France & Germany; key historical events up to 31/12/1869

Click here for events in France & Germany from 1/1/1870

Page last modified 11/9/2020

 

This agglomeration which was called and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire � Voltaire

 

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1)      Maps of Heligoland, Mediaeval times.

2)      Maps of France, Germany, 843 � 880.

3)      Maps of Germany at Treaty of Verdun and under Charlemagne.

4)      Growth of Prussia, 1415 � 1914.

 

Colour key:

People

Napoleon I 1769-1821

French Revolution

Murat

Mazarin / Conde 1643-52

Huguenot wars; 1560-1619

Thirty Years War

Hundred Years War 1337-1453

Chlothar I

843-880. Treaty of Verdun to Treaty of Ribemont. The formation of modern France, Germany, Italy

 

17/6/1869 Wilhelmshaven, Germany�s first military port, was officially inaugurated.

29/11/1868, Antoine Berryer, French statesman, died in Augerville (born 1790).

6/5/1868, Louis Cormenin, French political lobbyist, died (born 6/1/1788).

29/2/1868, Ex-King Louis of Bavaria died in Munich, aged 81. Louis was a patron of the arts and his capital, Munich, was a centre of culture. Louis had an affair with an Irish dancer, Marie Gilbert (stage name Lola Montez). This affair provoked a revolution; Louis had to abdicate in 1848, and Marie died destitute in new York in 1861, aged 43.

1/7/1867. The German Federal Constitution came into force.

17/4/1867, The North German Reichstag adopted the new federal Constitution.� Four years later all of the German Empire had adopted it.

8/2/1867, As Prussia became increasingly powerful under Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck and King Wilhelm I, political differences between Germany and the Hapsburgs of Austria, who had ruled Austria since 1278. This weakened Austria to the point where Hungary threatened to break away, and to save the unity of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was forced to agree to a Dual Monarchy, where each State had a separate government and a convoluted system of joint Ministers to oversee the Empire. However this in turn alienated ethnic minorities within Austro-Hungary, ultimately sparking off demands for Serbian independence and the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand that led to World War One.

22/11/1866, Amable Barante, French historian, died (born 10/6/1782 in Riom).

3/10/1866, The states north of the Mainz joined a new North German Confederation under Prussian leadership.� Austria was finally excluded from the German Confederation.� The formerly independent duchy of Nassau, Germany, 1,830 square miles, was incorporated with the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia annexed Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, and Frankfurt Am Main.� The southern German states agreed that their troops should come under the command of Prussia in the event of war.�

3/7/1866, In northern Czechoslovakia, the Austrian army was routed by Prussian forces at the Battle of Sadowa (Koniggratz). The victory by Bismarck was sealed at the Treaty of Prague, by which Austria renounced her claim to Schleswig-Holstein, where Germany would later build a great naval base at Kiel and build the Kiel Canal linking the Baltic and North Seas.

29/6/1866, The Hanoverian army was forced to capitulate to the Prussians after a defeat in the Battle of Lasngensalza. King George V of Hanover had refused, contrary to the wishes of his Parliament, to agree to Prussian demands that the Kingdom of Hanover remain neutral in the war between Prussia and Austria. In 9/1866 Hanover was formally annexed by Prussia.

15/6/1866, Prussian troops crossed the frontiers of Hanover, Saxony, and Hesse-Cassel.�

14/6/1866, The brief Austro-Prussian War began, over a dispute between Prussia and Austria over the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein.

7/6/1866, Prussian troops entered Holstein.� This was the start of the Austro-Prussian War.

8/4/1866. Bismarck arranged an alliance between Italy and Germany. Italy promised to join Germany against Austria if war broke out in the next three months.

8/11/1865, Andre Dupin, French statesman, died (born 1/2/1783).

8/4/1865, Erich von Ludendorff, German soldier, was born.

30/10/1864. By the Peace of Vienna, Denmark gave up Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenberg.� These provinces came under Austrian and Prussian rule.

10/3/1864, Maximilian II, King of Bavaria, died.

1/2/1864, Austrian and Prussian troops under the command of Friedrich von Wangle invaded Schleswig, Denmark. Although the British monarch, Queen Victoria, was pro-German, the British Prince Edward, the future King Edward VII � who had only months earlier married Alexandra of Denmark � was shocked; they supported Denmark. The Second Schleswig War began. This event ensured that under King Edward VII�s reign, British foreign policy was pro-Danish, anti-German, and Britain formed a triple entente with France and Russia against Germany.

10/1/1864, Francois Hamelin, French Admiral, died (born 2/9/1796).

28/9/1862, Bismarck made his �blood and iron� speech.

23/9/1862. Bismarck arrived in Berlin and was made Prime Minister of Prussia.

2/2/1861, The Franco-Monagesque Treaty restored independence to Monaco.

2/1/1861, Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia died aged 65. He was succeeded by his brother and Regent, Wilhelm I.

5/12/1860, Friedrich Dahlmann, German politician, died (born 13/5/1785).

5/10/1859, Henry Prince of Battenberg was born (died 20/1/1896).

10/7/1859, The Treaty of Villafranca was signed.

3/9/1859, Jean Jaures, French Socialist leader, was born.

27/2/1859, Friedrich Bleek, German scholar, died (born in Holstein 4/7/1793).

27/1/1859, Kaiser Willhelm II was born in Potsdam, near Berlin. He was the son of the German Emperor and the grandson of Queen Victoria.

7/10/1858, Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia was certified insane, and his brother, 61-year-old Wilhelm, was made Regent.

10/7/1858, Napoleon III of France secretly met Count Cavour at Plombieres. The two agreed to jointly attack Austria.

20/3/1858, Johannes Gossner, German preacher and philanthropist, died (born 14/12/1773).

13/3/1858, Felice Orsini, Italian revolutionary, was executed for his part in the assassination attempt on Napoleon III in Paris.

14/1/1858, An Italian assassin threw a bomb at French Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie as they drove to the Paris Opera. The bomb, thrown by Felici Orsini, missed its target but killed eight bystanders and injured 100. Orsini planned the attack in London, causing anti-British sentiment in France.

28/10/1857, Louis Cavaignac, French General, died (born 15/10/1802)

28/5/1857, Jean Hyde de Neuville, French politician, died (born 24/1/1776).

24/4/1856, Philippe Petain, French Army Marshall, was born in Cuchy a la Tour.

21/5/1853, Jacques Cavaignac, French politician, was born (died 25/9/1905).

For Crimean War see Russia 1850s

4/4/1853, The customs union signed by various German states was extended for another 12 years; Austria remained excluded.

29/1/1853, Napoleon III of France married Eugenie de Montijo in Paris.

1852, Napoleon III gave the Bois de Bolougne to Paris for a public park.

2/12/1852, Louis Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor of France as Napoleon III.� The Second French Empire was proclaimed.

22/10/1852, Hans Gagern, German political writer, died (born 25/1/1766).

10/7/1852, Rene Exelmans, Marshal of France, died (born 13/12/1775).

17/4/1852, Etienne Gerard, French General, died (born 4/4/1773).

1/3/1852, Theophile Delcasse, French statesman, was born.

5/2/1852, Arnail Jaucourt, French politician, died (born 14/11/1757).

12/1/1852, Joseph Joffre, French Army Marshall and Commander in Chief on the Western Front, was born in Rivesaltes.

18/11/1851, Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover, died (born 5/6/1771).

5/11/1851, Charles Dupuy, French statesman, was born.

2/10/1851, Marshal Ferdinand Foch, French General who led the counteroffensive that defeated Germany in 1918, was born in Tarbes, France.

21/5/1851, Victor Bourgeois, French statesman, was born in Paris.

24/12/1850, Frederic Bastiat, French economist, died in Rome (born in Bayonne 29/6/1801).

26/8/1850, Death of Louis Philippe, the �citizen king�, who abdicated rather than face a middle-class revolt.

25/7/1850, Battle of Idstedt; Denmark defeated Germany.

31/5/1850, France passed a law requiring voters to be resident in the same place for three years before qualifying for a vote.� This was to exclude migratory workers, who tended to be radical.

16/4/1850, Swiss waxworks show proprietor Madame Marie Tussaud died. She was born on 1/12/1761 in Strasbourg. She learnt the art of wax modelling from her uncle, Philippe Curtius. Before the French Revolution Mme Tussaud was art tutor at Versailles to Louis XVI�s sister, Elizabeth. After a period in prison she was tasked with making death masks from the heads of those guillotined, some of whom she recognised as friends. She left Paris in 1802, along with her waxwork models, and two sons from a failed marriage to a French engineer, Francois Tussaud. She spent 33 years touring Britain before opening a permanent display in London.

10/6/1849, Thomas Bugeaud, Marshal of France, died (born 15/10/1784).

3/5/1849, Bernhard, Prince von Bulow, German Chancellor and Prime Minister of Prussia (1900-09) was born.

24/4/1849, Joseph Gallieni, French soldier, was born.

19/3/1849, Alfred von Tirpitz, German Admiral, was born in Kustrin, Brandenburg, Prussia.

20/12/1848, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed President of France.

11/12/1848. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was elected President of the French Republic by a large majority.

26/8/1848. Denmark and Prussia signed a truce at Malmo. Both agreed to evacuate the disputed territory of Schleswig-Holstein.

27/6/1848, Denis Affre, Archbishop of Paris, died (born in St Rome, Tarn, 27/9/1793)

26/6/1848. Riots in Paris from the 23^rd to the 26^th June.

10/5/1848, The French Assembly spurned the proposal of Louis Blanc to establish a Ministry of Labour and Progress, a bold measure to implement Blanc's socialist agenda.

2/5/1848. Prussia invaded Denmark over the Schleswig-Holstein question.

20/4/1848, Friedrich Balduin, German soldier, died (born 24/10/1794).

20/3/1848, Ludwig I, King of Bavaria, abdicated.

17/3/1848, Protests in Berlin against the conservatism of Prussian ruler Frederick William IV.

3/3/1848, Louis-Philippe of France arrived in England, following his abdication. Meanwhile economic depression and hunger, and discontent amongst the growing middle classes, was spurring revolution across Europe. Demonstrations occurred in Vienna and across Hungarian cities; ethnic minorities within the Austro-Hungarian Empire were demanding self-rule. Venice proclaimed independence from Austria.

2/3/1848, Universal male suffrage was enacted in France, giving the country nine million new voters.

28/2/1848, French workers demonstrated in the Place de l'H�tel-de-Ville, Paris, to demand a Ministry of Labour and the 10-hour day.

26/2/1848, The Second French Republic was proclaimed. See 24/2/1848.

25/2/1848, Lamartine rejected the proposed Socialist Red Flag as the new French flag, preferring the �liberal democratic� Tricolour to the �Blood Flag of anarchy�.

24/2/1848, The French monarchy fell as King Louis Philippe fled to exile in England. See 26/2/1848.

22/2/1848, In France a socialist �banquet�, or political meeting, to commemorate the birthday of George Washington was banned. This ban caused major unrest and riots in the following days.

2/10/1847, Paul von Hindenburg, German politician, was born.

27/10/1846, Louis Bourmont, Marshal of France, died

16/3/1846, Jules Joffrin, French politician, was born (died 17/9/1890).

11/11/1845, Jules Guesde, French socialist, was born.

25/8/1845, Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, was born.

5/5/1845, Eleonore Cavaignac, French politician, died.

18/12/1844, Ludwig Brentano, German economist, was born.

15/9/1844, Gustav Hugo, German jurist, died (born 23/11/1764).

31/1/1844, Henri Bertrand, French General, died in Chateauroux (born 1773)

29/1/1844, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha, died (born 2/1/1784).

25/1/1844, Jean d�Erlon, Marchal of France, died (born 29/7/1765).

6/9/1843, Yves Guyot, French politician, was born.

1/6/1843, Karl Grolman, Prussian soldier, died (born 30/7/1777).

20/1/1843, Pierre Cambon, French diplomat, was born.

18/8/1842, Louis Freycinet, French navigator, died (born 7/8/1779).

8/5/1842, Jules Dumont, French navigator, died (born 23/5/1790).

6/2/1842, Alfred Dodds, French General, was born.

20/12/1841, Ferdinand Buisson, French educationalist, was born.

28/9/1841, Georges Clemenceau, French Prime Minister 1917-20, was born.

23/5/1841, Franz Baader, German philosopher, died (born 17/3/1756 in Munich)

23/6/1841, Etienne Garnier-Pages, French politician, died (born 27/12/1801).

30/1/1841, Francois Faure, President of France, was born (died 16/2/1899).

13/1/1841, Bertrand Barere, French politician, died (born in Tarbes 10/9/1755).

15/12/1840, Napoleon�s body was interred in Les Invalides, Paris.

23/11/1840, Louis Bonald, French politician, died (born near Millau 2/10/1754)).

7/7/1840, Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia died at 69. He was succeeded by his 44-year-old son, Friedrich Wilhelm IV.

8/6/1840, Jean Bouchotte, French politician, died (born in Metz 25/12/1754).

22/2/1840, Ferdinand Bebel, German Socialist, was born in Cologne.

4/2/1840, Antoine Boulay, French politician, died in Paris (born in Vosges 19/2/1761).

5/5/1839, Eduard Gans, German jurist, died (born 22/3/1797).

1/12/1838, Claude Choiseul-Stainville, French soldier, died (born 1760).

25/6/1838, Francois Haxo, French military engineer, died (born 24/6/1774).

2/4/1838, Leon Gambetta, French statesman, was born (died 31/12/1882).

11/8/1837, Marie Carnot, 4th President of the Third French Republic, was born (died 24/6/1894).

29/4/1837, George Boulanger, French General, was born in Rennes (committed suicide in Brussels 30/9/1891).

19/4/1837, Johann Ancillon, Prussian statesman and historian, died (born 30/4/1766 in Berlin).

12/2/1837, Francois Barbe-Marbois, French politician (born 1745 in Metz) died.

1836, The Arc de Triomphe, Paris, was completed (begun by Napoleon to commemorate his victories between 1790 and 1814). It is Europe�s largest triumphal arch, 50 meres high and 45 metres wide.

6/11/1836, Charles X, King of France, died (born 1757).

7/3/1836, Count Antoine Francais, French politician, died (born 1756).

19/2/1836, Guiseppe Fieschi, conspirator to assassinate Louis Philippe,� was guillotined.

3/1/1836, Marie Fourtou, French politician, was born (died 1897).

17/11/1835, Karl Bottiger, German archaeologist, died in Dresden (born in Reichenbach 8/6/1760).

18/9/1835, Jean Courvoisier, French politician, died

21/7/1835, Eugene Brisson, French statesman, was born.

24/6/1835, Jacques Beugnot, French politician, died (born in Bar sur Aube 1761).

18/3/1835, Christian Bernstorff, Prussian statesman, died (born in Copenhagen 3/4/1769).

2/3/1835, Francis II, last Holy Roman Emperor, died. He was succeeded, as Emperor of Austria only, by his 4-year-old son, Ferdinand I.

19/11/1834, Richard Avenarius, German philosopher, was born in Paris (died in Zurich 18/8/1896).

7/8/1834, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, French inventor, died.

7/2/1834, Louis Bourrienne, French politician, died in Caen (born in Sens 9/7/1769).

1/1/1834, The German zollervein (customs union) now extended to all German states except Austria and the north-eastern states.

3/5/1833, Jean Constans, French politician, was born at Beziers (died 7/4/1913 in Paris).

27/4/1833, Joseph Emmerich, French politician, died (born 30/5/1773).

22/3/1833, A customs union, or zollverein, was signed between Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Prussia, and Hesse-Darmstadt. Austria was excluded. This zollverein covered 17 states with a total population of 20 million. Until now, 67 different tariffs and 13 non-Prussian enclaves, each with a different fiscal system, had hampered economic development. The zollverein was the idea of the economist Friedrich List, who returned to Prussia from the USA in 1832. Germany was also being united by the spread of the railways out from Berlin.

1832, France ceased to brand its galley slaves with the letters TF (Travaux Forces).

30/7/1832, Jean Chaptal, French statesman, died (born 4/6/1756).

29/7/1832, Amand Bazard, French Socialist, (born in Paris 1791) died.

28/6/1832, Metternich insisted on the German Confederation�s acceptance of the Six Articles. This uniformised the behaviour of sovereigns across German States, forbade public meetings, and introduced surveillance of suspicious characters.

5/4/1832, Jules Ferry, French politician, was born (died 17/3/1893).

18/10/1831, Frederick III, Emperor of Germany, was born.

24/8/1831, August Gneisenau, Prussian Field-Marshal, died (born 1760).

20/5/1831, Henri Gregoire, French Revolutionary died (born 4/12/1750).

9/3/1831, King Louis-Philippe founded the French Foreign Legion. Its headquarters was at Sidi-bel-Abbes in Algeria. In 1962 the headquarters was moved to Aubagne, France. See 5/7/1830.

24/2/1831, Georg Caprivi, German statesman (died 6/2/1899) was born.

15/12/1830, Karl August Ferdinand von Borcke (born 18/2/1776) a Prussian general and the first recipient of the Iron Cross, died.

9/12/1830, Friedrich Geffcken, German statesman, was born (died 1/5/1896).

7/8/1830, Louis Philippe accepted the Crown of France.

2/8/1830, The July Revolution in France ended. Charles X abdicated.

29/7/1830, French liberals opposed to Charles X seized Paris.

28/7/1830, Alexandre Hauterive, French statesman, died (born 14/4/1754).

27/7/1830, Revolutionary riots in Paris, The July Revolution, sparked by the harsh policies of King Charles X.

29/5/1830, Louis Gohier, French politician, died (born 27/2/1746).

17/3/1830, Laurent Gouvion, Marshal of France, died (born 13/5/1764).

23/1/1830, Gaston Galliffet, French General, was born (died 8/7/1909).

5/9/1829, Pierre Daru, French statesman, died (born 12/1/1767).

14/7/1829, Edward Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury, was born in Birmingham (died in Ireland 11/10/1896).

7/4/1829, Moritz Brosch, German historian was born (died 14/7/1907).

24/3/1829, Jean Cavaignac, French politician, died (born 1762).

26/11/1828, Rene Goblet, French politician, was born (died 13/9/1905).

14/11/1828, Charles Freycinet, French statesman, was born.

2/10/1828, Charles Floquet, French politician, was born (died 18/1/1896).

24/9/1828, Several German states founded the Commercial Union of Central Germany, signing a customs agreement with Prussia.

14/6/1828, Augustus Charles died (born 3/9/1757).

23/4/1828, Frederick Augustus, King of Saxony from 1873 (died 10/6/1902) was born.

11/1/1828, The Prussian zollervein, or customs union, was extended to Hesse Darmstadt.� From 1825 a new Prussian finance minister, Friedrich von Motz, had begun to extend the Prussian customs union or zollervein.� Independent enclaves or city states had previously served as smuggling centres, hindering tax collection.� In May 1829 Bavaria, whose ruler Louis I was keen on the zollervein, joined.� See 1/1/1834.

10/8/1827, Paul Falk, German politician, was born (died 1900).

1/6/1827, Charles Freppel, French politician and Bishop, was born (died 12/12/1891).

19/5/1827, Paul Challemel-Lacour, French politician, was born (died 26/10/1896).

26/6/1826, Adolf Bastian, German ethnologist, was born in Bremen.

5/5/1826, Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III, was born in Grenada., Spain.

28/11/1825, Maximilien Foy, French statesman, died (born 3/2/1775).

13/10/1825, Maximilian I, King of Bavaria, died.

3/10/1824, Harry Arnim, German diplomat, was born (died 1881).

16/9/1824, Louis XVIII, King of France, died aged 68, leaving a strong and prosperous country, in contrast to its defeat under Napoleon. However his attempts at constitutional reform were thwarted by the ultra-royalists. He was succeeded by his brother, Charles X.

10/7/1824, Rudolf Bennigsen, German politician, was born in Luneburg (died 7/8/1902).

11/4/1824, Jean Drouet, French Revolutionary, died (born 1763).

28/2/1824, Charles Blondin, French tightrope walker famous for his crossings of Niagara Falls, was born in Hesdin near Calais, as Jean Francois Gravelet.

29/1/1824, Louise Caroline, Countess of Albany, died.

2/8/1823, Lazare Carnot, French General, died (born 1753).

22/7/1823, Ludwig Bamberger, German politician, was born in Mainz (died 1899).

1/6/1823, Louis Davout, Marshal of France, died (born 10/5/1770).

18/3/1823, Antoine Chanzy, French General, was born (died 4/1/1883).

