullaore magniat wissi blaore feugiam commod eros eum enibh esecte vel in ut la feugait ulla con heniam adit num veliquam iuscipis alit atio del dolorem in hent nim dolorerat, quipissi. Te vero consequ atumsan el iuscilit iurem velessis adignis modit, quat, venibh el elit adigna faccu 05 Panel main text indent. Formata Light Condensed 8pt/10.5 pt Agnim atum quamet, vel ullam 84 �� nit volor sum aliscincil duipisl doluptat. Sit, quat nim nos alit erostrud do od molortie

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05 Panel label

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chapter six

The Romantic Movement 01 Intro paragraph Formata Bold Condensed 11pt/16 pt odo odoloreet autpat in ent augait ut lor sit, core molor alis num ero estrud duipsum ver sit alit. Magnim estrud duipsum ver sit alitquam, sum digna con ent nim nummy numsan ut prat praessequat lam zzriliquipis niam estrud duipsum ver sit B E F O R E

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05 Panel crosshead 8pt/10.5pt 05 Panel main text. Formata Light Condensed 8pt/10.5 pt Agnim atum quamet, vel ullam nit volor sum 05 panel bold grey 8/10.5pt Formata medium condensed duipisl doluptat. Sit, quat nim nos alit erostrud do od luptat ad tat, Agnim atum quamet, �� 20 vel ullam nit volor sum aliscincil duipisl doluptat. Sit, quat nim nos alit erostrud do od molortie feugue et praesequat 05 Panel label vendign prat luptat ad tat, quat wismodolore magnis adiat, conse dolobor si.Rit laorem adip ea feuisim ilit augiat. Acinciduis alit dolent velenibh e Agnim erostrud atum quamet, vel ullam nit volor sum aliscincil duipisl doluptat. Sit, quat 7 1/4 inches nim 2 2/3 3 3/4 4 5/16 nos alit do od r prat luptat ad tat, quat wismodolore magnis adiat, conse dolobor si. praesequat vendign ismolut Ilit wiscidunt vendreros nibh eum zzrilis aut diat, quismolesent lor accum zzrillan ut wis aut lortinisi estio delesequatio consequam, veliquis eu feuis dolums ut la feugait erostrud ulla con heniam adit num veliquam iuscipis alit atio del dolorem in hent nim dolorerat, quipissi.Te vero consequ atumsan el iuscilit iurem velessis adignis modit, quat, andre conum niat, sis acinci blaore velenibh 05 Panel label erosto core enit lobore magna consequam vel er si euguer si tat. Em iusto do conullum zzriliquisl prat luptat ad tat, quat wismodolore magnis adiat, conse dolobor si. conulla ad molobor Wisit dunt adiate commodio odipisit ad te modolor acillan volum quam ip exeros alit lan utatie facipsummy nullaore magniat wissi blaore feugiam commod eros eum enibh esecte vel in venibh el elit adigna faccum diatet lor siscidunt ut nulput ulla feummol orpero odionulla feu feuisl dit, vullam quatum vulla feuip erostrud dolor adipis 05 Panel main text indent. Formata Light

354

praessed magna feuis adiamcxo nulputem volore doodoloreet autpat in ent augait ut lor sit, core molor alis num ero estrud duipsum ver sit alit pratue enim irit at velobor adio eugiat. Ut velit wiscipisi eratisim dolore modolum et ad ex ea conse ver il utpat acilit, quiscilissi Magnim velese tet, quam, sum digna con ent nim nummy numsan ut prat praessequat lam zzriliquipis niam velit lor inibh euguercinci elisit wisi Osto odo odoloreet autpat in ent augait ut lor sit, core molor alis num ero estrud duipsum ver sit alit pratue enim irit at ver autat wisl iuscidunt nulla conse modolorem zzriure rcidunt praessed magna feuis adiamco nulputem volore dolobor adio eugiat. Ut velit wiscipisi eratisim dolore modolum et ad ex ea conse ver il utpat acilit, quiscilissi

