of the novels of the father and son of Dumas, Henry of Anjou, bursts into the stormy stream of history. His sister is Queen Margot (Margaret), married to Henry of Navarre, one of the brothers is Charles Maximilian, the current King Charles the Fourth. Their parent is a subtle connoisseur of poisons, a leading politician in Europe, Catherine de Medici. In order to somehow pass the time, Henry of Anjou becomes the Polish king. The monarch is preparing for a dynastic wedding on Anna Jagiellonka, who, otherwise, could have become the wife of Ivan the Terrible. But, having learned about the sudden death of his brother Charles, this nobleman leaves his residence in Poland and hurries for the more prestigious French crown. In Paris, however, the nomination of the Catholic Duke Heinrich de Guise is popular. Henry III manages to lure the brothers of Gizov, the duke and the bishop into negotiations. Here they, along with bodyguards, are stabbed with swords by the adherents of the king.
The troops of two Henrys – Navarre (Bourbon), who became Margot’s husband and at the same time a Catholic, and Anjou, besiege the outraged Paris. A dexterous, desperate scout plunges a knife into Henry III, interrupting the entire Valois dynasty with a single precise movement. A month later, the crowned Henry IV of Navarre also dies from the dagger of his colleague, Ravallaca. This monarch’s own kingdom, Navarre, is consolidated within France. So, rather unexpectedly, the younger branch of the Capetian, the Bourbons («blackbirds»), comes to power in France. The son of Henry of Navarre, Louis the Thirteenth, also a very famous hero of historical novels, marries Princess Anne of Austria. Under him, the country was ruled by the wise Cardinal Richelieu.
For a more complete immersion in History, we will sing the ancient Breton song "Drink cider, Lau!" You have probably heard its intricate melody more than once:
What will we drink for seven days in a row
What are we going to drink, because the thirst is so great?
But we have enough for everyone
We all drink together, roll out another barrel
We all drink together and no one is alone
…Since the middle of the seventeenth century, for almost seventy years, France has been ruled by the famous Bourbon, the Sun King Louis the Fourteenth, aka «The State is Me». The son of the sun, Louis the Fifteenth Beloved (1710—1774), is better known for his mistress, a true enchantress, the Marquise de Pompadour.
Louis the Fourteenth (1643 – 1715)
Louis the Fourteenth, despite his love, has only one legitimate son, married to Maria of Spain (daughter of the Spanish king). Louis the Great Dauphin died under mysterious circumstances in 1711 in the midst of the struggle for the Spanish inheritance (theoretically, this aristocrat unites the crowns of France and Spain). Equally unintelligible, officially, from measles aggravated by bloodletting, other heirs also die. Only the great-grandson of the «Sun King», Louis the Fifteenth Beloved (1710—1774), survives and occupies the French throne.
Louis the Sixteenth has long postponed reforms to levy taxes from nobles and clergy. Endlessly maneuvering between the estates, he gets entangled and throws the steering wheel of the state to the mercy of fate.
Louis the Sixteenth (1754—1793), king and blacksmith
In the end, the king is condemned by the revolutionary convention. The former monarch ascends the scaffold. He is followed by his wife, Marie Antoinette. The execution of the queen is very disliked by the German (European) Habsburg dynasty, whose representative is Antoinette Habsburg-Lorraine. The last direct heir of the Bourbons, recognized by the monarchies of Europe as King Louis the Seventeenth, dies of malnutrition and mistreatment, ten years old.
The French Revolution. Napoleon Bonaparte
Marie Antoinette of Habsburg-Lorraine (1755 – 1793), the youngest daughter of Emperor Franz I and Marie Theresa. The raison d’être of this lady is gambling and balls. She was decapitated by the decision of the Convention, buried in the same place where 139 people who died at her stormy wedding were buried.
Liberty, Igality, Fraternity – Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood. The French Revolution. The guillotine, a humane instrument of justice approved by the king himself, later tested on himself. The convention, the taking of the Bastille and the cult of the Supreme Being instead of Christianity. Jacobin Club with branches throughout France. Suspicious Law, Marat, Robespierre and Danton. Friends of the people become enemies and vice versa with kaleidoscopic speed. An abyss suddenly opens up between the village and the city. Recruiting in the province of Vendee sparks a powder keg. Twelve «infernal columns» of a predominantly urban Republic are deploying a large-scale «French-French genocide» in the peasant and Catholic provinces. It seems that the goal of the revolutionary French is now the complete destruction of the peasants, the creation of agricultural settlements, ready to participate in all the adventures of the Convention, and not hindering the withdrawal of grain from citizens. Killed 30 thousand republican soldiers and 180 thousand peasants, every sixth or seventh inhabitant of the department.
Thermidor is a counter-revolutionary coup, unexpected as snow on the head. The leaders of the French Republic are dragged from the rostrum right during their performance and taken to a date with the scaffold. Directory – five elected directors. Council of Five Hundred. And only a chant from the audience, in response to another proposal to intensify the terror: «Justice for all!» stops the work of the guillotine.
Maximilian Robespierre (1758 – 1794), aka «Incorruptible» and «Mad Hyena», the founder of the «Great Terror». Guillotined by Robespierre by his own Convention without trial or investigation. There is not a single street in France bearing the name of Robespierre.
….Officer Napoleon, referring to the illness, avoids the dubious honor of a participant in the suppression of the Vendée uprising. However, it manages to stand out. The big players’ field has been cleared. The countries of the monarchical coalition are striving to impose peace on France by war, and every initiative active person is in demand. Captain Napoleon shows himself well in the capture of the rebellious Toulon. He becomes a brigadier general after the use of artillery against the «golden youth» on the streets of Paris, with arms in hand, seeking the restoration of the monarchy. After the Italian and Egyptian companies, the last of which was designed to create a staging area for the invasion of the Indian possessions of England, the general gains popular popularity. The Council of Five Hundred, which once dispatched an ambitious officer on foreign campaigns, is also dispersed by it. The Napoleonic Code (Civil Code) is adopted, combining Roman law and revolutionary conquests.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821)
In 1803, Napoleon made an unexpected proposal to the Jefferson government. It’s like, «Would you like to acquire Louisiana, a vast area of North America, officially transferred to me, France, by Spain three weeks earlier?» The point, if there is one here at all, is that in the event of war, England can easily seize these lands. Bonaparte himself is very eager to fight Britain in Europe. For just $ 15 million, on May 2, 1803, the government of President Jefferson acquires land equal to a quarter of the area of the current United States. Further, for about the same amount (7 cents per hectare) step by step; beads, knives, canvas for tents, fire water, white Americans ransom tasty territories