26/11/1822, Karl Hardenberg, Prussian statesman, died (born 31/5/1750).

1/4/1822, Louis Bertillon, French anthropologist, was born in Paris (died in Neuilly 28/2/1883).

16/1/1822, Henri Aumale, French statesman, was born in Paris (died in Zucco, Sicily 7/5/1897).

28/11/1821, Henri Baudrillart, French economist, was born in Paris (died in Paris 24/1/1892).

5/5/1821, Napoleon Bonaparte died, in exile on St Helena, in the Atlantic (born 15/8/1769).� The cause may have been arsenic poisoning, or it may have been stomach cancer, which also killed Napoleon�s father.

21/3/1821, Ernst Engel, German political economist, was born (died 8/12/1896).

25/12/1820, Joseph Fouche, French statesman, died (born 21/5/1763).

29/9/1820, Henri Chambord, contender for the French throne, was born (died 24/8/1883).

14/4/1820, Pierre Chesnelong, French politician, was born (died1894).

12/9/1819, Gebhard von Blucher, Prussian Field Marshall who helped the Allies to victory against Napoleon, died in Silesia.

27/5/1819, George V, King of Hanover, was born.

14/8/1819, Antoine Gramont, French statesman was born (died 18/1/1880).

21/11/1818, France was admitted to the Quadruple alliance, now the Quintuple alliance (see 20/11/1815).� France�s war indemnity was cut.

29/9/1818, The Congress of Aix La Chapelle began.

13/8/1816, Heinrich Gneist, German politician, was born (died 22/7/1895)

26/5/1818, A Bill presented by the economist and councillor Karl Maaseen was adopted. It abolished customs procedures within Prussia and lifted trade restrictions.

23/10/1817, Pierre Larousse, French lexicographer, was born.

6/8/1817, Pierre Dupont, French statesman, died (born 14/9/1739).

29/4/1817, Vincent Benedetti, French diplomat, was born in Bastia, Corsica (died in Paris 28/3/1900).

16/4/1817, Martin Delbruck, Prussian statesman, was born (died 1/2/1903).

26/1/1817, Jean Godin, French socialist, was born (died 1888).

10/12/1816, August Goeben, Prussian General, was born (died 1880)

15/10/1816, Stanislas Dupuy, French naval architect, was born (died 1/2/1885).

12/6/1816, Pierre Augereau, French soldier, died.

3/6/1818, Louis Faidherbe, French general, was born (died 29/9/1889).

25/2/1816, Friedrich Bulow, Prussian General, died (born 16/2/1755).

7/12/1815, Marshall Ney, a famous general of Napoleon, convicted of high treason, was executed by firing squad for supporting Napoleon at Waterloo when ordered by the Allies to arrest him.

20/11/1815, A second Treaty of Paris reduced France to its 1789 frontiers (see 30/5/1814), stripped her of the port of Savoy, and created an organisation charged with the collective security of Europe. Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia renewed their Quadruple Alliance and agreed to exclude the Bonaparte dynasty from French rule for another 20 years. An Allied army of occupation was installed in Paris. An Allied army of occupation was installed in Paris. Under this Alliance, each power agreed to supply 60,000 soldiers in the event of French aggression.

16/10/1815, Napoleon arrived at St Helena, see 8/8/1815.

13/10/1815, Joachim Murat, King of the Two Sicilies, was executed.

26/8/1815, Jean Jaureguiberry, French Admiral, was born (died 21/10/1887).

22/8/1815, Pro Royalists won the first free elections in France.

8/8/1815, Napoleon set sail for exile on St Helena. He arrived there on 16/10/1815.

2/8/1815, Guillaume Brune, Marshal of France, died (born 13/3/1763).

17/7/1815, Napoleon attempted to escape to America from Rochefort but was captured by the British.

15/7/1815, Napoleon surrendered to Captain Maitland of the ship Bellerophon at Rochefort.

7/7/1815, The Allies entered Paris victoriously a second time, and King Louis XVIII returned to Paris.on 8/7/1815.

1/7/1815, A battle between the French and the Allies at Ligny, near Fleurus, Belgium.

26/9/1815, Holy Alliance formed between Russia, Austria, and Prussia.

25/6/1815, Napoleon abdicated in Paris for a second time.

21/6/1815, Napoleon reached Paris.

18/6/1815, Sunday; the Battle of Waterloo was fought, in driving rain., in the flat Belgian countryside. Combined British and Prussian forces, 15,000 and 8,000 respectively) led by the Duke of Wellington and Field Marshall Blucher decisively defeated the French (25,000) under Napoleon. Napoleon miscalculated, underestimating his enemies.� The French soldiers were aware of an advancing force on their right flank; Napoleon knew this was the Prussian Army, but reckoned he could defeat the British before they arrived, then re-deploy.� He told the French Army these were more French soldiers.� When the Prussians opened fire on the French it seemed as these �French� soldiers had changed sides; a cry of �treason� went up, and the French Army disintegrated.� Napoleon himself retreated westwards, but was held up at Genappe, only four miles from the battlefield, as a mass of men attempted to cross the only bridge over the River Dyle. Finally, only minutes before the Prussian cavalry arrived at Genappe, Napoleon succeeded in crossing the bridge and galloped away towards Paris. See 26/2/1815.

16/6/1815, Battle of Quatre Bras.

15/6/1815, Napoleon defeated the Prussians under Blucher at the Battle of Ligny, Netherlands. The Prussians lost 12,000 men, against French losses of of 8,500. Napoleon was hoping, by invading The Netherlands, to eliminate Britain and Prussia from the coalition against him.

8/6/1815, Abandoning the idea of re-establishing the old German Empire, the 39 disparate German States formed a Union whose constitution was laid down in the Federal Act which came into force this day.� However the rulers of States such as Bavaria, Hanover, Wurttemberg, Baden, and Saxony were unwilling to cede any authority to a central government.

23/5/1815, Ferdinand IV formally retook the Neapolitan throne.

20/5/1815, Murat fled to Corsica and the pro-Napoleon Neapolitans, now under the command of General Michele Caracosa, signed a treaty agreeing to the restoration of King Ferdinand IV.

3/5/1815, Murat was heavily defeated at the Battle of Tolentino by General Bianchi�s Austrian I Corps.

9/4/1815, Murat was defeated at the Battle of Occhiobello.

8/4/1815, Edmond Scherer, French politician, was born (died 16/3/1889).

1/4/1815, Otto von Bismarck, German statesman, was born at Schonhausen in Brandenburg.

25/3/1815, Britain, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, concluded a new alliance against France. On 10/4/1815 Austria also declares war on Joachim Murat, the King of Naples, who has allied himself with Napoleon. On 3/5/1815 Murat was defeated by the Austrians at Tolentino. Murat fled Naples on 20/5/1815 and entered France. On 3/6/1815 Murat was replaced by Ferdinand IV, the former King of Naples.

20/3/1815, Napoleon re-entered Paris; Louis XVIII had hurriedly left the previous night, and fled for Ghent. British fears that Elba was too close a place to France to exile Napoleon were realised.

17/3/1815, Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia mobilised 150,000 men each to fight Napoleon.

15/3/1815, On hearing of Napoleon�s escape, Joachim Murat, King of Naples and Napoleon�s brother in law, declared war on Austria.

14/3/1815,Marshal Ney, who had been sent to arrest Napoleon at Auxerre, instead joined him with 6,000 men.

7/3/1815, The first French troops rallied to Napoleon.

1/3/1815, Napoleon landed at Cannes, southern France, with a force of 1,500 men, and marched on Paris.

26/2/1815, Napoleon escaped from exile on Elba. He arrived in Paris on 20/3/1815.

18/1/1815, Stanislas Boufflers, French statesman, died in Paris (born near Nancy 31/5/1738).

2/12/1814, Marquis de Sade died in a lunatic asylum at Charenton.

1/11/1814, The Congress of Vienna opened, following Napoleon�s defeat.

29/6/1814, Edmond Dubois-Crance, French Revolutionist, died (born 1747).

30/5/1814. The Treaty of Paris returned France to its 1792 borders (see 20/11/1815). France renounced all claims to Germany, Italy, Holland, Switzerland, and Malta.

24/5/1814, Pope Pius VII, exiled by Napoleon Bonaparte, returned to Rome.

3/5/1814, Louis XVIII entered Paris, to rule as a constitutional (Bourbon) monarch, ending his exile in England.

28/4/1814, Napoleon departed from the port of Frejus for Elba.

11/4/1814, Napoleon officially abdicated, see 6/4/1814.

6/4/1814, Napoleon, granted a pension and sovereignty of the island of Elba, agreed to abdicate at Fontainebleau (he abdicated on 11/4/1814). He retained the title of Emperor. On 3/5/1814 Napoleon landed on Elba.

31/3/1814, Paris, encircled, poorly defended, and flooded with refugees, surrendered. Marmont was the French commander who surrendered.

20/3/1814, Napoleon was defeated at Arcis sur Aube, 17 miles NE of Troyes, leaving the way open for the Allies to occupy Paris.

12/3/1814, British forces under Wellington occupied Bordeaux, following, on 10/3/1814, Napoleon�s defeat at Laon.

17/1/1814, Murat defected from Napoleon�s rule, and the French domination of Italy was at risk.

31/12/1813, Prussian forces under Blucher crossed the Rhine frontier into France, pursuing retreating French forces.

30/12/1813, Danzig surrendered to the Allies, who then threatened to invade France if Napoleon did not come to terms.

26/12/1813, Modlin and Torgau captured by the Allies.

5/12/1813, Lubeck surrendered to the Allies.�����������

11/11/1813, Dresden surrendered to the Allies.

10/11/1813, Wellington crossed the frontier into France in pursuit of Marshal Soult.

18/10/1813. Napoleon was defeated at Leipzig, Saxony, by the Prussians, Swedes, and Austrians.� The French lost Germany.� Casualties totalled 110,000. See 31/12/1813.

8/10/1813. Having liberated Spain from the French, British troops under Wellington invaded southern France.

3/10/1813, Clement Garnier, French economist, was born (died 25/9/1881).

6/9/1813. While trying to take Berlin, Napoleon�s forces under Marshall Ney were defeated by the Prussians under Bulow, at Dennewitz.

27/8/1813, Battle of Dresden, the last major victory of Napoleon.

12/8/1813. Austria declared war on France.� England was giving financial support to Spain, and the Spaniards together with English troops were advancing from the south against France.� Napoleon was therefore now fighting almost the whole of Europe.

21/6/1813. The victory of Wellington at Vitoria in the Peninsular War. Spain was lost by the French. Napoleon had deposed the Spanish monarch and replaced him with his own brother, Joseph. However this act provoked major Spanish popular resistance against France and led to Napoleon�s defeat there.

15/6/1813, Britain formed a new alliance with Prussia and Russia against Napoleon.

12/6/1813. Napoleon pulled out of Madrid.

For more events of Peninsular War, see Spain-Portugal

30/5/1813, The French took Hamburg.

23/5/1813, Geraud Duroc, French General, died (born 25/10/1772).

22/5/1813. Napoleon I defeated an allied army of Russians and Prussians at Bautzen, Saxony.

2/5/1813. Napoleon defeated a combined Russian and Prussian army at Grossgorchen, near Lutzen.

18/3/1813. Russian troops reached Hamburg, and on 27/3/1813 they occupied Dresden, capital of Saxony.

13/3/1813. Prussia declared war on France, but was defeated at Lutzen and Bautzen.

16/1/1813, Georges Darboy, Bishop of Paris, was born (died 17/5/1871).

4/3/1813. The Russians reached Berlin, which surrendered without a fight.

15/1/1813, Francois Grevy, French President 1879-87, was born (died 9/9/1891)

20/12/1812. The retreating remains of Napoleon�s Russian invasion force reached eastern Prussia.

26/11/1812, The Battle of Berezina. The Russians won; French plans to over-winter at Smolensk had been thwarted.

18/11/1812, Russian forces closing in on the retreating French in western Russia won the Battle of Polotsk.

16/11/1812, French troops retreating from Moscow successfully broke through a Russian roadblock at Krasnoi.

9/11/1812. One of the worst winters on record in northern Europe began, severely affecting Napoleon�s troops as they retreated from Moscow (see 14/9/1812). Napoleon�s army endured temperatures as low as �37 C for 27 consecutive days.� On 9/12/1812 Napoleon�s troops reached the undefended city of Vilnius; some 35,000 French troops died during the last four days of the march westwards to Vilnius.� Napoleon had already fled Vilnius on 5/12/1812, and returned to Paris, abandoning his army to the Russians. On 10/12/1812 the Russians reached Vilnius and vented their fury on Napoleon�s army.� Most of the French had already died of cold, hunger, and disease by the time the Tsar entered Vilnius on 22/12/1812.

3/11/1812, French troops retreating from Moscow successfully broke through a Russian roadblock at Vyazama.

2/11/1812. Napoleon�s forces re-occupied Madrid after a British force failed to capture Burgos, which they laid siege to in September 1812.

24/10/1812, Battle of Maloyaroslavets. The French had planned a retreat from Moscow through undamaged terrain, white they might gather sustenance. However the Russians positioned artillery to cover the bridges over the River Luzha, which the French had to cross to achieve this planned retreat. After a series of fierce battles, the French did capture the town, but the Russian artillery still commanded the bridges. The French now had no choice but to attempt a retreat through the devastated terrain they had previously advanced through.

23/10/1812, An anti-Napoleonic faction in Paris attempted a coup, believing Napoleon to have died in Russia.

21/10/1812, Otto von Camphausen, Prussian statesman (died 18/5/1896) was born.

19/10/1812, Napoleon�s forces began their retreat from Moscow.

18/10/1812, Russian forces defeated the French at the Battle of Tarutino, south of Moscow.

16/9/1812, French troops in Moscow destroyed what the Russian had left.

14/9/1812. Napoleon entered Moscow, which had been abandoned and burned by the Russians in their scorched earth policy.� This denied Napoleon�s army much-needed winter quarters. Winter was approaching (see 9/11/1812) and Napoleon was forced to retreat. Napoleon failed to persuade Czar Alexander to come to terms, and his army began to leave Moscow to return to France on 19/10/1812.

For Napoleon in Russia see also Russia, 1812

For more events of Peninsular War see also Spain 1810s

7/9/1812. Napoleon�s forces marching to Moscow defeated the Russians under Kutzov at the Battle of Borodino, 70 miles west of the city. Each side lost some 40,000 men.

18/8/1812. Napoleon�s forces entered Smolensk.

16/8/1812, The Battle of Smolensk began. The Russians initially defended the city with a tenacity that the French had not anticipated, then managed to withdraw to avoid encirclement. The Russians destroyed all buildings and bridges as they fell back, leaving Napoleon�s forces having captured nothing but ruins.

12/8/1812. Viscount Wellington�s British forces entered Madrid in the war against Napoleon�s brother, Joseph Bonaparte.

22/7/1812. British forces under the Duke of Wellington defeat the French at Salamanca, western Spain, during the Peninsular War.

24/6/1812. Napoleon began his conquest of Russia. France and Russia had been allies but relations had deteriorated between them. This day La Grande Armee crossed the River Niemen into Russia. On 28/6/1812 he captured Vilnius, capital of Poland. Napoleon headed the biggest army ever assembled up to that time, 614,000 men of at least 20 different nationalities. Within 6 months, 90% of them would be dead. Napoleon wanted Russia under Tsar Alexander I to join the French blockade of Britain. Napoleon�s army was welcomed as he entered Lithuania and Poland, as liberators from the Russians, who had taken control of these countries in 1795.

26/4/1812, Alfred Krupp, German arms manufacturer, was born in Essen, in the Ruhr.

28/2/1812, Johann Archenholz, German historian, died at Oyendorf, Hamburg (born 3/9/1743 in Langfuhr, Danzig).

For more events of Peninsular war see Spain

29/10/1811, Louis Blanc, French politician, was born in Madrid (died in Cannes 6/12/1882).

28/9/1811, Friedrich Hecker, German radical politician, was born (died 24/3/1881).

31/8/1811, Louis Bougainville, French navigator, died in in Paris (born in Paris 11/11/1729).

20/3/1811, Napoleon Bonaparte�s son was born; he was nominated as the King of Rome.

13/2/1811, Achille Bazaine, French Marshal, was born in Versailles (died in Madrid 23/9/1888).

1810, The Krupp Works, Essen, Germany, opened.

27/9/1810, (Spain) Wellington defeated the French at Busaco, in the Peninsular War. Wellington then withdrew behind the Lines (fortifications) of Torres Vedras which Wellington had built to protect Lisbon and waited as the French forces starved and retreated.

23/9/1810, Ernest Cissey, French general, was born (died 15/6/1882).

30/7/1810, Leonhard Blumenthal, Prussian Field-Marshal, was born in Schwedt on Oder (killed at Quellendorf 21/12/1900).

19/7/1810, Queen Louise of Prussia died, aged 34.

22/5/1810, Eon de Beaumont (Chevalier d�Eon), French politician, died (born 7/10/1728)

2/4/1810, Napoleon married Marie-Louise, daughter of the Austrian Emperor, having rejected Josephine because of her inability to fill the royal nursery.

26/3/1810, Maximilian Gagern, German politician, was born (died 17/10/1899).

17/2/1810, Napoleon annexed the Papal States.

4/2/1810, Czar Alexander refused Napoleon the hand of his sister Anna, aged 15.

21/1/1810, Pierre Failly, French general, was born (died 1892).

16/12/1809, Napoleon divorced Josephine Beauharnais, because she has not given him a son, during their 13-year marriage.

8/8/1809, Heinrich Abeken, Prussian government official, was born (died 1872).

28/7/1809, At the Battle of Talavera, in the Peninsular War, the Duke of Wellington was victorious over the French Admiral Soult.

15/7/1809, Napoleon Bonaparte annulled his marriage to Josephine. He married the Austrian Archduchess Marie Louise in April 1810.

6/7/1809, Napoleon gained victory at Wagram over Austria. Pope Pius VII was arrested.� Austria had tried to regain its old position whilst Napoleon was occupied in Spain.� See 14/10/1809.

5/7/1809, Napoleon annexed the Papal States.

27/6/1809, Francois Canrobert, Marshal of France, was born (died 28/1/1895).

10/6/1809, Napoleon was excommunicated by Pope Pius VII. On 6/7/1809 Pope Pius was arrested for this act.

6/6/1809, Franz Ahrens, German scholar (died 25/9/1881) was born.

21/5/1809, Battle of Aspern-Essling, fought between Napoleon�s French troops and the Austrians.� Napoleon lost.� Austria had reopened hostilities against France in 1809, with a re-organised army.� However Napoleon reacted swiftly and pushed down the Danube to occupy Vienna.

22/4/1809, Napoleon defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Eckmuhl.

20/4/1809, Napoleon inflicted a major defeat on the Austrian Army under Archduke Louis and General Hiller at Abensburg, Bavaria.

10/4/1809. Austria declared war on France and its army entered Bavaria.

21/3/1809, Jules Favre, French statesman, was born (died 20/1/1880).

12/3/1809. Britain signed a treaty with Persia, forcing the French out of the country.

16/1/1809, The British won a rearguard action against the French, under Nicolas Soult, at Corunna in the Peninsular War. Britain had invaded Spain in the hope of raising anti-Napoleonic support but found this lacking. Corunna enabled the British forces to be successfully evacuated. However the British commander, Sir John Moore, was killed in this battle.

15/1/1809, Pierre Joseph Proudhon, French socialist and political writer (died 1895) was born.

3/12/1808, Napoleon entered Madrid. He installed Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain.

14/10/1808, The closure of the Conference of Erfurt (began 27/9/1808); a settlement of European affairs between Napoleon I of France and Czar Alexander I of Russia. It was also attended by the 34 princes of the Confederation of the Rhine. In return for territorial gains in Europe (Finland, Moldova and Wallachia) Alexander I agreed not to hinder the French war effort in Spain, and to assist Franc if it was attacked by Austria.

12/10/1808, Victor Considerant, French socialist, was born (died 1893).

6/9/1808, Louis Anquetil, French historian, died (born 21/2/1723 in Paris).

21/8/1808, British troops under Wellington defeated the French under General Junot.� This was at the Battle of Vimiero, during the Peninsular War.� The Peninsular War absorbed some 300,000 of Napoleon�s best troops, and� was ended when Napoleon heard reports that Austria, backed by Britain, was arming against him.

20/7/1808, Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, entered Madrid; meanwhile Spanish patriots defeated the French army at Bailen.