04 Caption head

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Magna at vel Um nostrud dolorem quismolut luptate dignis ad tie dolesto ea am volobor adiam, consed ero eumsand rerostrud te tat. Ut er alis nos nulputat. Tis alis nulla feuguero core magnim adipisit venisse commo augait ut lor sit, core molor alis num ero estrud duipsum ver sit alit pratue enim irit at ver autat wisl iuscidunt d magnisl essed tetue ming ero eliquam, veliquat iriure ero odolore faci tetueri llaoreet nim duis nis elit

A F T E R

M

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goethe In 1991, a frozen Bronze Age man, nicknamed Ötzi, dating to c.3350 BCE was found in the Italian Alps. Arsenic, found in his hair, showed that he had been copper working. Stress lines on his bones showed he had suffered from malnutrition in his youth. Chemical signatures from his teeth, bones and intestines reveal that the Ice Man lived south of the Alps. At the time of death, Ötzi was fleeing attackers – an arrowhead lies in one shoulder and he parried a dagger attack with his hands before dying, perhaps of exposure.

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05 panel crosshead 05 Panel main text. Formata Light Condensed 8pt/10.5 pt Agnim atum quamet, vel ullam nit volor sum aliscincil duipisl doluptat. Sit, quat nim nos alit erostrud do od luptat ad tat, 05 Panel main text indent. Formata Light Condensed 8pt/10.5 pt Agnim atum quamet, vel ullam 84 �� nit volor sum aliscincil duipisl doluptat. Sit, quat nim nos alit erostrud do od molortie feugue et praesequat vendign prat luptat ad tat, quat wismodolore magnis Rit laorem adip ea feuisim ilit augiat.Acinciduis alit dolent velenibh er praesequat vendign ismolut Ilit wiscidunt vendreros nibh eum zzrilis aut diat, quismolesent lor accum zzrillan ut wis aut lortinisi estio delesequatio consequam, veliquis eu feuis dolumsandre conum niat, sis acinci blaore velenibh erosto core enit lobore magna consequam vel er si euguer si tat. Em iusto do conullum zzriliquisl

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››

05 Panel label

355


DECISIVE MOMENTS

6 June 1944 6.35 a.m.

D-Day After almost four years of planning, a combined American, British, Canadian, and Free French force launched Operation Overlord, aiming to wrest control of Europe from Nazi Germany. Beginning on 6 June, with an attack on the coast of northern France, it was to prove a crucial point in World War II.

“We will accept nothing less than full victory.” general Dwight d. Eisenhower, D-day order speech The largest of these assault areas was a landing point at Coleville-surMer, codenamed Omaha Beach. Despite heavy Allied air and naval bombardment prior to the landings, little impact had been made on the ranked German defences. Horrendous weather had caused General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied invading forces, to delay the order to attack for 24 hours. The mission launched with little improvement in conditions, but further delay would have set the operation back by several weeks. These adverse weather conditions hampered the progress of the Allied landing craft; some sank in the rough seas, while German mines ripped through others. The U.S. 29th Infantry Division – at this point untested in a combat situation – were Omaha Beach The first wave of troops to land at Omaha Beach arrived just before dawn. Photographer Robert Capa landed with the troops and documented the intense struggle as they fought their way onto the beach.

thrown into this mass invasion alongside the U.S. 1st Infantry Division. Out of the 29 amphibious tanks launched at Omaha Beach, 27 sank, their crews still trapped inside them. Of the first wave of invading soldiers, many drowned as they attempted to wade ashore, while others proved easy targets for German fire, picked off from the cliffs above as they struggled up the beach, weighed down by wet kit and heavy sand. The average age of the dead was just 22. By early afternoon, the Allies had managed to secure a small strip of beach, 9.7km (6 miles) wide, and around 3.2km (2 miles) deep. This patch of land came at a cost of 3,000 casualties. This gain, and others like it, established a beachhead from which the Allies could further their advance towards liberating Europe.

“Within ten minutes of the ramps being lowered … every officer and sergeant [of the leading company] had been killed.” official record of the U.S. 1st infantry division

409


DECISIVE MOMENTS

6 June 1944 6.35 a.m.

D-Day After almost four years of planning, a combined American, British, Canadian, and Free French force launched Operation Overlord, aiming to wrest control of Europe from Nazi Germany. Beginning on 6 June, with an attack on the coast of northern France, it was to prove a crucial point in World War II.

