Читать книгу Cycle Touring in France. Eight tours in Brittany, Picardy, Alsace, Auvergne/Languedoc, Provence, Dordogne/Lot, the Alps and the Pyrenees онлайн

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France was ruled by just two kings for nine-tenths of the 17th century, Louis XIII and Louis XIV, the latter ascending the throne at the very early age of five and ruling for 72 years until 1715. Cardinals served both kings, Cardinal Richelieu for Louis XIII being the best known. France became a powerful state during this century (despite costly wars and deteriorating home economic conditions), mostly due to gaining territory overseas, thereby opening up profitable trading routes. However, in the Seven Years' War (1752–63) France lost most of her colonies to the English, and monarchy and parliament became increasingly divided. On 14 July 1789 the Bastille was stormed; the French Revolutionaries toppled the king, Louis XVI, and the Ancien Régime was destroyed. The unfortunate Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette, were executed in 1793, the year after the monarchy was abolished and the First Republic established.

In 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte had himself crowned Emperor of France, 19 years after becoming an officer of the French army. His own armies conquered most of Europe by 1810, but two years later, hoping to extend his control of territory to Russia and beyond, his forces reached Moscow. A harsh winter forced them to retreat. A vast number of troops died on the long, cold return home, resulting in Napoleon Bonaparte's abdication in 1814. Twice exiled, he eventually died on the South Atlantic island of St Helena in 1821.