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France
The country of France emerged from what had been the Celtic territory known
to the Romans as as Gaul or Gallia. The Germanic Franks migrated into
northern France and Belgium
during the fourth and fifth centuries as the
Roman Empire was fading,
eventually becoming the chief power in their region.
Domination of all of modern France followed in the late fifth century, and
the Merovingian Franks extended
their domination to cover almost all of Western Europe under the
Carolingian kings. By the end of
the ninth century their empire started to break up and was officially
divided in AD 888, at which point modern France was created. |
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Tribal Leaders of the Franks
The Franks are thought to have originated from the region of the
Black Sea. They moved up to the Rhine during the third century (the Period
of Migration).
They were one of several west Germanic federations, and were formed out
of the Salians, Sicambri, Chamavi, Tencteri, Chattuarii, Bructeri, Usipetes,
Ampsivarii, and Chatti. Most of these peoples were living along the Rhine's
northern borders in what was then known as Francia. The Salian (Western)
Franks led the influx of Frankish and sub-Frankish peoples into the Empire
from the east bank of the Rhine into modern northern
Belgium and the
southern Netherlands, where they were treated as foederati (AD 358),
and founded minor kingdoms along the line of their advance, such as at Cambrai and Yssel.
The Frankish realm underwent many partitions and changes of border, since
the Franks divided their property among surviving sons and, lacking a broad
sense of a res publica, they primarily conceived of their realm as a
large swathe of private property.
(Additional information taken from The Oxford History of England: Roman
Britain, Peter Salway.) |
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c.250 |
A group of Franks take advantage of a weakened
Roman
Empire and penetrate as far as Tarragona in modern Spain. They plague
this region for about a decade before Roman forces subdue them and expel
them from Roman territory. |
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358 |
The
Franks are accepted into the northern
Roman Empire
by Julian the Apostate. |
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407 |
By now the Franks are settled on the west bank of the Rhine in minor 'kingdoms' which
cover much of north-eastern Gaul, along with some groups of
Suevi. They defend the Rhine against
invading Germans and remain a strong force in support of
Rome for most of the century,
and eventually, under Clovis, even strive to replace
Rome as a European empire-builder.
During the crossing of the Vandals
(to avoid the Huns), the
Franks attack this apparent threat to their
own position. The Alans, also crossing
the Rhine, come to the aid of the Vandals and save them from destruction. |
fl 417 |
Merovée |
Frankish leader.
Sicambrian Frank. Semi-legendary. |
409 - 426 |
Pharamond |
Frankish leader. First king of Salian Franks. |
418 - 486 |
Roman government in
the area centered on Soissons
is maintained, even though the region becomes more and more isolated from
Italy and surrounded by Frankish states which are setting up in north-western
Gaul (modern Belgium). From 461 it becomes almost permanently independent in
all but name. |
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fl 422 |
Theudemeres |
Frankish leader. Details are unknown. |
c.422 |
Theudemeres is the son of the Roman commander, Ricimer (Richomeres). A Roman army
enters Gaul, possibly in retaliation for Frankish support for the
Roman usurper, Jovinus.
