.Introduction
The name of Hundred Years' War is given to the long conflict that claimed the kings of France and England between 1337 and 1453. It was actually an extensive series of military clashes and diplomats, characterized by short and long truces military campaigns. It was, therefore, a state of permanent war, although prolonged and frequent truces were continually peppered with skirmishes style guerrilla warfare, and more traditional diplomatic maneuvers were on the agenda. It began in the middle of feudal conditions and because of a typically feudal litigation; and ended in war between two countries that were fast becoming nations under centralized management of their respective monarchies.
The origin of the Hundred Years' War
However, the roots of the Hundred Years' War back to conquer the English throne by William the Conqueror in 1066. As Duke of Normandy, William-and, subsequently, their herederos- participated so actively in the feudal politics of France and government of England. Both economically and culturally, England had become a colony of Normandy, and the interests of the new kings "English" were firmly established in France.
This situation worsened after 1154, to accede to the throne of England Henry of Anjou, founder of the Plantagenet or Angevin dynasty. As a Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and now, as Henry II of England, this monarch had firmly planted on either side of Canal foot. According to feudal principles, Enrique and, after him, his sons Richard and John, were vassals of the French monarchy, which was the central power; but the enormous power derived from the domain of wealth and human resources of England, became the first Plantagenet anything but submissive vassals of the king of France.
Growth of French power
The early years of this "Angevin empire" coincided with unprecedented growth of the power and prestige of the French monarchs. In 1202, King Philip Augustus of France called King John of England to his court of Paris in relation to the alleged failure by the latter of its obligations as feudal lord of Aquitaine.
Based on the principle that the lands of France were owned by their masters only in his capacity as vassals of the King of France, Philip Augustus John stripped of all his French possessions. Naturally, the move was followed by a series of wars. Until the signing of the Treaty of Paris of 1259, failed to reach an acceptable solution. The King of England could resume his duties in Aquitaine, but on the express condition that he did as a vassal of the French monarch.
In 1294 a new period of sporadic military activities, interrupted by long and complex diplomatic negotiations, culminating in the partial dispossession of Aquitaine began. The French refused to limit the sovereignty of the king over the region to satisfy the English. These, in turn, supported the rights of their king to full sovereignty. The next phase of this conflict began in 1337, when Philip VI of France decreed again dispossession of the Duchy of Edward III of England and organized a military campaign to seize the land by force. This is the date which is taken as the beginning of the Hundred Years War. The magnitude of the conflict soon increased when Eduardo rightful king of France was proclaimed in 1340, and invited the French nobles to recognize its right. Thus, the dispute over Aquitaine became a war of succession of France.
This conflict between two monarchs for possession of a kingdom was further complicated by resentment that came manifesting French nobles had long by the central government interference in their sphere of power. And Eduardo was savvy enough to capitalize on that resentment. They pointed out that their efforts were fighting a French gentleman who, at the same time proved to be king of England, facing the expansive policy of a series of increasingly powerful kings. And indeed, achieved the recognition of their rights in some circles. Therefore, from 1340, there were two kings of France.
The Battle of Crécy
The famous battles of Crecy (1346) and Poitiers (1356) occurred almost fortuitously. Crécy yielded meager results Eduardo, except indirectly, the port of Calais and the surrounding area. Poitiers culminated in the capture of King John II of France and interestingly, this event had little practical consequence. However, the effect of these two victories over Eduardo's prestige was such that in 1359 was in an extremely strong position.
Battle of Crecy, Hundred Years' War
In 1359, Eduardo had won the support of various factions in the duchies of Flanders, Normandy and Brittany, and was negotiating accession to the Duke of Burgundy. Besides, I still had the King of France as prisoner. At that time Eduardo proposed a truce, under whose terms will be assigned throughout the western half of France, and a large ransom by King John. When the French, in a riot of value, rejected such terms, Eduardo assembled a mighty army and mounted a campaign that, as expected, was to prove decisive.
