Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

French Wars

2007-04-26T15:08:01Z

Erebus:

The following is a list of some of the wars that [[France]] has fought and lost:

.
..
...

This article was deleted for being stupid. It should reappear soon since, to quote Schiller, "against stupidity, even the gods struggle in vain."

French Wars

2007-04-26T15:07:32Z

Erebus: Replacing page with 'The following is a list of some of the wars that France has fought and lost: . .. ... This article was deleted for being stupid. It should reappear soon since "against ...'

The following is a list of some of the wars that [[France]] has fought and lost:

.
..
...

This article was deleted for being stupid. It should reappear soon since "against stupidity, even the gods struggle in vain."

Bear

2007-04-24T02:29:17Z

Erebus:

{{stub}}

A '''bear''' is a large furry mammal. All bears are [[omnivores]], even those which eat a mostly meat diet (polar bears) or a mostly plant diet (pandas). There are eight species of bears. All of them are godless killing machines.

* [[Polar Bear]] - lives in the Arctic maritime region and hunts (primarily) seals.
* [[Brown Bear]] - also known as the grizzly bear. Subspecies include the [[Kodiak]] bear and the European brown bear. Lives in temperate forested regions of North America, Europe, and Asia.
* [[American Black Bear]] - smaller than the grizzly, and lives in North America. Subspecies include the Kermode bear which lives in British Columbia.
* [[Asian Black Bear]] - lives in Asia.
* [[Panda Bear]] - lives in China and eats a plant diet of bamboo.
* [[Spectacled Bear]] - a small bear which lives in South America.
* [[Sloth Bear]] - lives in South Asia and eats termites.
* [[Sun Bear]] - a small bear which lives in Southeast Asia.

[[Category:Mammals]]

French Wars

2007-04-24T00:41:47Z

Erebus:

The following is a list of some of the wars that [[France]] has fought and lost. Yes, lost. What were you expecting, some kind of unbiased article ?

* '''Algerian War of Independence''' 
The Algerian War of Independence (1954–62) was one of the most important decolonisation wars and a complex conflict. It was characterized by guerrilla fighting and terrorism against civilians on both sides and counter-terrorism operations by the French Army. It was effectively started in November 1954. Under orders from Socialist Guy Mollet's (SFIO) government, the French Army initiated a campaign of "pacification" of what was considered at the time to be fully part of France. This "public order operation" quickly turned into a full-scale war.

France eventually conceded defeat with the March 1962 Evian Accords which organized the independence of Algeria, ending the French colonial empire.

* '''American Revolutionary War''' 
Wait, did France lose this one too ?

* '''Conquest of England''' 
In 1066, French from Normandy, led by William (or Guillaume) the Conqueror, successfully invaded England, defeating the anglo-saxon army at the Battle of Hastings. The french language remained in use by the english kings and highest nobles for several centuries.

* '''First Indochina War''' 
The First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War) was fought in Southeast Asia from 19 December 1946 until 1 August 1954 between the nation of France and the resistance movement led by Ho Chi Minh, called the Viet Minh. Most of the fighting took place in Northern Vietnam (the area the French referred to as Tonkin) although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring Indochinese countries of Laos and Cambodia.

In 1954, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu occurred between Viet Minh forces under Võ Nguyên Giáp and French airborne and Foreign Legion forces. The French suffered an humiliating defeat. At least 2,200 members of the 20,000-strong French forces died during the battle. Shortly after Dien Bien Phu, the Groupe Mobile 100 of the French army were wiped out at the Battle of Mang Yang Pass. The Viet Minh victory at Dien Bien Phu led to the departure of France from Vietnam.

* '''Franco-Prussian War''' 
The Franco-Prussian War (July 19, 1870 – May 10, 1871) was fought between France and Prussia (backed by the North German Confederation) allied with the south German states of Baden, Bavaria and Württemberg. The conflict marked the culmination of tension between the two powers following Prussia's rise to dominance in Germany, still a loose federation of quasi-independent territories.

Over a five-month campaign, the German armies defeated the French army in a series of battles fought across northern France. Following a prolonged siege, the French capital Paris fell on January 28, 1871. The French admission of defeat, the Treaty of Frankfurt was signed May 10, 1871, during the time of the bloody Paris Commune of 1871.

* '''French and Indian War''' 
The French and Indian War was the nine-year North American theater of the Seven Years War. The conflict was caused by land disputes. Specifically both the British and the French claimed the vast territory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi river, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, known as the Ohio Country.

The French conceded their defeat and a British victory with the 1763 Treaty of Paris. As a result of the French defeat, the British gained control of French Canada and Spain gained control of Louisiana. Overall, French administrative presence in North America was almost completely removed.

* '''Franco-Mexican War''' 
The Franco-Mexican War lasted from December 8, 1861 to June 21, 1867. It began with the invasion of Mexico by the army of the Second French Empire. It followed President Benito Juárez's suspension of payments of interest on loans to foreign countries made by previous governments on July 17, 1861, which angered the French government. France wanted to exploit the rich mines in the north-west of Mexico. The French started the war when they did due to the fact that the United States was in the middle of its Civil War, and thus was unable to intervene as they would have due to the Monroe Doctrine.

The presidential terms of Benito Juárez were interrupted by the French occupational monarchy, which was eventually overthrown in early 1867. The Mexicans occupied the rest of the states of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and Guanajuato in January of 1867. The French evacuated the capital on February 5, 1867. The French instituted puppet monarch, Maximilian of Habsburg was executed on June 19, 1867 by the forces loyal to President Benito Juárez.

* '''French-Thai War''' 
The French-Thai War (1940 - 1941) was fought between Thailand and Nazi France over certain areas of French Indochina that had once belonged to Thailand. In early January 1941, the Thai lauched their offensive. Many French units were simply swept along by the better-equipped Thai forces. The Thais swiftly took Laos. Because of over-complicated orders and nonexistent intelligence, the French counterattacks were cut to pieces and fighting ended with a French withdrawal from the area.

The Japanese Empire mediated the conflict, and a general armistice was arranged to go into effect at 1000 hours on January 28. On May 9 France admitted defeat in Tokyo, with the French relinquishing their hold on the disputed territories.

* '''Haitian Revolution''' 
The Haitian Revolution was the first successful slave rebellion in the Western Hemisphere and established Haiti as a free republic. At the time, Haiti was a colony of France known as Saint-Domingue.

After two years of dispute among elements of the free population, a great slave uprising plunged the country into civil war in 1791. Slavery was first abolished on August 29, 1793 on the island. But by 1802, it was obvious that the French intended to re-establish slavery. As a result the black population continued the fight against the French. The leader of the revolution, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, led the rebellion until its completion, when the French were finally defeated at the Battle of Vertières in November of 1803.

* '''Hundred Years War''' 
The Hundred Years War happened when English Kings tried to claim the throne of France. It actually lasted 116 years. The English won some major victories, but were eventually defeated and lost almost all of their continental possessions. French victory was made possible by Joan of Arc, a young girl who said she had had visions from God, telling her to oust the English out of France. Joan won several victories and greatly revived French confidence. Eventually, she was captured by the English, who had her burnt to the stake after a false trial. She was nineteen. Way to go, Britons.

* '''Italian Wars''' 
The Italian Wars were a series of wars from 1494 to 1559 for control over the States of Italy, mainly involving France and Spain, but also involving most other European states, and the imprisonment for several months of Pope Clement VII.

Originally arising from dynastic disputes over the Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples, the wars rapidly became a general struggle for power and territory among their various participants, and were marked with an increasing degree of alliances, counter-alliances, and regular betrayals. The Habsburg were eventually victorious with the French and their allies suffering an humiliating defeat.

* '''Napoleonic Wars''' 
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought between France (led by Napoleon Bonaparte) and alliances involving England and Prussia and Russia and Austria at different times. They were partly an extension of conflicts sparked by the French Revolution, and continued for the duration of the First French Empire.

The Napoleonic Wars ended on 20 November 1815, following France's final defeat at Waterloo and the Second Treaty of Paris.

* '''Peninsular War''' 
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was a major conflict during the Napoleonic Wars, fought in the Iberian Peninsula with Spanish, Portuguese, and the British forces fighting against the French. It has been described as "a hammer and anvil" campaign, the hammer being the Anglo-Portuguese Army, commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, with 40,000 to 80,000 men, and the anvil being the Spanish armies, the Spanish guerillas and the Portuguese militia.

The Peninsular War was the first guerrilla conflict (a term coined for this war) and lasted until the Sixth Coalition defeated France in 1814.

* '''Quasi-War''' 
The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought entirely at sea between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800. The conflict began because the French began to stealing American ships trading with the British.

The war started on July 7, 1798, when Congress rescinded treaties with France. United States Naval squadrons then sought out and attacked the French privateers. By October 1800, the United States Navy produced a reduction in the activity of the French privateers and warships, dealing the French an humiliating defeat. The French admitted this defeat with the Treaty of Mortefontaine on September 30, 1800.

* '''Seven Years' War''' 
The Seven Years' War (1754 and 1756–1763) was a war that pitted Great Britain and Prussia against France and Austria. The war was described by Winston Churchill as the first world war, as it was the first conflict in human history to be fought around the globe, although almost all of the combatants were either European nations or their overseas colonies.

The British-French hostilities were ended in 1763 with a French defeat that was made official by the Treaty of Paris; which was particularly catastrophic for France because it lost most of its colonial empire to Britain, especially Canada and India.

* '''Tunisian War of Independence''' 
The Tunisian War of Independence was fought from 1952 to 1956 between France and a guerilla movement of Tunisia, a nation that had been a French territory since 1881. The guerilla movement was lead by Habib Bourguiba.

