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| Kingdom of France Royaume de France | |
|---|---|
| 987–1792 | |
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
.svg) France in 1789 | |
| Capital | Paris |
| Dominant mode of production | Feudalism |
| Government | Monarchy |
The Kingdom of France was a state in Western Europe during the medieval and early modern periods. It was weaker than Spain but had a more economic development in some areas.[1]
History
Rebellion
Peasants revolted across northern France in 1358, and 3,000 urban artisans led by Etienne Marcel marched to the royal palace and forced the monarch's heir to support the rebellion.[2]
Centralization and decline of feudalism
King Charles Valois unified France and Brittany in 1491 by marrying Anne, the heiress of the Duchy of Brittany. Between 1494 and 1559, France fought against the Holy Roman Empire and Hapsburg-ruled Spain in northern Italy. During the 16th century, the French monarchy subordinated the Church and Parliament to the crown and forbid nobles from organizing their own military forces.[2]
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation spread through about a third of France. Most of its supporters were the early bourgeoisie, but some nobles also converted and became Huguenots. Aristocratic factions fought in religious wars, which sometimes took the form of pogroms against Protestants such as the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572. In 1589, the Protestant Henry of Navarre became King and reunited the country by converting to Catholicism but giving religious freedom to Protestants. Persecution of Protestants returned in 1685 when the Edict of Nantes was revoked.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Neil Faulkner (2013). A Marxist History of the World: From Neanderthals to Neoliberals: 'The First Wave of Bourgeois Revolutions' (pp. 95–99). [PDF] Pluto Press. ISBN 9781849648639 [LG]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Neil Faulkner (2013). A Marxist History of the World: From Neanderthals to Neoliberals: 'European Feudalism' (pp. 86–88). [PDF] Pluto Press. ISBN 9781849648639 [LG]