29/6/1808, Johann Baptist Alzog, German theologian, was born in Ohlau, Silesia (died 1/3/1878).

2/5/1808, The people of Madrid rebelled against Napoleon�s rule. The French had replaced the Spanish monarch with Napoleon�s elder brother, Joseph. Moreover, Marshal Joachim Murat proposed removing the children of the Royal Family to France. This precipitated a riot with a crowd assembled at the Royal Palace to prevent this removal. The French dealty with the protest harshly, killing many, which merely inflamed matters further.

1/5/1808, King Charles IV of Spain abdicated in favour of Joseph Bonaparte.

20/4/1808, Napoleon III, Emperor of France, was born.

23/3/1808, French forces occupied Madrid.

2/2/1808, French forces occupied Rome.

17/12/1807, The Milan Decree was issued.

29/11/1807, The Portuguese Royal Family fled to Brazil as France invaded Portugal, which had refused to join the Continental System.

11/11/1807, Britain extended its naval blockade to Russia after the Anglo-Russian alliance against France was broken, see 7/7/1807.

2/11/1807, Louis Breteuil, French diplomat, died (born 7/3/1730).

5/9/1807, British forces seized the North Sea island of Heligoland from Denmark. In 1980 Britain ceded the island to Germany in return for Zanzibar.

2/9/1807, Britain bombarded and destroyed the Danish fleet at Copenhagen, to prevent its use by France or Russia.

18/8/1807, Napoleon I created the Kingdom of Westphalia, and set up his brother Jerome as ruler.

7/7/1807. Napoleon signed the Treaty of Tilsit, making peace with Russia and Prussia.� Prussia continued to exist as a kingdom, but was forced to cede all its lands west of the Elbe, as well as most of its recent acquisitions in Poland.� Out of the former Prussian territory between the Elbe and the Weser, Napoleon created the Kingdom of Westphalia, installing his brother Jerome as King.

14/6/1807. Napoleon gained victory at Friedland Prussia, against the Russians, under Levin Bennigsen.

26/5/1807, The French took Danzig.

22/5/1807, Henry Edgeworth de Firmont, last confessor to Louis XVI, died (born 1745).

4/5/1807. The Finkenstein Treaty was signed between France and Persia. The French agreed to military aid and advice, to assist Persia in expelling the Russians from Georgia. In return Persia pro missed to assist France in any French invasion of British-held India.

26/4/1807, Charles Frossard, French General, was born (died 25/8/1875).

18/3/1807, British troops occupied Alexandria, but were forced out again by the Turks.

8/2/1807, Napoleon�s army fought a combined force of Russians and Prussians at Eylau, East Prussia.� Napoleon�s advance into Poland was halted, temporarily.

26/12/1806, Battle of Pultusk, fought 60 km NNE of Warsaw, between the Russians and the French. The French came off slightly better, although both sides claimed victory.

21/11/1806. Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree forbidding the importation of British goods and even excluding from harbours under his control or in friendly countries any vessel that had touched at a British port. This was effectively an economic blockade of Britain, causing British food prices to rise and the British textile industry to decline.

27/10/1806, French forces entered Berlin. Creation of the Confederation of the Rhine.� Napoleon united the states he had created, including Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Hesse-Darmstadt, Nassau, and Berg.� The Confederation of the Rhine had an independent internal policy but no foreign policy independent of Napoleon, and had to supply troops to Napoleon if required.� The old German Empire ceased to exist politically; Germany became a mere geographical area.

14/10/1806. Napoleon�s army defeated the Prussians at Jena. The French General Davout also defeated the Prussians this day at Auerstadt.� Napoleon entered Berlin in triumph and Frederick William had to flee to Konigsberg.

10/9/1806, Johann Adelung, German grammarian (born 8/8/1732) died.

6/8/1806, Francis II renounced the crown of the Holy Roman Empire.

16/5/1806. Britain blockaded the European coast from Brest to Hamburg.

15/2/1806. France and Prussia signed the Treaty of Paris, by which Prussia closed its ports to British goods. Britain declared war on Prussia.

23/1/1806. William Pitt the Younger, twice Prime Minister (the first when only 24), died at Putney aged 47. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Napoleon was still strong in Europe. Prussia, who had been reluctant to join the Allies, now had to live with French domination of the puppet state of the Confederation of the Rhine.

31/12/1805. The French Revolutionary Calendar introduced after the Revolution was abandoned for the Gregorian Calendar.

14/12/1805, Nelson blockaded the French Mediterranean ports, and Spain declared war on Britain.

2/12/1805. Battle of Austerlitz near Brunn, Moravia. The French under Napoleon I defeated a combined force of the Russians and Austrians. Napoleon, with 70,000 troops, faced an enemy reinforced to 86,000 men by the arrival of new Russian troops. A Russian attempt to outflank Napoleon�s right was thwarted by Napoleon�s thrust towards the weakened Allied centre. The Allies lost 18,500 men to just 900 French casualties. Austria sued for peace, and was forced to abandon her territorial interests in Italy, also losing lands in the western Alps. The British Prime Minister, Pitt, was dismayed.� The Russians withdrew from fighting France, and Napoleon now occupied much of southern Germany.� See 26/12/1805.

24/11/1805, Jacques Cazales, French politician, died (born 1758).

14/11/1805. Napoleon�s army entered Vienna.

21/10/1805. Battle of Trafalgar. Death of Nelson. Nelson blockaded the combined fleets of France and Spain in Cadiz. The French Admiral, Villeneuve, attempted to break out, but British ships sank or captured most of the French and Spanish ships. The French had planned to link up with the Spanish fleet in the West Indies and so lure the British into giving chase across the Atlantic. However Nelson guessed at the French tactics and the Admiralty was warned. A British fleet under Calder found the French fleet off Cape Finistere and they put into Spanish harbours. The French fleet later emerged to sail, not for Britain, but to return to the Mediterranean. The French were intercepted off Cape Trafalgar, and destroyed in the Battle of Trafalgar. This destroyed Napoleon�s chances of dominating the English Channel, so prevented a French invasion of England.

20/10/1805, The outnumbered French army of Napoleon defeated an Austrian army at Ulm;27,000 Austrian troops surrendered. Napoleon had already realised he cold not gain control of the English Channel, or overcome British naval supremacy, so before the Battle of Trafalgar he had directed his forces eastwards, against Austria. Austria had to submit to the Treaty of Presburg, by which Venetia was ceded to the French Kingdom of Italy and the States of the Lower Rhine were forced into the Confederation of the Rhine, a French dependency. The Electors of Bavaria and Wurttemberg became Kings independent of Austria, and Austria had to pay Napoleon a war contribution of 40 million francs.

15/10/1805, Karl Mack, Prussian General, was forced to surrender to Napoleon at Ulm.

19/8/1805, Saint Hilaire Barthelemy, French politician, was born in Paris (died 24/11/1895).

26/5/1805, Napoleon was crowned King of Italy in Milan Cathedral.

8/2/1805, Louis Blanqui, French politician, was born (died1/1/1881).

17/1/1805, Duperron Anquetil, French orientalist, died in Paris (born 27/12/1731 in Paris).

2/12/1804, Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor of France at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, by Pope Pius VII.

18/7/1804, Gustav Hindersin, Prussian General, was born (died 23/1/1872).

10/6/1804, Georges Cadoudal, French Royalist, was executed in France (born 1771).

21/5/1804, The Pere Lachaise cemetery was opened in Paris.

18/5/1804, Napoleon Bonaparte was appointed Emperor of France. He was crowned Emperor on 2/12/1804 in the presence of Pope Pius VII. He had ruled in name since he was made Consul for Life in 1802, when a referendum gave him 3 million votes, with only a few thousand against. He had reformed the economy and government, and made France a great power again.

21/3/1804, A new civil code, the Code Napoleon, came into force in Paris.

20/3/1804, The Duc d�Enghien was shot at Vincennes for plotting to restore the French monarchy.

9/1/1804, Aurelle de Paladines, French General, was born in Malzieu, Lozere (died in Versailles 17/12/1877).

5/1/1804, Elie Forey, Marshal of France, was born (died 20/6/1872).

2/12/1803 , The French army set up camp at Boulogne, preparing to invade England.

18/3/1803, France and England were at war again, in contravention of the Treaty of Amiens, signed in 1802 See 25/3/1802.

30/10/1802, Charles Calonne, French statesman (born 1734) died.

15/10/1802, Louis Cavaignac, French General, was born (died 28/10/1857).

10/8/1802, Franz Aepinus, German natural philosopher, died 10/8/1802 in Dorpat (born 13/12/1724 in Rostock).

2/8/1802, Napoleon Bonaparte was made Consul for life.

19/5/1802, France instituted the Legion d�Honneur, the highest award for civil or military distinction.

25/3/1802, The Treaty of Amiens was signed between the British, Spanish, Dutch, and the French, ushering in a fragile peace between the 2 countries that lasted just over 12 months.� Both counties were exhausted from continual warfare.� Napoleon still detested the British and both countries built up their navies as Britain still feared a French invasion. See 18/5/1803.

12/12/1801, John, King of Saxony, was born (died 19/10/1873).

6/10/1801, Lazare Carnot, French statesman, was born (died 16/3/1888).

15/7/1801, The Roman Catholic Church was re-established in France.

2/4/1801, Nelson put his blind eye to his telescope at the Battle of Copenhagen, aboard the Elephant, thus failing to see Admiral Parker�s command to stop fighting. He continued the action until the French-Danish fleet was totally subdued.

21/3/1801, At the Battle of Alexandria, The French made a surprise attack on the British near Alexandria, Egypt. The British under General Abercrombie defeated the French, but Abercrombie himself was mortally wounded.

2/3/1801, The British landed a force at Aboukir Bay, Egypt, to try and evict the French from that country.

9/2/1801, By the Peace of Luneville, the cession of the west bank of the Rhine to France was confirmed. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved.

See also Egypt for British-French military conflict 1801 in Egypt

24/12/1800. An unsuccessful attempt was made on Napoleon�s life at Rue St Nicaise by French Royalists.

3/12/1800, Battle of Hohenstaufen; the French defeated the Austrians.

17/11/1800, Achille Fould, French politician, was born (died 5/10/1867).

26/10/1800, Helmuth von Moltke, Prussian general, was born in Mecklenberg.

30/9/1800, Napoleon signed the Treaty of Mortefontaine, settling a naval dispute between France and America.

5/9/1800, French troops occupying Malta surrendered to Britain.

 

 

24/3/1800, A French army under Kleber defeated the Turks at Heliopolis.

 

9/10/1799, Napoleon returned to France.

25/9/1799, Napoleon gained victory at Zurich.

18/9/1799, Napoleon gained victory at Alkmaar, Holland.

23/8/1799. Leaving the French Army under Kleber, Napoleon left to return to France.

20/8/1799, Heinrich Gagern, German politician, was born (died 22/5/1880).

15/8/1799, Napoleon was defeated at Novi.

25/7/1799. Napoleon gained victory over the Turks at Aboukir.

7/6/1799, Battle of Zurich. Napoleon defeated a Russian army.

10/5/1799, Napoleon withdrew from attacking Acre after an 8^th unsuccessful assault.

29/12/1798, Formation of the Second Coalition against France; Britain, Austria, Russia, Naples and Portugal.

21/11/1798, Jerome Blanqui, French economist, was born in Nice (died 1854).

9/9/1798, The Ottoman Empire declared war on France because of its occupation of Egypt.

1/8/1798, At the Battle of the Nile, at Aboukir Bay, Admiral Nelson, on the ship Vanguard, destroyed 11 out of 13 French battleships which were the convoy that took Napoleon to Egypt.� The French commander was Brueys, aboard the ship L�Orient.� The crew were mostly ashore getting water, leaving no one to man the 120 French guns. This effectively trapped the French Army in Egypt.� Five French ships with 5,000 men were sunk, 2 ships were captured, and 2 ships managed to escape from Nelson.� On 10/2/1799 Napoleon left Egypt for Syria, occupying Gaza on 24/2/1799. On 7/3/1799 Napoleon captured Jaffa, where his soldiers massacred over 2,0000 Albanian prisoners. On 17/5/1799 Napoleon lifted the siege of Acre after failing to capture it.

21/7/1798, At the Battle of the Pyramids, Napoleon, soon after his invasion of Egypt, defeated an army of some 60,000 Mamelukes. Napoleon now intended to establish a French base in Egypt from where he could harass British-India sea traffic. He could also attack the Ottoman Empire form here via Syria. He sought to assure the ulema, the Egyptian intelligentsia, that he was no modern Crusader but had come to empower them and facilitate Egyptian self-rule independent of the Ottomans. However the Egyptians were not yet ready for such self-determination, and failed to follow the French initiatives.

2/7/1798, The French invaded Egypt, see 31/8/1801.

13/6/1798, Johann Baehr, German scholar, was born in Darmstadt (died in Heidelberg, 29/11/1872).

11/6/1798. Malta surrendered to Napoleon Bonaparte. On 2/9/1798 the Maltese revolted against French occupation, forcing the French troops to take refuge in the citadel of Valetta.

19/5/1798. Napoleon left France for Egypt.

11/2/1798, French troops captured Rome.

16/11/1797, Death of the Prussian King Frederick William II, aged 53. He was succeeded by Frederick William III.

17/10/1797. Napoleon made peace with Austria at Campo-Formio.� Austria to cede the Belgian provinces to France in return for Venice, Dalmatia and Istria.

19/9/1797, Lazare Hoche, French General, died (born 24/6/1768)

4/9/1797, A French army coup halted the plans of British backed Royalists in Paris.

25/6/1797. Admiral Nelson was wounded in the right arm by grapeshot, during the Battle of Santa Cruz, off Tenerife.� He had the arm amputated that afternoon.

14/5/1797, Napoleon conquered Venice.

18/4/1797� Napoleon signed preliminaries of peace with Austria.

13/4/1797, Napoleon captured Leoben on his advance from Italy into Austria.

22/3/1797, (1) Napoleon captured Gorizia, in an advance from Italy into Austria..

(2) Wilhelm I, Emperor of Germany, was born.

19/2/1797, Napoleon captured Tolentino, Italy, where he signed a treaty with the Papacy (The Peace of Tolentino)

9/2/1797, Napoleon captured Ancona, Italy.

2/2/1797, Napoleon captured Mantua, Italy.

1/2/1797, Napoleon captured Bologna, Italy.

14/1/1797, Battle of Rivoli. Napoleon�s first decisive victory over the Austrians.

15/12/1796, A French fleet under General Hoche sailed from Brest to invade Ireland. However a storm dispersed the fleet off Kerry and the invasion was called off.

5/10/1796. Spain declared war on Britain by signing the Treaty of San Il Defonso, allying it with Revolutionary France. The Treaty was engineered by Spanish Prime Minister Manuel de Godoy, lover of King Charles IV�s wife Maria Luisa. De Godoy was opposed to monarchist Britain. Many ordinary Spanish opposed the Treaty, which diminished Spain as an imperial power and weakened her influence in The Americas.

2/9/1796, Francois Hamelin, French Admiral, was born (died 10/1/1864).

30/6/1796, Napoleon marched into central Italy, taking Florence this day.

23/6/1796, Pope Pius VI signed an armistice with Napoleon.

3/6/1796, Napoleon advanced to Verona, thereby securing all of Austrian Lombardy.

17/5/1796, Napoleon advanced to Brescia.

15/5/1796, Napoleon occupied Milan.

10/5/1796, Napoleon won the Battle of Lodi.

28/4/1796, Napoleon reached an armistice with Sardinia.

13/4/1796, Napoleon won the Battle of Millesimo.

10/3/1796. Napoleon gained victory at the Battle of Lodi.

9/3/1796. Napoleon married Josephine de Beautharnais.

2/3/1796. Napoleon was appointed Commander in Chief of the Army of Italy and The Alps.

8/2/1796, Barthelemy Enfantin, French social reformer, was born (died 1/9/1864).

26/10/1795. Napoleon was appointed General of the Army of the Interior.

5/10/1795. Napoleon participated in defeating a Royalist uprising in Paris. He became Commander of the Army of the Interior.

1/10/1795, Belgium was incorporated in the French Republic.

13/8/1795, Karl Homeyer, German jurist, was born (died 20/10/1874).

15/7/1795. The Marsellaise was officially adopted as the French National Anthem. It had been written by the French

Army Captain Rouget de Lisle in 1792, whilst he was stationed at Strasbourg.

27/6/1795, A force of French Royalists, under D�Hervilly and Puisaye, landed at Quiberon to try and start a pro-monarchist rebellion. They were defeated by General Hoche, all prisoners being shot.

23/6/1795, Off the port of Lorient, NW France, a British fleet under Lord Bridport defeated the French under Villaret-Joyeuse.

17/6/1795, Jean Goujon, French politician, died (born 13/4/1766).

7/5/1795, Antoine Fouquier-Tinville, French revolutionary, was guillotined (born 1746).

5/4/1795, Frederick William of Prussia signed a peace treaty with France (First Treaty of Basle), to leave himself free to deal with his eastern frontier.� The west bank of the Rhine was given to France.

2/1/1795, The French captured the Dutch fleet as it stood frozen into the River Texel. William V escaped to England as the French established a Batavian Republic.

16/11/1794, Jean Carrier, French Revolutionary, was guillotined (born 1756).

3/11/1794, Francois Bernis, French statesman, died in Rome (born 22/5/1715).

24/10/1794., Friedrich Balduin, German soldier, was born (died 20/4/1848).

20/8/1794, Napoleon was released, see 10/8/1794.

10/8/1794, In France, Napoleon Bonaparte was briefly arrested because of his connections with the Jacobins, a radical political group.

28/7/1794, Maximillien Robespierre, 36, French leader of the Jacobins during the French Revolution, was guillotined in Paris. Anti-Jacobin sentiment rose. Robespierre�s zeal for use of the guillotine made even his former friends uneasy. See 27/7/1793.

17/7/1794, The Paris Commune, set up in 1791, was suppressed.

12/7/1794. Admiral Nelson lost his right eye at the siege of the French garrison at Calvi in Corsica.

26/6/1794, The French defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Fleurus.

18/6/1794, Francois Buzot, French Revolutionary, died (born 1/3/1760).

17/6/1794, Marguerite Guadet, French revolutionary, died (born 20/7/1758).

1/6/1794, The Battle of the Glorious 1st June. The British fleet under Lord Howe defeated the French under Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse, 700km west of Ushant.

10/5/1794, Elizabeth, daughter of Louis the Dauphin, born 3/5/1764, was executed.

28/4/1794, Charles Estaing, French Admiral, born 1729, was executed for his close relations to the French Queen.

22/4/1794, Jean Epremesnil, French magistrate, was guillotined (born 5/12/1745).

12/4/1794, Jean Gobel, French politician, was guillotined (born 1/9/1727)

5/4/1794, George Jacques Danton, French revolutionary leader, was guillotined for treason, nine months after his dismissal from the Committee of Public Safety which was ruling France.

24/3/1794, Jean Cloots, French Revolutionary, was guillotined.

26/2/1794, Hans Hassenpflug, German statesman, was born (died 15/10/1862).

18/12/1793. The British withdrew from Toulon and Napoleon was appointed General de Brigade.

7/12/1793, Madame du Barry, last mistress of King Louis XV of France, was guillotined by the Revolutionary Council.

29/11/1793, Antoine Barnave, orator of the French Revolution, was executed at The Tuileries (born in Grenoble 22/10/1761).

8/11/1793, In Paris, the Revolutionary Government allowed the public to view the Royal art collection for the first time.

3/11/1793, Execution by guillotine of French playwright Olympe de Gouges, Horrified by the bloodshed that was characterising the French Revolution, she had called for a referendum that would let the people decide between a Republic or restoration of the monarchy. She was executed along with other moderate Girondists.

31/10/1793, Jacques Brissot. French Girondist, was executed.

30/10/1793, Claude Fauchet, French Revolutionary Bishop, was executed (born 22/9/1744).

16/10/1793, Marie Antoinette, born 2/11/1755, the Queen of France as wife of Louis XVI, was convicted of treason and guillotined in Paris. See 21/7/1793. Aged 38, she had been held in prison for over a year; since August in solitary confinement.

27/9/1793, Denis Affre, Archbishop of Paris, was born in St Rome, Tarn (died 27/6/1848).

17/9/1793, Revolutionary France passed the Law of Suspects. This was a wide-ranging measure that authorised the arrest of anyone who had supported tyranny or federalism, former nobles and their relatives, also emigres. It was the basis for the Reign of Terror, and was repealed in 1795.