In 1954, Pierre Mendes-France became the leader of the French government and pursued a policy of surrender. This resulted with the April 1955 agreement which handed internal autonomy to Tunisian hands while international relations were managed by France, a similar situation to the Turkish Bey method of governance in pre-1881. The humiliating French in the Algerian War of Independence further weakened the French people, leading to the abolition of the Treaty of Bardo and Tunisia gaining full independence in March 20, 1956.

* '''War of the League of Cognac''' 
The War of the League of Cognac (1526–1530) pitted the League of Cognac (and alliance of France, England, Pope Clement VII, Venice, Florence, and elements of Milan) against the Habsburg dominions of Emperor Charles V—primarily Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.

By 1539, France's ally, Florence alone continued to resist Emperor Charles V's Imperial forces. A Florentine army under Francesco Ferruccio engaged the Imperials at the Battle of Gavinana in 1530, but although Orange himself was killed, the Imperials won a decisive victory, and the Florentine Republic surrendered ten days later. With this decisive Habsburg victory; not only did the entire League of Cognac suffer a loss, but France especially was humiliated.

* '''War of the Sixth Coalition''' 
The Sixth Coalition (1812-1814) was a coalition of the Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Austria and a number of German States against France. After France's disastrous defeat in Russia, the continental powers saw a final opportunity to defeat the French and joined the coalition which previously consisted only of the Russians and British in addition to Spanish and Portuguese rebels in Iberia.

2.5 million troops fought in the conflict and the total dead amounted to as many as 2 million (some estimates suggest that over a million died in Russia alone). It included the battles of Smolensk, Borodino, Lützen, Dresden and the epic Battle of Nations — the largest of the Napoleonic wars, and indeed the largest battle in Western history up until the First World War. The final stage of the war led to the Allies occupying Paris, forcing the French to admit defeat.

* '''Wars of the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Coalitions''' 
These wars happened after the French Revolution and opposed France to many other european countries, often including the United Kingdom. They all resulted in victory for the French and therefore do not count.

[[Category:France]]
[[Category:Wars]]

French Wars

2007-04-24T00:29:44Z

Erebus:

The following is a list of some of the wars that [[France]] has fought and lost. Yes, lost. What were you expecting, some kind of unbiased article ?

* '''Algerian War of Independence''' 
The Algerian War of Independence (1954–62) was one of the most important decolonisation wars and a complex conflict. It was characterized by guerrilla fighting and terrorism against civilians on both sides and counter-terrorism operations by the French Army. It was effectively started in November 1954. Under orders from Socialist Guy Mollet's (SFIO) government, the French Army initiated a campaign of "pacification" of what was considered at the time to be fully part of France. This "public order operation" quickly turned into a full-scale war.

France eventually conceded defeat with the March 1962 Evian Accords which organized the independence of Algeria, ending the French colonial empire.

* '''American Revolutionary War''' 
Wait, did France lose this one too ?

* '''Conquest of England''' 
In 1066, French from Normandy, led by William (or Guillaume) the Conqueror, successfully invaded England, defeating the anglo-saxon army at the Battle of Hastings. The french language remained in use by the english kings and highest nobles for several centuries.

* '''First Indochina War''' 
The First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War) was fought in Southeast Asia from 19 December 1946 until 1 August 1954 between the nation of France and the resistance movement led by Ho Chi Minh, called the Viet Minh. Most of the fighting took place in Northern Vietnam (the area the French referred to as Tonkin) although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring Indochinese countries of Laos and Cambodia.

In 1954, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu occurred between Viet Minh forces under Võ Nguyên Giáp and French airborne and Foreign Legion forces. The French suffered an humiliating defeat. At least 2,200 members of the 20,000-strong French forces died during the battle. Shortly after Dien Bien Phu, the Groupe Mobile 100 of the French army were wiped out at the Battle of Mang Yang Pass. The Viet Minh victory at Dien Bien Phu led to the departure of France from Vietnam.

* '''Franco-Prussian War''' 
The Franco-Prussian War (July 19, 1870 – May 10, 1871) was fought between France and Prussia (backed by the North German Confederation) allied with the south German states of Baden, Bavaria and Württemberg. The conflict marked the culmination of tension between the two powers following Prussia's rise to dominance in Germany, still a loose federation of quasi-independent territories.

Over a five-month campaign, the German armies defeated the French army in a series of battles fought across northern France. Following a prolonged siege, the French capital Paris fell on January 28, 1871. The French admission of defeat, the Treaty of Frankfurt was signed May 10, 1871, during the time of the bloody Paris Commune of 1871.

* '''French and Indian War''' 
The French and Indian War was the nine-year North American theater of the Seven Years War. The conflict was caused by land disputes. Specifically both the British and the French claimed the vast territory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi river, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, known as the Ohio Country.

The French conceded their defeat and a British victory with the 1763 Treaty of Paris. As a result of the French defeat, the British gained control of French Canada and Spain gained control of Louisiana. Overall, French administrative presence in North America was almost completely removed.

* '''Franco-Mexican War''' 
The Franco-Mexican War lasted from December 8, 1861 to June 21, 1867. It began with the invasion of Mexico by the army of the Second French Empire. It followed President Benito Juárez's suspension of payments of interest on loans to foreign countries made by previous governments on July 17, 1861, which angered the French government. France wanted to exploit the rich mines in the north-west of Mexico. The French started the war when they did due to the fact that the United States was in the middle of its Civil War, and thus was unable to intervene as they would have due to the Monroe Doctrine.

The presidential terms of Benito Juárez were interrupted by the French occupational monarchy, which was eventually overthrown in early 1867. The Mexicans occupied the rest of the states of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and Guanajuato in January of 1867. The French evacuated the capital on February 5, 1867. The French instituted puppet monarch, Maximilian of Habsburg was executed on June 19, 1867 by the forces loyal to President Benito Juárez.

* '''French-Thai War''' 
The French-Thai War (1940 - 1941) was fought between Thailand and Nazi France over certain areas of French Indochina that had once belonged to Thailand. In early January 1941, the Thai lauched their offensive. Many French units were simply swept along by the better-equipped Thai forces. The Thais swiftly took Laos. Because of over-complicated orders and nonexistent intelligence, the French counterattacks were cut to pieces and fighting ended with a French withdrawal from the area.

The Japanese Empire mediated the conflict, and a general armistice was arranged to go into effect at 1000 hours on January 28. On May 9 France admitted defeat in Tokyo, with the French relinquishing their hold on the disputed territories.

* '''Haitian Revolution''' 
The Haitian Revolution was the first successful slave rebellion in the Western Hemisphere and established Haiti as a free republic. At the time, Haiti was a colony of France known as Saint-Domingue.

After two years of dispute among elements of the free population, a great slave uprising plunged the country into civil war in 1791. Slavery was first abolished on August 29, 1793 on the island. But by 1802, it was obvious that the French intended to re-establish slavery. As a result the black population continued the fight against the French. The leader of the revolution, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, led the rebellion until its completion, when the French were finally defeated at the Battle of Vertières in November of 1803.

* '''Hundred Years War''' 
The Hundred Years War happened when English Kings tried to claim the throne of France. It actually lasted 116 years. The English won some major victories, but were eventually defeated and lost almost all of their continental possessions. French victory was made possible by Joan of Arc, a young girl who said she had had visions from God, telling her to oust the English out of France. Joan won several victories and greatly revived French confidence. Eventually, she was captured by the English, who had her burnt to the stake after a false trial. She was nineteen.

* '''Italian Wars''' 
The Italian Wars were a series of wars from 1494 to 1559 for control over the States of Italy, mainly involving France and Spain, but also involving most other European states, and the imprisonment for several months of Pope Clement VII.

Originally arising from dynastic disputes over the Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples, the wars rapidly became a general struggle for power and territory among their various participants, and were marked with an increasing degree of alliances, counter-alliances, and regular betrayals. The Habsburg were eventually victorious with the French and their allies suffering an humiliating defeat.

* '''Napoleonic Wars''' 
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought between France (led by Napoleon Bonaparte) and alliances involving England and Prussia and Russia and Austria at different times. They were partly an extension of conflicts sparked by the French Revolution, and continued for the duration of the First French Empire.

The Napoleonic Wars ended on 20 November 1815, following France's final defeat at Waterloo and the Second Treaty of Paris.

* '''Peninsular War''' 
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was a major conflict during the Napoleonic Wars, fought in the Iberian Peninsula with Spanish, Portuguese, and the British forces fighting against the French. It has been described as "a hammer and anvil" campaign, the hammer being the Anglo-Portuguese Army, commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, with 40,000 to 80,000 men, and the anvil being the Spanish armies, the Spanish guerillas and the Portuguese militia.

The Peninsular War was the first guerrilla conflict (a term coined for this war) and lasted until the Sixth Coalition defeated France in 1814.

* '''Quasi-War''' 
The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought entirely at sea between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800. The conflict began because the French began to stealing American ships trading with the British.

The war started on July 7, 1798, when Congress rescinded treaties with France. United States Naval squadrons then sought out and attacked the French privateers. By October 1800, the United States Navy produced a reduction in the activity of the French privateers and warships, dealing the French an humiliating defeat. The French admitted this defeat with the Treaty of Mortefontaine on September 30, 1800.

* '''Seven Years' War''' 
The Seven Years' War (1754 and 1756–1763) was a war that pitted Great Britain and Prussia against France and Austria. The war was described by Winston Churchill as the first world war, as it was the first conflict in human history to be fought around the globe, although almost all of the combatants were either European nations or their overseas colonies.

The British-French hostilities were ended in 1763 with a French defeat that was made official by the Treaty of Paris; which was particularly catastrophic for France because it lost most of its colonial empire to Britain, especially Canada and India.

