100 Years War
Causes & First Half of the War
Hundred Years War was a series of war between the French royal house of Valois and the English royal house of Plantagenet for the French throne. The war lasted for a hundred years from 1337 until 1453. Everything began when King Charles IV of France died with no sons in 1328 and the direct line of the Capetian Dynasty ended. Two dynasties claimed the French throne including the House of Plantagenet of England and the sub-branch of he Capetian Dynasty, House of Valois. In the end, Phillip VI from the House of Valois became king. However, King Edward III of England never accepted this and declared war on France in 1337. At first, the war was fought out side France on the English Channel and the northern County of Flanders. However, when France was defeated by England at the Battle of Sluys on June 24, 1340, the English army entered and invaded France. The English army won almost all of the battles over the next twenty years. In 1350, Phillip VI of France died and was replaced by his son John II. On September 19 1356, the English army led by the Prince of Wales engaged the French army commanded by King John II of France in the Battle on Poitiers. France was defeated and John II was captured. He was held for ransom by the English for the next four years. There were many uprisings and instability in France. On May 8, 1360, King John II was forced to sign the Treaty of Bretigny which gave most of the western France to the English control and the first half of the war ended.
Second Half and the End of the War
The war resumed in 1369 when the new King Charles V of France declared war on England hoping to regain some territories. The war continued for another twenty years with many French victories until King Charles VI of France made peace negotiation with the English in 1389. After a long period of peace, the war again resumed in 1415 when Henry V of England invaded France for the French throne. At first, England allied with Burgundy won most of the battles against France and even Paris was captured. In 1422, Henry V died and his son Henry VI was crowned the king of England. The English continued to attack France and took large part of French territories. The tide of the war turned in 1429 when a peasant girl named Joan of Arc led the French army to victory in the Siege of Orleans. With Joan of Arc leading the army, the French army won many more battles against the British and more cities were recaptured. Charles VII was crowned the king of France in the same year. Although Joan was captured and executed by the English, it was too late. France had already regained almost all of its former territories. In 1453, the final English army was crushed at the Battle of Castillon and the Hundred Years War finally ended.
Effect of the War
All the English soldiers retreated back to England after the War of the Rose, a dynastic civil war between House of Lancaster and the House of York, broke out in England. Because of this, the Parliament's power grew because kings need the parliament's support to launch any more war. However, on the other hand, the French king's power grew because he gained much support from his nobles during the war. By the end of the war, the rule of chivalry began to decline. The later kings of England continued to claim the French throne even long after the war ended.
