Country description plan: France. France: the history of the country. France: cultural monuments

France - one of the oldest countries in the world, whichwas formed, you can say, in the heart of Europe. Thanks to its advantageous geographical position in the history of its existence, it was able to absorb the traditions and customs of many peoples who lived on its territory, those races that conquered its lands, and those with whom it had friendly relations. In order for each reader to have this information more accessible and understandable, let's try to tell everything in order. We will use a simple plan for describing the country. France will appear before us in its former appearance, which it was characteristic of distant epochs, and gradually we will reach our days.

Prehistoric period

In those days when in southern European countriesAncient culture flourished, northern tribes inhabited the more savage tribes, who though had their own way of life, but did not seek to clothe it in a single state. During this period, the present territory of France was called the Prehistoric Brittany, since it was inhabited mainly by the Breton people. Later, their race assimilated with the Celts, Gauls and Iberians, still considered the ancestors of all the people that are now inhabited by France. The history of the country during this period is largely silent, as the writings as such did not have these tribes, and all the conclusions that modern experts can draw are based only on monoliths serving as historical monuments of those times and on everyday objects.

Brittany's transition from barbarism to antiquity

It is for sure known to everyone that most of theEurope until the Middle Ages was barbaric. The country of France, which by the time of the founding of the Western Roman Empire was already completely populated by Gauls, was no exception. Gradually, these peoples were attached to civilization, they had their own values ​​and ideals, but they did not reach their apogee in cultural development. The Roman emperor Guy Julius Caesar, along with many other powers and territories, subordinated to his influence these lands, which were called Gallia. Since then, local people have begun to speak Latin, which is firmly mingled with local dialects. It can be assumed that at that moment a modern French language was born.

Middle Ages

It is believed that the darkest and darkest periodhistory dates back to 486 - at the time when the Western Roman Empire fell. It is from this moment that our plan for describing the country also changes. France then fell under the rule of the Franks, the peoples that led the Clovis. He gave these lands the name "Frankish state" and became the founder of the first Merovingian dynasty. Behind this famous name followed no less notable in the pages of history august people - Carolingians. Their founder, Pepin Short, as well as his son Charlemagne, created an incredibly powerful country that occupied most of Europe and had a well-established economy and army.

Formation of modern borders and state system

In the 10th century, the state located inwestern part of Europe, officially received the name France. Monuments of culture, which were erected, are numerous churches and fortresses in the Romanesque style. Even the residential quarters, which formed the streets of the main cities (Paris, Orleans), were built up entirely Romanized houses, with conical roofs and straight portals. Against the backdrop of how the church and secular culture of the country unfolded, there were also numerous wars. France entered armed conflicts with Italy, Germany and England, but the most famous in its history are the Crusades. About their origin, reasons and all the secrets that met on the path of the brave knights, you can talk for years. Well, noting briefly this period of history, we note that the essence of the battle was in the Christian faith, which was proved again and again, and even imposed on every person on Earth.

Education and Reformation

In the years to come, the state wasa lot of interesting events that affected all sectors of his life. Therefore, further we will present all the dates briefly, collecting them only as a plan for describing the country. France since 1598 survived many ruling dynasties, whose representatives bloody fought for existing territories, and for the conquered lands. So, it came to that in 1789 there was the Great French Revolution, and its consequence was the division of the Senate. After this, the First Empire was proclaimed, at the head of which was Napoleon. After he was conquered by many European states, as well as Egypt, he was defeated in Russia in 1812, and his empire disintegrated. From 1814 to 1830 in the country was recognized dual monarchy, the founders of which were Louis XVIII and Charles X. However, since then the state has ceased to gravitate to wars, revolutions and other litigation, and gradually began to acquire the familiar in our day system.

The people of France these days

Today, the number of people who populatecontinental and provincial France, an average of 65 million. Among the largest cities the most urbanized are Paris, Lyon and Marseille. A particularly interesting topic remains the composition of the population of France, given that there is no such thing as "nationality" or "ethnic origin" in the country. It is believed that 90 percent of the people living in the country are ethnic French. The remaining 10% are occupied by Armenians, Jews, as well as Bretons, Catalans, Alsatians, Corsicans and Flemish.

Religion and language

Now let's try to compile on the basis of ethnicthe composition of the language population, as well as the religious plan for describing the country. France is an extremely democratic and free state, which is protected from any influence from the church or other organizations. Secular nature and the absence of strict norms here have become the basis for the emergence of agnostic attitudes in society, and sometimes atheistic. Nevertheless, 31% of the inhabitants of France have confirmed that they still believe in God, or at least in higher powers. As for the languages ​​of the state, most of the population speaks French. In remote regions and provinces, people use dialects based on German, Corsican and Italian.