28/8/1793, Adam Custine, French General, was guillotined.

23/8/1793, France introduced the first national conscription, claiming all unmarried men aged 18 to 25.

1/8/1793, The kilogram was introduced in France as the first metric weight.

27/7/1793, Maximilian Robespierre, Jacobin leader, became a member of the Committee of Public Safety, established to guard against an attack on France by neighbouring countries after the execution of King Louis XVI. See 28/7/1794.

17/7/1793, Charlotte Corday was guillotined for the murder of Jean Paul Marat, see 13/7/1793.

14/9/1783, Gaspar Gourgaud, French soldier, was born (died 1852).

13/7/1793, Jean Paul Marat, French Revolutionary, was stabbed to death by a Girondist (right-wing) supporter, Charlotte Corday. Marat�s zeal for execution of royalty and government ministers had made him many enemies.

4/7/1793, Friedrich Bleek, German scholar, was born in Holstein (died 27/2/1859).

11/6/1793, Napoleon had to leave Corsica with his family and went to Toulon.

31/5/1793, The Reign of Terror, in which thousands went to the guillotine, in the French Revolution, began.

26/4/1793, Nicolas Changarnier, French General, was born (died 14/2/1877).

20/3/1793, An army of peasant Royalists defeated the Republicans in the Vendee region of France. See14/3/1793.

18/3/1793, Austrian forces defeated a French Revolutionary Army at the Battle of Neerwinden.

14/3/1793, A force of counter-revolutionaries in western France was trying to restore the monarchy. See 20/3/1793.

7/3/1793, France declared war on Austria, and also on Spain on 7/3/1793.

1/2/1793, Britain declared war on France. The British economy entered a depression.

21/1/1793, (1) The county of Nice was annexed to France. Monaco was annexed to France on 14/2/1792.

(2) Louis XVI, King of France since 1774, was executed by guillotine in the Place de la Revolution, Paris, convicted of treason. The executioner was called Sanson. His trial had ended with the death sentence on 19/1/1793. See 16/10/1793.

13/1/1793, Nicolas Bassville, French politician, died (born in Abbeville 7/2/1753).

19/11/1792, The new French Republican Government offered to help any other nation that wished to overthrow its monarchy; Britain saw this as provocative.

6/11/1792, �The French under General Dumouriez decisively defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Jenappes, Belgium. As a result of this battle, the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium) were annexed by revolutionary France.

27/10/1792, France invaded the Spanish Netherlands.

30/9/1792, French troops took Speyer, in the Rhineland.

22/9/1792, This day was declared the beginning of Year One of the New French Republic. A new �Revolutionary Calendar� was introduced, consisting of 12 30-day months divided into 3 10-day weeks. The months were given names corresponding to the prevailing weather or harvest conditions. An extra 5 days (6 in leap years) were added as holidays at the end of each year. This calendar ran in France until it was abolished in 1805 by Napoleon I.

21/9/1792. France formally abolished the monarchy and declared itself a Republic.

20/9/1792, The Battle of Valmy.� The Prussians failed to successfully attack the French, in wet marshy conditions, and retreated; the French considered it a victory.

17/9/1792, The French Crown jewels were stolen in Paris.

20/8/1792, The Prussian army took Verdun.

19/8/1792, The French Revolutionary Tribunals were set up.

10/8/1792, The French mob invaded the Palace of Versailles. The French Royal Family was imprisoned. Napoleon participated in the assault on the Tuileries Palace.

14/7/1792. The Prussians threatened to invade France to restore the French monarchy. However an attempted Prussian invasion of France failed.

3/7/1792, Ferdinand, Prussian General, died (born 12/1/1721).

25/4/1792.� The guillotine was first erected in Paris, at the Place de la Greve. It was first used to behead a highwayman called Pelletier. The guillotine had been designed to make executions more humane but swiftly became a symbol of the tyranny of the French Revolution. Beheading took less than half a second. In fact a version of the guillotine was in use in Ireland as early as 1307. During the French Revolution an estimated 40,000 people were guillotined. The last public execution in France was on 17/6/1939 and the guillotine was last officially used in France on 10/9/1977. See 20/3/1792.

24/4/1792. Claude Rouget de l�Isle composed the French National Anthem, the Marseillaise.

20/4/1792. France declared war on Austria. Austria was allied with Prussia but there was disunity between the two commanders. In 1793 England and Holland joined in against France, which was attempting to annex Belgium, an Austrian possession. Ultimately Austria received Bavaria as a compensation for Belgium going to France.

20/3/1792, The French legislature approved the use of the guillotine, see 25/4/1792.

1/3/1792, Leopold III, Holy Roman Emperor, died unexpectedly, aged 44. He was succeeded by his 24-year old son, Francis II, last of the Holy Roman Emperors.

20/2/1792, The Battle of Valmy. French Revolutionary forces successfully drove back an invading Prussian force. This greatly boosted French Revolutionary morale.

7/2/1792, Austria and Prussia signed a military alliance against France.

24/1/1792. In Paris, five days of looting ended in a riot as the cost of living soared.

21/9/1791, The National Assembly announced that France was now officially a Republic.

19/9/1791, Camille Barrot, French politician, was born in Villefort, Lozere (died in Bougival 6/8/1873).

9/9/1791. French Royalists took control of Arles and barricaded themselves inside the town.

4/9/1791, King Louis XVI was forced to approve the new French constitution, making him a mere civil servant.

27/8/1791, European monarchs backed King Louis XVI against the Revolution.

16/7/1791, Louis XVI was suspended from office until he agreed to ratify the new French Constitution.

21/6/1791, The French royal family attempted to flee Paris in disguise but are forced to return after being arrested at Varennes. The King, disguised as a valet, intended to meet supporters at Pont de Sommeville but they were delayed and the villagers got suspicious of the soldiers, who had to hide in the woods and� got lost. The King pressed on to Varennes, 142 miles from Paris, where he was recognised by a horseman sent by Lafayette, head of the National Guard, to look for him. Louis� powers were suspended by the Assembly on 25/6/1791. However Louis� brother, the Count of Provence, did succeed in fleeing Paris for Brussels.

26/5/1791, The French Assembly forced Louis XVI to hand over the State and Crown assets.

18/4/1791. National Guardsmen prevented Louis XVI and his family from leaving Paris. On 26/4/1791 Louis XVI was forced to hand over all the assets of the Crown to the State.

13/4/1791. Pope Pius VI threatened to suspend all priests in France who swore allegiance to the State (see 13/1/1791) unless they recant within 40 days.

2/4/1791, Death of Count de Mirabeau, a moderate leader of the French Revolution.

13/1/1791. The French Assembly introduced a universal tax� on rent and property values. The requirement for French priests to swear allegiance to the State stirred up rebellion amongst the clergy.

27/10/1790. France adopted the decimal system of weights and measures.

6/10/1790, Leopold was crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Frankfort.

22/7/1790, In France, the clergy were removed from the control of Rome, and Church property was nationalised.

12/7/1790, Reform of the French clergy, who must now be elected.

19/6/1790. The French Assembly passed a law abolishing the hereditary nobility.

15/6/1790, French Protestant militia massacred 300 Roman Catholics.

23/5/1790, Jules Dumont, French navigator, was born (died 8/5/1842).

8/5/1790, France began the process of metrication when its National Assembly approved Talleyrand�s proposal for a unified system of weights and measures.

4/3/1790, The modern day French departments were created by the National Constituent Assembly, They were drawn so as to break up older traditional historic regions, thereby emphasising national unity, and designed so that the entire territory of each department was within one day�s horse ride of the capital, for security.

20/2/1790, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, died. His reforms had provoked rebellion in Belgium and Hungary.

19/2/1790, Thomas Favras, French Royalist, was executed (born 26/3/1744).

21/1/1790, In Paris, Dr Joseph Ignace Guillotin demonstrated to the National Assembly of Paris a new machine for �humane� executions using a heavy blade falling on the victim�s neck.

13/1/1790, Luc Urbain Guichen, French Admiral, died (born 1712).

21/10/1789, Martial law was imposed in Paris after a baker was killed by the mob, accused of hoarding bread.

5/10/1789, Parisian women, frustrated by bread shortages, marched on Versailles to demand the King move to Paris, where he could be monitored more closely.

27/8/1789, The new French regime (French National Assembly) drew up the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen.

26/8/1789. Miners in the Pyrenees protested against their working conditions.

4/8/1789, The feudal system was abolished in France. Peasants attacked their landlords.

22/7/1789, A revolutionary mob murdered the Bailiff of Paris.

14/7/1789. Fall of the Bastille, Paris. It was stormed by the citizens of Paris and burned to the ground, at the start of the French Revolution. From 16/7/1789 the French nobility began to flee France. The Bastille had been built in 1369, and designed by Hugues Aubriot (died 1383). At dawn on the 14/7/1789 the mob had stormed Les Invalides, hoping to find arms to repulse an expected attack by soldiers loyal to King Louis� XVI. They found 32,000 rifles but no ammunition; a rumour spread that the ammunition was at the Bastille. The Bastille was guarded by 80 soldiers deemed unfit for front-line duties, reinforced by 30 Swiss Guards, and with cannon. Neither the prison governor nor the army showed much will to fight the mob. Seven prisoners within were released.

12/7/1789, Fires burnt in Paris after two days of rioting. The population were angered by a threat to disband the Assembly.

11/7/1789, The Marquis de Lafayette presented the Declaration of Human Rights to the French National Assembly.

30/6/1789, The revolutionary mob in Paris attacked the Abbaye prison.

20/6/1789, The French Revolution began.� See 5/5/1798. The Third Estate, excluded from Versailles, formed a new assembly at a tennis court nearby, to oppose the dominance of the aristocracy.

17/6/1789, In France, the Third Estate constituted itself as the French National Assembly. The Third Estate was the commoners, after the Clergy and the Nobility. These last two Estates, under 3% of the population, owned 40% of the land. They were also exempt from taxes, placing an undue tax burden on the middle classes.

4/6/1789, The Dauphin Louis, heir to King Louis XVI, died aged 7.

5/5/1789, The French King opened the States General Assembly at Versailles.� The French middle class wanted to break down the monopoly of power and wealth held by the aristocracy.� The French King felt insecure because of the unpopularity of his Austrian wife, Marie Antoinette, the bankruptcy of the French Treasury, and the increasingly democratic mood of the French Army following on from the American Declaration of Independence. See 20/6/1789. France had also suffered humiliation in the Seven Years War (1756-630, losing to Britain; France had lost her North American colonies, and bad harvests in 1788 and 1789 had almost doubled the price of bread.

28/4/1789. 300 workers at the Reveillon wallpaper factory were killed when troops opened fire on rioters there. The protest was over proposed pay cuts. France had been in financial crisis for months now, the state overburdened by an expensive aristocracy and clergy. On 22/5/1789 the nobility joined with the clergy in giving up their financial privileges.

6/1/1788, Louis Cormenin, French political lobbyist, was born (died 6/5/1868).

29/11/1787. Louis XVI of France promulgated an Edict of Tolerance, allowing civil status to Protestants.

4/10/1787, Francois Guizot, French statesman, was born (died 12/9/1874).

22/2/1787, France was nearly bankrupt, with a national debt of UK� 800 million.

25/8/1786, Ludwig I, King of Bavaria, was born.

17/8/1786, Frederick the Great, military leader and King of Prussia since 1740, died in Potsdam, aged 74. Under his rule Prussia grew from under 46,000 square miles to over 71,000 square miles, and its population rose from 2.2 million to 5.8 million. Prussia had a standing army of 200,000, well armed and disciplined. Britain often gave financial aid to Prussia, in its wars against France and Austria.

8/8/1786, Mont Blanc, 4,807 metres high, was conquered by a local man, Dr Michel Gabriel Paccard of Chamonix, along with his porter Jacques Balmat.

28/11/1785, Achille Duc de Broglie, French statesman, was born (died 25/1/1870).

21/5/1785, August Bekker, German philosopher, was born (died in Berlin 7/6/1871).

13/5/1785, Friedrich Dahlmann, German politician, was born (died 5/12/1860).

8/5/1785, Etienne Choiseul, French statesman, died (born 18/6/1719).

27/3/1785, King Louis XVII of France was born.

17/10/1784, Napoleon, aged 15, entered the Ecole Militaire in Paris. He graduated a year later, coming 42^nd out of 58.

15/10/1784, Thomas Bugeaud, Marshal of France, was born (died 10/6/1849).

2/1/1784, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha, was born (died 29/1/1844).

1/2/1783, Andre Dupin, French statesman, was born (died 8/11/1865).

3/9/1781, Eugene de Beauharnais, French soldier and stepson of Napoleon I, was born in Paris (died 1824).

5/1/1781, France attempted another invasion of the Channel Islands (see 1/5/1779). This too failed and they never attempted to invade again.

23/12/1780, France was suffering a deepening financial crisis, in part caused by the costs of supporting the Americans against Britain.

4/7/1780, Charles, Prince of Lorraine, died (born 12/12/1712).

1/6/1780, Karl von Clausewitz, military strategist, was born, in Burg, near Magdeburg, Prussia.

10/8/1779, Louis XVI freed the last remaining serfs on royal land.

7/8/1779, Louis Freycinet, French navigator, was born (died 18/8/1842).

15/5/1779, Napoleon, aged 9, entered the Military School at Brienne.

13/5/1779, At the Peace of Teschen, Austria made peace with Frederick of Prussia.� Austria received a small part of Bavaria, the Innvertiel, and renounced all claims to the Bavarian inheritance.

1/5/1779, France attempted an invasion of the Channel Islands. French troops landed on a beach on Jersey but were beaten back by the Island�s militia. See 5/1/1781.

27/7/1778, The Battle of Ushant, between Britain and France.

30/7/1777, Karl Grolman, Prussian soldier, was born (died 1/6/1843).

13/2/1777, In Paris, the Marquis de Sade was arrested, and later condemned to death. However he escaped from prison before the execution.

13/12/1775, Rene Exelmans, Marshal of France, was born (died 10/7/1852).

30/11/1775, Jean Courvoisier, French politician, was born

3/2/1775, Maximilien Foy, French statesman, was born (died 28/11/1825).

24/6/1774, Francois Haxo, French military engineer, was born (died 25/6/1838).

10/5/1774, King Louis XV of France died, aged 64, of smallpox. He had reigned for 58 years. He was succeeded by his 19-year old grandson, Louis XVI.

14/12/1773, Johannes Gossner, German preacher and philanthropist, was born (died 20/3/1858).

6/10/1773, Louis Philippe, King of France, was born.

3/8/1773, Marie Gontaut, Governess to the children of the French Royal Family, was born (died 1857).

30/5/1773, Joseph Emmerich, French politician, was born (died 27/4/1833).

4/4/1773, Etienne Gerard, French General, was born (died 17/4/1852).

25/10/1772, Geraud Duroc, French General, was born (died 23/5/1813).

2/8/1772, Louis Enghien, French soldier, was born (died 1804).

5/6/1771, Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover, was born (died 18/11/1851).

15/9/1770, (see 15/5/1768), Corsica formally submitted to French rule.

10/5/1770, Louis Davout, Marshal of France, was born (died 1/6/1823).

19/4/1770, Marriage of King Louis XVI of France (1754-93) to Marie Antoinette (1755-93)

15/8/1769, Napoleon, Emperor of France 1804-15, was born in Ajaccio, Corsica; he died on 5/5/1821. He was the son of a lawyer.� See 18/6/1815. Had he been born the previous year he would not have been French, but Genoese, see 15/5/1768.

9/7/1769, Louis Bourrienne, French politician, was born in Sens (died in Caen 7/2/1834).

13/4/1769, Charles Decaen, French soldier, was born (died 1832).

3/4/1769, Christian Bernstorff, Prussian statesman, was born in Copenhagen (died 18/3/1835).

10/1/1769, Michel Ney, French Army marshal, the most famous of Napoleon�s marshals, was born in Saarlouis, son of a cooper.

24/6/1768, Lazare Hoche, French General, was born (died 19/9/1797)

15/5/1768. By the Treaty of Versailles, France purchased the island of Corsica from Genoa.� Some Corsicans wanted total independence, but see 15/9/1770.

12/2/1768, Francis II, last Holy Roman Emperor, was born.

7/1/1768, Joseph Bonaparte, eldest brother of Napoleon and King of Naples and Spain, was born on Corsica.

22/12/1767, Jacques Bridaine, French preacher, died (born 21/3/1701).

27/2/1767, Jacques Dupont, French statesman, was born (died 1855).

12/1/1767, Pierre Daru, French statesman, was born (died 5/9/1829).

23/10/1766, Emmanuel Grouchy, Marshal of France, was born (died 29/5/1847).

30/4/1766, Johann Ancillon, Prussian statesman and historian, was born in Berlin (died 19/4/1837).

13/4/1766, Jean Goujon, French politician, was born (died 17/6/1795).

25/1/1766, Hans Gagern, German political writer, was born (died 22/10/1852).

18/8/1765, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, died. He was succeeded by Josef II (1741-90).

29/7/1765, Jean d�Erlon, Marchal of France, was born (died 15/1/1884).

27/3/1765, Franz Baader, German philosopher, was born in Munich (died 23/5/1841).

23/11/1764, Gustav Hugo, German jurist, was born (died 15/9/1844).

24/9/1764, Joseph Dessaix, French General, was born (died 26/10/1834).

13/5/1764, Laurent Gouvion, Marshal of France, was born (died 17/3/1830).

15/4/1764, Madame de Pompadour, French courtier and mistress of Louis XV, died in Versailles.

28/10/1763, Heinrich Bruhl, German politician, died (born 13/8/1700).

23/6/1763, Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon, was born on the French island of Martinique as Marie Rose Tascher de la Pagerie. Her marriage to Napoleon was dissolved when she failed to produce an heir.

21/5/1763, Joseph Fouche, French statesman, was born (died 25/12/1820).

13/3/1763, Guillaume Brune, Marshal of France, was born (died 2/8/1815).

15/2/1763, Austria, seeing hope for a decisive victory over Prussia recede with peace between Russia and Prussia, made peace with Prussia at Hubertusberg this day.� Frederick evacuated Saxony but retained Silesia.� Austria had failed to destroy Prussia before Prussian power was consolidated.

Start of the Seven Years War

17/11/1755, Louis XVIII, King of France after the fall of Napoleon, was born in Versailles.

2/11/1755, Marie Antoinette, Austrian princess and Queen Consort of Louis XVI of France, was born in Vienna.

10/9/1755, Bertrand Barere, French politician, was born in Tarbes (died 13/1/1841).

16/2/1755, Friedrich Bulow, Prussian General, was born (died 25/2/1816).

25/12/1754, Jean Bouchotte, French politician, was born in Metz (died 8/6/1840).

8/11/1754, Germain Garnier, French politician, was born (died 4/10/1821).

2/10/1754, Louis Bonald, French politician, was born near Millau (died 23/11/1840).

23/8/1754, Louis XVI, King of France, was born at Versailles, the only son of Louis XV.

18/8/1754, Francois Chasseloup-Laubat, French General, was born (died 1833).

17/8/1754, Louis Freron, French Revolutionary, was born (died 1802).

14/4/1754, Easter Sunday. Alexandre Hauterive, French statesman, was born (died 28/7/1830).

13/2/1754, Guillaume de Bonne-Carriere, French politician, was born in Languedoc (died 1825).

2/2/1754, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord, French foreign minister to Louis XVIII and Napoleon Bonaparte, and ambassador to Britain, was born.

23/11/1753, Guillaume Dumas, French General, was born (died 16/10/1837).

18/10/1753, Jean Cambaceres, French statesman, was born (died 1824).

23/4/1753, Francois Bouvet, French Captain, was born (died 21/7/1832).

20/2/1753, Louis Berthier, French politician, was born in Versailles (died in Bamberg 1/6/1815).

7/2/1753, Nicolas Bassville, French politician, was born in Abbeville (died 13/1/1793).

20/9/1752, Louise Caroline, Countess of Albany, was born in Mons.

11/6/1752, Christian Haugwitz, German syatesman, was born (died 1831).

9/2/1751, Henri Aguesseau, Chancellor of France (born 27/11/1668) died.

31/5/1750, Karl Hardenberg, Prussian statesman, was born (died 26/11/1822).

18/2/1750, Georg Bilfinger, German statesman, died in Stuttgart (was born in Wurttemberg 23/1/1693).

