France Past Present and Future - Research Paper Example

It started with the formation of Occidental France which came into existence due to Treaty of Verdun in the year 843.The first kings were called the Capetians, who came into power with a lot of aspirations to expand their territories. They exerted much pressure on churches,towns and the people who existed in those days.This kingdom was regularly faced with challenges due to inflation from kings of England. The re-annexations of Languedoc and Normandy in the 13th century marked an important step in the unification of the kingdom.

In the 9th century, France lost the County of Barcelona.Later, Louis XI re-captured it back together with his other prerogatives. The prerogatives gained back were Burgundy, Anjou and Provence which from 1481-1482 had been part of the Holy Roman Empire. Further unification of the kingdom came about when Anne of Brittany got married to Charles VIII first and later to the Louis XII. Earlier the two had remained as distinct regions but that marriage brought about the annexation of the two into the French Kingdom in the year 1532.

Louis XIV and Richelieu from 1635-1748 embarked on a mission to further expand the territories of the French Kingdom towards the Rhine and the north.This is because after the French had lost the French Flanders in 1526, the Austrian royal houses situated near f the French Capital had started to pose some danger. Later between the year 1648 and 1789 other territories such as the Alsace, Franche-Comté and Artois were annexed into the French Kingdom.The annexation of Duchy of Lorraine came in 1766 and together with the purchase of Corsica in 1768 led to formation of a strong consolidated block.

The period of French Revolution by the First Empire enabled French Kingdom toexpand temporarily on the left bank of River Rhine.The kingdom during this period remained somehow stable until 1789 when it became vague due to lack of a particular line.In 1815,