France Great

In 1798, an initial review of France’s naval forces had led Napoleon to conclude his navy could not hope to outfight the power of the Royal Navy, which had been the dominant naval power for centuries, so he was forced to look elsewhere. After months of planning, Napoleon crafted a scheme to attack and conquer Egypt, denying the British easy access to their colonies in India, with the ultimate goal of linking up with the Sultan Tipoo in India itself and defeating the British in the field there. Napoleon sailed with Admiral Brueys and 30,000 troops that June, heading for Egypt.

The collapse of the Carolingian Empire of Charles the Great led to a breakdown in central authority and an extended era of political fragmentation. The beginning of the revival in royal power dates to the reign of Louis VI, and the medieval French monarchy reached its height under Philip IV. A period of decline was arrested by Charles VII’s victory over the English in the mid-15th century which saw France emerge as the most powerful monarchy in Christendom by the end of the Middle Ages.

Les Grands Discours de Guerre de Napoleon Bonaparte (1779-1821), interprétés en français par David Serero.

While some might think of the war as being a continuation of the feudal tradition of knights and peasants, the Hundred Years’ War revolutionized Western European warfare, and it truly helped to usher in the concept of nationalism on the continent. In England, it is remembered as a period of grandeur and success, even though the English lost the war and huge swathes of territory with it, while the French remember it as a strategic victory that ensured the continued independence of France and the denial of English hegemony.

Caballeros y batallas, princesas y castillos, asedios y profetas guerreros que lideran el camino hacia la victoria sobre relucientes caballos blancos: todo parece ser parte de mitos y leyendas. La historia de esta guerra se vuelve fascinante por su entorno, pero es inspiradora por sus personajes. Jóvenes reyes y audaces reinas, prisioneros que creen en el honor, tormentas de granizo que detienen luchas enteras y la historia de una joven campesina que cambió el curso de la historia.