Theudemeres and his mother Ascyla (Ricimer's wife) are executed by the
sword. |
426 - 448 |
Clodian / Chlodio VI |
Pharamond's son. First King of Cambrai. |
428 |
The Franks on the Rhine are defeated by
Romans under the
command of Aetius. |
432 |
Gregory of Tours mentions Chlodio as the first king to start the conquest
of Gaul by taking Camaracum (Cambrai) and Tournai in north-eastern Gaul
(modern Belgium), and expanding the border of Frankish
territory south to the Somme. This probably takes some time, and Sidonius
relates that the
Roman general Aëtius had surprised them at their first attempt in 431 and
had driven them back. |
448 - 458 |
Merovée/Merovech/Meerwig the Young |
Son of Merovée. King
of the Salian Franks of Yssel (Cambrai). |
455 |
A related royal branch of the Salian Franks capture the
Roman
city of Cologne (at the heart of the Rhineland) and make it
their capital. |
458 - 481 |
Childeric I |
Son. King of the Salian Franks of Yssel (bordering
Frisia). |
463 - 481 |
Childeric becomes an important ally for the
Roman Domain of
Soissons on his southern
border, probably as foederati. Aegidius helps him defeat the
Visigoths in
463. |
475 |
The Franks conquer the former
Roman capital of Gaul,
Trier (Augusta Treverorum). The city had already been sacked by Franks
(probably in 413 and 421) and by the Huns in 451. As a result of the
conflicts of this period, Trier's population decreased from an estimated
80,000 in the fourth century to 5,000 at the beginning of the sixth
century. Its last Roman ruler was Arbogast, descendant of the man of the
same name who was magister militum under
Western
Emporer Valentinian III in the fourth century. Until its fall it had
probably been one of a string of relatively friendly states stretching
from
Armorica to the Rhine in the mid-fifth century (including
Soissons and the Franks
themselves). |
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Merovingian Kings of the Franks
AD 481 - 751
The Frankish leader, Clovis, united the Salians with the
Ripuarian (Eastern) Franks and they were converted to Catholic Christianity in 497.
The kingdom was aggressively expanded by Clovis and his sons to include
Neustria
(northern France), Austrasia
(Netherlands,
Austria, northern Germany),
Burgundy, and Provence by 714. The Franks quickly became the dominant
Germanic tribe in not only Gaul but throughout Central and Western Europe.
The territory between modern-day France and Germany, and south to Central
Italy, became known as Francia.
The kingdoms this eventually encompassed
included West Francia (France),
East Francia (eventually to emerge as Germany),
Burgundy,
Lombardy, Lotharingia /
Lorraine (only briefly an
independent kingdom before it splintered into various interrelated
principalities, known as the Stem Duchies), and the
Papal States (which started life as the Byzantine
Exarchate of Ravenna),
which were centered on Rome. All of this territory was part of the empire
of Charlemagne. |
481 - 511 |
Clovis I (Chlodwig) |
Son of Childeric.
Founded kingdom. m.Chlothild. |
486 |
Clovis
occupies the remnants of Northern Gaul which are still outside his kingdom.
This includes the Roman
administration of Soissons.
He moves the Frankish capital to Paris. |
496 |
The
Franks conquer the Alemanni, reaching the Loire and defeating the last of
the allies of Soissons. |
505 |
The
Franks absorb the Alemanni (who later emerge as the
Swabians). |
507 |
In alliance with the related royal Frankish house at Cologne, Clovis
defeats the Visigoths, forcing
them out of Gaul and securing a dominant Frankish kingdom there instead. |
511 |
The kingdom is
divided between Clovis' four sons, ruling Austrasia,
Orleans,
Paris, and
Soissons. Clotaire,
king of Soissons is also the new king of the Franks,
so Soissons is incorporated directly under that rule. |
511 - 560 |
Clotaire / Chlothar I |
Son. Established the
basis of early Frankish monarchy in Gaul. |
531 |
The
Thuringians are conquered. |
534 |
The
Burgundians are conquered. |
555 |
The
Bavarians are conquered. |
561 - 567 |
Charibert I |
King of the Franks. |
561 - 584 |
Chilperic I |
Son. King of
Neustria. |
558 |
Orleans
and Paris are drawn back under
direct control of the king of the Franks. |
584 - 629 |
Clotaire / Chlothar II |
Son. King of
Neustria. |
613 |
The Frankish Empire
is reunified under Chlothar II's rule, with
Neustria (and the attached
Swiss territories) forming its
heartland. Austrasia
becomes semi-independent again in 622. |
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629 - 632 |
Charibert II |
King of Aquitaine. |
630 - 638 |
Dagobert I |
King of
Austrasia.
Defeated in battle by Carinthian Slavs. |
633 - 656 |
Clovis II |
633 could be year of
birth. |
656 |
Dagobert II |
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Grimoald |
Son
of Pepin I. Carolingian Mayor of the Palace of
Austrasia. |
656 - 661 |
Childebert Adoptivus |
Son.