* '''Tunisian War of Independence''' 
The Tunisian War of Independence was fought from 1952 to 1956 between France and a guerilla movement of Tunisia, a nation that had been a French territory since 1881. The guerilla movement was lead by Habib Bourguiba.

In 1954, Pierre Mendes-France became the leader of the French government and pursued a policy of surrender. This resulted with the April 1955 agreement which handed internal autonomy to Tunisian hands while international relations were managed by France, a similar situation to the Turkish Bey method of governance in pre-1881. The humiliating French in the Algerian War of Independence further weakened the French people, leading to the abolition of the Treaty of Bardo and Tunisia gaining full independence in March 20, 1956.

* '''War of the League of Cognac''' 
The War of the League of Cognac (1526–1530) pitted the League of Cognac (and alliance of France, England, Pope Clement VII, Venice, Florence, and elements of Milan) against the Habsburg dominions of Emperor Charles V—primarily Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.

By 1539, France's ally, Florence alone continued to resist Emperor Charles V's Imperial forces. A Florentine army under Francesco Ferruccio engaged the Imperials at the Battle of Gavinana in 1530, but although Orange himself was killed, the Imperials won a decisive victory, and the Florentine Republic surrendered ten days later. With this decisive Habsburg victory; not only did the entire League of Cognac suffer a loss, but France especially was humiliated.

* '''War of the Sixth Coalition''' 
The Sixth Coalition (1812-1814) was a coalition of the Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Austria and a number of German States against France. After France's disastrous defeat in Russia, the continental powers saw a final opportunity to defeat the French and joined the coalition which previously consisted only of the Russians and British in addition to Spanish and Portuguese rebels in Iberia.

2.5 million troops fought in the conflict and the total dead amounted to as many as 2 million (some estimates suggest that over a million died in Russia alone). It included the battles of Smolensk, Borodino, Lützen, Dresden and the epic Battle of Nations — the largest of the Napoleonic wars, and indeed the largest battle in Western history up until the First World War. The final stage of the war led to the Allies occupying Paris, forcing the French to admit defeat.

* '''Wars of the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Coalitions''' 
These wars happened after the French Revolution and opposed France to many other european countries, often including the United Kingdom. They all resulted in victory for the French and therefore do not count.

[[Category:France]]
[[Category:Wars]]

French Wars

2007-04-24T00:22:36Z

Erebus:

The following is a list of some of the wars that [[France]] has fought and lost:

* '''Algerian War of Independence''' 
The Algerian War of Independence (1954–62) was one of the most important decolonisation wars and a complex conflict. It was characterized by guerrilla fighting and terrorism against civilians on both sides and counter-terrorism operations by the French Army. It was effectively started in November 1954. Under orders from Socialist Guy Mollet's (SFIO) government, the French Army initiated a campaign of "pacification" of what was considered at the time to be fully part of France. This "public order operation" quickly turned into a full-scale war.

France eventually conceded defeat with the March 1962 Evian Accords which organized the independence of Algeria, ending the French colonial empire.

* '''Conquest of England''' 
In 1066, French from Normandy, led by William (or Guillaume) the Conqueror, successfully invaded England, defeating the anglo-saxon army at the Battle of Hastings. The french language remained in use by the english kings and highest nobles for several centuries.

* '''First Indochina War''' 
The First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War) was fought in Southeast Asia from 19 December 1946 until 1 August 1954 between the nation of France and the resistance movement led by Ho Chi Minh, called the Viet Minh. Most of the fighting took place in Northern Vietnam (the area the French referred to as Tonkin) although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring Indochinese countries of Laos and Cambodia.

In 1954, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu occurred between Viet Minh forces under Võ Nguyên Giáp and French airborne and Foreign Legion forces. The French suffered an humiliating defeat. At least 2,200 members of the 20,000-strong French forces died during the battle. Shortly after Dien Bien Phu, the Groupe Mobile 100 of the French army were wiped out at the Battle of Mang Yang Pass. The Viet Minh victory at Dien Bien Phu led to the departure of France from Vietnam.

* '''Franco-Prussian War''' 
The Franco-Prussian War (July 19, 1870 – May 10, 1871) was fought between France and Prussia (backed by the North German Confederation) allied with the south German states of Baden, Bavaria and Württemberg. The conflict marked the culmination of tension between the two powers following Prussia's rise to dominance in Germany, still a loose federation of quasi-independent territories.

Over a five-month campaign, the German armies defeated the French army in a series of battles fought across northern France. Following a prolonged siege, the French capital Paris fell on January 28, 1871. The French admission of defeat, the Treaty of Frankfurt was signed May 10, 1871, during the time of the bloody Paris Commune of 1871.

* '''French and Indian War''' 
The French and Indian War was the nine-year North American theater of the Seven Years War. The conflict was caused by land disputes. Specifically both the British and the French claimed the vast territory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi river, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, known as the Ohio Country.

The French conceded their defeat and a British victory with the 1763 Treaty of Paris. As a result of the French defeat, the British gained control of French Canada and Spain gained control of Louisiana. Overall, French administrative presence in North America was almost completely removed.

* '''Franco-Mexican War''' 
The Franco-Mexican War lasted from December 8, 1861 to June 21, 1867. It began with the invasion of Mexico by the army of the Second French Empire. It followed President Benito Juárez's suspension of payments of interest on loans to foreign countries made by previous governments on July 17, 1861, which angered the French government. France wanted to exploit the rich mines in the north-west of Mexico. The French started the war when they did due to the fact that the United States was in the middle of its Civil War, and thus was unable to intervene as they would have due to the Monroe Doctrine.

The presidential terms of Benito Juárez were interrupted by the French occupational monarchy, which was eventually overthrown in early 1867. The Mexicans occupied the rest of the states of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and Guanajuato in January of 1867. The French evacuated the capital on February 5, 1867. The French instituted puppet monarch, Maximilian of Habsburg was executed on June 19, 1867 by the forces loyal to President Benito Juárez.

* '''French-Thai War''' 
The French-Thai War (1940 - 1941) was fought between Thailand and Nazi France over certain areas of French Indochina that had once belonged to Thailand. In early January 1941, the Thai lauched their offensive. Many French units were simply swept along by the better-equipped Thai forces. The Thais swiftly took Laos. Because of over-complicated orders and nonexistent intelligence, the French counterattacks were cut to pieces and fighting ended with a French withdrawal from the area.

The Japanese Empire mediated the conflict, and a general armistice was arranged to go into effect at 1000 hours on January 28. On May 9 France admitted defeat in Tokyo, with the French relinquishing their hold on the disputed territories.

* '''Haitian Revolution''' 
The Haitian Revolution was the first successful slave rebellion in the Western Hemisphere and established Haiti as a free republic. At the time, Haiti was a colony of France known as Saint-Domingue.

After two years of dispute among elements of the free population, a great slave uprising plunged the country into civil war in 1791. Slavery was first abolished on August 29, 1793 on the island. But by 1802, it was obvious that the French intended to re-establish slavery. As a result the black population continued the fight against the French. The leader of the revolution, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, led the rebellion until its completion, when the French were finally defeated at the Battle of Vertières in November of 1803.

* '''Hundred Years War''' 
The Hundred Years War happened when English Kings tried to claim the throne of France. It actually lasted 116 years. The English won some major victories, but were eventually defeated and lost almost all of their continental possessions. French victory was made possible by Joan of Arc, a young girl who said she had had visions from God, telling her to oust the English out of France. Joan won several victories and greatly revived French confidence. Eventually, she was captured by the English, who had her burnt to the stake after a false trial. She was nineteen.

* '''Italian Wars''' 
The Italian Wars were a series of wars from 1494 to 1559 for control over the States of Italy, mainly involving France and Spain, but also involving most other European states, and the imprisonment for several months of Pope Clement VII.

Originally arising from dynastic disputes over the Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples, the wars rapidly became a general struggle for power and territory among their various participants, and were marked with an increasing degree of alliances, counter-alliances, and regular betrayals. The Habsburg were eventually victorious with the French and their allies suffering an humiliating defeat.

* '''Napoleonic Wars''' 
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought between France (led by Napoleon Bonaparte) and alliances involving England and Prussia and Russia and Austria at different times. They were partly an extension of conflicts sparked by the French Revolution, and continued for the duration of the First French Empire.

The Napoleonic Wars ended on 20 November 1815, following France's final defeat at Waterloo and the Second Treaty of Paris.

* '''Peninsular War''' 
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was a major conflict during the Napoleonic Wars, fought in the Iberian Peninsula with Spanish, Portuguese, and the British forces fighting against the French. It has been described as "a hammer and anvil" campaign, the hammer being the Anglo-Portuguese Army, commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, with 40,000 to 80,000 men, and the anvil being the Spanish armies, the Spanish guerillas and the Portuguese militia.

The Peninsular War was the first guerrilla conflict (a term coined for this war) and lasted until the Sixth Coalition defeated France in 1814.

* '''Quasi-War''' 
The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought entirely at sea between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800. The conflict began because the French began to stealing American ships trading with the British.

The war started on July 7, 1798, when Congress rescinded treaties with France. United States Naval squadrons then sought out and attacked the French privateers. By October 1800, the United States Navy produced a reduction in the activity of the French privateers and warships, dealing the French an humiliating defeat. The French admitted this defeat with the Treaty of Mortefontaine on September 30, 1800.

* '''Seven Years' War''' 
The Seven Years' War (1754 and 1756–1763) was a war that pitted Great Britain and Prussia against France and Austria. The war was described by Winston Churchill as the first world war, as it was the first conflict in human history to be fought around the globe, although almost all of the combatants were either European nations or their overseas colonies.

