I cannot stress enough that I received the lion's share of my knowledge from my father-in-law, John's, Western Civilization and Survey of English History classes. He teaches at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City, MO. Enroll in one of his courses, if you ever get the chance--he's the best!! Or at the very least, visit his Western Civilization sites (they include "Student Notes" and everything!!).
THESE TIMELINES WERE BEGUN FOR MY OWN PERSONAL USE. THESE TIMELINES SHOULD NOT BE USED AS RESOURCES FOR ANY KIND OF RESEARCH PAPER. THESE TIMELINES SHOULD ONLY BE USED AS AN AID TO GIVE A "JUMPING OFF POINT." THESE TIMELINES ARE NOT PEER-REVIEWED; THEREFORE, THEY ARE SUBJECT TO ANY NUMBER OF UNINTENTIONAL AUTHORIAL TYPING ERRORS AND/OR MISUNDERSTANDINGS. REMEMBER, INTERNET SOURCES (WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS) CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE SOURCES!!
Because I did these timelines initially only for my own personal use, I have paraphrased and quoted without citing as one should for a research paper; therefore, anyone using these timelines should consult the sources listed on the Historical Timelines Page.
DO NOT QUOTE FROM THESE TIMELINES!! ALWAYS DOUBLE-CHECK MY WORK!!!!
French:
Battle of Hastings (Senlac) - Norman Conquest of England (1066) William the Conqueror wins against Harold Godwin
Crusades (1095-1291)
Hundred Years War (England vs. France) (1337-1453)
Battle of Crecy (1346)
Battle of Calais (1347)
Battle of Poitiers (1356)
Battle of Agincourt (1415)
Joan of Arc (1412?-1431) at Orleans (1428-1429) and Patay (1429)
Battle of Castillon (1453) English are defeated
At conclusion, French reclaim all except Calais (which went back in 1558)
Great Schism (1378-1417)-Division in Roman Catholic Church (Two then three popes claimed to be legitimate)
St. Joan of Arc (1412?-1431), French National Heroine
Francois Rabelais (1483?-1553) French writer/satirist
John Calvin (1509-1564) French religious reformer
Francis I (1494-1547), King of France (1515-1547)
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592) French Essayist
Cardinal and Duc de Richelieu (Armand-Jean du Plessis) (1585-1642) French Statesman/Cardinal
Rene Descartes (1596-1650) French mathematician/philosopher
Pierre Corneille (1606-1684) French playwright
Duc Francois de la Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French Moralist
Thirty Years War (1618-1648) Protestant German princes, French, Swedish, English, and Denmark vs. Hapsburgs and Catholic princes of Holy Roman Empire (Catholics-King Ferdinand II)
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliere (1622-1673) French playwright
Jean Racine (1639-1699) French dramatist
Louis XIV (The Sun King) (1638-1715), King of France (1643-1715)
Louis de Secondat, Baron Montesquieu (1689-1755) French Political Philosopher
King William's War (1689-1697) French vs. British-1st of French and Indian Wars in North America
Francois-Marie Arouet Voltaire (1694-1778) French writer
War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714)
Struggle for the Spanish throne. War pits France, Spain, Portugal, Bavaria, and Savoy vs. England, Holland, and most of the German states.
Queen Anne's War (1702-1713) French vs. British-2nd of French and Indian Wars in North America. This happens at about the same time as the War of Spanish Succession.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) French philosopher/writer
Denis Diderot (1713-1784) French encyclopedist/philosopher/novelist
Louis XV (1710-1774), King of France (1715-1774)
War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748)
Austria vs. France, Prussia under Frederick II (Frederick the Great), and Spain
1st Silesian War (1742)
Frederick the Great occupies Silesia in 1742 (taking it from Austria).
2nd Silesian War (1744-1745)
French and Prussians defeat Austrians
King George's War (1744-1748) French vs. British-3rd of French and Indian Wars in North America.
Duc Francois-Alexandre-Frederic de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt (1747-1827) French Social Reformer
French and Indian War-Colonial American Part of 7 Years War (1754-1763)
American Colonists and British vs. French, Indians, and Canadian Colonists
Seven Years War (1756-1763) Mostly over power in the colonies
French, most of German states of Holy Roman Empire, Russia, Sweden, and Austrians vs. Brits, Hanoverians, and Prussians (Frederick II of Prussia).
Louis XVI (1754-1793), King of France (1774-1792) and Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) Queen of France and Daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa
American Revolution (1775-1783)
France recognized the colonies in 1777. An alliance with France in 1778. Brits capture Savannah on December 29, 1778.
