Civ of the week: The Fro... French

[Ecthy]

http://www.civ3.com

[Ecthy]

Modern France has its roots in ancient Gaul. In the 2nd century BC Rome intervened on the side of Massilia (Marseilles), a Greek colony founded in 600 BC, in its struggle against the barbarian tribes of the hinterland. The result was the formation, in 121 BC, of the Roman Provincia; between 58 to 50 BC Caesar seized the remainder. From 395 the internal problems of the Empire encouraged barbarian penetration of Transalpine Gaul. By 418, the Franks and Burgundians were established west of the Rhine, and the Visigoths had settled in Aquitaine. The period of the Merovingian and Carolingian Frankish dynasties (476-887) frames the Early Middle Ages. Following his ascension, the first Merovingian, Clovis (481-511), consolidated the position of the Franks in northern Gaul. Clovis came to believe that his victories were due to the Christian God. Clovis' subsequent conversion assured the Frankish rulers of the support not only of the Catholic Church but of the majority of their own subjects. By the rise of the house of Valois in 1328, France was the most powerful kingdom in Europe. Its ruler could muster larger armies than rivals; he could tap enormous fiscal resources; and the king's courts maintained royal supremacy. The history of France in the Late Middle Ages is dominated by efforts of its kings to maintain their suzerainty, efforts that, despite French advantages, were long frustrated. The Hundred Years War was an intermittent struggle between England and France in the 14th-15th centuries over a series of dynastic disputes, including the legitimate succession to the French crown. The war's turning point was reached in 1429, when an English army was forced to raise its siege of Orléans by a relief force organized by Joan of Arc. Her insistence that only consecration at Reims could make a true king, chosen by God, led to further victories. Charles III was anointed in Reims in July 1429. By 1453, England retained only Calais, which it finally relinquished in 1558.

With the ascension of the infant Louis XIII (1610-1643), the security of the country was again threatened as factions disputed the throne. Crown and country, however, were rescued by the most controversial figure of the Bourbon dynasty: Armand-Jean du Plessis, Cardinal de Richelieu. He proved an indefatigable servant of the French crown, intent on securing absolute obedience to the monarchy and on raising its international prestige through the military prowess of the King's elite Musketeers. Under the last Bourbons, France became the industrial and commercial center of Europe. These developments, although significant by themselves, gave rise to a still more momentous change: the French Enlightenment, a cultural transformation based on rationalism; empiricism, and an amorphous concept of freedom found in the influential writings of Rousseau (1712-78). Hence, what began in 1787 as a conflict between royal authority and aristocrats became a triangular struggle, with "the masses" opposing both absolutism and privilege. By any standard, the fall of the Bastille to the Parisian crowd was a monumental event, a seemingly miraculous triumph of the people. But the Revolution soon degenerated in a reign of terror and chaos. Unlike others before him, Napoleon terminated the bloodshed, but at the price of suppressing freedom altogether. In utter contrast to the Revolution, militarism became the defining quality of the Napoleonic regime. However, the revolutionary fervor of the French citizenry was undiminished by the Napoleonic experience, and led to further revolutions in 1830 and 1848, the latter leading to the Second Republic followed by the Second Empire (1852-1870). Following defeat in the Franco-Prussia War, the Third Republic was formed - surviving the First World War but collapsing in the face of the German invasion in 1940. The period of the short-lived Fourth Republic (1947-59) was succeeded by the Fifth, adopted in September 1958 by popular referendum.

In Civilization III, the French are considered an Industrious and Commercial civilization, therefore, they start with Alphabet and Masonry, and have significant bonuses to commercial pursuits and building activities. See the developer update on Civ-specific abilities for more on these bonuses.