The British-French hostilities were ended in 1763 with a French defeat that was made official by the Treaty of Paris; which was particularly catastrophic for France because it lost most of its colonial empire to Britain, especially Canada and India.

* '''Tunisian War of Independence''' 
The Tunisian War of Independence was fought from 1952 to 1956 between France and a guerilla movement of Tunisia, a nation that had been a French territory since 1881. The guerilla movement was lead by Habib Bourguiba.

In 1954, Pierre Mendes-France became the leader of the French government and pursued a policy of surrender. This resulted with the April 1955 agreement which handed internal autonomy to Tunisian hands while international relations were managed by France, a similar situation to the Turkish Bey method of governance in pre-1881. The humiliating French in the Algerian War of Independence further weakened the French people, leading to the abolition of the Treaty of Bardo and Tunisia gaining full independence in March 20, 1956.

* '''War of the League of Cognac''' 
The War of the League of Cognac (1526–1530) pitted the League of Cognac (and alliance of France, England, Pope Clement VII, Venice, Florence, and elements of Milan) against the Habsburg dominions of Emperor Charles V—primarily Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.

By 1539, France's ally, Florence alone continued to resist Emperor Charles V's Imperial forces. A Florentine army under Francesco Ferruccio engaged the Imperials at the Battle of Gavinana in 1530, but although Orange himself was killed, the Imperials won a decisive victory, and the Florentine Republic surrendered ten days later. With this decisive Habsburg victory; not only did the entire League of Cognac suffer a loss, but France especially was humiliated.

* '''War of the Sixth Coalition''' 
The Sixth Coalition (1812-1814) was a coalition of the Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Austria and a number of German States against France. After France's disastrous defeat in Russia, the continental powers saw a final opportunity to defeat the French and joined the coalition which previously consisted only of the Russians and British in addition to Spanish and Portuguese rebels in Iberia.

2.5 million troops fought in the conflict and the total dead amounted to as many as 2 million (some estimates suggest that over a million died in Russia alone). It included the battles of Smolensk, Borodino, Lützen, Dresden and the epic Battle of Nations — the largest of the Napoleonic wars, and indeed the largest battle in Western history up until the First World War. The final stage of the war led to the Allies occupying Paris, forcing the French to admit defeat.

* '''Wars of the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Coalitions''' 
These wars happened after the French Revolution and opposed France to many other european countries, often including the United Kingdom. They all resulted in victory for the French and therefore do not count.

[[Category:France]]
[[Category:Wars]]

French Wars

2007-04-24T00:07:18Z

Erebus:

The following is a list of some of the wars that [[France]] has fought and lost:

* '''Algerian War of Independence''' 
The Algerian War of Independence (1954–62) was one of the most important decolonisation wars and a complex conflict. It was characterized by guerrilla fighting and terrorism against civilians on both sides and counter-terrorism operations by the French Army. It was effectively started in November 1954. Under orders from Socialist Guy Mollet's (SFIO) government, the French Army initiated a campaign of "pacification" of what was considered at the time to be fully part of France. This "public order operation" quickly turned into a full-scale war.

France eventually conceded defeat with the March 1962 Evian Accords which organized the independence of Algeria, ending the French colonial empire.

* '''Conquest of England''' 
In 1066, French from Normandy, led by William (or Guillaume) the Conqueror, successfully invaded England, defeating the anglo-saxon army at the Battle of Hastings. The french language remained in use by the english kings and highest nobles for several centuries.

* '''First Indochina War''' 
The First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War) was fought in Southeast Asia from 19 December 1946 until 1 August 1954 between the nation of France and the resistance movement led by Ho Chi Minh, called the Viet Minh. Most of the fighting took place in Northern Vietnam (the area the French referred to as Tonkin) although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring Indochinese countries of Laos and Cambodia.

In 1954, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu occurred between Viet Minh forces under Võ Nguyên Giáp and French airborne and Foreign Legion forces. The French suffered an humiliating defeat. At least 2,200 members of the 20,000-strong French forces died during the battle. Shortly after Dien Bien Phu, the Groupe Mobile 100 of the French army were wiped out at the Battle of Mang Yang Pass. The Viet Minh victory at Dien Bien Phu led to the departure of France from Vietnam.

* '''Franco-Prussian War''' 
The Franco-Prussian War (July 19, 1870 – May 10, 1871) was fought between France and Prussia (backed by the North German Confederation) allied with the south German states of Baden, Bavaria and Württemberg. The conflict marked the culmination of tension between the two powers following Prussia's rise to dominance in Germany, still a loose federation of quasi-independent territories.

Over a five-month campaign, the German armies defeated the French army in a series of battles fought across northern France. Following a prolonged siege, the French capital Paris fell on January 28, 1871. The French admission of defeat, the Treaty of Frankfurt was signed May 10, 1871, during the time of the bloody Paris Commune of 1871.

* '''French and Indian War''' 
The French and Indian War was the nine-year North American theater of the Seven Years War. The conflict was caused by land disputes. Specifically both the British and the French claimed the vast territory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi river, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, known as the Ohio Country.

The French conceded their defeat and a British victory with the 1763 Treaty of Paris. As a result of the French defeat, the British gained control of French Canada and Spain gained control of Louisiana. Overall, French administrative presence in North America was almost completely removed.

* '''Franco-Mexican War''' 
The Franco-Mexican War lasted from December 8, 1861 to June 21, 1867. It began with the invasion of Mexico by the army of the Second French Empire. It followed President Benito Juárez's suspension of payments of interest on loans to foreign countries made by previous governments on July 17, 1861, which angered the French government. France wanted to exploit the rich mines in the north-west of Mexico. The French started the war when they did due to the fact that the United States was in the middle of its Civil War, and thus was unable to intervene as they would have due to the Monroe Doctrine.

The presidential terms of Benito Juárez were interrupted by the French occupational monarchy, which was eventually overthrown in early 1867. The Mexicans occupied the rest of the states of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and Guanajuato in January of 1867. The French evacuated the capital on February 5, 1867. The French instituted puppet monarch, Maximilian of Habsburg was executed on June 19, 1867 by the forces loyal to President Benito Juárez.

* '''French-Thai War''' 
The French-Thai War (1940 - 1941) was fought between Thailand and Nazi France over certain areas of French Indochina that had once belonged to Thailand. In early January 1941, the Thai lauched their offensive. Many French units were simply swept along by the better-equipped Thai forces. The Thais swiftly took Laos. Because of over-complicated orders and nonexistent intelligence, the French counterattacks were cut to pieces and fighting ended with a French withdrawal from the area.

The Japanese Empire mediated the conflict, and a general armistice was arranged to go into effect at 1000 hours on January 28. On May 9 France admitted defeat in Tokyo, with the French relinquishing their hold on the disputed territories.

* '''Haitian Revolution''' 
The Haitian Revolution was the first successful slave rebellion in the Western Hemisphere and established Haiti as a free republic. At the time, Haiti was a colony of France known as Saint-Domingue.

After two years of dispute among elements of the free population, a great slave uprising plunged the country into civil war in 1791. Slavery was first abolished on August 29, 1793 on the island. But by 1802, it was obvious that the French intended to re-establish slavery. As a result the black population continued the fight against the French. The leader of the revolution, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, led the rebellion until its completion, when the French were finally defeated at the Battle of Vertières in November of 1803.

* '''Italian Wars''' 
The Italian Wars were a series of wars from 1494 to 1559 for control over the States of Italy, mainly involving France and Spain, but also involving most other European states, and the imprisonment for several months of Pope Clement VII.

Originally arising from dynastic disputes over the Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples, the wars rapidly became a general struggle for power and territory among their various participants, and were marked with an increasing degree of alliances, counter-alliances, and regular betrayals. The Habsburg were eventually victorious with the French and their allies suffering an humiliating defeat.

* '''Napoleonic Wars''' 
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought between France (led by Napoleon Bonaparte) and alliances involving England and Prussia and Russia and Austria at different times. They were partly an extension of conflicts sparked by the French Revolution, and continued for the duration of the First French Empire.

The Napoleonic Wars ended on 20 November 1815, following France's final defeat at Waterloo and the Second Treaty of Paris.

* '''Peninsular War''' 
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was a major conflict during the Napoleonic Wars, fought in the Iberian Peninsula with Spanish, Portuguese, and the British forces fighting against the French. It has been described as "a hammer and anvil" campaign, the hammer being the Anglo-Portuguese Army, commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, with 40,000 to 80,000 men, and the anvil being the Spanish armies, the Spanish guerillas and the Portuguese militia.

The Peninsular War was the first guerrilla conflict (a term coined for this war) and lasted until the Sixth Coalition defeated France in 1814.

* '''Quasi-War''' 
The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought entirely at sea between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800. The conflict began because the French began to stealing American ships trading with the British.

The war started on July 7, 1798, when Congress rescinded treaties with France. United States Naval squadrons then sought out and attacked the French privateers. By October 1800, the United States Navy produced a reduction in the activity of the French privateers and warships, dealing the French an humiliating defeat. The French admitted this defeat with the Treaty of Mortefontaine on September 30, 1800.

* '''Seven Years' War''' 
The Seven Years' War (1754 and 1756–1763) was a war that pitted Great Britain and Prussia against France and Austria. The war was described by Winston Churchill as the first world war, as it was the first conflict in human history to be fought around the globe, although almost all of the combatants were either European nations or their overseas colonies.

The British-French hostilities were ended in 1763 with a French defeat that was made official by the Treaty of Paris; which was particularly catastrophic for France because it lost most of its colonial empire to Britain, especially Canada and India.

