Questions tagged [france]
Officially the French Republic is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands
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Why are the German and French languages so different?
My understanding (which could be wrong) is the following:
During and before the period of the fall of western Rome (roughly 400 AD), the Franks and the Alemanni were tribal people who moved around a ...
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What's the advantage of the infantry column formation in the Napoleonic Wars?
In movies/books set in the Napoleonic Wars, the British are normally deployed into lines and the French into columns. The columns are usually the advancing ones, charging into the line as the line ...
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Did France & Italy continue to develop and manufacture sophisticated military hardware once under German control?
Both France and Italy were designing and building advanced vehicle engines, motorcyles, aero engines and airframes through the 1930s and early 1940s.
In the case of those advanced economies of ...
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Why was France granted an equal status among victors of World War II?
How is it that France emerged from World War II with a similar status as the U.S.A., Britain, the Soviet Union, and China in terms of possession of a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council, ...
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"More Frenchmen bore arms for the Axis than for the Allies during the Second World War"?
True or false?
This is claimed by Andrew Roberts in The Storm of War. Quote:
As more Frenchmen bore arms for the Axis than for the Allies during the Second World War, it is unsurprising that ...
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What caused the 1979 Iranian revolution to become Islamic?
How did an initially anti-Shah revolution become an Islamic revolution? Was it because of Khomenei's return to Iran such that he seized the Iranian revolution?
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Were Quintidis holidays in the French Republican calendar?
I did some research on the French Republican calendar and found some contradictory information on weekly (or decadian?) holidays.
Wikipedia (and most other articles I found) mention:
The calendar was ...
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What led to the creation of Belgium?
Why was Belgium created as opposed to grouping the Fracophone Walloons and the Dutch-Speaking Flemish with their respective linguistically similar neighbor countries; France and the Netherlands?
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Did the syphilis epidemic start the 16th and 17th century wig craze?
I've read that one reason that the nobility attending royal court in the 17th century had a passion for wigs, powdered faces, and gloves was the then prevalence of syphilis. By this reasoning those ...
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Why did France make an alliance with the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont in the 1850's?
It is clear why Cavour wanted the alliance, but what benefits would France have from allying itself to a relatively weak (as far as I know) kingdom?
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Are there equivalents of the Domesday Book for other (French or German) duchies?
Is the Domesday Book a one-off census in the wake of the Norman conquest? One can imagine that William wanted an accurate feudal picture of his new kingdom but was it the norm? Did other dukes and ...
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Why didn't France and the UK invade Germany in September 1939?
On September 3rd 1939, when UK and France declared war on Germany, both ordinary Polish people and government officials became enthusiastic. There were spontaneous demonstrations of support for the ...
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Was a passport needed to travel between UK and France in 1972?
In Hitchcock's 1972 film Frenzy (at about the time 00:54:55) a character says: We can get a day trip to France. You don't need a passport. (He is a commoner, no diplomatic status etc, in fact a ...
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Did Louis XIV actually say "The State? I am the State."? Could he have said it?
In "The French Revolution, A History" Chapter 1.1.II, Thomas Carlyle reports that Louis XIV once proclaimed:
"L'État, c'est moi" - The State? I am the State (Carlyle's rendering into English)
...
user2590
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What effect did the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir have on Great Britain's international relations during WW2?
The Attack on Mers-el-Kébir/Battle of Mers-el-Kébir was an action that took part between the Royal Navy and the French Navy on July 3rd 1940 that was a result of Winston Churchill ordering that the ...
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Did anyone face consequences (charges / court-martial) for the 1914 Christmas truce in WWI?
A copy of the Daily Mail from Dec. 31, 1914 reports on the Christmas truce. Source: The Star
As a follow-up to this question about impromptu football / soccer games between troops from opposite ...
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Do any historians consider superior German airpower as the most important factor in the Battle of France?
In the Battle of France, the Allies and Germans had roughly equal number of divisions and troops, and the Allies actually had more artillery and tanks. But the one area where the Germans had a clear ...
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Why were Morocco and Tunisia made a French protectorate, but Algeria annexed as part of France?
This question is somewhat related to this one.
The three maghreban countries of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia are almost like three sisters and share everything in common culturally and historically. ...
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How did Napoleon evade the British fleet and return to France?
After the defeat of the French fleet off the coast of Egypt in 1798, Napoleon's army was cut off in a far away and hostile country.
One year later, after eluding the British fleet, he made it safely ...
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What is the equivalent in France of the "Victorian era"?
By Victorian era I mean the moral rigidity and the dominance of the bourgeoisie. We had the same culture in France but I can't find the proper term to phrase it.
For example how would you translate "...
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Did the French Revolution help produce French military "elan?"
In earlier wars against the British and Germans (e.g. the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763), French armies did not particularly distinguish themselves, even with a numerical advantage.
Yet during the ...
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Why did the French Army melt film during WWI?
I have just watched the film Hugo which is in part a telling of the life of Georges Méliès. Part of the film is that he sold his films which were then melted down to make heels for shoes. I did some ...
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Why was Khomeini in France? Who allowed him to leave and why? [closed]
I never knew that Khomeini was in France until I saw What was President Jimmy Carter's role in the Iranian Revolution?.
Why was Khomeini in France? Who allowed him to leave France and why?
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Why did France put so many resources into fighting Algeria in comparison to its other former colonial holdings?
Why did France put so many resources into fighting Algeria in comparison to its other former colonial holdings? Was there anything unique about the French-Algerian relationship. On Wikipedia it says ...
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How did France worsen its relationship with Turkey?
Several years back Turkey barred some French companies to participate in one of its arms procurement tender. Turkey doesn't allow French military air-crafts or ships to pass its territorial space. ...