Unique Unit: the Musketeer

Although often used to designate the flintlock-armed formations of a number of European countries, the term "Musketeer" generally refers to the King's Guard under Louis XIII and Louis XIV of France, immortalized in Dumas's famous novel. As such, the Musketeers served as a training ground for the young nobility, intended to be the elite of the army. Training not only included mastery of all weapons, from epee to musket, but instruction in social skills and military etiquette as well. In peacetime, the Musketeers served as the King's personal escort. Monsieur Treville, one of the Louis XIII's advisors and ardent sponsor of the Musketeers, and Cardinal Richelieu, who maintained his own company of guards, were political adversaries until the banishment of Treville following a 1642 plot to assassinate the Cardinal. Following that, the prestige of the Musketeers declined. In the military reforms that followed the death of Louis XIV, the Musketeers were disbanded and absorbed into the ranks of the French army.

The Musketeer is an upgraded version of the musketman. Like cavalry, it requires saltpeter to build, but it also receives an additional point of offense due to its skill and training. This makes the Muskeeter a valuable multipurpose unit, capable of defending a city against almost any offensive threat, but also able to mobilize for offensive purposes if needed.

[Ephack]

Yeah, great to copy the official site. But you could have corrected it!
There is indeed a big mistake: this is not Charles III how was anointed in 1429, but Charles VII!

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Read the description of the french civilization in french! http://civ3.ifrance.com/

[History Guy]

Yes, well, it's good to see the Frenchies are up now. Musketeers look good. "When Porthos comes to shove"...."Raiders of the Lost Arc"...oh dear...pretty bad bunch of puns there. I suppose we shall have old Otto von Bismarck up with Germany next week, and the Railsplitter President up the week after that with the US of A.

[d_dudy]

bah, nobody wants to see the wimpy germans.

they never did anything, right Ecthelion?

[Skanky Burns]

So, what do you reckon the interest in a "Guess the Civ of the Week" poll would be??

Im wondering what bad puns Dan will do with the 'tank'

[Ecthy]

Originally posted by d_dudy
bah, nobody wants to see the wimpy germans.

they never did anything, right Ecthelion?

Am I supposed to take that serious?

[History Guy]

D Dudy:
Bismarck is steamed.

[Ecthy]

steamed? what would that be in English?

[History Guy]

Well, let's just say he would not be happy with d dudy's comment, Herr Echtelion.

[Ecthy]

I see, well, true probably... I'm sure he meant it as a joke though

[d_dudy]

yes, i did mean it as a joke. i'm german-american. 100%

and really, sometimes i think germany is the only eurpean country that could stand on its own

[Ecthy]

oh, we need that cute embarassed smilie from ACOL here...

[d_dudy]

Originally posted by Ecthelion
oh, we need that cute embarassed smilie from ACOL here...

you embarassed? no reason to be, i was kiddin

[Ecthy]

you should see that smilie...

[Jason]

I dunno, the French get a bum these days historically. Until 1815 they were doing just fine, Louis XIV, Napoleon... (even if people argue France was past it's " world power best-before-date" by the time Napoleon appeared.)

I presume it's mostly because of the 20th century dislike that has developed.

[mactbone]

I think they get a bad rap because they folded so easy in the later wars. The only thing cool (well I guess it's not that cool) is the whole Foreign Legion idea. But then we have Jean Claude Van Dam movies all the time...

[Jason]

I think he's actually Belgian. But yes, there's been what Foucet called "the shortfall of military grandeur since 1815"

[molly bloom]

Originally posted by Jason
I think he's actually Belgian. But yes, there's been what Foucet called "the shortfall of military grandeur since 1815"

And before...remember Marlborough, and Prince Eugene of Savoy?

And a certain Seven Years War...

www.militaryheritage.com/7yrswar.htm

But the 18th Century surely is as much about the triumph of French culture as the defeat of French arms...French as the language of diplomacy, French architecture, French fashions, French novels and belles lettres, the philosophes, the artists (Boucher, Watteau, Fragonard), French scientists, and of course a certain event to do with 'Liberte, Egalite and Fraternite', and the beginning of the emancipation of slaves.