Adopted by Sigibert III of Austrasia. |
662 - 675 |
Childeric II |
Son of Clovis II.
King of Austrasia. |
675 - 676 |
Clovis III |
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673 - 691 |
Theuderich III |
Son of Clovis II.
King of Neustria,
Burgundy,
& Austrasia. |
689 - 719 |
The
Franks conquer the kingdom of
Friesland. |
691 - 695 |
Clovis IV |
Reunited
Neustria &
Austrasia
under central government. |
695 - 711 |
Childebert III |
Son
of Theuderich III. King of Neustria,
Burgundy,
& Austrasia. |
711 - 715 |
Dagobert III |
Son.
King of Neustria,
Burgundy,
& Austrasia. |
715 - 721 |
Daniel Chilperich II |
Son
of Childerich II. King of Neustria. |
717 - 720 |
Chlothar / Lothair IV |
Son
of Theuderich III. King of Austrasia. |
721 - 737 |
Theuderich IV |
Son
of Dagobert III. King of Neustria,
Burgundy,
& Austrasia. |
737 - 743 |
Interregnum,
Carolingian mayors rule. By 737,
Iberian Navarre is formed as a
Frankish march county in the face of the
Islamic invasion of the
peninsula. |
743 - 751 |
Childeric III |
Grandson of Childeric
II. King of Neustria,
Burgundy,
& Austrasia. |
751 |
With
the Pope's blessing, the Carolingian Mayors
of the Palace depose Childeric and the Merovingian royal house and take control of the empire
(Childeric dies in 755).
Neustria,
Austrasia &
Burgundy
are controlled directly, and the former two names fade from common use. |
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Carolingian (Frankish) Empire
AD 751 - 888 |
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628 - 639 |
Pepin I |
Mayor. His dau m.Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia. |
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687 - 714 |
Pepin II of Herstal
(the Fat) |
Grandson. Mayor. |
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714 - 741 |
Charles Martel
(the Hammer) |
Son.
Mayor. Defeated Islamic Spain at Poitiers
in 732. |
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741 - 747 |
Carloman |
Son. Mayor. |
|
741 - 751 |
Pepin III the Short |
Brother. Mayor. |
743 - 744 |
The mayors
of the Merovingian
palace, Pepin the Short and Carloman, march first against the
Bavarians
and then the Saxons
to bring them both back into line under Frankish domination. |
751 |
Pepin
III deposes the last Merovingian king in 751 and, with the
Pope's blessing, assumes the title. |
751 - 768 |
Pepin III |
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768 - 814 |
Charles the Great / Charlemagne |
Son. King of West
Francia.
French HRE (800-814). |
768 - 771 |
Carloman I |
Brother. Joint king of France. |
814 - 840 |
Louis I the Pious |
I of France,
Italy,
Germany,
Burgundy, &
Empire.
Lost Croatia. |
840 |
Louis
wills the Frankish Empire to his sons, but tries to ensure that the eldest
gains the biggest share, in order to avoid the fragmentation of territory
that so weakened the Merovingians. Lothar receives
Middle
Francia (the Rhine corridor and Italy); Charles the Bald receives
Western Francia (France); Louis the German receives
Eastern Francia (Germany).
However, Lothar initially claims overlordship over all three regions and
Louis and Charles have to go to war to convince him to relent. |
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843 |
The Treaty of Verdun
sees the official division of the empire between Charlemagne's surviving
three grandsons, with rule over the empire as a whole being nominal. |
840 - 855 |
Lothar I of the
Middle (Italian) Franks rules the
empire. |
855 - 875 |
Louis II of the
Middle (Italian) Franks rules the
empire. |
875 - 877 |
Charles II of the
Western Franks rules the empire. |
881 - 888 |
Charles III of the
Eastern Franks rules the empire. |
888 |
The rule of the
Holy Roman Empire (the
former
Eastern Franks) falls to non-Frankish emperors. |
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Carolingian Kings of the Western Franks (France)
AD 843 - 987 |
843 - 877 |
Charles II the Bald |
II of France &
Empire. Emperor (875-877). |
845 |
Paris is sacked by the army of the Danish
Viking king, Ragnarr Lothbrok (father of Ivarr the Boneless and Halfdan,
rulers in succession of the
Viking Kingdom of
Dublin). |
856 - 862 |
Charles gives his daughter, Judith, in marriage to Aethulwulf
of Wessex.