“We will accept nothing less than full victory.” general Dwight d. Eisenhower, D-day order speech The largest of these assault areas was a landing point at Coleville-surMer, codenamed Omaha Beach. Despite heavy Allied air and naval bombardment prior to the landings, little impact had been made on the ranked German defences. Horrendous weather had caused General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied invading forces, to delay the order to attack for 24 hours. The mission launched with little improvement in conditions, but further delay would have set the operation back by several weeks. These adverse weather conditions hampered the progress of the Allied landing craft; some sank in the rough seas, while German mines ripped through others. The U.S. 29th Infantry Division – at this point untested in a combat situation – were Omaha Beach The first wave of troops to land at Omaha Beach arrived just before dawn. Photographer Robert Capa landed with the troops and documented the intense struggle as they fought their way onto the beach.

thrown into this mass invasion alongside the U.S. 1st Infantry Division. Out of the 29 amphibious tanks launched at Omaha Beach, 27 sank, their crews still trapped inside them. Of the first wave of invading soldiers, many drowned as they attempted to wade ashore, while others proved easy targets for German fire, picked off from the cliffs above as they struggled up the beach, weighed down by wet kit and heavy sand. The average age of the dead was just 22. By early afternoon, the Allies had managed to secure a small strip of beach, 9.7km (6 miles) wide, and around 3.2km (2 miles) deep. This patch of land came at a cost of 3,000 casualties. This gain, and others like it, established a beachhead from which the Allies could further their advance towards liberating Europe.

“Within ten minutes of the ramps being lowered … every officer and sergeant [of the leading company] had been killed.” official record of the U.S. 1st infantry division

409




57BCE-1946

FRANCE

France Paris

Straddling western Europe from the English Channel to the Mediterranean, France was Europe’s first modern republic and possessed a vast colonial empire. It is now one of the world’s major industrial powers and the fourth largest exporter. France’s focus today is very much on Europe – together with Germany, it was a founder member of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957.

57–52� bcE The Romans

1594 Henry IV, who converted

1756–63 The Seven Years’ War

under Julius Caesar (100–44 bce), conquer and subjugate Gaul, an area in western Europe roughly equivalent to modern France.

to Catholicism in 1593 on the grounds that

continues disputes left unresolved by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) as Britain and France seek to win maritime and colonial supremacy in North America, the West Indies, and India. As a result France is obliged to cede possessions in Canada, east of the Mississippi, and in the West Indies. French support for the Americans in their War of Independence (1776–83) is costly and helps undermine the Ancien Régime. SEE PANEL, RIGHT.

“Paris is

486 CE The Romans are ousted

worth

from Gaul (“Francia”) by King Clovis I (c.466–511 ce), the first of the Merovingians, who rule until 751 ce, when they are succeeded by the Carolingians. Clovis’s reign also marks the foundation of a Frankish empire.

a

is crowned the first of the Bourbon kings. The Huguenots are granted freedom of worship in the 1598 Edict of Nantes.

800 CE King Charlemagne rules from 768–814, after conducting a series of military campaigns that extend and unify his empire, he is crowned Emperor of the West by Pope Leo III (pope 795–816) and effectively establishes the Carolingian empire, although in 843 the Germanspeaking lands of Franconia are lost.

987 CE The Capetian dynasty which lasts from 987 until 1328 and succeeds that of the Carolingians, is founded by Hugh Capet (ruled 987–996), although it is not until the late 12th century that the Capetian realm attains its greatest territorial extent.

C O N N E C T I O N S Hundred Years’ War,

page 224

Storming of the   Bastille, page 316 The French Revolution,

page 318 France’s Imperial   Adventure, page 318 Napoleon, page 319 Nationalism and   Militarism, page 342

1610 Henry IV is assassinated

Charlemagne (742–814 ce)

and is succeeded by Louis XIII (1601–43), whose first minister Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) consolidates the monarchy’s standing both at home and abroad, notably in the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48).

1643 Louis XIV, the “Sun King”, 1309 The Papacy is moved from Rome to Avignon in France by Pope Clement V (1264–1314). From 1378, during the period of the schism, there are two rival Popes, until the Roman party achieves sole recognition in 1417.