This British offensive failed miserably. As a result, the treaties of Brétigny and Calais (1360), who were the first agreements aimed at ending the war was signed. Under these treaties, France recognized the full sovereignty of Eduardo on a far more extensive than before Aquitaine. In return, Eduardo relinquish all claim to the crown of France. This was the first of two highlights of the conflict.
Soon after, the protagonists of the drama at it again. Eduardo withdrew his waiver of rights to the French crown, and the king of France, in retaliation, refused to decline sovereignty over Aquitaine. Consequently, the war resumed. By 1375, Charles V of France had managed to push back the forces of Eduardo almost to the Canal. All that this king had managed to retain was Calais, a coastal strip that included Bordeaux and Bayonne, a few fortresses under siege in Brittany and Normandy.
In the early fifteenth century, the British had a new opportunity to seize much of France, if not the entire country. The occasion was the outbreak of civil war or, more specifically, an armed conflict between the Dukes of Burgundy and Orleans. Charles VI, who had succeeded to the throne of France in 1380 at the age of eleven was a chronic patient unable to govern effectively. In the power vacuum thus created his uncles ducal vied for personal power and gain a dominant influence on the central administration.
True to the spirit of the French feudal politics, nor the Duke of Burgundy nor the Orleans had no qualms about seeking British help. After the benevolent neutrality of first having ascertained, Henry V landed near Harfleur in 1415. However, the supposedly glorious victory at Agincourt obtained soon after proved to be little more than a desperate rearguard action to cover their retreat.
Enrique returned with a new army in 1417, finding better luck this time. While engaged to conquer Normandy, strength for strength, reluctant ally, the Duke of Burgundy, besieged and captured Paris. When the duke was assassinated in 1419, his successor decided to conclude a formal alliance with Enrique. This agreement led directly to the treaty of Troyes, 1420. It was the second peak, at least apparently, from prolonged warfare.
Under the treaty of Troyes, Henry should be recognized legitimate king of France when the throne becomes vacant by the death of Carlos. It seemed that everything he had to do to Enrique was complete the conquest of those regions that were still resisting the advance of the English armies. Again, dreams of Edward III created an empire encompassing the whole of France and England seemed about to be realized.
HenryVI
But Henry V died a few months before the incapable Carlos, so that the treaty of Troyes never entered into force. Little Henry VI was crowned king of both England and France, and British armies continued their conquest of northern and southwestern France. It soon became clear that, if they could seize Orleans and across the Loire, be militarily impossible to cut its progress through the rest of France.
Site Orleans. Hundred Years War
But it was in Orleans in 1429, where the sign of the war finally changed in favor of France. Orleans being subjected to persistent harassment of the English, appeared on the scene the enigmatic figure of Joan of Arc. At the head of the French armies, Juana lifted the siege and persuaded the Dauphin, eldest son of the late Charles VI, to be crowned in Reims did as King Charles VII of France. The country regained his breath, because again a king and a victorious general had. Thereafter, the English positions were continuously deteriorate; Burgundy was again subjected to the French royal house in 1435, and Paris was finally recaptured the following year.
Carlos VII of FranciaSólo in 1449 Carlos felt strong enough to go on the offensive. When he did, quickly regained Maine and Normandy. Bordeaux, the last English stronghold in Aquitaine, finally fell into the hands of the armies of Charles in 1453. That meant the effective end of English presence in France, so the date is considered as the end of the century-old conflict.
Apart from confirming the Valois dynasty as reigning house of France, and to force the Plantagenet to be more "English" than before the war produced other important long-term effects. The war had developed exclusively in France, leaving impoverished and depopulated. The French revival, during the war and after it, only be achieved under a strong central government, and all France recognized this reality.
The kings of France, in the interests of the need for a strong central government, they soon came to acquire powers that would lead to the absolute monarchy of three centuries later. Before the war, France was a mosaic of nearly independent duchies and counties, often in conflict with each other or with the king about. His dukes and earls, and the people had little awareness of being "French". After the war, appeared an embryonic sense of national unity under the banner of the King of France and all the French. The old feudal style was gone forever.
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