In the same year Aethulwulf is forced to abdicate by his son, Aethelbald,
and dies in 858. Aethelbald quickly marries his widowed stepmother but the
marriage is annulled in 860. Judith returns home and elopes with Baldwin
Iron Arm and Charles grants the couple the
County of Flanders. |
877 - 879 |
Louis II the Stammerer |
II of France. |
879 - 882 |
Louis III |
III of France. |
879 - 884 |
Carloman II |
II of France. |
884 - 888 |
Charles III the Fat |
of
Germany. |
888 |
Charles
III (his numbering is not strictly counted within the list of French
monarchs) is deposed by the Germans and the Frankish Empire is
officially divided between East and West. The western section becomes modern France, the
eastern section, modern Germany. |
888 - 898 |
Odo / Eudes |
Count
of Paris. Elected by the nobility. Capetian
ancestor. |
898 - 922 |
Charles III the Simple |
Son of Louis II.
King of Lotharingia. Granted land to the Normans. |
922 - 923 |
Robert I |
Brother of Odo. Count of Paris. |
923 - 936 |
Rudolf / Raoul |
m.Emma, daughter of Robert I.
Duke of Burgundy (921-936). |
936 - 954 |
Louis IV d'Outremer |
Son of Charles III.
Had been exiled in England (=outre mer). |
954 - 986 |
Lothair V |
Son. |
986 - 987 |
Louis V |
Son. |
987 |
By
this time the Carolingian kings and those drawn from the House of Paris
have so weakened the effectiveness of the monarchy in France that it owns
little land outside Paris. The Carolingian son of Louis V, Charles of
Lower Lorraine,
is ignored in favour of passing the crown permanently to the House of
Paris. |
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Capetian Dynasty
AD 987 - 1328 |
987 - 996 |
Hugh Capet |
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996 - 1031 |
Robert II the Pious |
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1031 - 1060 |
Henry I |
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1060 - 1108 |
Philip I |
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1108 - 1137 |
Louis VI |
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1137 - 1180 |
Louis VII |
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1180 - 1223 |
Philip II Augustus |
|
1202 |
John,
king of
England, loses the duchy of Normandy to the French
crown. |
1217 |
Philip sends his son, Louis, and the Count de Perche to invade
England via Dover in order to defeat the child king, Henry III, and his
regent, the famed knight, William Marshal. The Battle of Lincoln sees
William lead the charge, and he personally kills de Perche and escorts the
defeated French noblemen to a ship bound for France. |
1223 - 1226 |
Louis VIII |
Son. |
1226 - 1270 |
St Louis IX |
|
1270 |
Louis
IX leads the Seventh Crusade into
Tunisia. |
1270 - 1285 |
Philip III |
|
1285 - 1314 |
Philip IV the Fair |
m.Jeanne I of
Navarre. |
1314 - 1316 |
Louis X |
Also Luis the Stubborn of
Navarre. |
1316 |
John I |
Reigned in France for eight days. |
1316 - 1322 |
Philip V |
Also Philip of
Navarre. |
1322 - 1328 |
Charles IV |
Also Charles I of
Navarre. |
1328 |
Charles'
daughter, Jeanne, is disqualified from occupying the French throne by
Salic Law. Instead, she accedes the throne of Navarre,
while the Valois succeed to France. |
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Valois Dynasty
AD 1328 - 1589 |
1328 - 1350 |
Philip VI of Valois |
|
1337 - 1453 |
Edward III of
England
invades France to press his own claim to the throne. The Hundred Years War
begins. |
1350 - 1364 |
John II |
|
1364 - 1380 |
Charles V |
|
1380 - 1422 |
Charles VI |