1337 The Hundred Years’ War, between France and England, begins. English kings seek to dominate France. After winning the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, they lose control over Normandy by 1450, Gascony by 1450, and Aquitaine by 1453. Only Calais remains under English control and is not lost to France until 1558.

1562 In the French Wars of Religion, which begin in 1562, Protestant Huguenot and Catholic nobles fight for supremacy following the sudden death of the last Valois King, Henry II (1519–59), who was killed in a jousting match held to celebrate the Peace Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis.

1572 4,000 Huguenots are killed in the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre on 24 August. The massacres spread throughout Paris, and later to other cities and the countryside, lasting for several months and marking a turning point in the French Wars of Religion.

500

mass,”

ascends the throne. During his long reign (which he begins as a minor with Cardinal Mazarin as his first minister) the absolutism of the Ancien Régime is consolidated and reaches it peak. In France, the arts flourish at Versailles under his patronage. In 1685 he revokes the 1598 Edict of Nantes. Abroad he establishes French hegemony over much of western Europe in a series of victorious military campaigns. However, from 1700, as Europe unites in resistance, his position begins to be undermined.

1789 Louis XVI (reigned 1774–92) summons the advisory Estates General in May in an attempt to secure revenue and administrative reforms that have been resisted by the nobles and “parlements.” As the nobles and clergy (the first and second estates) lose control to the “third estate” (the commoners), and as early repression backfires, a National Assembly is formed by the third estate and demands reform of the monarchy. The indecisive response of Louis XVI sparks the storming of the Bastille on 14 July and on 26 August the National Assembly issues a Declaration of the Rights of Man.

1790 A new Constitution is proclaimed on 14 July. In June 1791 Louis XVI and his family attempt to flee in disguise. However, they are brought back as prisoners; Louis is forced to accept a new constitution in September.

1792 Royalist emigrés begin to muster support abroad and war begins

1715 Death of Louis XIV

1793 Louis XVI is convicted of treason on 15 January and executed six days later. From June control of the country passes from the moderate Girondins to the extremist Jacobins, led by Maximilien François Robespierre (1758–94), and the “Reign of Terror” begins with a series of mass executions on 5 September.

1794 Robespierre’s Committee is overthrown in the coup of 9 Thermidor (date according to the French Republican Calendar adopted from 1793–1805 in France; corresponds to 27 July). Robespierre is executed. A new constitution in August 1795 establishes the more moderate “Directory”, which becomes increasingly corrupt.

(1769–1821), a general from the Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802), overthrows the “Directory”, replacing it with the Consulate and assuming dictatorial powers as First Consul in the coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November in the Republican calendar).

1804 Napoleon seizes the crown from the Pope and proclaims himself Emperor of the French. At home he introduces reforms including the legal “Code Napoléon” and abroad he defeats the Austrians and Russians at Austerlitz in December 1805 and the Prussians at Jena in October 1806.

1812 Napoleon’s invasion of Russia leads to defeat due to both the harsh Russian winter and to the AustroPrussian capture of Paris on 31 March 1814. Napoleon is deposed on 3 April and exiled to the Tuscan island of Elba. The Bourbon monarchy is reinstalled, with Louis XVIII (1755–1824), younger brother of Louis XVI, as king.

on the island of Elba for a final “Hundred Days”, which end in defeat by British and Prussian forces at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June. Napoleon spends the last six years of his life on the Island of St. Helena in the Atlantic.

1830 King Charles X, brother to

1740 The War of Austrian Succession

Louis XVIII, who ascended the throne in 1824, is forced to abdicate in the “July Revolution” and Louis Philippe I of Orléans (1773–1850) is installed as the “citizen king”.

1848 At a time of food shortage, Louis XIV (1638–1715)

the seven years’ war 1756–63 Unsatisfied with the outcome of the War of Austrian Succession (1740–48) and despite the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the Empress of Austria immediately began to make new alliances with the aim of recapturing the province of Silicia that had been lost to Prussia. In the diplomatic realignments that followed Austria allied itself with France, Russia, Saxony, and Sweden, while Prussia allied itself with Hanover and Great Britain. Fighting on two fronts In North America, Great Britain and France were already involved in a colonial struggle over land in Ohio Country. The situation developed into direct military action in 1754 when French forces attacked the British Fort Trent. Hostilities on both European and American fronts I N

reached boiling point in 1756 when Britain declared war on France. Alliances and interests on both continents turned this into a global war.