4/12/1750, Henri Gregoire, French Revolutionary was born (died 20/5/1831).

19/7/1747, The battle of Assietta. The troops of Charles Emmanuel III of Piedmont halted the advance on Turin by a Franco-Spanish force, during the War of the Austrian Succession.

5/5/1747, The Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II was born.

23/3/1747, Claude Bonneval, French adventurer, died in Constantinople (born 14/7/1675).

15/9/1746, Pierre Desforges, French dramatist, was born (died 13/8/1806).

27/2/1746, Louis Gohier, French politician, was born (died 29/5/1830).

9/12/1745, Claude Fournier, French Revolutionary, was born (died 1825).

5/12/1745, Jean Epremesnil, French magistrate, was born (died 22/4/1794).

13/9/1745, Francis I became Holy Roman Emperor.

11/5/1745, The Battle of Fontenoy took place in Belgium, during the War of the Austrian Succession. Marshal de Saxe won a French victory over British and Allied forces. William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, had been sent with Austrian, British, Dutch and Hanoverian troops to relieve Tournai, Belgium, under siege by the French. Cumberland�s army was beaten back with casualties of 7,000 and forced to retreat during the night towards Brussels. The British suffered further setbacks in Flanders and as troops were called back to fight the Young Pretender, Charles Edward Stuart. The British made peace with France at Aix la Chapelle in 1748.

20/1/1745, Death of Frederick II of Prussia.

8/12/1744, Marie Chateauroux, mistress to King Louis XV of France, died (born 1717).

22/9/1744, Claude Fauchet, French Revolutionary Bishop, was born (died 30/10/1793).

26/3/1744, Thomas Favras, French Royalist, was born (executed 19/2/1790).

17/9/1743, Marie Condorcet, French Revolutionary, was born (died 1794).

3/9/1743, Johann Archenholz, German historian, was born in Langfuhr, Danzig (died 28/2/1812 at Oyendorf, Hamburg).

19/8/1743, Comtesse du Barry, the last mistress of Louis XV, was born in Vancouleurs as Marie Jeanne Becu, daughter of a dressmaker.

27/6/1743, The Battle of Dettingen. The last battle in which a British monarch commanded an army on the battlefield. George II defeated the French at the Battle of Dettingen, in Bavaria, during the War of Austrian Succession.

29/1/1743, Andre Fleury, French statesman, died (born 22/6/1653).

16/12/1742, Gebhard Blucher, Prussian General, was born in Silesia (died in Silesia 12/9/1819).

13/3/1741, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, was born.

See also events in Austria

8/2/1741, Neisse and Brieg still held out but the Prussians stormed and occupied Glogau on 9/3/1741. At the Battle of Mollwitz, 10/4/1741, the Prussians narrowly won the day. Europe realised that Prussia was now a major military power and France sent an envoy, Marshal Belleisle, to negotiate an alliance with Frederick.� The �Silesian adventure� now became the War of the Austrian Succession. France supported the Elector of Bavaria. Sweden was supposed to stop Russia attacking Prussia but on 3/9/1742 the Swedes were heavily defeated by the Russians at Wilmanstrand, and Sweden capitulated in 1742 at Helsingfors, the Swedish capital. At the Peace of Dresden, 25/12/1745 Frederick recognised the Elector of Bavaria as ruler of Austria in return for his acquiring Silesia. The war of the Austrian Succession ended on 18/10/1748 with the Peace of Aachen (Aix la Chapelle).

20/10/1740, Emperor Charles VI died unexpectedly. Maria Theresa, aged 23, became ruler of Austria. Frederick II of Prussia, taking advantage of Austria having a young female ruler, prepared to invade the wealthy Austrian provoince of Silesia. Meanwhile Bavaria and Saxony also had claims on Austrian lands (their claims supported by France), and Spain wanted the Italian provinces of Austria. Hungary supported Austria.

5/10/1740, Johann Baratier, German scholar of precocious genius, died (born in Schwabach near Nuremberg 10/1/1721).

2/6/1740, Birth of Marquis de Sade, French writer who was imprisoned in the Bastille for his sexual perversions.

31/5/1740, Frederick William I of Prussia died aged 51. He had made his country into a significant military power with a standing army of 83,000 men. He was succeeded by his 28-year old son, Frederick II, who then occupied part of Silesia, starting a war with Austria.

14/9/1739, Pierre Dupont, French statesman, was born (died 6/8/1817).

5/6/1738, Isaac de Beausobre, French theologian, died (born in Niort 8/3/1659).

31/5/1738, Stanislas Boufflers, French statesman, was born near Nancy (died in Paris 18/1/1815).

6/5/1738, Robespierre, French revolutionary, was born in Arras.

27/9/1736, Rene Duguay-Trouin, French sea captain, died (born 10/6/1673).

21/4/1736, Eugene of Savoy died (born 18/10/1663).

17/1/1736, German architect Matthaus� Poppelman died, aged 74.

9/10/1735, Karl Brunswick, German General, was born (died at the Battle of Quatre Bras, 16/7/1815).

12/6/1734, James Berwick, French Marshal, died at the siege of Philipsburg (born in Moulins 21/8/1670).

4/3/1733, Claude de Forbin, French naval commander, died (born 1656).

8/8/1732, Johann Adelung, German grammarian, was born (died 10/9/1806).

7/12/1731, Duperron Anquetil, French orientalist, was born in Paris (died 17/1/1805 in Paris).

7/3/1730, Louis Breteuil, French diplomat, was born (died 2/11/1807).

11/11/1729, Louis Bougainville, French navigator, was born in Paris (died in Paris 31/8/1811).

7/10/1728, Eon de Beaumont (Chevalier d�Eon, French politician, was born (died 22/5/1810).

1/9/1727, Jean Gobel, French politician, was born (guillotined 12/4/1794).

22/5/1725, Ewald Hertzberg, Orussian statesman, was born (died 22/5/1795).

13/12/1724, Franz Aepinus, German natural philosopher, was born in Rostock (died 10/8/1802 in Dorpat).

22/9/1723, Jacques Basnage, French politician, died (born in Rouen 1653).

10/8/1723, Guillaume Dubois, French statesman, died (born 6/9/1656).

21/2/1723, Louis Anquetil, French historian, was born in Paris (died 6/9/1808).

12/12/1772, Bertand Clausel, Marshal of France, was born (died 21/4/1842).

29/12/1721, Madame de Pompadour, French Mistress of Louis XV of France, was born in Paris as Jeanne Antoinette Poisson.

14/4/1721, Michel Chamillart, French statesman, died (born 1652).

12/1/1721, Ferdinand, Prussian General, was born (died 3/7/1792).

10/1/1721, Johann Baratier, German scholar of precocious genius, was born in Schwabach near Nuremberg (died 5/10/1740).

31/7/1720, Emmanuel Aiguillon, French soldier, was born (died 1782).

24/7/1720, Financial crisis hit Paris as the South Sea Bubble collapsed.

28/6/1719, Etienne Choiseul, French statesman, was born (died 8.5.1785).

2/8/1718, A Quadruple Alliance was formed between Britain, France, Holland, and Austria, against Spain, after Spain seized Sardinia and Sicily, threatening another European war. Under the Treaty of Utrecht (11/4/1713) Sardinia had been assigned to Austria and Sicily to Savoy (see also 17/2/1720). �However King Philip V of Spain, influenced by his wife Elizabeth Farnese of Parma and her advisor Giulio Alberoni, seized these islands. Admiral Byng was sent to defend Sicily, with Austrian troops. In a sea battle off Cape Passaro, he totally destroyed the Spanish fleet. Meanwhile French troops occupied northern Spain. The purpose of the Quadruple Alliance were, to maintain the terms of the Peace of Utrecht, for Spain to renounce any claim to the French throne, and to guarantee the Protestant succession in Britain. The four powers would also assist each other if any were attacked. Spain initially backed a Jacobite invasion of Britain, but after the dismissal of Cardinal Alberoni in December 1719 Spain changed policy and joined the Alliance, which provided a forum to discuss territorial disputes in Europe.

4/8/1717, A treaty of friendship was signed between France and Russia.

15/9/1715, Jean Gribeauval, French General,was born (died 1789).

1/9/1715, King Louis XIV of France, the �Sun King� died at Versailles, of gangrene of the leg, after reigning for 73 years, the longest in European history, aged 77. He famously said �L�etat, c�est moi�. The five-year-old Louis XV succeeded him, and reigned for almost 59 years; the regency was in the hands of Philip of Orleans, aged 41.

5/7/1715, Charles Ancillon, French educationalist, died (born in Metz, 28/7/1659).

22/5/1715, Francois Bernis, French statesman, was born (died in Rome 3/11/1794).

19/10/1714, Reneee Crequy, French socialite, was born (died 1803).

8/6/1714, Sophia, Electress of Hanover, died.

7/3/1714, Treaty of Rastatt signed.

13/8/1713, Frederick William consolidated the Prussian State by an ordinance� reducing the power and autonomy of Prussian nobles.

11/4/1713, France in the Treaty of Utrecht ceded Gibraltar and Newfoundland to Britain. This Treaty established terms of peace with Louis XIV, and ended the War of the Spanish Succession. The Treaty also preserved the balance of power in Europe by preventing either Bourbon France or Hapsburg Austria from dominating the territories of the Spanish Succession. Philip V became King of Spain but had to renounce all claims to the French throne. Britain also gained Minorca and Gibraltar. Sicily went to the Duke of Savoy and Prussia gained Upper Gelderland, Neuchatel, and Valengin. European powers were exhausted by a war that had dragged on for 12 years.

For more events of the War of the Spanish Succession, see Spain-Portugal

25/2/1713, Frederick I, first King of Prussia, died aged 55. He was succeeded by his 24-year old son, Frederick Wilhelm I.

12/12/1712, Charles, Prince of Lorraine, was born (died 4/7/1780).

24/1/1712, Frederick the Great, (Frederick Wilhelm I, son of Frederick I) Prussian king and military leader, was born.

22/8/1711, Louis Boufflers, French Marshal, died in Fontainebleau (born 10/1/1644).

14/6/1711, The Jewish quarter of Frankfurt was destroyed in what was one of the largest fires in Germany before the 20^th century.�

17/4/1711, Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, died.

15/2/1710, The French King Louis XV was born. His weak and indecisive rule set the scene for the French Revolution.

11/9/1709, At the Battle of Malplaquet in northern France, near Mons, The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene won a costly victory over the French in the War of the Spanish Succession. 100,000 Austrian, British, Dutch and German soldiers were intending to besiege the French at Mons but were met by a French force of 90,000. In an attack on the French the Allies lost 24,000 men; the French lost 12,000. The French then withdrew but Allied losses prevented further exploitation of this victory.

8/12/1708, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, was born.

28/12/1706, Pierre Bayle, French philosopher, died in Rotterdam (born near Pamiers 18/11/1647).

23/5/1706, The Battle of Ramillies, between Louvain and Namur in Belgium.� Allied British and Dutch armies under Marlborough intercepted a French offensive. 15,000 French and 5,000 Allied soldiers died. The result of Ramillies was that Brussels, Antwerp and most of the Spanish Netherlands surrendered. By the end of 1706 the French held only Namur and Mons in The Netherlands.

5/5/1705, The Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I died at Vienna, aged 54, after a 47 year reign.� He was succeeded by his son, who ruled until 1711 as Josef I.

13/8/1704, The Battle of Blenheim took place, in Germany, where Anglo-Austrian forces under the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene, 52,000 men, defeated the French and Bavarian armies, 56,000 men, in the War of the Spanish Succession.� The French and their allies, the Bavarians, had encamped on the west bank of the Nebel, a small stream running into the left bank of the Danube, about a mile or two from the Danube itself. Marlborough and Eugene had also encamped on another tributary of the Danube, five miles eastwards of the French/Bavarian forces. Early in the morning of the 13 August Marlborough�s forces began moving towards the French, and caught them by surprise at 7.am.

With the defeat of the two French armies under Tallard and Marsin, the sun began to set on a decade-long tradition of French military triumph. Vienna was saved from capture by the French.

13/5/1704, Louis Bourdaloue, French Jesuit, died in Paris (born in Bourges 20/8/1632).

12//9/1703, The Hapsburg Archduke Ferdinand was proclaimed King of Spain, War of the Spanish Succession began. France had already, in 1701, begun to occupy key fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands, following the death of the Spanish monarch Charles II on 2/10./1700, with no heir.

21/3/1701, Jacques Bridaine, French preacher, was born (died 22/12/1767).

18/1/1701, Frederick I was crowned King of Prussia at Konigsberg.

13/8/1700, Heinrich Bruhl, German politician, was born (died 28/10/1763).

6/8/1697, Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died 20/1/1745).

28/7/1696, Charles Colbert de Croissy, French diplomat, died (born 1625).

6/8/1695, Francois de Harlay, 5th Archbishop of Paris, died (born 14/8/1625).

11/10/1693, Charleroi surrendered to the French.

22/5/1693, The town of Heidelberg was captured by the French; Heidelberg Castle surrendered on 23/5/1693.

23/1/1693, Georg Bilfinger, German statesman, was born in Wurttemberg (died in Stuttgart 18/2/1750).

19/5/1692, At the battle of La Hogue, the British and Dutch destroyed a French fleet off Cap de la Hague. The French fleet under Colbert was severely reduced, ending French hopes of invading England.

17/10/1690, Marguerite Alacoque, French nun who was beatified by Pope Pius IX in1846, died (born 22/7/1647 near Autun).

18/4/1690, Charles Duke of Lorraine died (born 3/4/1643).

2/2/1688. Abraham Duquesne, French naval officer, died.

24/6/1687, Johann Bengel, German scholar, was born in Winenden (died 1742).

11/11/1686, Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Conde, died (born 8.9.1621).

18/10/1685, Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes which had been issued by Henry IV of |France and had given Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. The laity were also forbidden to emigrate; Louis XIV was concerned about the drain of skilled Huguenot merchants and craftsmen, many of whom had fled to England.

1/10/1685, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died 20/10/1740).

6/9/1683, Jean Colbert, French politician, died (born 1619).

1/4/1683, Poland made a treaty of mutual defence with the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, against the threat from Ottoman Turkey

6/5/1682,King Louis XIV arrived at his new chateau of Versailles.

28/11/1681, Jean Cavalier, French Camisard leader, was born (died 1740).

28/9/1681, Louis XIV�s army captured the previously independent city of Strasbourg. The French now controlled all of Alsace, except Mulhouse.

5/2/1679, The Third Treaty of Nijmegen ended seven years of war in Europe.

19/9/1678, Christoph Galen, Prince-Bishop of Munster, died (born 12/10/1606).

26/7/1678, The Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I was born.

16/11/1677, French troops occupied Freiberg.

11/4/1677, The Battle of Cassel; Philippe I of Orleans defeated William of Orange.

1676, Les Invalides, Paris was completed; it was a combined hospital and retirement home for soldiers.

23/12/1675, Cesar Choiseul, French Marshal, died (born 1602).

18/9/1675, Charles Duke of Lorraine died (born 5/4/1604).

14/7/1675, Claude Bonneval, French adventurer, was born (died in Constantinople 23/3/1747).

17/4/1675, Marie Aiguillon, charity worker for the poor, died (born 1604).

5/1/1675, French forces inflicted a heavy defeat on the German Army at Turckheim, forcing them to abandon an invasion of France and withdraw back across the Rhine.

2/8/1674, Philippe� II, Regent of France, was born.

10/6/1673, Rene Duguay-Trouin, French sea captain, was born (died 27/9/1736).

21/8/1670, James Berwick, French Marshal, was born in Moulins (died at the siege of Philipsburg 12/6/1734).

1/6/1670, Two Treaties of Dover � one public, one secret � were made by Charles II with Louis XIV. Charles II secretly agreed to declare his conversion to Catholicism and subsequently to restore it to Britain. Charles II did not announce his conversion, to the annoyance of Louis XIV.� The public Treaty committed Britain and France to declare war on Holland � if this war was successful, Britain would receive Zeeland and the port of Ostend. Britain would assist Louis XIV�s claim on the Spanish throne. The private Treaty, known only to Charles II and a select few of his government ministers, stated that Charles would re-establish Catholicism in Britain in return for �150,000 from France and the use of 6,000 French troops to cope with any �internal resistance�.

27/11/1668, Henri Aguesseau, Chancellor of France (died 9/2/1751) was born.

2/5/1668, Treaty of Aix la Chapelle.

13/1/1668, The Triple Alliance was formed between England, Holland, and Sweden to defend The Netherlands from the ambitions of the French King, Louis XIV, who was pursuing a claim based on his wife�s rights as Spanish Infanta. This was the War of Devolution which was ended on 2/5/1668 by the Peace of Aix la Chapelle.

31/7/1667, The Peace of Breda ended the war between England and the Netherlands.� Trade laws were modified in favour of the Dutch, who also gained Surinam but recognised British possession of New York.� See 18/6/1667 and 2/2/1665. The English sought peace with the Dutch in order to curb the growing military power of (Catholic) France. In the �War of Devolution� France had already seized the Spanish Netherlands and Franche-Comte; Holland and England now sought to mediate in this war between France and Spain. The other principal Protestant power in Europe, Sweden, then joined with (Protestant) Holland and Britain in a Triple Alliance (formalised by the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle, 2/5/1668). However (Catholic) King Charles II regretted this Triple Alliance against France and began negotiations with Louis XIV that led to the Treaties of Dover (1/6/1670).

18/10/1663, Eugene of Savoy was born (died 21/4/1736).

27/10/1662, King Charles II sold Dunkirk to the French King Louis XIV (Treaty of Dunkirk) for 2.5 million livres.

1661, Louis XIV of France began work on the Palace of Versailles.

The Mazarin Regency

19/5/1643, Battle of Rocroi. The French, under the Prince of Conde, defeated the Spanish.

3/4/1643, Charles Duke of Lorraine was born (died 18/4/1690).

4/12/1642, Cardinal Richelieu (Armand du Plessis), French politician and chief minister to Louis XIII from 1624, died aged 57 in Paris. He was succeeded by Mazarin. Mazarin was to alienate the nobility of France, and parliament, due to his policies of high taxation (see 5/1648) and supremist position, provoking the rebellion by the Fronde.

2/11/1642, In the Thirty years War, at Breitenfeld, Swedish forces under Torstensson defeated the Imperialists under Archduke Leopold and Prince Piccolomini, who were attempting to relieve the siege of Lepizig.

12/9/1642, Henri Cinq-Mars, French courtier, was executed (born 1620).

17/9/1640, The French captured Turin.

9/6/1640, The Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, was born.

19/1/1639, Noel Alexandre, French theologian (died 1724) was born in Rouen.

5/9/1638, Louis XIV, King of France, known as the �Sun King�, born in St German en Laye, just outside Paris.

15/2/1637, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II died, aged 57, in Vienna. He was succeeded by his 28-year old son, Ferdinand III.

15/8/1636, The Spanish besieged Corbie, France.

8/7/1636, Sir John Hepburn, Scottish soldier, killed at the siege of Zabern, Thirty Years War.

19/5/1635, France declared war on Spain.� Spain initially had success, capturing Corbie, near Amiens.� However the Spaniards did not follow up their successes and faced with revolts in Portugal and Catalonia, lost Artois and Roussillion.

10/3/1635, The Academie Francaise in Paris was expanded to become a national academy for the artistic elite.

2/1/1635, Cardinal Richelieu established the Academie Francaise to protect the purity of the French language.

6/9/1634, Battle of Nordlingen, Germany. Hapsburg forces defeated Sweden.

15/5/1633, French military engineer Sebastian le Prestre de Vauban was born in Nivernais, France. He developed a system of fortifications to defend France against invasion.

16/11/1632, Gustavus II, King of Sweden from 1611, killed as his army gained victory in the Battle of Lutzen (Thirty Years War) near Leipzig. He was succeeded by his 6-year old daughter, Christina; in the interim, Sweden was governed by Count Axel Oxenstierna.

31/8/1632, Battle of Alte Veste, Germany.

20/8/1632, Louis Bourdaloue, French Jesuit, was born in Bourges (died in Paris 13/5/1704).

15/4/1632, Battle of Rain, Bavaria. Swedish forces destroyed the Bavarian army, which had been allied to the Hapsburgs.

1631, The Leipzig Manifesto was issued. The Protestant States of Saxony and Brandenburg wanted to drive foreign forces, the (Protestant) Swedes, from German soil but at the same time to counter the Edicts of Restitution, which was aimed at restoring Catholicism to Germany. The Leipzig Manifesto ruined Swedish hopes for support by Protestant German princes against the German Emperor.

