FranceFrance (fʁɑ̃s), officially the French Republic (République française ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz), is a country located primarily in Western Europe. It also includes overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean.
Louis XVLouis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defined as his 13th birthday) in 1723, the kingdom was ruled by his grand-uncle Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, as Regent of France. Cardinal Fleury was chief minister from 1726 until his death in 1743, at which time the king took sole control of the kingdom.
PrussiaPrussia (ˈprʌʃə; Preußen, ˈpʁɔʏsn̩, Old Prussian: Prūsa or Prūsija) was a German state located on most of the North European Plain, also occupying southern and eastern regions. It formed the German Empire when it united the German states in 1871. It was de facto dissolved by an emergency decree transferring powers of the Prussian government to German Chancellor Franz von Papen in 1932 and de jure by an Allied decree in 1947. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, expanding its size with the Prussian Army.
Kingdom of FranceThe Kingdom of France (Reaume de France; Royaulme de France; Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe since the High Middle Ages. It was also an early colonial power, with colonies in Asia and Africa, and the largest being New France in North America. France originated as West Francia (Francia Occidentalis), the western half of the Carolingian Empire, with the Treaty of Verdun (843).
NapoleonNapoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars. He was the leader of the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then of the French Empire as Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814 and again in 1815. Napoleon's political and cultural legacy endures as a celebrated and controversial leader.
Seven Years' WarInfobox military conflict | conflict = Seven Years' War | partof = the Anglo-French Wars and the Austria–Prussia rivalry | image = Seven Years' War Collage.jpg | image_size = 300px | caption = Clockwise from top left: | date = () | place = Europe, North America, West Indies, South America, West Africa, India, Philippines | result = Anglo-Prussian coalition victory Status quo ante bellum in Europe Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1762) Treaty of Hamburg (1762) Treaty of Paris (1763) Treaty of Hubertusburg (1763) | territory = ** No territorial changes in Europe Transfer of colonial possessions among Great Britain, France, Portugal, and Spain France and Spain return conquered colonial territory to Great Britain and Portugal France cedes its North American possessions east of the Mississippi River, Canada, the islands of St.
Gothic architectureGothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture. It originated in the Île-de-France and Picardy regions of northern France. The style at the time was sometimes known as opus Francigenum (French work); the term Gothic was first applied contemptuously during the later Renaissance, by those ambitious to revive the architecture of classical antiquity.
Louis XVILouis XVI (Louis Auguste; lwi sɛːz; 23 August 1754 - 21 January 1793), sometimes known as The Last, was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir-apparent of King Louis XV), and Maria Josepha of Saxony, Louis became the new Dauphin when his father died in 1765. On his grandfather's death on 10 May 1774, he became King of France and Navarre, reigning until 4 September 1791, when he received the title of King of the French, reigning as king until the monarchy was abolished on 21 September 1792.
Neoclassical architectureNeoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing styles of architecture in most of Europe for the previous two centuries, Renaissance architecture and Baroque architecture, already represented partial revivals of the Classical architecture of ancient Rome and ancient Greek architecture, but the Neoclassical movement aimed to strip away the excesses of Late Baroque and return to a purer and more authentic classical style, adapted to modern purposes.
Baroque architectureBaroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to combat the Reformation and the Protestant church with a new architecture that inspired surprise and awe. It reached its peak in the High Baroque (1625–1675), when it was used in churches and palaces in Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Bavaria and Austria.
Napoleon IIINapoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 1808 - 9 January 1873) was the first president of France from 1848 to 1852, and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 until he was deposed in absentia on 4 September 1870. Prior to his reign, Napoleon III was known as Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. A nephew of Napoleon I and cousin of the disputed Napoleon II, he was the first person elected to the presidency of the Second Republic in 1848, and he seized power by force in 1851 when he could not constitutionally be reelected.
Hall of MirrorsThe Hall of Mirrors (Grande Galerie, Galerie des Glaces, Galerie de Louis XIV) is a grand Baroque style gallery and one of the most emblematic rooms in the royal Palace of Versailles near Paris, France. The grandiose ensemble of the hall and its adjoining salons was intended to illustrate the power of the absolutist monarch Louis XIV. Located on the first floor (piano nobile) of the palace's central body, it faces west towards the Palace Gardens.
LouvreThe Louvre (ˈluːv(rə) ), or the Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre myze dy luvʁ), is a national art museum in Paris, France. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement (district or ward) and home to some of the most canonical works of Western art, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II. Remnants of the Medieval Louvre fortress are visible in the basement of the museum.
Early modern periodThe early modern period of modern history spans the period after the Late Middle Ages of the post-classical era (1400–1500) to the beginning of the Age of Revolutions (1800). Although the chronological limits of this period are open to debate, the timeframe is variously demarcated by historians as beginning with the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Renaissance period in Europe and Timurid Central Asia, the end of the Crusades, the Age of Discovery (especially the voyages of Christopher Columbus beginning in 1492 but also Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India in 1498), and ending around the French Revolution in 1789, or Napoleon's rise to power.
