The reason why France is so outstanding and rich in style is that it has an unusual and changeable history. French history is full of opposites. Today, France's centralized model, a carefully polished political system, has become a global model. At the same time, she has always been a strong fortress against bureaucracy, local differentiation, local decentralization, localism, individualism and special behaviorism. Talking about France's past is a history of farmers and agriculture. Because of these deep-rooted stories, the contributions of other ethnic groups in this land have been obscured. Like most pluralistic countries such as the United States, France is like a melting pot of ethnic groups, accepting various ethnic groups one after another: early Celts and Romans; Germans and Scandinavians in the Middle Ages; Africans and Asians in the 20th century; British, Spanish, Portuguese, Jews and so on. These ethnic groups formed and influenced French society today. France is regarded as a land country, and its fate is closely related to the European continent. But in fact, France has both land and sea advantages and has made brilliant achievements in the ocean. France has a powerful navy and commercial fleet, and was once one of the great powers in North America, Africa, India, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Prehistoric civilization began from the earliest human history, and France in each stage played a great role in the history of western civilization. The prehistoric cave murals found in Dordogne and the Pyrenees can be traced back to 20,000 years ago and are the richest prehistoric culture in Europe. After the Romans and Celts developed a strong "culture of the Lejon era", the Romans instilled collective consciousness into the brave and ruthless Celts. The Roman Empire occupied the Mediterranean region of France from 125 BC to 2 1 BC, and it was not until Julius Caesar really conquered the militant Celts. Vercingetorix led the Celtics in heroic resistance, but Caesar still won the final victory in alesia, Burgundy in 52 BC. Although Wiesinger Torrix was defeated, he became a national hero. The subsequent "Great Harmony" brought wealth and prosperity to the region. Franks With the decline of the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries, the Roman Gauls surrendered to the Frankish King, the Frankish Kingdom. Frank originally belonged to a Germanic tribe and lived outside the Roman Empire. He was called "barbarian" by the Romans. They gradually rose in the declining empire. At the end of the 4th century and the beginning of the 5th century, Merovingians, a Frankish tribe, occupied the northern part of France and gradually expanded its influence to the south. Clovis, the ruler of this clan, chose Paris as the capital and converted to Catholicism in 496 AD, thus expanding his power to the southern Catholic region. Charlemagne, in the 8th century, Prince Charlemagne of Frank ascended the throne, and established the Carolingian dynasty, which ruled the territory of France and Germany today. In 800 AD, Charlemagne was crowned by the Pope (the first person to be crowned by the Pope after the Roman ruler ended). With the disintegration of feudal system, and the invasion of Saracens in northern Italy, magyars in Central Europe and Nordic in Scandinavia, Carolingian dynasty was doomed to be short-lived. The treaty of verdun, signed in 843 AD, divided the empire into three parts: the Germanic kingdom in the eastern Frankish region and the kingdom in the western Frankish region, which will become the historical core of France in the future, with Lotharingia in the middle. In 987 AD, the Western Frankish Kingdom, later the Frankish Kingdom, fell into the hands of hugues capet and established the Cape Dynasty. His descendants ruled this dynasty until19th century. Cape's sphere of influence is very small, and its direct jurisdiction is only ile-de-france around Paris. This small base is precariously surrounded by the territories and war zones of feudal princes all over France. William, Duke of Normandy, was one of the princes and became king of England after the successful invasion of 1066. The British Empire was founded, and its territory extended from Beric on the Tweed River to the Pyrenees. The Cape dynasty resisted British power and rule through war, diplomacy, marriage and alliance or simply deception. Crusaders 1 1 century to13rd century, France joined the Crusaders to save the holy land that fell into the hands of pagans. Louis IX even died because of the Crusaders. /kloc-in the 0/3rd century, the Cape Dynasty arrived in southwest France. Under the authorization of the Pope, the Crusaders conquered the so-called Albigen Sect. At this time, the ruling power of the French king penetrated into the south from the northern Mediterranean for the first time. With the continuous strengthening of the monarch's power in the Cape Dynasty, economic activities have become increasingly prosperous. Funds were invested in the construction of cathedrals, and Gothic church architecture became the object of imitation in Europe. Universities have appeared in cities. Pierre? Abelard and Thomas? The University of Paris, where Thomas Aquinas taught, immediately won a resounding reputation. From the Hundred Years' War to the beginning of14th century, the economy began to decline, and the Black Death broke out in 1348, causing economic collapse. The Black Death claimed a third of the population of France, and even centuries later, some areas slowly recovered to the pre-outbreak level. The plague has dealt an unprecedented blow to the economy. Due to the shortage of working population and the decline of feudal system, the lords were forced to reduce the burden on serfs. At this important moment, Britain's failure to claim French territory triggered the Hundred Years' War (1337- 1453). Burgundy, which has always demanded autonomy, is allied with Britain. France is always unlucky in war. For example, in the famous Battle of Ginkul in 4 15, under the powerful British infantry offensive, the French king was humiliated by large and small battles. 15 at the beginning of the opportunity, the French king had no power at all, and the country was facing a situation of disintegration. At the call of Joan of Arc, 1429 or 1430, the French king finally resisted the British offensive. Joan of Arc died at the hands of Britain and Burgundy, but the French king Charles VII drove the English back to the other side of the English Channel. He and his successor leveled Burgundy, and Burgundy was merged into France in 1477. Then night of Provence 1480 joined; Brittany joined France on 149 1. In Renaissance 1494, French King Charles XIII invaded the Italian Peninsula, which triggered the Italian War, which lasted until 1559. Although the war was fought on Italian soil, the purpose of the French aggression was to seize the title of "Holy Roman Emperor" of the Habsburg Dynasty which ruled Germany and Spain. This war, or a stalemate, has brought a new situation to France's economy and culture. Italian renaissance master da? Leonardo da Vinci and cellini worked for Francois I (1). The magnificent palace culture promoted by Francois I had a great influence on architecture. One of the most outstanding works is the Loire Valley. From the newer castles of Chambord, Chenoso and Azailedo, dazzling castles are scattered everywhere, and some old castles, such as Blay Castle, have also been expanded. The revival of the religious war also brought about the religious reform. France is divided into two religious factions. From 1562 to 1598, at least eight wars broke out between Protestants and Catholics. These battles were fierce and bloody, especially the San bartholomew massacre in 1572. In Paris, about 2,700 people were massacred, which was more than the number executed by the revolutionary courts during the terror of the French Revolution (1792- 1794). In other French cities, more than 20,000 people were killed. It was not until Henry IV, the founder of Bourbon Dynasty, converted to Catholicism as a Protestant that this religious war ended. 1598, the edict of Nantes was issued, and the two factions finally stopped fighting. Henry IV not only had a tolerant religious mind, but also paid great attention to social welfare after the war. His ideal of "every tenant has a chicken in the pot" is unforgettable and won him the title of "Good King Henry". However, since the11920s, Cardinal Li Sailiu and Masalin came to power one after another. In order to defeat the Habsburg dynasty, France became a centralized autocratic country. This has brought considerable pressure to French society: from 630 to 1648, the people's tax revenue has tripled. The discontent of the poor and the unhappiness of the nobles, coupled with religious friction, eventually led to riots and rebellions.