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1422 - 1461 |
Charles VII |
|
1461 - 1483 |
Louis XI |
|
1482 |
The
duchy of Burgundy
reverts to the French throne. |
1483 - 1498 |
Charles VIII |
|
1498 - 1515 |
Louis XII of Orléans |
|
1513 |
Henry VIII of
England campaigns in France, capturing two towns and beating off the
French in the Battle of the Spurs, named for the sight of the spurs of the
French cavalry, as they flee at great speed. |
1515 - 1547 |
Francis I of Angloulême |
|
1532 |
Francis
secures the duchy of Brittany
for France. |
1547 - 1559 |
Henry II |
|
1559 - 1560 |
Francis II |
|
1560 - 1574 |
Charles IX |
|
1562 |
A
massacre of Protestants by Catholics near Paris ignites the first of eight
French 'wars of religion'. |
1572 |
Henry, Duke of Anjou, begins marriage negotiations with Elizabeth Tudor of
England, but it comes to nothing and his younger brother takes over
before his own untimely death in 1584. Henry goes on to become king of
Poland &
Lithuania in 1573, and king of France in 1574. |
1574 - 1589 |
Henry III of Valois |
Previously king of
Poland &
Lithuania (1573-1574). |
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Bourbon Dynasty
AD 1589 - 1792 |
1589 - 1610 |
Henry IV of Bourbon |
King of French
Navarre (1562-1589). |
1610 - 1643 |
Louis XIII |
|
1643 - 1661 |
The Regency Period.
The queen
mother rules in Dauphine's name. |
1661 - 1715 |
Louis XIV |
|
1715 - 1774 |
Louis XV |
Marries Marie Lesczinska, Heiress of
Lorraine. |
1757 |
The
British
East India Company are victorious over the nawwab of
Bengal, a
French ally,
which signals the end of any serious French ambitions in what was
Moghul India. |
1767 |
The
Duchy of Lorraine
passes to France through Louis XV's marriage. |
1774 - 1792 |
Louis XVI |
Deposed in 1792 and beheaded
in 1793. |
1792 |
Louis XVII |
Son. Never crowned. |
1789 - 1792 |
The French Revolution changes France forever. The king is deposed in 1792 and is executed in 1793. |
1792 - 1803 |
The French First
Republic. Once Napoleon Bonaparte becomes First Citizen, he gravitates the
country towards the creation of the
First Empire. |
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French First Empire
AD 1803 - 1814 |
1803 - 1814 |
Napoleon I Bonaparte |
Created the empire. |
1805 |
Bavaria
is raised to a kingdom by Napoleon. |
1806 |
The Bourbon kingdom of the Two Sicilies is conquered in southern Italy and
the Napoleonic kingdom of
Naples is
created in its place, incorporating much of
Benevento. In the north, the
Kingdom of Italy is created out
of acquisitions from
Austria.
Napoleon also liberates
Prussia's holdings
in Poland
and forms an Imperial satellite state.
Baden-Durlach is
raised to a grand duchy, and
Saxony and
Württemberg are
raised to kingdoms. |
1807 - 1811 |
France occupies Spain and
Portugal. |
1813 |
France is pushed out of Spain. |
1814 |
Napoleon
is defeated and the monarchy restored. |
|
1815 |
Napoleon I Bonaparte |
Restored. |
1815 |
Napoleon returns from
exile for The Hundred Days rule. Louis XVIII flees to Belgium. Some weeks
after being defeated at Waterloo, Napoleon abdicates in favour of his son,
Napoleon II of the House of
Napoleon
Bonaparte.
The allies ensure the Bonapartes are removed from power, while the less
hostile czar of Russia
helps in the choice of the Mediterranean island of Elba as a small kingdom
to which Napoleon can retire. |
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Bourbon Restoration
AD 1814 - 1848 |
1814 - 1824 |
Louis XVIII |
Nephew of Louis XVI.
