France
France is a country in Western Europe.
At its height, the French Empire rivaled the British Empire, with colonies in every corner of the world. It continues to be a strong presence in academia and has been the birthplace of countless renowned scholars. It remains a powerhouse in the European Union, often at odds with the United Kingdom on issues of EU policy. The capital city is Paris, often called the "City of Lights" due to its renown for a center of learning and philosophy.
It was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel treaty which led to the EEC and EU. It greatly assisted then-Great Britain's North American colonies both militarily and financially in their effort to gain independence, and established universal legal codes in much of the non-Anglo-Saxon west. It has made a number of philosophical contributions to the world, including Descartes and Sartre, existentialism and post modernism. Its own colonial behavior and the treatment of non-French soldiers has been criticized. Racial distinctions were made between âFrench soldiersâ and âSoldiers of Franceâ. It maintains the vestiges of Imperialism with the CFA (African France) in much of west and central Africa.It gifted the Statue of Liberty to the USA in celebration of its independence, echoing the French aid given to the colonies during the American Revolutionary War.
In March of 2003 A.D., France did not participate in the alliance that attacked Iraq, with its ostensible aim to remove the Baathist regime, suspected of hiding weapons of mass destruction. This prompted backlash and a criticism from some Americans, causing them to question whether France's status as a U.S. ally had been undermined.
Gaul
Back during the time of the Roman Republic, France was a territory called Gaul. It was home to many fierce Saxon tribes. Julius Caesar personally led the invasion. Eventually the Empire crumbled.
Frankland under Clovis
France is named after the Franks, a Saxon tribe who established Soissons, the capital. A Frank called Clovis united the Franks and established Frankland
Weak monarchs
Clovis's successors grew to be lazy and weak.
Franco-Mexican war
It is well known throughout the world that in the 15th century (although this is less well known in the United States) tensions between the French and Mexicans had been building for quite a long time. In 1452 war broke out between the two coutries due to an incident involving the attacking of a French cargo ship in Mexican waters by disgruntled Spaniards.
In 1454 the French had amassed a sizeable invasion force consisting of 22 000 soldiers, 15 000 cavalry and 1 000 field cannons all transported on 25 large transports that were escorted by 7 battleships and 10 frigates. On the journey across the atlantic the French fleet was ravaged by numerous storms and by the time they came within sight of the Mexican coastline, they were in no condition to fight and were quickly sunk various Mexican ships and coastal forts, Although the French battleship, the "mamelons collants" or "mightly vessel" managed to sink two mexican schooners in the battle of muslos mojados.
In 1462 the Mexicans launched an attack of their own on France, sending over 2 frigates of their own to attack french shipping vessels, the French, after having their trade routes to the americas effectively cut off and crippling their economy, quickly surrendered to mexico in 1493, this war was quickly covered up by the French and Mexican governments in order to prevent widespread ridicule of either nation.