* '''Tunisian War of Independence''' 
The Tunisian War of Independence was fought from 1952 to 1956 between France and a guerilla movement of Tunisia, a nation that had been a French territory since 1881. The guerilla movement was lead by Habib Bourguiba.

In 1954, Pierre Mendes-France became the leader of the French government and pursued a policy of surrender. This resulted with the April 1955 agreement which handed internal autonomy to Tunisian hands while international relations were managed by France, a similar situation to the Turkish Bey method of governance in pre-1881. The humiliating French in the Algerian War of Independence further weakened the French people, leading to the abolition of the Treaty of Bardo and Tunisia gaining full independence in March 20, 1956.

* '''War of the League of Cognac''' 
The War of the League of Cognac (1526–1530) pitted the League of Cognac (and alliance of France, England, Pope Clement VII, Venice, Florence, and elements of Milan) against the Habsburg dominions of Emperor Charles V—primarily Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.

By 1539, France's ally, Florence alone continued to resist Emperor Charles V's Imperial forces. A Florentine army under Francesco Ferruccio engaged the Imperials at the Battle of Gavinana in 1530, but although Orange himself was killed, the Imperials won a decisive victory, and the Florentine Republic surrendered ten days later. With this decisive Habsburg victory; not only did the entire League of Cognac suffer a loss, but France especially was humiliated.

* '''War of the Sixth Coalition''' 
The Sixth Coalition (1812-1814) was a coalition of the Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Austria and a number of German States against France. After France's disastrous defeat in Russia, the continental powers saw a final opportunity to defeat the French and joined the coalition which previously consisted only of the Russians and British in addition to Spanish and Portuguese rebels in Iberia.

2.5 million troops fought in the conflict and the total dead amounted to as many as 2 million (some estimates suggest that over a million died in Russia alone). It included the battles of Smolensk, Borodino, Lützen, Dresden and the epic Battle of Nations — the largest of the Napoleonic wars, and indeed the largest battle in Western history up until the First World War. The final stage of the war led to the Allies occupying Paris, forcing the French to admit defeat.

* '''Wars of the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Coalitions''' 
These wars happened after the French Revolution and opposed France to many other european countries, often including the United Kingdom. They all resulted in victory for the French and therefore do not count.

[[Category:France]]
[[Category:Wars]]

French Wars

2007-04-23T23:53:49Z

Erebus:

The following is a list of some of the wars that [[France]] has fought and lost:

* '''Algerian War of Independence''' 
The Algerian War of Independence (1954–62) was one of the most important decolonisation wars and a complex conflict. It was characterized by guerrilla fighting and terrorism against civilians on both sides and counter-terrorism operations by the French Army. It was effectively started in November 1954. Under orders from Socialist Guy Mollet's (SFIO) government, the French Army initiated a campaign of "pacification" of what was considered at the time to be fully part of France. This "public order operation" quickly turned into a full-scale war.

France eventually conceded defeat with the March 1962 Evian Accords which organized the independence of Algeria, ending the French colonial empire.

* '''First Indochina War''' 
The First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War) was fought in Southeast Asia from 19 December 1946 until 1 August 1954 between the nation of France and the resistance movement led by Ho Chi Minh, called the Viet Minh. Most of the fighting took place in Northern Vietnam (the area the French referred to as Tonkin) although the conflict engulfed the entire country and also extended into the neighboring Indochinese countries of Laos and Cambodia.

In 1954, the Battle of Dien Bien Phu occurred between Viet Minh forces under Võ Nguyên Giáp and French airborne and Foreign Legion forces. The French suffered an humiliating defeat. At least 2,200 members of the 20,000-strong French forces died during the battle. Shortly after Dien Bien Phu, the Groupe Mobile 100 of the French army were wiped out at the Battle of Mang Yang Pass. The Viet Minh victory at Dien Bien Phu led to the departure of France from Vietnam.

* '''Franco-Prussian War''' 
The Franco-Prussian War (July 19, 1870 – May 10, 1871) was fought between France and Prussia (backed by the North German Confederation) allied with the south German states of Baden, Bavaria and Württemberg. The conflict marked the culmination of tension between the two powers following Prussia's rise to dominance in Germany, still a loose federation of quasi-independent territories.

Over a five-month campaign, the German armies defeated the French army in a series of battles fought across northern France. Following a prolonged siege, the French capital Paris fell on January 28, 1871. The French admission of defeat, the Treaty of Frankfurt was signed May 10, 1871, during the time of the bloody Paris Commune of 1871.

* '''French and Indian War''' 
The French and Indian War was the nine-year North American theater of the Seven Years War. The conflict was caused by land disputes. Specifically both the British and the French claimed the vast territory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi river, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, known as the Ohio Country.

The French conceded their defeat and a British victory with the 1763 Treaty of Paris. As a result of the French defeat, the British gained control of French Canada and Spain gained control of Louisiana. Overall, French administrative presence in North America was almost completely removed.

* '''Franco-Mexican War''' 
The Franco-Mexican War lasted from December 8, 1861 to June 21, 1867. It began with the invasion of Mexico by the army of the Second French Empire. It followed President Benito Juárez's suspension of payments of interest on loans to foreign countries made by previous governments on July 17, 1861, which angered the French government. France wanted to exploit the rich mines in the north-west of Mexico. The French started the war when they did due to the fact that the United States was in the middle of its Civil War, and thus was unable to intervene as they would have due to the Monroe Doctrine.

The presidential terms of Benito Juárez were interrupted by the French occupational monarchy, which was eventually overthrown in early 1867. The Mexicans occupied the rest of the states of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and Guanajuato in January of 1867. The French evacuated the capital on February 5, 1867. The French instituted puppet monarch, Maximilian of Habsburg was executed on June 19, 1867 by the forces loyal to President Benito Juárez.

* '''French-Thai War''' 
The French-Thai War (1940 - 1941) was fought between Thailand and Nazi France over certain areas of French Indochina that had once belonged to Thailand. In early January 1941, the Thai lauched their offensive. Many French units were simply swept along by the better-equipped Thai forces. The Thais swiftly took Laos. Because of over-complicated orders and nonexistent intelligence, the French counterattacks were cut to pieces and fighting ended with a French withdrawal from the area.

The Japanese Empire mediated the conflict, and a general armistice was arranged to go into effect at 1000 hours on January 28. On May 9 France admitted defeat in Tokyo, with the French relinquishing their hold on the disputed territories.

* '''Haitian Revolution''' 
The Haitian Revolution was the first successful slave rebellion in the Western Hemisphere and established Haiti as a free republic. At the time, Haiti was a colony of France known as Saint-Domingue.

After two years of dispute among elements of the free population, a great slave uprising plunged the country into civil war in 1791. Slavery was first abolished on August 29, 1793 on the island. But by 1802, it was obvious that the French intended to re-establish slavery. As a result the black population continued the fight against the French. The leader of the revolution, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, led the rebellion until its completion, when the French were finally defeated at the Battle of Vertières in November of 1803.

* '''Italian Wars''' 
The Italian Wars were a series of wars from 1494 to 1559 for control over the States of Italy, mainly involving France and Spain, but also involving most other European states, and the imprisonment for several months of Pope Clement VII.

Originally arising from dynastic disputes over the Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples, the wars rapidly became a general struggle for power and territory among their various participants, and were marked with an increasing degree of alliances, counter-alliances, and regular betrayals. The Habsburg were eventually victorious with the French and their allies suffering an humiliating defeat.

* '''Napoleonic Wars''' 
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars fought between France (led by Napoleon Bonaparte) and alliances involving England and Prussia and Russia and Austria at different times. They were partly an extension of conflicts sparked by the French Revolution, and continued for the duration of the First French Empire.

The Napoleonic Wars ended on 20 November 1815, following France's final defeat at Waterloo and the Second Treaty of Paris.

* '''Peninsular War''' 
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was a major conflict during the Napoleonic Wars, fought in the Iberian Peninsula with Spanish, Portuguese, and the British forces fighting against the French. It has been described as "a hammer and anvil" campaign, the hammer being the Anglo-Portuguese Army, commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, with 40,000 to 80,000 men, and the anvil being the Spanish armies, the Spanish guerillas and the Portuguese militia.

The Peninsular War was the first guerrilla conflict (a term coined for this war) and lasted until the Sixth Coalition defeated France in 1814.

* '''Quasi-War''' 
The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought entirely at sea between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800. The conflict began because the French began to stealing American ships trading with the British.

The war started on July 7, 1798, when Congress rescinded treaties with France. United States Naval squadrons then sought out and attacked the French privateers. By October 1800, the United States Navy produced a reduction in the activity of the French privateers and warships, dealing the French an humiliating defeat. The French admitted this defeat with the Treaty of Mortefontaine on September 30, 1800.

* '''Seven Years' War''' 
The Seven Years' War (1754 and 1756–1763) was a war that pitted Great Britain and Prussia against France and Austria. The war was described by Winston Churchill as the first world war, as it was the first conflict in human history to be fought around the globe, although almost all of the combatants were either European nations or their overseas colonies.

The British-French hostilities were ended in 1763 with a French defeat that was made official by the Treaty of Paris; which was particularly catastrophic for France because it lost most of its colonial empire to Britain, especially Canada and India.

* '''Tunisian War of Independence''' 
The Tunisian War of Independence was fought from 1952 to 1956 between France and a guerilla movement of Tunisia, a nation that had been a French territory since 1881. The guerilla movement was lead by Habib Bourguiba.

In 1954, Pierre Mendes-France became the leader of the French government and pursued a policy of surrender. This resulted with the April 1955 agreement which handed internal autonomy to Tunisian hands while international relations were managed by France, a similar situation to the Turkish Bey method of governance in pre-1881. The humiliating French in the Algerian War of Independence further weakened the French people, leading to the abolition of the Treaty of Bardo and Tunisia gaining full independence in March 20, 1956.