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What are the French gains after the American Revolutionary War
Did France gain anything significant (territories or other concessions) at the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War? I tried to look up for it, but what I found were very minor (Senegal in ...
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Why was France given such a lenient peace after Napoleon was defeated?
For two decades revolutionary France had attacked and conquered many nations in Europe. Millions were killed. But when the allies finally defeated France, the peace was very lenient. France didn't ...
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Is there a primary source for Black Monday, April 13, 1360?
According to English Wikipedia ("Black Monday (1360)"), a severe hail happened on Monday, April 13, 1360
when the army of Edward III was camped in an open field near Chartre. The article ...
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Why did Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia remain loyal to France during and after World War II?
During WW II Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia did not revolt against either Vichy France or Free France. Not only did they not take advantage of the initial French defeat and its occupation by Axis powers,...
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How was occupied France governed during World War II?
During the occupation of France during World War II, how was the area governed? Specifically, were local governments still allowed and who handled normal police activities? If local Frenchmen did ...
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Did a Jewish King of Narbonne exist?
In today's edition of Le Monde, Marek Halter mentions something about Jewish Kings in Carolingian France, recognized by Charlemagne. Probably using Arthur Zuckerman 'Jewish Kingdom in feudal France' ...
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Did 17th Cent. French Gentlemen Necessarily Use a Scabbard for Dress Swords?
I'm costuming a show that takes place in the 17th century, Paris, "Cavalier" period, as far as costumes go. I can't seem to find a conclusive answer regarding whether the gentlemen need to have a ...
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Were any French aristocrats guillotined facing up?
There is a myth that Robespierre was guillotined faced-up (he wasn't); but it raises the question of which aristocrats or disgraced revolutionaries were provably guillotined face-up during the period ...
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Was Marshal Foch predicting WW2 20 years in advance just a coincidence?
The Allied Supreme Commander at the end of WW1, Ferdinand Foch, seemingly predicted at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles hostilities with Germany recurring in the future. His prediction for the ...
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What caused the turning point in Hundred Years' War?
At school I have learned that the English had upper hand in the war until Joan of Arc convinced the French king to give an army under her command to besiege Orléans and since then, the French forced ...
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Who were the "tyrants" that Charles Martel "crushed"?
The second chapter of Einhard says:
It was this Charles that crushed the tyrants who claimed to rule the
whole Frank land as their own, and that utterly routed the Saracens,
when they attempted ...
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What were the major imports and exports of Germany and France from 1850-1915?
Background: I've been doing some digging on nineteenth century trade, and so far have found this list of Britain's major imports to be an extremely helpful big picture guide. Sadly, I've yet to google ...
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What regiment is this (~1826-1861) French cuirass cavalry uniform?
I would be grateful if you would take the time to look at the uniform in this photograph and suggest a regiment. I have included some background information and hope you might have some ideas for me ...
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Why would Cavour ally with France instead of any enemy of Austria that wasn't looking to grab Nice and Savoy?
In 1858 during Italian unification, the Prime Minister of Sardinia-Piedmont, Cavour, entered into an alliance with France. In return for French aid against Austria, Cavour ceded Savoy and Nice to ...
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What happened to the french overseas colonies during the beginning of the french revolution?
While I understand that Paris and then most of France got swept up in revolutionary fervor. What happened in its far flung colonies, such as the Antilles, India, North America, Africa and even ...
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Historiography and the uses of history in the Second French Empire?
The Pre(r)amble: Over the past few months I've gotten interested in the development of history and historiography in Victorian England, and how the Victorians saw themselves reflected in and ...
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Which Allied forces held the French-Italian border from Operation Dragoon to the end of WWII in Europe?
Since the Germans and their puppet state the Italian Social Republic continued to hold northern Italy almost to the end of the war, it was necessary for the Allies to man the fortifications on the ...
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John the Fearless: John I or John II? Can the French and the English agree?
I am comparing the English and French wikipedia articles about John the Fearless:
The English article has him as "John II of Burgundy" while the French article says he's John I of Burgundy:
https:/...
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Les Misérables historical setting
What is the period in French history portrayed in Les Misérables in the early 1800s? Also, who was the French King at that time - the restored King?
I thought the French Revolution was in the late ...
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How much did it cost to maintain Gustavus Adolphus' army? How much of it was paid by Richelieu?
I know that Cardinal Richelieu subsidized a large portion of Gustavus Adolphus' Protestant forces during the 30 Year War - despite France, ironically, being a Catholic power (citation obviously ...
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During the 1850’s and 60’s, was the free North (and its cause in the U.S. Civil War) considered more virtuous than the slave-holding South?
During the 1850’s and 60’s, was the free North (and its cause in the U.S. Civil War) considered more virtuous than the slave-holding South?
Do we find authors or politicians in the U.K. or France ...
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Can anyone help identify this French military uniform?
Can anyone help identify this French Military Uniform?
The picture belongs to a woman – my father's 2nd cousin found through DNA matching – and she says it's her grandfather, who was a Frenchman. ...
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How many Scots were present at the Battle of Bauge?
The Battle of Bauge
According to Wikipedia the Battle of Bauge was a decisive battle in liberating France from England during the one hundred years war. Apparently the battle was won by a five ...
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What did Winston Churchill mean by this quote?
What did Winston Churchill mean by the quote below?
The Almighty in His infinite wisdom did not see fit to create
Frenchmen in the image of Englishmen.
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Please outline how Philip II gained Normandy from the Third Crusade
I saw a video which summarized this, but now I can't find anything close to it. I believe that Philip made some type of agreement with Richard Lionheart before they went on the Crusades. Phillip came ...
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