23/12/1631, The Swedes captured Mainz, Germany.

17/9/1631, During the Thirty Years War, a battle was fought between Gustavus II, King of Sweden (1594-1632) and the Holy Roman Empire forces under Tilly at Brietenfeld, Germany. (see 4/7/1630).� The Swedes overwhelmingly won. Gustavus II had extended the Kingdom of Sweden right around the eastern Baltic, turning it into a �Swedish lake�. Gustavus now began to conquer the wealthy lands of the rivers Main and Rhine.

4/7/1631. The first employment agency, the �Bureau d�Adresse� was established in Paris by Theophraste Renaudot. It charged 3 sous to both employers and employees; unless too poor to pay, when the bureau was free.� In 1639 the Paris police ordered that all unemployed strangers arriving in Paris must register at the bureau within 24 hours or be sent to the galleys for vagabondage. Vacancies were mainly for domestic servants and shop assistants. �See 12/8/1649.

1630, The Academie Francaise was intiated as an informal group meeting at the house of Valentin Conrart, for the purpose of maintaining the purity of the French language. Members were sworn to secrecy, as assemblies of any kind were then illegal in France. However when Cardinal Richelieu heard of the society, he supported it and gave his patronage to it. The first French dictionary was published by the Academie in 1694.

14/10/1630, Sophia, Electress of Hanover, was born.

4/7/1630, During the Thirty Years War, Gustavus Adolphus, Protestant King of Sweden, landed at Peenemunde with an army of 13,000 men, in an attempt to bring the entire Baltic under Swedish control.� See 17/9/1631.

2/10/1629, Pierre de Berulle, French statesman, died (born near Troyes 4/2/1575).

25/9/1629,� The Treaty of Altmark ended the Polish-Swedish war, for six years. Gustavus of Sweden was now, summer 1627, to start a campaign in northern Germany.

28/6/1629, France�s Huguenot civil wars finally ended with the Peace of Alais.

6/3/1629, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, issued the Edict of Restitution.� Under this, all Catholic properties lost to Protestantism since 1552 were to be restored and only Catholics and Lutherans (not Calvinists, Hussites, or other groups) were to be allowed to practise their faith.

28/10/1628, The siege of La Rochelle ended; the last refuge of the Huguenots in France fell.

24/8/1626, Battle of Lutter, Germany. The Danes were routed by the Hapsburgs.

25/4/1626, Battle of Dessau, Germany. Mansfield was defeated by Wallenstein.

14/8/1625, Francois de Harlay, 5th Archbishop of Paris, was born (died 6/8/1895).

29/4/1624, Louis XIII of France appointed Richelieu as his chief minister.

6/8/1623, Battle of Stadtlohn, western Germany. The Protestant Army was destroyed.

10/1622, Louis XIII of France capture the Protestant city of Montpellier,and blockaded La Rochelle.

10/9/1622, Heidelberg was captured from Frederick.

7/9/1622, Denis Godefroy, French jurist, died (born 17/10/1549).

20/6/1622, Battle of Hochst, Germany.

6/5/1622, Battle of Wimpfen, southern Germany.

8/9/1621, Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Conde, was born (died 11/11/1686).

8/11/1620, Protestant Bohemian forces were defeated by the Catholics (Hapsburgs and Bavaria) under Maximillian� at the Battle of the White Mountain (Thirty Years War). The Protestant Kingdom of Bohemia had revolted against its rulers, the Hapsburgs, and Bohemia had invited Frederick, Elector of the Palatinate of the Rhine, to become its new monarch. Frederick�s advisors counselled against this move, as rebel Protestant Bohemia was likely to lose against the Hapsburgs, but Frederick took up the monarchy of Bohemia nevertheless. Frederick was forced to flee to Bavaria, and stripped of his title as Elector of the Rhineland Palatinate by the Holy Roman Emperor. Spain�s Catholic Army occupied his lands. Frederick died in 1632 during a clandestine visit to the Palatinate, leaving his widow Elizabeth to bring up their 20 children, produced in some 20 years of marriage.

3/7/1620, The Treaty of Ulm was signed.

8/10/1619, The Treaty of Munich was signed by Ferdinand II and Maximillian I, Elector of Bavaria.

28/8/1619, Ferdinand II was elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

10/8/1619, The Treaty of Angoulmeme ended the civil war in France.

23/5/1618, The defenestration of Prague.� Rebel nobles hurled the Holy Roman Emperor�s� advisers from the windows of Hradcany Castle (they survived due to landing in a refuse heap), triggering the Thirty Years War (Reformation). Rebel Protestant Bohemian nobles were in protest against their Catholic King, who had been elected as Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II. The conflict this started spread to involve other European powers, who were eager to cash in on the weakened state of a severely-split Germany. See also eastern Europe.

6/9/1618, Jacques Duperron, French cardinal, died (born 15/11/1556).

24/4/1617, Concino Concini, Minister of King Louis, died.

20/1/1612, Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, died aged 59. He was succeeded by his brother, Matthias.

11/11/1611, Henri de Turenne, French Marshall-General during the Thirty Years War, was born.

17/10/1610, Louis XIII was crowned King of France.

27/5/1610, Ravaillac was executed in Paris.

14/5/1610. King Henry IV of France, �Good King Henry�, was murdered by a mad Catholic monk, Francois Ravaillac, in Paris. Ravaillac jumped onto the carriage wheel of the King�s carriage and plunged a knife into his chest. He wanted to avert King Henry�s planned war against Catholic Spain and Austria. He was succeeded by King Louis XIII, aged 8. The French Huguenots were alarmed, realising that their freedom of worship could be at risk once again.

12/10/1606, Christoph Galen, Prince-Bishop of Munster, was born (died 19/9/1678).

13/7/1608, Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died 2/4/1657).

14/5/1608, Charles, Duke of Lorraine, died.

5/4/1604, Charles Duke of Lorraine was born (died 18/9/1675).

14/7/1602, Cardinal Mazarin, politician, was born.

31/5/1601, Gebhard, Elector of Cologne, died (born 1547).

6/10/1600, Henry IV of France married Marie de Medici.

10/4/1599, Gabrielle d�Estrees, mistress of King Henry IV of France, died (born 1573).

2/5/1598, The Treaty of Vervins ended the Franco-Spanish War. Spanish troops withdrew from Picardy.

13/4/1598. Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes, giving Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. See 24/8/1572, and 18/10/1685.

25/9/1597, King Henry IV of France captured Amiens from the Spanish.

9/6/1595, Battle of Fontaine-Francaise; Huguenot victory.

25/5/1595, German scholar Valens Acidalius died in Neisse.

22/3/1594, Henry IV entered Paris.

25/7/1593, In a shrewd move, King Henry IV of France declared himself a Catholic, although still at heart a Huguenot sympathiser, in order to fend off the threat of Catholics attacks upon him and to secure his rulership of Paris.

21/5/1592, Parma escaped Protestant forces at Coudebec and marched south east to resupply forces at Paris.

17/5/1592, The Duke of Parma withdrew from besieging Coudebec. His forces had been reduced to 15,000, and the Dutch Protestants were able to resupply Coudebec by sea, sailing up the River Seine.

21/4/1592, The Duke of Parma raised the siege by Protestants of Catholics holding out at Rouen.

27/3/1592, Henry of Navarre, Protestant, restarted the siege of Catholics holding Rouen.

24/3/1592, The Duke of Parma, Catholic, began a siege of Protestants holding the town of Coudebec, on the lower Seine.

9/2/1592, Parma attacked Protestants at Neufchatel.

4/2/1592, Military skirmish at Aumale, west of Amiens, between Catholics and Huguenot Protestants.

16/1/1592, The Catholic Duke of Parma marched south west from Amiens with 30,000 men.

24/5/1591, Sir John Norreys, leading an expeditionary force sent by Queen Elizabeth I, took the town of Guincamp after a brief siege, to assist the Protestant King Henry of Navarre., in his fight against the Catholics in France.

14/3/1590, Battle of Ivry; Huguenot victory.

21/9/1589, The Battle of Arques, NW France; Huguenot victory.

1/8/1589, Henry III, King of France, murdered by a mad Dominican monk. On his deathbed he nominated the Protestant-sympathising Henry of Navarre as his successor.

5/1/1589,� Catherine di Medici, Italian wife of King Henry II of France, died.

23/12/1588, Henry of Lorraine, 3rd Duke of Guise, (born 31/12/1550) was murdered, for being too presumptive and acting as the �effective King of France�.

12/5/1588, Day of the Barricades in Paris; popular uprising against King Henry III.

20/4/1588, Johann Bugenhagen, German Protestant reformer, died (born 24/6/1485).

28/10/1587, Non-French Protestants coming to help the Huguenots free King Henry III from the influence of the Catholics were defeated by Guise at Montargis. Henry III was now compelled to sign the �Edict of Union�, nominating the Cardinal of Bourbon as his successor.

20/10/1587, Battle of Coutras; Huguenot victory. However see 28/10/1587.

2/2/1587, Francois des Adrets, French Protestant leader, died.

21/1/1586, Augustus I, Elector of Saxony, died in Dresden (born 31/7/1526 in Freiberg).

9/9/1585, Cardinal Richelieu French politician and chief minister of King Louis XIII from 1624, who was ruthless at crushing all opposition to the monarchy, was born near Chinon.

7/7/1585. King Henry III of France bowed to Catholic pressure and revoked the tolerance allowed to Hugenots.

10/6/1584, The Duke of Anjou died, and French Huguenot-Catholic tensions heightened. Catholics were alarmed that on the death of King Henry III of France, the Crown would pass to Henry of Navarre, who was sympathetic to the Protestant cause.

9/12/1582, France adopted the Gregorian calendar; the day after 9/12/1582 was 20/12/1582.

30/8/1580, Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, died (born 8.7.1528).

9/7/1578, Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died 15/2/1637).

17/9/1577, The Peace of Bergerac was signed between King Henry III of France and the Hugenots.

7/1/1577, Ferdinand, Elector of Cologne, was born (died 13/9/1650).

12/10/1576, The Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian II died, aged 49. He was succeeded by his son Rudolf.

10/10/1575, The Battle of Dormans.� Catholic forces under Duke Henry of Guise defeated the Protestants, capturing Philippe de Mornay amongst others.

14/2/1575, Henry III of France married Louise de Lorraine-Vaudemont.

13/2/1575, Henry III of France was crowned at Reims.

4/2/1575, Pierre de Berulle, French statesman, was born near Troyes (died 2/10/1629).

1573, Death of Michel de l�Hopital. Born 1507, he became Superintendent of Finances in 1554, and was Chancellor of France from 1560. He attempted to quieten down religious conflict in France by restraining the Catholic executioners. However he retired in 1568 to his estate near Etampes.

28/4/1573, Charles de Valois Angoulmeme was born in Fayet Castle (died 24/9/1650).

26/4/1573, Marie de Medici, Queen of France, was born.

29/10/1572, Francois Briquemault, French Huguenot, was executed.

24/8/1572, The St Bartholomew�s Day Massacre took place in Paris. Thousands of French Huguenots were killed by order of the Catholic French court. See 13/4/1592.� Gaspard de Coligny, Huguenot leader, was killed. This was 6 days after the marriage of Catholic Marguerite de Valois, daughter of Henry II of France, also known as Catherine de Medici, to the Protestant Henri de Bourbon, King of Navarre. The bride�s mother , Catherine was anxious over the influence of Protestants on the couple.

3/1/1571, Joachim II, Elector of Brandenburg, died (born 13/1/1505).

3/10/1569, At the Battle of Moncountour, Royalist forces of Tavannaes and Anjou defeated Coligny�s Huguenots.

24/8/1569, At the Battle of Orthez, Huguenot forces under Gabriel de Montgomery defeated Royalist forces under General Terride in French Navarre.� Catholics surrendered on condition that their lives would be saved.� The Huguenots agreed but then massacred them anyway.

10/6/1569, German Protestant troops reinforced Gaspard de Coligny, Huguenot, near Limoges.

13/3/1569, At the Battle of Jarnac, Royalist troops under Marshal Gaspard de Tavannes defeated the Huguenots under the Prince of Conde, who was captured and murdered.� A large number of Huguenot troops escaped, under Gaspard de Coligny.

20/3/1568, Albert, 1st Duke of Prussia, died in Tapiau (born 16/5/1490 in Ansbach).

10/11/1567, Huguenots were defeated at St Denis.

18/4/1567, Wilhelm von Grumbach, German adventurer, was executed (born 1/6/1503).

13/9/1565, Guillaume Farel, French religious reformer, died (born 1489).

25/7/1564, Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, died.

18/2/1563, Francis, Duke of Guise, was assassinated whilst besieging Orleans.

19/12/1562, The Battle of Dreux; Catholics defeated the Huguenots.

1/1562, An edict assured religious liberty to the Huguenots.

9/10/1561, The Colloquy of Poissy broke up. This was an attempt to find a working agreement between the Catholics and the Huguenot Protestants, which nearly succeeded.

5/12/1560, Francis II, King of France, died, aged 16, he was succeeded by his brother, 10-year old Charles IX.

10/7/1559, Henry II, King of France, died aged 40. He was succeeded by his 14-year old son, Francis II. The Duc de Guise and the Cardinal of Lorraine were Regents.

2/4/1559, The Peace of Cateau-Cambresis, ending the wars of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in Europe. Italy was recognised as a Spanish sphere of influence, and Franche Comte was to be part of the Spanish monarchy. French possession of Metz, Toul and Verdun was confirmed. A strategic marriage was arranged between King Philip II of Spain and Elizabeth Valois, daughter of King Henry II of France.

21/9/1558. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor from 1519 to 1556, died. His reign was marked by almost constant wars with France, through which he gained control of Italy in 1529 at the Peace of Cambrai.

7/1/1558. Calais, the last English possession on mainland France, was taken by the French under the Duke of Guise. The English had captured Calais in 1346 after a year besieging it.

10/8/1557, The Battle of St Quentin. Spanish forces under the Duke of Savoy defeated the French under the Constable of Montmorency. The French were driven out of Italy.

8/1/1557, Albert, Prince of Bayreuth, died in Pforzheim (born 28/3/1522 in Ansbach).

15/11/1556, Jacques Duperron, French cardinal, was born (died 6/9/1618).

16/1/1556, Emperor Charles V abdicated.

25/9/1555, The Peace of Augsburg was signed between Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the Schmalkaldic

League, at the city of Augsburg. It cemented the division within Christendom between Catholicism and Protestantism, and allowed German states to choose either Roman Catholicism or Lutheranism as their State Religion.

14/12/1553, Henry IV, King of France, was born.

2/8/1553, Battle of Marciano. A French army invading Tuscany was defeated.

15/8/1552, Hermann, Elector of Cologne, died (born 14/1/1477).

18/7/1552, Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II, was born.

19/9/1551, Henry III, King of France, was born.

31/12/1550, Henry of Lorraine, 3rd Duke of Guise, was born (died 25/12/1588).

27/6/1550, Charles IX, French monarch who ordered the massacre of the Hugenots on St Bartholomew�s Day in 1572, was born.

17/10/1549, Denis Godefroy, French jurist, was born (died 7/9/1622).

9/8/1549. England declared war on France.

30/6/1548, The Interim of Augsburg. A solution devised at the Diet of Augsburg by Charles V to solve the religious divisions of the Holy Roman Empire by devising a loosely-defined Catholicism that was acceptable to the Protestant Princes. It allowed the laity to receive the Communion cup and for Protestant Ministers to keep their wives. However the Catholics were unenthusiastic and most of the Protestant princes rejected it. Pope Paul refused to endorse it until August 1549.

1547, French replaced Latin as the official language of France.

23/4/1547, Battle of Muhlberg. Charles (1500-58), who became King of Spain in 1516 and Holy Roman Emperor in 1519, was opposed to the growth of Lutheranism (Protestantism).� At Muhlberg, Charles defeated the Protestant princes, allowing him to impose the Interim of Augsburg (1548) which was a temporary compromise making minimal concessions to these Protestants. Many German Protestants who felt these concessions were inadequate fled to England, assisting the Reformation there.

31/3/1547, King Francis I of France died, aged 52.

3/8/1546, In Paris the printer Etienne Dolet was hanged and burned for heresy, after printing the works of humanists such as Erasmus.

24/9/1545, Albert, Archbishop of Mainz, died.

14/9/1544. Henry VIII of England captured Boulogne. On 7/6/1546 the English and French signed the Peace of Ardres. This said Boulogne was to remain in English hands for another eight years.

19/7/1544, Henry VIII laid siege to the French town of Boulogne, in revenge for French military assistance to Scotland.

19/1/1544, Francis II, King of France, was born.

12/1/1539, The Treaty of Toledo was signed by Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor, and King of Spain), and Francis I (King of France).� Each agreed to make no further alliances with England.� The origin of this Treaty was the dispute between King Henry VIII of England and Pope Paul III.

10/8/1539. King Francis of France ordered that all legal documents were henceforth to be drawn up in French, not Latin. He also ordered all priests to keep records of baptisms and deaths.

18/6/1538, The Truce of Nice; peace was declared between Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and King Francis I of France.

1/1/1538, German and Swiss states introduced the Gregorian Calendar.

11/7/1535, Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg, died (born 21/2/1484).

9/7/1535, Antoine du Prat, Chancellor of France, died (born 17/1/1463).

2/2/1534, The Great Swabian League was dissolved.

13/8/1532, Union of Brittany and France: The Duchy of Brittany was absorbed into the Kingdom of France.

27/2/1531, German Protestants formed the Schmalkaldic League, to resist Charles V.

23/2/1530, Carlos I of Spain was crowned Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Italy by Pope Clement V.

5/8/1529, The Treaty of Cambrai was signed, between Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and King Francis of France.� France abandoned its claims in Italy, but kept Burgundy.

20/8/1528, Georg von Frundsberg, German soldier, died (born 24/9/1473).

15/8/1528, Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, French military leader (born 1485) died.

8/7/1528, Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, was born (died 30/8/1580).

31/7/1527, The Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II was born.

6/5/1527, German mercenaries sacked the city of Rome, an event considered by many to mark the end of the Renaissance. This occurred during warfare between the Holy League and the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.

31/7/1526, Augustus I, Elector of Saxony, was born in Freiberg (died 21/1/1586 in Dresden).

22/5/1526, France repudiated the Treaty of Madrid, and formed the League of Cognac, against Charles V.� This League included the Pope, Milan, Venice, and Florence.

14/1/1526, The Peace of Madrid; Francis I of France agreed to cede Burgundy to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.� France also abandoned all claims to Flanders, Artois, Naples, and Milan.

1525, The Prussian Territory of the Order of the Teutonic Knights became the Duchy of Prussia.

15/5/1525, The Battle of Frankenhausen.

7/5/1525, The Peasant�s Revolt in Germany was defeated. It had begun in 1524 when the peasants demanded abolition

of feudal dues, serfdom, and tithes.

24/2/1525, The Battle of Pavia. Pavia, held by the French, had been under siege by Spanish forces since October 1524. Italy itself was a territory being fought over by the rival powers of France, Germany, Turkey and Spain. The French under King Charles VIII defended Pavia with cavalry and cannon, but the Spanish had adopted the arquebus or hackenbushe, an early version of the handgun; this weapon replaced the Spanish crossbow. The arquebus meant an unskilled infantryman could kill a skilled knight and Pavia was the start of the dominance of the handgun as a military weapon.

12/5/1523, Imbert de Batarnay, French statesman, died.

28/3/1522, Albert, Prince of Bayreuth, was born in Ansbach (died 8/1/1557 in Pforzheim).

6/6/1520, Henry VIII and Francis I of France met in a glittering ceremony at The Field Of The Cloth Of Gold near Calais.

28/6/1519, Charles V was elected as Holy Roman Emperor. He was already the ruler of several territories across Europe,in Italy, Austria, Spain and the Low Countries. He had ambitions to establish a wealthy Catholic pan-European State which would push back the ottoman threat, In practice the varied peoples he ruled were disinclined to surrender power to a remote central authority, or to pay taxes to him, and religious differences between his lands persisted. Other European powers were suspicious of his pan-European aims. This resulted in his reign being one of almost continual warfare.

12/1/1519, The Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian I, died aged 59. He had been King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493. He was succeeded by Spain�s Carlos I, elected Holy Roman Emperor as Charles V.

1517, The port of Le Havre was founded.

1/1/1515. King Louis XII of France was succeeded by his nephew, Francis, who continued France�s policy of attempting to invade Italy.