* '''War of the League of Cognac''' 
The War of the League of Cognac (1526–1530) pitted the League of Cognac (and alliance of France, England, Pope Clement VII, Venice, Florence, and elements of Milan) against the Habsburg dominions of Emperor Charles V—primarily Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.

By 1539, France's ally, Florence alone continued to resist Emperor Charles V's Imperial forces. A Florentine army under Francesco Ferruccio engaged the Imperials at the Battle of Gavinana in 1530, but although Orange himself was killed, the Imperials won a decisive victory, and the Florentine Republic surrendered ten days later. With this decisive Habsburg victory; not only did the entire League of Cognac suffer a loss, but France especially was humiliated.

* '''War of the Sixth Coalition''' 
The Sixth Coalition (1812-1814) was a coalition of the Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Austria and a number of German States against France. After France's disastrous defeat in Russia, the continental powers saw a final opportunity to defeat the French and joined the coalition which previously consisted only of the Russians and British in addition to Spanish and Portuguese rebels in Iberia.

2.5 million troops fought in the conflict and the total dead amounted to as many as 2 million (some estimates suggest that over a million died in Russia alone). It included the battles of Smolensk, Borodino, Lützen, Dresden and the epic Battle of Nations — the largest of the Napoleonic wars, and indeed the largest battle in Western history up until the First World War. The final stage of the war led to the Allies occupying Paris, forcing the French to admit defeat.

* '''Wars of the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Coalition'''
These wars happened after the French Revolution and opposed France to many other european countries, often including the United Kingdom. They all resulted in victory for the French and therefore do not count.

[[Category:France]]
[[Category:Wars]]

2007 French presidential elections

2007-04-22T18:30:21Z

Erebus:

Major candidates for the French presidency (with their parties listed):

* [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] ([[UMP]])
* [[Segolene Royal]] ([[Socialist]])
* [[Jean-Marie Le Pen]] ([[National Front]])
* [[François Bayrou]] ([[UDF]]) (christian democrat)

The two candidates who qualified for the second turn of the election are Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal.

[[Category:France]]
[[Category:Politics]]

French Revolution

2007-03-29T14:22:27Z

Erebus:

The French Revolution is one of the most famous revolutions in all of history. It started out with hope and promise, but then there was a "[[Reign of Terror]]", a chaos wherein anyone could be killed at any time. At least 18,000 people were executed on the [[Guillotine]].

Before the Revolution, France had three levels in its social system: The First, Second, and Third Estates. The [[First Estate]] was about 1% of the population, but it controlled 10% of the land. The First Estate consisted of the clergy, and they did not pay any taxes. The [[Second Estate]] was about 2% of the population and they controlled 20% of the land. These were the nobility, and they too payed very little taxes. The [[Third Estate]] was everyone else, and they were badly overtaxed by the monarch. This overtaxing was a major cause of the French Revolution. Interestingly, taxes also helped to spark the [[American Revolution]].

The leaders of the Third Estate were the middle class, called the [[bourgeoisie]]. They were educated in the ideas of the [[Enlightenment]], most importantly [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]]. Rousseau's book, "The Social Contract" supported a [[direct democracy]], rather that the republican government that had been adopted in [[America]]. The social contract spoke against titles for nobility and demanded complete equality for all people. These ideas later inspired communist writers like [[Karl Marx]].

France was near bankruptcy in 1789 due to King Louis XVI’s extravagance and high taxes, which discouraged work. The Second Estate then made a big mistake in demanding a meeting of the Estates-General, which was a French Assembly that had not met in 175 years. The defect in this strategy was that each Estate had one vote in the Assembly, such that the First and Second Estates could always outvote the Third Estate. That was acceptable in the early 1600s, but the Third Estate would not allow this in 1789 after learning the Enlightenment ideas. They wanted a system of one vote per delegate, which would have given the Third Estate the same number of votes as the First and Second Estate combined.

When the First and Second Estates refused this request by the Third Estate, it left and formed a new National Assembly. When the Third Estate was locked out of its meeting place, it met on tennis court and took the “Tennis Court Oath” to draft a new French constitution.

Violence soon hit the streets. On July 14, 1789 (“[[Bastille Day]]”), French peasants stormed the large Paris prison known as Bastille, freeing the inmates. The Great Fear or panic resulted, as riots occurred and peasants proceeded to burn wealthy homes. [[Louis XVI]] and his wife, [[Marie Antoinette]], were forced from their home in Versailles by a riot of women over the high price of bread. Supposedly the snobby Antoinette responded unsympathetically to the lack of bread for the peasants by declaring, “Let them eat cake!” Historians doubt she ever actually said that.

By then the French Revolution was in full swing. The National Assembly approved the “[[Declaration of the Rights of Man]],” which combined ideas of the American Declaration of Independence with some Enlightenment concepts. The result of this combination had many debatable claims. The entire document is short and worth reading in full: http://www.hrcr.org/docs/frenchdec.html

Unlike the American declaration that “all men are created equal,” the French version declared that “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.” Unlike the American declaration that all men have inalienable rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” the French version declared that all men have natural rights of “liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.” Some of the French declarations seem silly, like this one: “Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.” What is the meaning of a freedom if it is arbitrarily limited by undefined “abuses of this freedom”? The declaration should have enumerated every single possible abuse, such as slander, incitement to hatred, incitement to violence, incitement to racism, seditious talk, violation of professional secret, divulgation of state secrets, etc. It should also have defined each of them and the applicable penalties in a highly defined way. It's not as if laws could have been written later to define these abuses.

In 1791, a French journalist named [[Olympe de Gouges]] proposed a “[[Declaration of the Rights of Woman]],” but the National Assembly rejected her proposal. She, like many other leaders of that time, was eventually executed by guillotine.

The French National Assembly established a [[constitutional monarchy]] and, in 1791, adopted a new constitution that created a Legislative Assembly. Three factions quickly formed in the new Legislative Assembly, known as the radicals (liberals), moderates (centrists) and conservatives, similar to those political movements today in the United States. The three factions sat in different sections of the large assembly hall, with the radicals (liberals) sitting on the left, the moderates sitting in the center, and the conservatives sitting on the right. That gave rise to the left-center-right terminology that we still use today in the United States to describe these three political groups.

Meanwhile, Prussia and Austria were at war with one another, and Prussia offered to help the French King Louis XVI and his royal family. In response, in August 1792, the French revolutionaries imprisoned the king and his family.

A new National Convention replaced the Legislative Assembly and abolished the monarchy in order to establish a republic in 1792, which gave all adult males the right to vote. A radical political group called the Jacobins gained power, led by Georges Danton and Jean Paul Marat. Under the influence of the Jacobins, the National Convention used the guillotine to execute Louis XVI in January 1793. By this time many countries, including Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Prussia and Austria, had formed a First Coalition to invade France and restore monarchy. The National Convention responded by drafting people into an army. Historians claim women were drafted, but such a politically inspired claim is worth investigating before accepting it. The war lasted for several years, on several fronts, but the First Coalition was eventually defeated.

The execution of Louis XVI led almost immediately to the Reign of Terror. [[Maximilian Robespierre]], head of the Committee of Public Safety, proceeded to guillotine numerous alleged enemies, including Marie Antoinette. In a classic illustration of Jesus’s teaching that “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword,” Jacobin leaders [[Georges Danton]] (a fiery orator) was guillotined, and [[Jean-Paul Marat]] (a scientist) was stabbed to death in his bathtub. Eventually Robespierre himself was guillotined in 1794, and the Reign of Terror ended with his death.

At last the government of France was in the hands of a legislature, and an executive branch of five men called the Directory. The Directory picked a young, highly successful military genius named [[Napoleon]] to lead the French army. The very next day Napoleon seized all power in France as its dictator, in November 1799.

The influence of the French Revolution was immense throughout the western hemisphere, as other peoples felt that they, too, could rise up against their rulers and defeat them. Historians credit the French Revolution with spreading the ideas of the Enlightenment, limiting the power of nobility and clergy, and ending an absolute monarchy. But many who supported the French Revolution in its beginning were horrified by where it led, including numerous executions and terror. Some would say that France never fully recovered, as the French Revolution unleashed an hostility towards Christianity that continues to this day in France. Islam has recently risen in power there.

Charles de Gaulle

2007-03-27T20:09:58Z

Erebus:

Charles de Gaulle was the leader of the french Resistance during World War II. His relations with Roosevelt were notoriously strained. After France was liberated, he established a temporary government. In 1958, France faced a major crisis due to the war in Algeria and de Gaulle was called back to solve the situation. He was nominated Prime Minister, had a new constitution drafted and approved by referendum and finally became the 18th president of the French republic. He was in office from 1959 until 1969. In 1969, feeling he did not have popular support anymore, de Gaulle organized a referendum, ostensibly about minor institutional reforms. When the voters rejected the reforms he advocated, de Gaulle voluntarily stepped down from office.
De Gaulle was born on November 22, 1890 and died on November 9,1970 at age 79.

Cheese

2007-03-27T19:54:15Z

Erebus:

Cheese is a solidified dairy product where the [[curd]]s are separated from the [[whey]]. France is especially renowned as a cheese producer ([[Charles de Gaulle]] famously said : "how can a country with 300 different kinds of cheese agree on anything?"). Cheese is considered by some as a palliative for various internal diseases.

{{stub2}}

[[Category:Food and drink]]

Cheese

2007-03-27T19:53:57Z

Erebus:

Cheese is a solidified dairy product where the [[curd]]s are separated from the [[whey]]. France is especially renowned as a cheese producer ([[Charles DeGaulle]] famously said : "how can a country with 300 different kinds of cheese agree on anything?"). Cheese is considered by some as a palliative for various internal diseases.