Deposed by July Revolution. |
1824 - 1830 |
Charles X |
Brother. |
1830 - 1848 |
Louis Philippe of Orléans |
Abdicated under pressure. |
1834 |
Algeria is annexed by France. |
1848 - 1852 |
The French Second Republic. This is replaced in 1852 by the
Second Empire. |
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French Second Empire
AD 1852 - 1871
The Second Empire was created under Louis Napoleon III of the House of
Napoleon Bonaparte. |
|
1852 - 1871 |
Louis Napoleon III Bonaparte |
Founded the Second Empire. |
1854 - 1856 |
Britain and France join the
Ottoman
empire in the Crimean War against
Russia, to halt
Russian expansion. The war ends with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, a
severe setback to Russian ambitions. |
1863 |
Cambodia becomes a French Protectorate. |
1870 - 1871 |
France goes to war against
Prussia and is
humiliated with defeat and an invasion of France which leads to the siege of
Paris. The empire collapses. |
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French Republics
AD 1871 - Present
A series of republics replaced any further attempts at forming a monarchy or
empire. |
1871 - 1940 |
The French Third Republic is formed, although it almost founders with the crushing of the
Paris Commune
and the majority decision to select a new king. |
|
1873 |
Henri Dieudonné |
Count of Chambord. Elected to be king but refused. |
1883 |
The French establish a Protectorate in
Vietnam,
annexe
Tunisia,
and fight the First Franco-Hova War in
Madagascar. |
1892 - 1894 |
France begins take control of the kingdom of
Dahomey during the Dahomey
War, as well as conquering the
Tukulor
Empire in Mali. |
1900 |
Chad is conquered. |
1901 |
The
Songhai Empire
of Niger is conquered. |
1910 - 1958 |
A federation of
French colonial possessions in Central Africa is formed which
comprises Gabon, Middle Congo, Oubangui-Chari (or Ubangi-Shari, now the
Central African Republic) and
Chad. |
1912 |
Morocco
becomes a
French Protectorate. |
1918 |
A French mandate is established in Lebanon. |
1920 |
France ousts King Faysal of
Greater Syria and claims the recently liberated territory for itself. |
1940 - 1944 |
France is occupied by the
German Nazi Third Empire.
Vichy (Fascist) rule is allowed as a puppet state in southern France. The
French Protectorate in
Vietnam ends. |
1943 |
Lebanon gains full independence from France. |
1944 - 1947 |
Provisional Government. |
1945 - 1954 |
The French re-establish their Protectorate in
Vietnam. |
1947 - 1959 |
Fourth
Republic. Discredited by inflation and colonial defeats, including a major
defeat in
Vietnam
which effectively ends French involvement in Indochina. |
1956 |
Morocco
gains independence from France. |
1959 - Present |
Fifth Republic. |
1960 |
The
Central African Republic,
Chad,
Dahomey (Benin),
Madagascar,
Mali, and
Niger gain full independence. |
1962 |
Algeria wins independence from France. |
1965 |
Tunisia
wins independence from France. |
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Heirs of Napoleon Bonaparte
The descendants of the House of Bonaparte retain the title of imperial
highness. There are no remaining descendants in the male line from any of
Napoleon's brothers other than the youngest, Jérôme. There are, however,
numerous descendants of Napoleon's illegitimate, but recognised son,
Walewski, from his union with Marie, Countess Walewski. The American
Bonapartes were senior in descent from King Jérôme, but the last male of
that line died in 1945, although this branch was never considered to be
dynastic. |
|
1815 - 1832 |
Napoleon II |
Son of Napoleon Bonaparte. Died aged 21. |
|
1832 - 1879 |
Louis / Napoleon III |
Son of Louis Bonaparte.
Emperor of the French 1852-1871. |
|
1873 - 1879 |
Eugène / Napoleon IV |
Son. Died fighting the
Zulus in
British South Africa. |
|
1879 - 1926 |
Victor / Napoleon V |
Grandson of Jérôme Bonaparte by his second marriage. |
|
1926 - 1997 |
Louis / Napoleon VI |
Son. Born 1914. |
|
1997 - Present |
Charles / Napoleon VII |
Son. Born 1950. |
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Jean Napoleon |
Son. Born 1986. |
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