9/10/1514, Louis XII, King of France, married Mary Tudor.

16/8/1513, The Battle of the Spurs. King Henry VIII defeated the French.

1512, Albrecht Durer became Court Painter to the Holy Roman Emperor Maximillian I.

3/8/1509, Etienne Dolet, French scholarly writer, was born (executed 3/8/1546).

13/1/1505, Joachim II, Elector of Brandenburg, was born (died 3/1/1571).

1/6/1503, Wilhelm von Grumbach, German adventurer, was born (executed 18/4/1567).

21/4/1503, The Battle of Cerignola, Italy.� The Spanish under Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba defeated the French under the Duc de Nemoura, who was killed.� This was the first battle considered to have been won by gunpowder and small arms.

10/3/1503, Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, was born.

23/2/1503, At the Battle of Ruvo, the Spanish defeated the French.

12/9/1500, Albert III, Duke of Saxony, died in Emden (born 27/1/1443).

20/2/1500, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, was born.

8/4/1498, Charles VIII of France died suddenly, aged 27. He was succeeded by his cousin, the Duc d�Orleans, as Louis XII.

25/2/1496, Eberhard, Duke of Wurttemberg, died (born 1445).

6/7/1495, At the Battle of Fornovo, near Parma, the French Army secured its retreat from Italy by defeating a combined Milanese-Venetian force under Giobvanni Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua. France had contested with Spain over who would control Italy. Charles VIII of France expected support from his one-time allies, the Milanese, but when he arrived in Italy he found they had joined with Venice, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire to oppose his plans for Italy.

12/9/1494, Francis I, King of France, was born.

6/2/1493, Maximilian I of Germany became Holy Roman Emperor.

19/1/1493, King Charles VIII of France returned Cardagne and Roussillon in the eastern Pyrenees to Spain under the Treaty of Barcelona.

1491, Frency forces occupied Brittany, ending its independence, see 9/9/1488.

19/12/1490, Anne of Brittany married Maximillian I, Holy Roman Emperor, by proxy.

16/5/1490, Albert, 1st Duke of Prussia, was born in Ansbach (died 20/3/1568 in Tapiau).

17/2/1490, Charles Bourbon, Constable of France, was born (died 6/5/1527).

10/11/1489, Henry II, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, was born (died 1568).

9/9/1488, Anne of Brittany became Duchess of Brittany at the age of 11.� Her marriage to King Charles VIII in 1491 effectively ended Breton independence from France.

28/7/1488, At the Battle of Saint Aubin du Cornier, troops loyal to King Charles VIII of France defeated forces led by the rebel Duke of Orleans and Duke of Brittany� in the main engagement of the Mad War.

14/2/1488, The Great Swabian league was formed.

11/3/1486, Albert III, Elector of Brandenburg, died 11/3/1486 in Frankfort (born 9/11/1414 in Tangermunde).

24/6/1485, Johann Bugenhagen, German Protestant reformer, was born (died 20/4/1558).

21/2/1484, �Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg, was born (died 11/7/1535).

30/8/1483, Louis XI, King of France, died, aged 60. He unified France after the Hundred Years War. He was succeeded by his 13-year old son, Charles VIII.

23/12/1482, Burgundy and Picardy were absorbed into France by the Treaty of Arras. Meanwhile other Burgundian lands in the Low Countries passed to the Hapsburgs due to the marriage of Charles� only child, Margaret, to the future Holy Roman Empire, Maximilian I.

10/7/1480, Rene, Count of Anjou, died without an heir. Louis XI annexed his territory.

1477, The death of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy 1467-77, in battle brought Burgundy back firmly under French control. Burgundy, seeking at least de facto independence from France,� had allied with Britain durting the Hundred Years War,l and by marriage were united with Flanders. However France retained its hold on Champagne, separarating the two parts of Burgundy.

14/1/1477, Hermann, Elector of Cologne, was born (died 15/8/1552).

5/1/1477, Battle of Nancy.

1476, First known mention of the Bayeux Tapestry, recorded in an inventory at Bayeux Cathedral.

24/9/1473, Georg von Frundsberg, German soldier, was born (died 20/8/1528).

24/11/1468, Jean Dunois, French commander who achieved many victories against the English during the Hundred Years War, died (born 1403).

15/6/1467, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, died, aged 71, after a 48-year reign. He was succeeded by his son, Charles the Bold, who began a 10-year power struggle with Louis XI of France. He was the last Duke of Burgundy.

19/10/1466, King Casimir IV signed the Second Peace of Thorn, ending the� warfare which began in 1454 when Casimir IV agreed to help the Prussian Confederation against the Teutonic Knights.

1465, League of the Common Weal set up in France as an aristocratic counterweight to King Louis XI.

1464, Louis XI of France founded the Poste Royale, the first national postal service.

17/1/1463, Antoine du Prat, Chancellor of France, was born (died 9/7/1535).

22/7/1461, Charles VII of France died aged 58 (ruled sonce 1427). He was succeeded by his son, Louis XI.

22/3/1459, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian was born.

25/11/1456, Jacques Couer, French trader, died.

27/1/1443, Albert III, Duke of Saxony, was born (died 12/9/1500 in Emden).

18/12/1442, Pierre Cauchon, French Bishop, died.

17/6/1442, Frederick III Holy Roman Emperor was crowned King of Germany at Aix la Chapelle.

26/10/1440, Gilles de Rais, Marshal of France, was hanged.

21/2/1440, The Prussian Confederation was formed.

9/12/1437, The Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund died.

13/4/1436, The English lost Paris to the French.

20/9/1435, Charles VII concluded the Treaty of Arras with the Duke of Burgundy. This deprived England of an ally, further isolating it.

10/11/1433, Charles, Duke of Burgundy was born

5/3/1432, Charles VII concluded the Treaty of Rennes.

16/12/1431. The Bishop of Winchester, Henry Beaufort, crowned King Henry VI King of France.

30/5/1431. Jeanne D�Arc, a peasant girl from Donremy, was burned at the stake in Rouen for heresy. She had been taken prisoner by the Burgundians in May 1430 and handed over to Pierre Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais. She endured a year of inquisition and torture. She was canonised in 1920 on the anniversary of her death.

26/8/1429. Jeanne D�Arc made a triumphal entry into Paris.

17/7/1429, Charles VII was crowned King in Reims.

16/7/1429, The French Army reached Reims, which surrendered to Charles VII without a fight.

18/6/1429. Jeanne D�Arc, 17 years old, defeated the British at the Battle of Patay. Historians are still in dispute over Jeanne D�Arc�s role in the Hundred Years War between Britain and France. Born a peasant�s daughter on 7/1/1412, she believed she was led by divine guidance and her mission was to make sure that Charles VII became King of France and not the English Henry V. The French and the English came face to face at Patay on 18/6/1429 and Jeanne D�Arc had promised the French a greater victory than ever they had seen so far. The English army was indeed routed and also its reputation for invincibility, as the Earl of Salisbury�s 5,000 men were forced back across the River Loire.� She was captured by the English a year later, on 24/5/1430, with the help of French collaborators, and burnt as a witch on 30/5/1431. She was canonised in 1920.

For Hundred Years War events see also Britain

7/5/1429, The French captured the English fort of Les Tourelles, inspired by Joan of Arc. This was pone of several strongholds around Orleans lost by the English. The following day, 8/5/1429, the English began retreating, but Joan of Arc forbade the French to pursue because it was a Sunday.

29/4/1429, Joan of Arc arrived to relieve the Siege of Orl�ans.

27/4/1429, French troops mustered at Blois and set off for Orleans. Orleans had been almost surrounded by English troops since 12/10/1428, although it was possible for the French to enter and leave.

13/2/1429, Joan of Arc left Vancouleurs, a town loyal to the French Dauphin, and travelled across English-held territory to Chinon to meet the Dauphin. The French nobility were unsure if she was mad or a heretic, but then decided to use her to raise French morale so as to defeat the English at Orleans.

3/7/1423, Louis XI, King of France, was born.

21/10/1422, King Charles VI of France died (born 3/12/1368).

For Hundred Years War events see also Britain

1/12/1420, Henry V made a triumphal entry into Paris, see 25/10/1415 and 21/5/1420.

21/5/1420, Under the Treaty of Troyes, King Henry V of England became ruler of France also, following his victory at Agincourt. Henry V married Catherine de Valois and when Charles de Valois died Henry would inherit the throne, so long as Henry and Catherine produced a male heir. Under French Salic Law, a woman could not rule France.

19/1/1419, In the Hundred Years' War, Rouen surrendered to Henry V of England, which took Normandy under the control of England.

1415, Frederick of Hohenzollern used the wealth he had amassed as Burg-Graf of Nuremberg to purchase, from Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the governorship of the State of Brandenburg (see map here). From here the Hohenzollern Margraves (Mark-grafen, or border Counts) expanded their influence north east into Pomerania and Mecklenburg, and southawrds into Saxony, at the expense of the Counts (Marks) of these regions. Ongoing conflict with the Slavic peoples and the absence of easily-defensible frontiers for Brandenburg ensures that this political entity became highly militarised as Prussia and then Germany. In 1618 the Duchy of Prussia passed by inheritance to the Margrave of Brandenburg.

21/9/1415, Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, was born.

14/8/1415, Henry V�s fleet arrived at Chef de Caux, 10 miles west of Harfleur. Harfleur was a port from which the French had made many raids on the English south coast.

9/11/1414, Albert III, Elector of Brandenburg, was born in Tangermunde (died 11/3/1486 in Frankfort).

6/1/1412, Joan of Arc was born.

15/7/1410. The Poles and Lithuanians defeated the Teutonic Knights at the First Battle of Tannenberg / Battle of Grunwald). The Order of the Teutonic Knights had established a State in Prussia, from where they launched Crusades against their non-Christian neighbours to the east, including the Duchy of Lithuania. In 1386 the ruler of Lithuania converted to Christianity and married the Queen of Poland; on her death� he became ruler of Poland, as King Ladislav II Jagiellon. The Teutonic Knights contested the sincerity if his conversion, and in 1409 their Grand Master, the volatile Ulrich von Jungingen, declared war on Poland and Lithuania. He had underestimated the power and unity of the joint Polish-Lithuanian State. In Summer 1410 a joint Polish-Lithuanian army, led by King Jagiellon and Grand Duke Witold of Lithuania, marched upon the Teutonic Knights capital at Marienberg. The Knights confronted the invaders at a point between the villages of Grunwald and Tannenberg; they enjoyed initial success but were outflanked by Lithuanian cavalry and mostly slaughtered. However the Poles did not press on and take Marienberg, and peace terms were mild. In Soviet Russia, some credit was claimed for this battle because troops from Smolensk also supported the Poles. In an early German victory over Russia in World War One, the Germans called this battle �Tannenberg� to avenge defeat 5 centuries earlier.

18/5/1410, Rupert, King of Germany, died.

23/4/1407, Olivier de Clisson, French soldier, died (born 1336).

12/9/1404, Francis I, King of France, was born.

27/4/1404, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, died.

22/2/1403, Charles VII of France was born (died 22/7/1461).

4/12/1370, Battle of Pontvallain, Hundred Years War. The French won by avoiding a set-piece battle where English archers would have the advantage, instead harrying the English raiding parties as they headed back south, unprepared for battle.

19/3/1397, Pierre D�Ailly became Bishop of Cambrai.

26/6/1396, King Richard II of England married Isabella of France, daughter of King Charles VI of France. This was intended to effect a reconciliation between the two countries in the Hundred Years War. However Richard was later dethroned by Henry of Lancaster (Henry IV), and Anglo-French hsotilities resumed.

13/6/1396, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, was born.

16/9/1380, King Charles V of France, aged 43, died at Vincennes after eating poisonous mushrooms. He had ruled since 1356, and was succeeded by his 12-year-old son, King Charles VI, who ruled until 1422 (despite bouts of insanity from 1392 onwards).

13/7/1380, Bertrand du Guesclin, Constable of France, died.

29/11/1378, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV died aged 62. His lands were divided amongst his three sons.

21/6/1377, Charles V of France recommenced hostilities in Artois and Guienne, and attempted to unite Brittany and France.

27/6/1375, The English under King Edward III, having lost territory in the Loire, Gironde, region, concluded the Treaty of Bruges.

1372, France defeated the British fleet at La Rochelle. Britain expelled from Acquitaine.

1369, France recommenced the Hundred Year�s War.

3/12/1368, King Charles VI of France was born (died 21/10/1422).

15/2/1368, The Emperor Sigismund was born.

3/4/1367, In the Hundred Year�s War, the English under the Black Prince defeated a Spanish and French army at the Battle of Navarrete. The Spanish Kingdom of Castile was in civil war, between rival claimants for the throne, Pedro and his brother Enrique. The French under Bertrand du Guesclin and the English under Edward the Black Prince intervened, backing Enrique and Pedro respectively. The French and English met at Najera (Navarrete), where English longbowmen massacred the French cavalry. Pedro gained the throne but never repaid the English for the expense of their army. The heavy French footsoldier casualties brought some relief to the countryside,� with fewer unemployed soldiers roaming and plundering it.

For Hundred Years War events see also Britain

12/4/1365, Treaty of Guerande. The French House of Blois ceded its rights to Brittany.

29/9/1364, Battle of Auray. Although officially at peace after the Treaty of Bretigny, England and France continued to fight over control of Brittany. French military commander Bertrand du Guesclin faced English commander John Chandos. The English-backed claimant Jean de Montfort was contending with Charles du Blois for the Dukedom of Brittany. In the fighting for the city of Auray, Charles du Blois was killed; however after de Montfort was installed as Duke of Brittany he changed allegiance and swore fealty to the King of France. The English gained nothing.

16/5/1364, Du Guesclin victory at the Battle of Cocherel.

8/4/1364, John II, The Good, King of France, died (born 1319).

1360, The first Franc coin was minted, by King John II of France.

10/6/1358, End of the Jacquerie peasant rebellion in France (began 30/5/1358).

19/9/1356. The English, led by Edward the Black Prince, defeated the French under King John II, at the Battle of Poitiers, western France, in the Hundred Years War. Edward III had been raiding in northern France and was making his way back south when he learnt that te French were making to intercept him. Laden with baggage, the English moved more slowly and the French met them 5 km east of Poitiers. The English found a site with restricted access for the French knights, and English archers took down many French knights. King John himself was captured, and only released when a huge ransom was paid in 1360.

5/5/1352, Rupert, king of Germany, was born.

22/8/1350. King John II, (the Good) succeeded Philip VI as King of France.

12/8/1350, Philip IV, King of France, died.

11/7/1346. Charles V of Luxembourg was elected Holy Roman Emperor at the instigation of Pope Clement VI.

15/1/1342, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, was born.

1341, France imposed a salt tax to pay for the cost of the war with England.

24/6/1340, The English fleet, under Edward III (see 21/9/1327) defeated the French fleet at the Battle of Sluys. The French fleet was virtually destroyed, giving Edward III control of the sea. However both the French and English rulers were short of money and unable to pay their troops; so Edward III, and Philip VI of France, settled at the Treaty of Esplechin.

The dispute between England and France had links to the Flemish weavers who rebelled but were defeated on 24/8/1328 by the new Philip VI of France. Also Philip VI supported the Scots under David Bruce against the English, see 21/9/1327. In 1336 Edward III renewed his claim to the French throne. In 1338 Edward III cut wool exports to Flanders, forcing up wool prices and causing economic hardship to the weavers there. Edward then lifted the wool embargo, and encouraged the weavers to rebel again against Philip VI, to secure the unification and independence of Flanders.

See also Benelux, 1300s.

24/5/1337, Philip VI of France took Gascony from English control.

21/1/1337, King Charles V of France was born (died 16/9/1380).

13/1/1330, Frederick III of Germany died at Gutenstein.

16/3/1325, Charles Count of Valois died (born 12/3/1270).

13/3/1325, The Treaty of Trausnitz was signed. Frederick III, I return for his freedom, acknowledged Louis IV as King of Germany. Frederick also undertook to return to captivity if he could not persuade his brother Leopold to similarly acknowledge Louis IV.

28/9/1322, In a decisive battle for the German kingship, Frederick III was deefated and sent as a prisoner to Trausnitz, where he remained for three years. See 13/3/1325.

1317, France adopted the Salic Law, which prohibited women from succeeding to the throne.

5/6/1316, King Louis XI of France died.

14/5/1316, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV was born.

29/11/1314, Philip IV, King of France, died.

13/11/1314, Albert, Landgrave of Thuringia, died.

25/10/1314, Frederick III was crowned King of Germany by the Archbishop of Cologns, and war started between him and Louis IV. See 28/9/1322.

19/10/1314, Frederick III was chosen as King by a minority of electors; the majority chose Louis of Bavaria.

9/11/1313, Louis IV, Duke of Bavaria, defeated Frederick III, King of Germany, at the Battle of Gamelsdorf.

24/8/1313, King Henry VII of Germany was poisoned, and died in Italy.

1/5/1308, Albert I of Habsburg, King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor, was murdered by his nephew,John (Parricida). This followed a humiliating defeat of Albert�s forces whilst attempting an invasion of Thuringia.

2/4/1305, Jeanne, Queen of Navarre, died.

24/8/1298, Albert I was elected King of Germany

2/7/1298, Adolph of Nassau was killed in battle with his successor, Albert of Austria.

23/5/1298, Adolf of Nassau was deposed as King of Germany.

5/5/1292, Adolf of Nassau (born 1250) was elected as King of Germany, principally as a means of blocking Hapsburg claims to the German throne through Albert of Austria. However he became too ambitious for the comfort of the Electors of Germany and he wads deposed in 1298. He died in battle against Albert I of Austria in 1298.

15/7/1291, Rudolf I, King of Germany, died.

4/10/1289, Louis XI, King of France, was born.

2/11/1285, Peter III, King of Aragon, died.

5/10/1285, Philip III, King of France, died.

15/11/1280, Albertus Magnus, German scholar, died in Cologne.

12/3/1270, Charles Count of Valois was born (died 16/12/1325).

21/5/1254, Conrad IV, King of Germany, died. Born in 1228, he ruled from 1237.

12/12/1250, Death of Frederick II of Germany, from dysentery (born 1194).

3/4/1245, Philip III, King of France, was born.

1244, Provence became part of Capetian France.

9/4/1241. The Mongols defeated an army of Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Liegnitz, Silesia.

1237, The city of Berlin was founded.

1/5/1231, In Germany the Privelige of Worms gave the German princes almost total independence. They controlled all jurisdiction, mints, and tolls within their domain.

17/3/1230, The Archbishop of Bremen, Gerhard II, convened a Great Church Gathering at Bremen. There he organised the excommunication of the Stedinger for such crimes as worshipping wax images of the Devil and consulting evil spirits. In reality the Stedinger had been granted permission, in 1106 by an earlier Archbishop of Bremen, to reclaim the marshlands at the estuary of the River Weser for agriculture. The work was hard, digging drainage ditches and building� dikes but the inhabitants of this land, called Stedingen, were at least free from Feudalism. They paid a nominal tax to the Archbishop but owned no feudal duties to any Lord. Over time the feudal Lords of the region and the Archbishops of Bremen came to see the freedom of the Stedinger as a threat. Relations deteriorated as the Counts of Oldenburg built two fortresses in Stedingen, at Lechtenburg and Luneberg, kidnapping local people from the area, and in turn the Stedinger formed local militias for their own protection. Gerhard II went to Rome to secure Pope Gregory II�s agreement for a Crusade against the Stedinger, which began in Spring 1233. By the end of 1234 the Stedinger society had been eradicated, although some families claiming descent from the Stedinger remain today in Germany and the USA.

8/5/1228, Isabella, wife of King Frederick II of Germany, died.

26/4/1228, Conrad IV, Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died 1254).

29/9/1227, Pope Gregory IX excommunicated King Frederick of Germany a second time, for delaying his Crusade.

8/11/1226, Louis VIII, King of France, died.

23/5/1125, Holy Roman Emperor Henry V died at Utrecht. He was succeeded by the 55-yerar-old Lothair, who

was crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle on 13/9/1125.

6.8.1223, Louis VIII was crowned King of France.

14/7/1223, Philip Augustus, King of France, died.

19/5/1218, Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV died.

1/5/1218, Rudolf I, King of Germany, was born.

25/7/1215, Frederick II was crowned German King at Aix la Chapelle.

22/5/1215, King Philip II Augustus of France received instructions from the Pope to abandon his invasion of Britain, following 4/3/1215. King John of England had considerable economic interests in the District of Flanders, whose cloth merchants received almost all their wool from England, With English agents in many Flemish towns, France feared losing influence over the region to England.