{{stub2}}

[[Category:Food and drink]]

Templar

2007-03-27T19:16:06Z

Erebus:

The Knights Templar - Christian military group who were highly recognized during the [[Crusades]], from the 1100's to the 1300's.

King Philip the Fair of France, fearing their power and coveting their wealth, accused them of crimes such as sodomy and demon worship in order to get rid of them.

{{stub}}

Great Flood

2007-03-27T18:50:18Z

Erebus:

[[Image:Michelangeloflood.jpg|thumb|300px|right|''The Flood'', by Michaelangelo, detail from the Sistine Chapel, 1509.]]
Cultures around the world record a world-destroying '''flood''' in their oral or written histories. Today 60% of Americans believe the Biblical account of the Great Flood to be true.<ref>http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040216-113955-2061r.htm</ref> Virtually nothing historical, from writings to civilization to long-living organisms like trees, has survived from before about 3000 B.C., an approximate date given to the Great Flood.<ref>''See, e.g.'', http://www.ohtm.org/strut99.pdf</ref>

== The Flood accounts ==

The best known of the flood accounts are, the two intermeshed versions found in the book of [[Genesis]], and the version found in the [[Gilgamish Epic]]. Both are written accounts.
The Genesis account is the most detailed of any of the accounts, and the one against which others are usually compared.
It has also been studied the most, with a number of terms used in reference to it, including the '''Flood''', '''Noah's Flood''', the '''Deluge''', the '''Great Flood''', and the '''Noahic flood'''.
The terms ''pre-diluvian'' and ''post-diluvian'' are used to refer to the times before and after the flood respectively.

A table comparing specific details in a number of different flood accounts can be found [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3107 here].

== The Genesis account ==

The Genesis account is the most detailed account.
In it, God warned Noah that He was going to destroy the world with a flood, because of the wickedness of mankind. Noah was to build an ark and take on it his family and representatives of all air-breathing, land-dwelling creatures. The ark was to be 300 cubits long by 50 cubits wide by 30 cubits high<ref>''Genesis'' 6:15</ref> (approximately 450 feet long, by 75 feet wide, by 45 feet high), have three decks, and rooms.

God brought the animals and birds to Noah, and there were, per Gen 7:2 two of the "[[unclean (animals)|unclean]]" animals and seven (or seven pairs) of the "[[clean (animals)|clean]]", and per Gen 6:19-20 "two of every sort".

After Noah and his family and all the creatures were on board, God shut the door of the ark.
The flood was brought on by the eruption of subterranean water ("''the fountains of the deep were opened''"), and rain.
The rain lasted nearly six weeks (40 days and nights).
The flood waters apparently continued to rise for 150 days, but it was just over a year before the waters had receded enough for the occupants of the ark to leave.

The ark is recorded as having come to rest on the mountains of Ararat, taken by many today to be the existing mountains of that name.
God put a rainbow in the clouds, and said that it was to be a reminder that he would never again destroy the world in a flood. (Genesis does not say that this was the first ever rainbow.)
He also told Noah that it was now okay to eat meat.

== The Gilgamish Epic account ==

The council of the gods decided to destroy mankind with a flood, but Utnapishtim was warned by the god who had made man, Ea, to build a boat to take all living being. The length, width, and height were each 120 cubits (about 180 feet). It had seven stories.

The gods got frightened by the flood and retreated to heaven where they cowered and wept.
The flood lasted six days and seven nights, and was accompanied by wind and storm.
Utnapishtim send out a dove followed by a swallow, but both returned, unable to find land. He then sent a raven, which didn't return.

Dr. Jonathan Sarfati comments on the Gilgamish Epic:
:It is common to make legends out of historical events, but not history from legends. ... For instance, in Genesis, God’s judgment is just, he is patient with mankind for 120 years (Genesis 6:3), shows mercy to Noah, and is sovereign. Conversely, the gods in the Gilgamesh Epic are capricious and squabbling, cower at the Flood and are famished without humans to feed them sacrifices. That is, the human writers of the Gilgamesh Epic rewrote the true account, and made their gods in their own image.<ref Name="JS_GE" />

== Other ancient references ==

The Assyrian King [[Ashurbanipal]], who lived in the seventh century B.C., recorded, "I have read intricate tablets inscribed with obscure Sumerian or Akkadian...inscriptions on stone from before the Flood."<ref>[http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1032092 Ashurbanipal]</ref>

== Common Themes for Flood Accounts ==

=== Cause ===

Many of the accounts say that the flood was caused by God or some equivalent being.
In Genesis, it was Yahweh<ref>Genesis 6:3</ref>.
In the Gilgamish Epic, it was the council of the gods <ref Name="JS_GE">[http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3107 Noah’s Flood and the Gilgamesh Epic] by Jonathan Sarfati, ''Creation'', vol. 28 No. 4 pp.12-17</ref>.
In the Bundaba (Australian aboriginal) flood story, it was Ngowungu, the Great Father. <ref>[http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1468 Australian Aboriginal Flood Stories], ''Creation'' Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 6-9.</ref>
The Greeks recorded it as being [[Zeus]].<ref name="Greek">[http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html#Greek Greek], in ''Flood Stories from Around the World'' by Mark Isaak.</ref>

=== Purpose ===

When the cause of the flood is attributed to a god, the reason is frequently said to be for [[mankind]]'s wickedness.
Genesis adds that "every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time".<ref>Genesis 6:5 (NIV)</ref>
The Miao account from China says, in verse, "These did not God's will nor returned His affection. / But fought with each other defying the Godhead. / Their leaders shook fists in the face of the Mighty."<ref>[http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=341 Genesis According to the Miao People], by Edgar A. Truax, ''Impact'', April 1991</ref>
A Navajo account says that it was because of "their sins of adultery and constant quarreling". <ref>[http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html#Navajo Navajo (Four Corners area)], in ''Flood Stories from Around the World'' by Mark Isaak</ref>

=== What saved the people ===

People were generally saved either by floating out the flood, or fleeing to the top of a mountain. In the former case, the vessel took a variety of forms.
A Hopi Indian story has them surviving in the hollow stems of giant reeds<ref name="Hopi">[http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html#Hopi Hopi], in ''Flood Stories from Around the World'' by Mark Isaak.</ref>
The Greek story has them surviving in a chest. <Ref name="Greek" />
In Genesis, Noah was instructed by God to build an ark to dimensions and other specifications included in the account.

=== Who was saved? ===

The survivors were often a single family.
An Australian aboriginal account has Ngadgja, the Supreme One, telling Gajara to take his wife, his sons, and his sons' wives.<ref name="Wunambal">[http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1467 Aboriginal Flood Legend], by Howard Coates, ''Creation'' Vol. 4 No.3, pp.9-12</ref>
The Masai account from East Africa has Tumbainot taking his two wives, his six sons, and their wives.<ref name="Masai">[http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html#Masai Masai (East Africa)], in ''Flood Stories from Around the World'' by Mark Isaak.</ref>
A Hawaiian story has Nuu taking his wife and three sons. <ref name="Hawaii">[http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flood-myths.html#Hawaii Hawaii], in ''Flood Stories from Around the World'' by Mark Isaak.</ref>
Noah took his wife, his three sons, and their wives.<ref>Genesis 7:13</ref>

=== Birds sent out ===

Genesis describes Noah sending out birds to see if there was yet dry land.<ref>Genesis 8:6-12</ref>
Initially this was unsuccessful, but a subsequent attempt was successful when a dove didn't return. In the Hopi account also, they unsuccessfully sent out birds to find land.<ref name="Hopi" />
An Australian aboriginal account has a cuckoo not returning because it found land.<ref name="Wunambal" />
The Masai account has Tumbainot sending out a dove, which returned because it had no place to rest.<ref name="Masai" />

=== A rainbow ===

The Masai account has four rainbows signifying that God's wrath was over.<ref name="Masai" />
A Hawaiian account has the god Kane leaving a rainbow as a perpetual sign of his forgiveness.<ref name="Hawaii" />
From an Australian aboriginal story comes this account:
:Ngadja, the Supreme Being, put the rainbow in the sky to keep the rain-clouds back. The rainbow lies bent across the sky; he ties up the clouds behind it and the rain does not come. The rainbow keeps the clouds back and protects us so that the rainfall does not rise too high. Our people understand the significance of it. When we see the rainbow we say, ‘There will not be any abnormally heavy rain.’<ref name="Wunambal" />

Genesis says that the rainbow would be a reminder that God would never again destroy the world with a flood.<ref>Genesis 9:12-17</ref>

=== Criticisms ===

''See also criticism in [[Noah's Ark#Controversy|Noah's Ark]] and [[Flood Geology#Controversy|Flood Geology]].

Critics of the global flood suggest that the flood accounts are unrelated accounts of local floods, or stories influenced by the arrival of missionaries.