Defeat at Québec On 13 September 1759 British general James Wolfe defeated French forces at Québec, but died in battle.

Outcome After much bloodshed, the Treaty of Paris in 1763 brought an end to hostilities. France ceded the disputed territory in North America, but kept two Caribbean islands. The Treaty of Hubertusburg confirmed Silesia as a Prussian possession.

F O C U S

1799 Napoleon Bonaparte

1815 Napoleon returns from exile

His successor and great-grandson, Louis XV (ruler from 1715–74), though wellintentioned, lacks interest in government and politics and is less successful in campaigns abroad and in countering growing opposition at home, thereby losing the support of his people.

begins following the death of the last male Habsburg Emperor, Charles VI (1685–1740). France and Prussia unsuccessfully support the claim of the Elector of Bavaria to the Habsburg throne against that of Charles’s daughter Maria Theresa, who is supported by Britain and whose claim is vindicated at the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

in April. On 10 August the Paris mob storms the Tuileries royal palace. The Paris Commune led by Georges Jacques Danton (1759–94) seizes power and a National Convention replaces the National Assembly and abolishes the monarchy on 21September.

Louis Philippe I of Orléans abdicates on 24 February, following a week of

popular riots. A provisional government is constituted and a Second Republic is proclaimed. Louis Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, is elected president.

diplomatic agreement enables France to consolidate its position in northwestern and Saharan Africa.

1852 Louis Napoleon (1808–73),

in the wake of the Dreyfus affair in which the Alsatian Jew, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, is unjustly convicted of treason in 1894 and only acquitted in 1906.

having seized power in a 1851 coup d’état, takes the title of Emperor Napoleon III. On 2 December, 1852, he proclaims a Second Empire and becomes involved in wars with Russia in the Crimea in 1854–56, with Austria in 1859, and in imperial expansion in Indochina.

1870–71 Napoleon III is defeated in the Franco-Prussian war and a new liberal–democratic Third Republic is proclaimed on 4 September 1870. Prussian, Russian, and Austrian forces enter Paris in January 1871, and France is obliged to cede Alsace and Lorraine to Germany. In Paris, a revolutionary Commune holds power from 28 March until 28 May 1871, but is brutally suppressed at the cost of 20,000 lives by Louis Adolphe Thiers (1797–1877) who serves as President from 1871 until 1873 when Patrice MacMahon (1808–93) is elected to the post. Governmental instability is endemic and over the next 70 years there are 109 separate governments.

1881 Tunisia becomes a French protectorate on 12 May, and in 1883 a French protectorate is established in Indochina.

1899 France and England reach agreement over the boundaries of their spheres of influence in Africa, following the Fashoda Incident the year before, which had brought the two countries to the brink of war. The

1905 Church and State are separated

1914–1918 Germany declares war on France in August 1914. During ������������ four years of fighting, 1,363,000 French soldiers are killed, with 550,000 lives lost during the Battle of Verdun (21 February 1915 to 18 December 1916) and 200,000 during the second Battle of the Aisne (from 16 April to 9 May 1917), before the tide is turned at the second Battle of the Marne (15 July–4 Aug 1918).

1918–1939 Economic recession and political instability dominate these years; there are 20 prime ministers and 44 different governments.

1940 France capitulates to Germany in World War II and a puppet Vichy regime is set up. General de Gaulle (1890–1970) leads the Forces Françaises Libres (Free French Forces).

1944 Liberation of France begun by French 2nd Armoured Division under General Philippe Leclerc (1902– 47), the first Allied force to enter Paris, greeted by loud cheers from Parisians after many days of fighting between the Resistance and the German occupiers.

1946–1958 Fourth Republic is a time of political instability with 26 governments and nationalizations. France helps form the EEC.

1958 Fifth Republic is established on 5 October. It replaces a parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system. De Gaulle becomes president with strong executive powers.

1960 Many French colonies gain independence, including Cameroon, Benin, Chad, Gabon, Niger, Togo, and Madagascar, following local referendums.