1779-Spain joins war vs. England. September 23, 1779-Benedict Arnold's plot to surrender West Point to the Brits was revealed. British Cornwallis surrenders on October 19, 1781 in Virginia. Treaty of Paris is signed on September 3, 1783.
Stendhal (real name=Marie-Henri Beyle) (1783-1842) French Novelist
French Revolution (1789-1792 or 1799)
Storming of the Bastille (June 23, 1789)
French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1797) Revolutionary France declares war on Austria
France's Reign of Terror 1793-1794
Francois-Marie-Isidore de Robespierre (1758-1794) French Revolutionary Leader (1793-1794)
Alphonse-Marie-Louis Lamartine (1790-1869) French Poet
Napoleonic Wars (Most of Europe vs. France) (1799-1815)
Honore de Balzac (1799-1850) French Writer
Victor-Marie Hugo (1802-1885) French Writer
Napoleon I (Napoleon Bonaparte) (1769-1821), Emperor of France (1804-1814, 100 days in 1815)
George Sand (real name=Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dudevant) (1804-1876) French Novelist
Greek War of Independence (1821-1829)
Greeks vs. Ottomans (joined by Mehemet Ali of Egypt in 1824)
Athens fell in 1826
British, French, Russia intervene in 1827.
Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) French Novelist
Alexandre Dumas (1824-1895) French playwright/novelist
Emile Zola (1840-1902) French Novelist
Revolutions of 1848 (Revolutions overtook most of Europe excepting England and Russia)
Napoleon III (Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte) (1808-1873), Emperor of France (1852-1871)
Crimean War (1853-1856--Turkey vs. Russians, 1854-Brits and French enter on Turkey's side, 1855-Sardinia enters on Turkey's side)
Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) French poet
2nd Opium War (1856-1858) Great Britain and France vs. China
Mexican War of the Reform (1858-1860)
Liberals (aided by U.S.) vs. Conservatives (aided by Spain). Liberal Native American Benito Juarez bases his government in Veracruz (after being driven from Mexico City) while the conservatives have a rival government in Mexico City. Eventually, Juarez defeats the conservatives. Juarez is elected president in 1861. He tries to get Mexico's finances in order by freezing the interest on loans due to foreign powers which really annoyed the British, French, and Spanish. Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) of France tries to use this to create a Mexican Empire (1861-1862).
May 5, 1862 (Cinco de Mayo)-Mexican general Zaragoza defeats the French at Puebla. Napoleon III sends more troops in and took over Mexico City in June 1863. Austrian Archduke Maximilian becomes the Emperor of Mexico. Juarez's liberal forces held only three states in Southern Mexico and 2 states in the north. The French were forced to leave Mexico in 1867 because they were needed in Europe. Maximilian surrendered at Queretaro. Juarez took back control. Maximilian was executed in 1867.
Marie Curie (1867-1934) Polish/French Chemist
Gaston Leroux (1868-1927) French novelist
Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
Marcel Proust (1871-1922) French novelist
Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) French writer
Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901) Chinese try to eject or kill foreigners, representatives of foreign powers, and Chinese Christians
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) French writer/philosopher
Albert Camus (1913-1960) French novelist/playwright
World War I (1914-1918)
Franco-Prussian War almost makes this inevitable. Begins with the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo.
Central Powers: Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and OttomanEmpire/Turks vs. Allies: Great Britain, Russia, Italy, France, Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro, and Japan; U.S. enters in 1917.
World War II (1939-1945)
Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, Finland, Spain, Denmark, Manchukao, and Nanking vs. Allied Powers: England (except Ireland), France, Russia, Netherlands, and United States.
Normandy/D-Day Invasion-June 6, 1944-retake France and entered Germany
Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970), French general and President (1959-1969)
Vietnam War (1965?-1973 or 4)
Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) Vietnamese political figure-communist. 1941-founded Viet Minh to fight Japanese. 1945-declared Vietnam independent with him as president. French returned until 1954.
Gulf War (Iraq vs. U.N., mostly U.S.) (1991)
Iraqis under Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in the fall of 1990. U.S. made them leave.
Kosovo War (Yugoslavian Serbs vs. NATO, mostly U.S.) (1999)
Serbs invaded Kosovo and began to massacre ethnic Albanians (much as they did to the Bosnians in the Bosnian War a few years earlier). NATO (mostly U.S.) Forces bombed several sites (including a Chinese Embassy by accident). Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic eventually agreed to our terms.