27/7/1214, The Battle of Bouvines. Near Lille, France, Philip II Augustus of France defeated an English-German-Flemish alliance. This dashed the hopes of King John of invading France on two fronts to recover the Angevin (meaning �of Anjou�) lands, and this humiliation for John brought on the Magna Carta rebellion.

25/4/1214, Saint Louis, King of France, was born.

30/5/1213, Battle of Damme: King John�s English fleet under William Longesp�e, 3rd Earl of Salisbury destroyed a French fleet off the Belgian port of Bruges, in the first major victory for the fledgling Royal Navy. This forced King Philip II Augustus to abandon plans for the invasion of England.

8/4/1213, The Assembly of Soissons.

1/4/1204, Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of King Henry II of England, died. She was buried at Fonteraud. In June 1204 England lost Normandy and otyer laqnds in France including Anjou, maine and parts of Poitou to the French King, Philip Augustus.

27/5/1199, King John became King of England. He also became heir to the Angevin lands in France.

9/6/1198, Otto of Brunswick was crowned King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor, Otto IV.

28/9/1197, The Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI died.

1196, By the Treaty of Louviers, King Richard I of England, and the Angevin lands, regained some territories which Philip II had seized whilst Philip II was away on crusades.

26/12/1194, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, was born at Iesi, Italy.

10/6/1190. Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) drowned in a river on his way to the Holy Land in the Third Crusade.

5/9/1187, Louis XIII, King of France, was born.

19/8/1186, Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, died (born 23/9/1158)

18/9/1180, Louis VII, King of France, died.

1/11/1179, Louis VII, in declining health, had his son crowned as King of the Franks, Phillip II. In 1190 Phillip II became the first monarch to style himself �King of France�.

29/7/1166, Henry II, Count of Champagne, was born.

21/8/1165, Philip Augustus, King of France, was born.

1158, The city of Munich was founded.

23/9/1158, Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, was born (died 19/8/1186)

15/2/1152, Conrad III, Holy Roman Emperor, died at Bamberg (see 7/3/1138). Born in 1093, he ruled from 1093.

7/9/1151, Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, died (born 24/8/1113).

21/4/1142, The French scholar Peter Abelard was born at Chalon sur Saone.

7/3/1138, Conrad III (1093-1152) was again chosen as Holy Roman Emperor (see 18/12/1127). He was crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle on 13/3/1138, but was still opposed by Henry the Proud, the powerful Duke of Bavaria and Saxony. Henry the Proud died in 10/1139, but Conrad still faced opposition from Henry�s brother, Welf. Peace was finally arranged at Frankfort in 5/1142, with Henry the Lion (son of Henry the Proud) installed as Duke of Saxony, whilst Bavaria was given to Conrad�s stepbrother, Henry Jasomirgott, Margrave of Austria, who married Gertrude, widow of Henry the Proud.

1/8/1137, Louis VI, King of France, died, aged 56. He was succeeded by his 16-year old son, Louis VII.

18/12/1127, Conrad III (1093-1152) was chosen as Holy Roman Emperor, in opposition to Lothair. He hastily crossed the Alps to be crowned King of Italy at Monza, 6/1128. Whilst being acknowledged as King in northern Italy he was rejected as King by both rival Popes, Innocent II and Anacletus II. He failed to consolidate his holdings in Italy, and returned to Germany in 1132, where he fought with Lothair until 10/1135. He then submitted to Lothair, was pardoned, and recovered his estates, When Lothair died in 12/1137, Conrad III was again chosen as Emperor on 7/3/1138.

24/8/1113, Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, was born (died 7/9/1151).

28/9/1106. King Henry of England defeated his brother Robert at the Battle of Tinchebrai in France and reunited England and Normandy, divided since William the Conqueror died, see 5/8/1100 and 9/9/1087.

7/8/1106, Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, died (born 11/11/1050)

8/1/1081, Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died 23/5/1125).

25/1/1077, German King Henry IV, who was losing popular support because of his excommunication by Pope Gregory VII, arrived at Canossa Castle, northern Italy, to do penance in reconciliation. He knelt in the snow in a monk�s hair shirt for three days before the Pope admitted him. �Going to Canossa� became a saying for reluctant penance, especially in Germany.

14/11/1060,� Geoffrey Martel, Count of Anjou, died (born 14/10/1006)..

4/8/1060, Henry I, King of France, died after a 29-year reign, aged 52. He was succeeded by his 8-year-old son who ruled as King Philip� I until 1108.

5/10/1056, Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, died, aged 38. He was succeeded as German King by his 5-year-old son, who reigned as Henry IV until 1106. His mother Agnes acted as Regent until 1065.

11/11/1050, Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died 7/8/1106)

25/12/1046, The German King was crowned Holy Roman Emperor Henry III in Rome by Pope Clement II.

11/1/1043, Agnes (1024-77), daughter of William V the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine and Agnes of Aquitaine, married Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor. Henry III died in 1056 and Agnes (daughter) served as Regent for her minor son, Henry IV. However when Henry IV came of age, Agnes refused to relinquish the throne. She was eventually deposed by the efforts of two German bishops; she thereafter lived in Rome, as a staunch supporter of Pope Gregory VII, until her death in 1977.

4/6/1039, Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II died in Utrecht, aged 49, having ruled from 1024. He was succeeded as German King by his 21-year-old son, Henry.

10/3/1039, Seige of Mauze.

1032, The Kingdom of Arles came back under the control of the Holy Roman Empire, see 951.

20/7/1031, Robert II, (The Pious), King of France, died aged 61 He was succeeded by his 23-year-old son Constance of Aquitaine, who ruled as Henry I until 1060.

26/3/1027, Easter Sunday. Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II was crowned in Rome.

13/7/1024, The Holy Roman Emperor Henry II died aged 51 after a 10-year reign. He was succeeded as King of the Germans and Holy Roman Emperor by his 34-year-old son, who ruled as Conrad II until 1039.

28/10/1017, Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, was born (died 5/10/1056).

14/10/1006, Geoffrey Martel, Count of Anjou, was born (died 14/11/1060).

12/5/1003. Sylvester II, (Gerbert of Aurillac) the first French Pope, died. Elected in 999 with the backing of Otto III, he encouraged the Holy Roman Emperor�s ambition to re-create the Roman Empire of the west.

23/1/1002, The Holy Roman Emperor, Otto III, died aged 21, whilst fighting Rome. He was succeeded as King of the Franks and Bavarians by his 28-year-old cousin Henry, Duke of Bavaria, who became Holy Roman Emperor in 1014.

17/12/999, Adelheid, widow of King Otto I of Germany, mother of King Otto II and grandmother of King Otto III, born 931, died.

14/10/996, Hugh Capet, King of the Franks, died aged 58. He was succeeded by his 26-year-old son who ruled as Robert II until 1031.

15/6/991, Empress Theophano, Byzantine-born widow of King Otto II of Germany, died.

5/987, Louis V, King of the Franks died, aged 20; allegedly poisoned by his mother, Emma. His death ended the Carolingian Dynasty, founded by Charlemagne in 800. He was succeeded by 49-year-old Hugh Capet, starting the Capetian Dynasty that endured until 1328. The Archbishop of Reims had declared the Frankish monarchy to be elective rather than hereditary, so as to deny the throne to the late king�s uncle, Charles, and engineer the succession of the Archbishop�s friend, Hugh. Hugh Capet ruled until 996.

2/3/986, Lothair, King of the Franks, died, aged 44. He was succeeded by his 19-year-old son who ruled briefly as Louis V (le Faineant).

7/12/983, The Holy Roman Emperor Otto II died in his palace in Rome, aged 28. He was succeeded by his 3-year-old son.

7/5/973. Otto I, King of Germany, died. aged 60, after an 11-year reign. He was succeeded by his 18-year-old son, Otto II, who had been joint Emperor since Christmas 967, and who in 972 had married the Byzantine Princess Theophano, daughter of Romanus II. Otto II ruled until 7/12/ 983.

965, Bremen was granted the right to hold a market, to levy its own port dues and to mint money.

2/2/962, The Saxon Otto I was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII.

17/6/956, Hugh The Great died, 2 months after gaining mastery of Burgundy. He was succeeded by his 18-year-old son, Hugh Capet, who was reluctantly acknowledged as Duke of the Franks by his cousin, Lothair, King of the Franks.

10/8/955, At the Battle of Lechfeld, near Augsburg, Otto I of the Holy Roman Empire heavily defeated the Magyars, stopping their westwards invasion into Germany.

10/9/954, Louis IV, King of France, died aged 33. He was succeeded by his 13-year-old son Lothair who reigned until 986.

951, The Kingdoms of Upper and Lower Burgundy were reuniyed, to become the Kingdom of Arles (Arelat). See 1032.

2/7/936, Henry the Fowler, King of Germany, died aged 60 after a 17-year reign. He was succeeded by his 23-year-old son, who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 and ruled as Otto I until 973.

9/928, France�s King Louis III (The Blind) died at Arles aged 48 after a 27-year reign, 23 years of which were sightless.

924, Berengar I, Holy Roman emperor from 915, also King of Italy from 888, was killed by his own men.

15/6/923, Robert I, King of France, was killed in battle.

29/9/922, In France, Charles III (The Simple) was deposed by rebellious barons and replaced by King Odo who was crowned this day at Reims.

918, Conrad I, King of Germany from 911, died.

23/11/912, The Holy Roman Emperor, Otto the Great, was born.

911, The Duchy of Normandy was founded, when Charles III (The Simple), King of the Franks, granted lands around Roeun to Rollo (Rolf), leader of the Vikings. In return Rollo converted to Christianity and took the name �Robert�.

8/11/911, Following the death of King Louis III (The Child) at age 18, the son of Conrad, Count of Lanhgau, was chosen as German King, at Forchheim.

12/889, Holy Roman Emperor Arnulf died aged 49. He was succeeded as German King by his 8-year-old son, Louis, who ruled until 911 as Loius III (The Child). He was the last of the Carloingian Kings.

13/1/888,� With the death of Charles the Fat, the Frankish kingdom was split again, and this time permanently. Odo, Count of Paris became King of the Western Franks.

26/11/885, Paris was attacked by the Northmen but they failed to take the city, despite a long siege lasting until October 886. In the end they were bought off by Charles the Fat, with 700 pounds of silver. They were sent off to ravasge Burgundy, then in revolt against Frankish rule.

12/12/884, King Carloman of France died whilst out hunting and was succeeded as King of the West Franks by Holy Roman Emperor Charles III (The Fat), son of the late Louis the German.

880, The Treaty of Ribemont transferred Middle France, also known as Lotharingia (Lorraine, today) to East Francia (now, Germany).

10/4/879, King Louis II (The Stammerer) of France died at Compeigne, aged 32, after a reign of 18 months. He was succeeded jointly by his sons, Louis III and Carloman, and divided the kingdom between them a few months later.

12/8/875, Holy Roman Emperor Louis II died in Brescia, aged 50.

8/8/870, The Treaty of Mersen was signed.� Charles the Bald and his half-brother Louis the German divided the Kingdom of their nephew Lothair II (died 869) between them.

8/8/869, Lothair II, King of Lotharingia, died.

23/7/864, Edict of Pistres: Charles the Bald ordered defensive measures against the Vikings.

These four Treaties � Verdun, Prum, Mersen and Ribemont � effectively created the modern� States of France, Germany and Italy out of the old Frankish Merovingian lands.

Click Here for map of France and Germany � Transition from Merovingian lands to France, Germany.

29/9/855, Treaty of Prum. Holy Roman Emperor Lothair abdicated in Prum aged 60. He divided his kingdom between his three sons. 33-year-old Louis II received Italy, which he had already governed since 844, and now ruled until 875. His brother Lothair II received Austrasia, which he renamed Lotharingia, later, Lorraine A third son received Provence and southern Burgundy.

22/8/851, Battle of Jengland. Duke Nominoe of Brittany died in 851, and the Frankish Emperor Charles the Bald took the opportunity to march in with 4,000 armoured Frankish infantry and 1,000 lightly-armed Saxon foot soldiers. He could have taken cavalry but chose not to. The new Duke of Brittany, Erispoe, ambushed the invading force at Jengland as they advanced up the old Roman road from Nantes, using Breton horsemen who threw javelins at the foot soldiers. They then withdrew, but any Franks who pursued them were then cut down in disarray. The Franks retreated on the second day of battle, demoralised by the clandestine departure of their leader earlier. A few weeks later at the Peace of Angers, Charles the bald recognised Erispoe as King of Brittany, with greatly expanded borders. This is considered as the birth of the Breton state.

1/11/846, Louis II, King of France, was born.

28/3/845, Siege of Paris ended when Paris was sacked by a Viking raiding fleet, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collected a huge ransom in exchange for leaving. The Vikings also sacked Hamburg and Melun.

25/6/841, The Battle of Fontenoy (Carolingian Civil War).

5/5/840, One of the sons of Charlemagne, Emperor Louis of Bavaria, died of fright during a solar eclipse.� His other sons quarrelled, causing the division of his empire into France, Germany, and Italy, see 843.

834, Louis I restored to the Frankish throne.

28/1/814, Charlemagne died of pleurisy, aged 71.

25/12/800, Charlemagne was crowned first Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III.

782, Charlemagne conquered West Saxony.

779, Failed Carolingian invasion of Spain; siege of Saragosa.

15/8/778. Roland, (Count Hruodland) a loyal ally of King Charles of the Franks, or Charlemagne, was killed in the Pyrenees in an ambush by the Basques. The Basques were never conquered even by the Romans. Roland was returning to France after a successful campaign against the Arabs in Spain.

774, Charlemagne defeated Lombardy, adding it to his Empire.

772, Charlemagne began the conquest of East Francia (modern-day Germany).

24/9/768, Pepin III, King of the Franks, died.

759, Pepin III expelled the Arabs from Languedoc, extending Frankish rule to the Pyrenees.

751, Pepin III was elected King of the Franks; her was crowned in 754..

2/4/742, Charlemagne was born.

22/10/741. Death of Charles Martel (see 25/10/732) at his country palace at Quierzy, aged 53. He divided his realm between his older son, Carloman, and his younger son, Pepin (Pippin). Carlonan received the eastern lands (now Germany) whilst Pepin received the west (France).

735, Charles Martel conquered Burgundy.

25/10/732. The Frankish General, Charles Martel, won a major victory over the Arabs at Poitiers. In 718 an Arab siege of Constantinople had been defeated. The Arabs had crossed the Pyrenees, sacked Bordeaux and Poitiers, and were advancing on the wealthy monastery of St Martin at Tours. Eudo, Duke of Aquitaine, appealed to Charles who brought the Frankish army south to help. The Arabs, their leader killed, retreated south, probably to put down a Berber uprising in north Africa. The Berbers were resentful that, although they had made a considerable contribution to the invading Muslim armies, the Arabs nevertheless took most of the best grazing lands and booty for themselves.

721, Muslim forces were deafeated near Toulouse, and their commander, As Sanh ibn Malik, was killed. However officer Abd al Rahman took charge and led an orderly retreat to Narbonne where they regrouped. From here they overran the entire French Mediterranean coast as far east as the Rhone estuary.

720, The Arabs invading Spain crossed the Pyrenees into France, and took Narbonne. They had ambitions to occupy the entire �Great Land� as they called Europe, perhaps even reaching as far as the Balkans and then attacking Constantinople from the rear.

16/12/714, Pepin II, ruler of the Franks, died.

639, Dagobert I, last Frankish King of the Merovingian Dynasty died (born 605, ruled from 629).

629, Death of Chlothar II (born 584, ruled from 613).

15/10/614. Chlothar II, now sole ruler of the reunited Franks after the execution of Queen Brunhild, issued the Edict of Paris, in an attempt to stamp out corruption in his dominions.

29/11/561, King Chlothar I ("the Old"), son of Clovis I, died at Compeigne at age 64 (reigned from 558). The Merovingian Dynasty was continued by his four sons �Charibert I, Guntram, Sigbert I, and Chilperic I. Chlothar I had reunited the realms of his father Clovis but upon Chlothar�s death his lands were again divided amongst his four sons. Charibert ruled the Paris region, Guntram received Burgundy, Sigbert ruled Metz, and Chilperic ruled north of Soissons.

558, Chlothar I, son of Clovis, reunited the Kingdom of the Franks � see 27/11/511 and 29/11/561.

555, The Kingdom of Bavaria was founded, as a Germanic tribe known as the Bavuyars invaded and settled the region.

536, Provence, formerly part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, came under the rule of the Franks.

534, The Frankish Kings Chlothar I and Childebert I overthrew Godomar, King of the Burgundians, taking over his lands.

532, Battle of Autun. The Burgundians were defeated by the Franks, leading to the Frankish conquest of Burgundy.

25/6/524, Battle of Vezeronce. The four children of Clovis united against the Burgundians. There� was a revenge motive for this action because their grandfather King Childperic I of Burgnndy had been killed hy his brother Gundobad, whose son Sigismund was King of Burgundy in 524. Sigismund was captured and taken to Orleans by Choldomir. However Sigismund�s brother Godomar mustered a new Burgundian Army and drove the Franks out of Burgundy. Choldomir then ordered the execution of Sigismund, but later on Choldomir himself was killed in fighting against the Burgundians. �Godomar remained as ruler of at least part of Burgundy until his overthrow and death in 534.

27/11/511. Clovis, King of the Franks, son of Childeric I, Merovingian Dynasty, died aged 45 in Paris. His kingdom was divided up amongst his four sons, Theuderic in Reims, Chlodomir in Orleans, Childebert in Paris, and Clothar in Soissons.

Clovis had been a pagan, one of the Franks, who unlike the other Germanic tribes, had not converted to Christianity. But he had married a Burgundian princess, Clotilda, who was Christian. She sought to convert her husband. During the Battle of Tolbiac (Zulpich, Germany), against the Alemanni, Clovis promised to convert if his wife�s God would grant him victory. Although Clovis� troops were on the verge of defeat, the Alemanni King was killed and his army surrendered. Clovis was then baptised by �Saint� Remigius in Reims Cathedral, perhaps on 25/12/496. Clovis failed to take the Burgundian Kingdom to the south-east. However he did defeat the Visigoths in southwest Gaul, in 507. In recognition of this victory, Clovis was granted an honorary consulship by the eastern Roman Emperor, Anastasius. This gave Clovis a status above other western kings, and legitimised his rulership among his Gallic-Roman citizens. When he died in 511, Clovis was sole ruler of three quarters of Gaul.

508, Clovis established Paris (Lutetia) as capital of the Frankish lands.

507, The Franks defeated the Visigoths at the Battle of Vouille. The Franks conquered Acquitaine and drove the remaining Visigoths into Spain.

498, Clovis was baptised a Christian.

495, Clovis conquered the Alemmanni Kingdom, which at that time comprised modern day Alsace and parts of modern day Switzerland. Their territory now formed part of the Frankish Kingdom.

486, Clovis of the Franks defeated Syagrius, the last Roman ruler in northern Gaul, at the Battle of Soissons.

482, Accession of Clovis I on the death of Childeric I.

473, Gundobad became King of the Burgundians.

460, Cologne captured by the Franks.

457, Death of Merwig (Merovech), King of the Franks, 448-457. He gave his name to the Merovingian Dynasty, whose fortunes were established by his grandson, Clovis.

443, The Burgundians settled in the Rhone Valley as Foederati (a people without Roman citizenship but allied to Rome).

437, Death of Gunnar (Gunther, Gundicarus), born ca. 385, first recorded King of the Burgundians. He was an ally of the Romans but was killed when his army was heavily defeated by the Huns.

410, The Franks settled in parts of Gaul (see also Roman Empire).

357, King Chomodomarius of the Alemmanni was taken prisoner by Julian (later, Roman Emperor), after the tribe was defeated at Strasbourg.

280, First recorded mention of the Germanic Thuringii Tribe.

272, The first Bishop of Paris, Saint Denis, was beheaded along with two of his disciples on a hill near Paris, subsequently called MontMartre, Martyrs Hill.

213, The German tribe Alemanni were first mentioned by the Roman historian Dio Cassius. They lived along the River Main in modern-day Germany.

See also Roman Empire for events in Germany 1^st, 2^nd, centuries CE

100 BCE, A powerful Celtic state emerged in Gaul.

600 BCE, The old port of Marseilles was founded by Greek colonists as the port of Lacydon.

700 BCE, The Celts moved into France from eastern Europe.

 

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