1962 Algeria gains independence after fighting a bitter war (1954–1962) with France.

1966 France withdraws from NATO military command. NATO forces and headquarters are removed from France.

1968 A general strike and riots over education policy and low wages break out across France. Starting as student strikes in Paris, police intervention inflames the situation and sparks street battles, culminating in a general strike by ten million workers throughout France. De Gaulle dissolves the National Assembly and calls for new elections, which the Gaullists wins.

1969 De Gaulle resigns after defeat in a referendum on regional reform; he is replaced by Georges Pompidou (1911–74).

1974 Valéry Giscard d’Estaing is elected president, beating François Mitterrand (1916–96) of the Left by a very narrow margin.

1981 Left wins presidential elections. François Mitterrand becomes the first socialist president of the Fifth Republic.

501


57BCE-1946

FRANCE

France Paris

Straddling western Europe from the English Channel to the Mediterranean, France was Europe’s first modern republic and possessed a vast colonial empire. It is now one of the world’s major industrial powers and the fourth largest exporter. France’s focus today is very much on Europe – together with Germany, it was a founder member of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957.

57–52� bcE The Romans

1594 Henry IV, who converted

1756–63 The Seven Years’ War

under Julius Caesar (100–44 bce), conquer and subjugate Gaul, an area in western Europe roughly equivalent to modern France.

to Catholicism in 1593 on the grounds that

continues disputes left unresolved by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) as Britain and France seek to win maritime and colonial supremacy in North America, the West Indies, and India. As a result France is obliged to cede possessions in Canada, east of the Mississippi, and in the West Indies. French support for the Americans in their War of Independence (1776–83) is costly and helps undermine the Ancien Régime. SEE PANEL, RIGHT.

“Paris is

486 CE The Romans are ousted

worth

from Gaul (“Francia”) by King Clovis I (c.466–511 ce), the first of the Merovingians, who rule until 751 ce, when they are succeeded by the Carolingians. Clovis’s reign also marks the foundation of a Frankish empire.

a

is crowned the first of the Bourbon kings. The Huguenots are granted freedom of worship in the 1598 Edict of Nantes.

800 CE King Charlemagne rules from 768–814, after conducting a series of military campaigns that extend and unify his empire, he is crowned Emperor of the West by Pope Leo III (pope 795–816) and effectively establishes the Carolingian empire, although in 843 the Germanspeaking lands of Franconia are lost.

987 CE The Capetian dynasty which lasts from 987 until 1328 and succeeds that of the Carolingians, is founded by Hugh Capet (ruled 987–996), although it is not until the late 12th century that the Capetian realm attains its greatest territorial extent.

C O N N E C T I O N S Hundred Years’ War,

page 224

Storming of the   Bastille, page 316 The French Revolution,

page 318 France’s Imperial   Adventure, page 318 Napoleon, page 319 Nationalism and   Militarism, page 342

1610 Henry IV is assassinated

Charlemagne (742–814 ce)

and is succeeded by Louis XIII (1601–43), whose first minister Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) consolidates the monarchy’s standing both at home and abroad, notably in the Thirty Years’ War (1618–48).

1643 Louis XIV, the “Sun King”, 1309 The Papacy is moved from Rome to Avignon in France by Pope Clement V (1264–1314). From 1378, during the period of the schism, there are two rival Popes, until the Roman party achieves sole recognition in 1417.

1337 The Hundred Years’ War, between France and England, begins. English kings seek to dominate France. After winning the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, they lose control over Normandy by 1450, Gascony by 1450, and Aquitaine by 1453. Only Calais remains under English control and is not lost to France until 1558.

1562 In the French Wars of Religion, which begin in 1562, Protestant Huguenot and Catholic nobles fight for supremacy following the sudden death of the last Valois King, Henry II (1519–59), who was killed in a jousting match held to celebrate the Peace Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis.

1572 4,000 Huguenots are killed in the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre on 24 August. The massacres spread throughout Paris, and later to other cities and the countryside, lasting for several months and marking a turning point in the French Wars of Religion.

500

mass,”

ascends the throne. During his long reign (which he begins as a minor with Cardinal Mazarin as his first minister) the absolutism of the Ancien Régime is consolidated and reaches it peak. In France, the arts flourish at Versailles under his patronage. In 1685 he revokes the 1598 Edict of Nantes. Abroad he establishes French hegemony over much of western Europe in a series of victorious military campaigns. However, from 1700, as Europe unites in resistance, his position begins to be undermined.

1789 Louis XVI (reigned 1774–92) summons the advisory Estates General in May in an attempt to secure revenue and administrative reforms that have been resisted by the nobles and “parlements.” As the nobles and clergy (the first and second estates) lose control to the “third estate” (the commoners), and as early repression backfires, a National Assembly is formed by the third estate and demands reform of the monarchy. The indecisive response of Louis XVI sparks the storming of the Bastille on 14 July and on 26 August the National Assembly issues a Declaration of the Rights of Man.

1790 A new Constitution is proclaimed on 14 July. In June 1791 Louis XVI and his family attempt to flee in disguise. However, they are brought back as prisoners; Louis is forced to accept a new constitution in September.

1792 Royalist emigrés begin to muster support abroad and war begins

1715 Death of Louis XIV

1793 Louis XVI is convicted of treason on 15 January and executed six days later. From June control of the country passes from the moderate Girondins to the extremist Jacobins, led by Maximilien François Robespierre (1758–94), and the “Reign of Terror” begins with a series of mass executions on 5 September.

1794 Robespierre’s Committee is overthrown in the coup of 9 Thermidor (date according to the French Republican Calendar adopted from 1793–1805 in France; corresponds to 27 July). Robespierre is executed. A new constitution in August 1795 establishes the more moderate “Directory”, which becomes increasingly corrupt.

(1769–1821), a general from the Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802), overthrows the “Directory”, replacing it with the Consulate and assuming dictatorial powers as First Consul in the coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November in the Republican calendar).

1804 Napoleon seizes the crown from the Pope and proclaims himself Emperor of the French. At home he introduces reforms including the legal “Code Napoléon” and abroad he defeats the Austrians and Russians at Austerlitz in December 1805 and the Prussians at Jena in October 1806.

1812 Napoleon’s invasion of Russia leads to defeat due to both the harsh Russian winter and to the AustroPrussian capture of Paris on 31 March 1814. Napoleon is deposed on 3 April and exiled to the Tuscan island of Elba. The Bourbon monarchy is reinstalled, with Louis XVIII (1755–1824), younger brother of Louis XVI, as king.

on the island of Elba for a final “Hundred Days”, which end in defeat by British and Prussian forces at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June. Napoleon spends the last six years of his life on the Island of St. Helena in the Atlantic.

1830 King Charles X, brother to

1740 The War of Austrian Succession

Louis XVIII, who ascended the throne in 1824, is forced to abdicate in the “July Revolution” and Louis Philippe I of Orléans (1773–1850) is installed as the “citizen king”.

1848 At a time of food shortage, Louis XIV (1638–1715)

the seven years’ war 1756–63 Unsatisfied with the outcome of the War of Austrian Succession (1740–48) and despite the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the Empress of Austria immediately began to make new alliances with the aim of recapturing the province of Silicia that had been lost to Prussia. In the diplomatic realignments that followed Austria allied itself with France, Russia, Saxony, and Sweden, while Prussia allied itself with Hanover and Great Britain. Fighting on two fronts In North America, Great Britain and France were already involved in a colonial struggle over land in Ohio Country. The situation developed into direct military action in 1754 when French forces attacked the British Fort Trent. Hostilities on both European and American fronts I N

reached boiling point in 1756 when Britain declared war on France. Alliances and interests on both continents turned this into a global war.

Defeat at Québec On 13 September 1759 British general James Wolfe defeated French forces at Québec, but died in battle.

Outcome After much bloodshed, the Treaty of Paris in 1763 brought an end to hostilities. France ceded the disputed territory in North America, but kept two Caribbean islands. The Treaty of Hubertusburg confirmed Silesia as a Prussian possession.

F O C U S

1799 Napoleon Bonaparte

1815 Napoleon returns from exile

His successor and great-grandson, Louis XV (ruler from 1715–74), though wellintentioned, lacks interest in government and politics and is less successful in campaigns abroad and in countering growing opposition at home, thereby losing the support of his people.

begins following the death of the last male Habsburg Emperor, Charles VI (1685–1740). France and Prussia unsuccessfully support the claim of the Elector of Bavaria to the Habsburg throne against that of Charles’s daughter Maria Theresa, who is supported by Britain and whose claim is vindicated at the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

in April. On 10 August the Paris mob storms the Tuileries royal palace. The Paris Commune led by Georges Jacques Danton (1759–94) seizes power and a National Convention replaces the National Assembly and abolishes the monarchy on 21September.

Louis Philippe I of Orléans abdicates on 24 February, following a week of

popular riots. A provisional government is constituted and a Second Republic is proclaimed. Louis Napoleon, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, is elected president.

diplomatic agreement enables France to consolidate its position in northwestern and Saharan Africa.

1852 Louis Napoleon (1808–73),

in the wake of the Dreyfus affair in which the Alsatian Jew, Captain Alfred Dreyfus, is unjustly convicted of treason in 1894 and only acquitted in 1906.

having seized power in a 1851 coup d’état, takes the title of Emperor Napoleon III. On 2 December, 1852, he proclaims a Second Empire and becomes involved in wars with Russia in the Crimea in 1854–56, with Austria in 1859, and in imperial expansion in Indochina.

1870–71 Napoleon III is defeated in the Franco-Prussian war and a new liberal–democratic Third Republic is proclaimed on 4 September 1870. Prussian, Russian, and Austrian forces enter Paris in January 1871, and France is obliged to cede Alsace and Lorraine to Germany. In Paris, a revolutionary Commune holds power from 28 March until 28 May 1871, but is brutally suppressed at the cost of 20,000 lives by Louis Adolphe Thiers (1797–1877) who serves as President from 1871 until 1873 when Patrice MacMahon (1808–93) is elected to the post. Governmental instability is endemic and over the next 70 years there are 109 separate governments.

1881 Tunisia becomes a French protectorate on 12 May, and in 1883 a French protectorate is established in Indochina.

1899 France and England reach agreement over the boundaries of their spheres of influence in Africa, following the Fashoda Incident the year before, which had brought the two countries to the brink of war. The

1905 Church and State are separated

1914–1918 Germany declares war on France in August 1914. During ������������ four years of fighting, 1,363,000 French soldiers are killed, with 550,000 lives lost during the Battle of Verdun (21 February 1915 to 18 December 1916) and 200,000 during the second Battle of the Aisne (from 16 April to 9 May 1917), before the tide is turned at the second Battle of the Marne (15 July–4 Aug 1918).

1918–1939 Economic recession and political instability dominate these years; there are 20 prime ministers and 44 different governments.

1940 France capitulates to Germany in World War II and a puppet Vichy regime is set up. General de Gaulle (1890–1970) leads the Forces Françaises Libres (Free French Forces).

1944 Liberation of France begun by French 2nd Armoured Division under General Philippe Leclerc (1902– 47), the first Allied force to enter Paris, greeted by loud cheers from Parisians after many days of fighting between the Resistance and the German occupiers.

1946–1958 Fourth Republic is a time of political instability with 26 governments and nationalizations. France helps form the EEC.

1958 Fifth Republic is established on 5 October. It replaces a parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system. De Gaulle becomes president with strong executive powers.

1960 Many French colonies gain independence, including Cameroon, Benin, Chad, Gabon, Niger, Togo, and Madagascar, following local referendums.

1962 Algeria gains independence after fighting a bitter war (1954–1962) with France.

1966 France withdraws from NATO military command. NATO forces and headquarters are removed from France.

1968 A general strike and riots over education policy and low wages break out across France. Starting as student strikes in Paris, police intervention inflames the situation and sparks street battles, culminating in a general strike by ten million workers throughout France. De Gaulle dissolves the National Assembly and calls for new elections, which the Gaullists wins.

1969 De Gaulle resigns after defeat in a referendum on regional reform; he is replaced by Georges Pompidou (1911–74).

1974 Valéry Giscard d’Estaing is elected president, beating François Mitterrand (1916–96) of the Left by a very narrow margin.

1981 Left wins presidential elections. François Mitterrand becomes the first socialist president of the Fifth Republic.

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