However, Nozomi Osanai responds that "''...the detailed nature of the widely spread statements has common elements to the Bible. In fact, even people who live far from the sea or in mountainous areas have flood traditions which are similar to the Genesis account.''"<ref>[http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/4089/ A comparative study of the flood accounts in the Gilgamesh Epic and Genesis, chapter 7], by Nozomi Osanai.</ref>

And Murray Adamthwaite responds regarding the missionary influence, "''...that explanation fails since in many cases secular anthropologists gathered the stories before missionaries reached these tribes with the Gospel. In other cases missionaries have related how they indeed told the story of Noah, only to find that the tribal folk already had a similar tale in their own legends.''"<ref>[http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/2538 Animals, a Deluge and Noah’s Ark]</ref>

== Modern explanations ==

===Black Sea theory===
In 2000, explorers discovered evidence that humans lived where the [[Black Sea]] now is and speculated the sea was created during a great flood <ref>http://archives.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/09/13/great.flood.finds.ap/</ref>. Dr. Robert Ballard expanded on this theory, postulating that the Black Sea was much lower during the Ice Age (including the finding of a beach thousands of feet underwater), and when the walls holding back the Mediterranean Sea at the Bosporus broke, the sea rushed in and drowned the inhabitants; those who survived told the tale orally, and according to Ballard this became the basis for the flood accounts of Genesis and Gilgamesh [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/blacksea/ax/frame.html]. This theory is for a local flood, and not the world-wide flood as recorded in Genesis and many other cultural traditions. It also doesn't fit with many other details of the Genesis account.<ref>[http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3392 Proof of Noah's Flood at the Black Sea?] by Creation Ministries International.</ref>

== Flood geology ==

''See main article: [[Flood geology]]''

Flood geology is the study of the Earth's geology from the point of view that the Genesis account is true and accurate, and that evidence of the Flood can be found in the geology of the Earth.

Until the rise of [[uniformitarian]] geology in the early 19th century, most geologists accepted the Noahic deluge as part of geology.
But [[James Hutton]] proposed in 1795 that geology ought to be based on the processes that we see happening now, thereby automatically ruling the Flood out of consideration.
During the 19th century a number of "[[scriptural geologists]]" held out against the rising acceptance of Hutton's principles,<ref>The Great Turning Point, by Terry Mortenson. See also a series of articles in the ''Journal of Creation'', commencing with "British scriptural geologists in the first half of the nineteenth century: part 1" by Terry Mortenson, ''Journal of Creation'' Vol. 11 No. 2 pp. 221-252.</ref> but they fought a losing battle and interest in flood geology virtually died out by the end of the 19th century.

However, in the second half of the 20th century, interest was revived amongst people keen to show that the biblical account was correct, and a small but growing number of geologists are now studying this field again, although the vast majority of geologists still reject the idea of a global flood on Earth.

Flood geologists propose that such a world-wide, year-long flood would have caused massive erosion, sedimentation, and geological movements, and leaving plenty of evidence in the [[geology|geological]] record.
Many propose that there was a single continent before the flood that broke up during the flood.
The idea of tectonic plate movement was proposed by creationary scientist Antonio Snider in 1859,<ref>[http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3670 What About Continental Drift], Chapter 11 of The Answers Book Updated & Expanded, Don Batten (Ed.)</ref> although it was not until several other scientists had proposed similar ideas that the idea was adopted by mainstream scientists in the last few decades of the 20th century.

According to flood geologists, the flood resulted from subterranean water erupting to the surface ("''the fountains of the deep were opened''"—Genesis 7:xx), combined with 40 days and nights of rain.
Although the rain stopped after 40 days, the flood waters continued to rise for 150 days, and lasted just over a year before Noah and the others on the boat were able to leave.<ref>The flood began on the 17th day of the second month of the 600th year of Noah's life (Genesis 7:11) and the ark's passengers alighted on the 27th day of the second month of the 601st year of Noah's life (Genesis 8:13-15)</ref>
During the flood, there was massive tectonic activity, including some land rising up and other land dropping, such that the waters ended up in newly-deepened oceans.
All the animals and birds (except those on the ark), and large numbers of sea creatures perished, and many of them were buried so quickly that they became [[fossil]]s, accounting for the vast majority of fossils existing today.

Flood geology also proposes that the flood waters swept together and buried large mats of vegetation ripped from the surface of the Earth, forming the [[coal]] beds that are mined today.

==External Links==

*[http://www.maicar.com/GML/Flood.html Greek Myths: Deucalion and the Flood]
*[http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/tab11.htm Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet 11 (Flood Story)]
*[http://www.nwcreation.net/geologycolumn.html Geological evidence from Northwest Creation]
*[http://www.genesisfiles.com/Library.htm#B Genesis Files website]
*[http://www.searchgodsword.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T2631]
*[http://www.answersingenesis.org/Home/Area/AnswersBook/global10.asp Was the Flood Global? Answers in Genesis article]
*[http://www.nationalgeographic.com/blacksea/ax/frame.html Black Sea theory, from Dr. Robert Ballard and National Geographic]
*[http://www.ilhawaii.net/~stony/lore64.html Native American flood story]
*[http://wovoca.com/myths-flood-1.htm Collection of Flood myths]

== Notes ==

<references />

Christopher Columbus

2007-03-27T14:55:07Z

Erebus:

'''Christopher Columbus''' was a Genoese explorer who discovered South America for [[Spain]] in 1492. Christopher Columbus was the second European sailor to discover the Americas (after Norse explorer Leif Erikson, whose discovery had no lasting consequences).

==FIrst Voyage==
He went to [[Queen Isabella]] and King [[Ferdinand of Spain]] to ask them to finance his journey to the east; his plan was to sail west to get to the east. His first appeal to the king and queen was disappointing but the second time they furnished him with three ships (the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria). Leaving August 3 1492, He sailed for months without sight of land until his crew became angry and began plotting mutiny.

Finally they came to land. When they explored a little they found the natives to be friendly and they found many new things that they had never seen before. As they prepared to return to [[Spain]] the Santa Maria ran aground on a coral reef and could not be repaired. Columbus saw this as a sign from God and established a trading outpost he called Navidad (after the Christmas holiday).

However he still had the Nina and Pinta, and so he took most of his crew up the Windward Passage and onwards to Spain. The king and queen were amazed by the colorful birds and strange foods that Columbus brought with him. Columbus was then called Admiral.

==Second Voyage==
When Columbus sailed back to the new world in 1493, he found no sign of Navidad or of his crew. This is what had happened: Columbus’ crew got bored because they found no gold, so they attacked the Indians. The Indians decided to rid themselves of the white men, leaving no trace. Columbus then built a new settlement called Isabella (after the queen), then left it in the charge of his brother Diego and went exploring. He was puzzled that his maps of the east did not match with what he had seen. When he reached modern day Cuba he believed that this was the mainland and forced his crew to swear that it was. He also discovered [[Jamaica]] shortly afterwards.

==Third Voyage==
In 1498, Columbus left Spain with 17 ships carrying 1,200 colonists. He explored [[Trinidad]], [[Tobago]], [[Grenada]] and the coast of [[Venezuela]].

When he returned to Isabella he found it in a state of confusion that he was unable to control. Because there was no gold he sent 500 Indians to Spain as slaves against the will of the king and queen. This brought much ridicule on Columbus. He sailed back to Spain to defend himself and the king and queen refused to furnish him with the necessary ships for three years.

==Fourth Voyage==
When rumors of the confusion in Isabella reached Spain the king and queen sent [[Francisco de Bodilla]] to investigate. Bodilla arrested Columbus and his brother in the name of the crown, took charge of Isabella forcefully and sent them back to Spain. Columbus begged for one more chance to explore “Asia”. They gave him four broken down ships. His fleet was beaten with storms and he was forced to give up his last journey. He started back for Spain, but his ships were on the verge of collapse and he was forced to stay at Jamaica. He sent one of his crew to Isabella in a canoe to get rescue ships. Seven months later the ships came and took him back to Spain. He died believing that he had made four voyages to Asia.

[[Category:Biographies]]
[[Category:History]]

Victor Hugo

2007-03-27T13:59:03Z

Erebus:

Victor Marie Hugo (1802-1885) is considered the greatest Romanticist poet.{{fact}} A prolific writer, he penned the classics ''Cromwell'' (1827), ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' (1831) and ''Les Miserables'' (1862). Hugo addressed many of the social problems of his time, such as poverty, child labor and women's condition. He was strongly opposed to the death penalty. While he was not blind to their flaws, he admired both the [[French Revolution]] and [[Napoleon]].

Christianity animated his work. In his Preface to ''Cromwell'', Hugo wrote:

:Lastly, this threefold poetry flows from three great sources - The Bible, Homer, Shakespeare ... The Bible before the Iliad, the Iliad before Shakespeare.

In ''Les Miserables'', Hugo wrote (Book 5, Chapter 4):

:God is behind everything, but everything hides God.

Both Hunchback and Les Miserables have been made into movies.

Victor Hugo

2007-03-27T13:57:02Z

Erebus:

Victor Marie Hugo (1802-1885) is considered the greatest Romanticist poet.{{fact}} A prolific writer, he penned the classics ''Cromwell'' (1827), ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' (1831) and ''Les Miserables'' (1862). Hugo addressed many of the social problems of his time, such as poverty, child labor and women's condition. He was strongly opposed to the death penalty. While he was not blind to their flaws, he strongly admired both the [[French Revolution]] and [[Napoleon]].

Christianity animated his work. In his Preface to ''Cromwell'', Hugo wrote:

:Lastly, this threefold poetry flows from three great sources - The Bible, Homer, Shakespeare ... The Bible before the Iliad, the Iliad before Shakespeare.

In ''Les Miserables'', Hugo wrote (Book 5, Chapter 4):

:God is behind everything, but everything hides God.

Both Hunchback and Les Miserables have been made into movies.

France

2007-03-27T13:43:19Z

Erebus:

{{stub}}
[[Image:map_of_france.jpg|thumbnail|right|250px|Map of France]]
France is a country in Western Europe.

At its height, the French Empire rivaled the British Empire, with colonies in every corner of the world. It continues to be a strong presence in academia and has been the birthplace of countless renowned scholars. It remains a powerhouse in the [[European Union]], often at odds with the [[United Kingdom]] on issues of EU policy. The capital city is Paris, often called the "City of Lights" due to its renown for a center of learning and philosophy.

A long standing tradition is the production and usage of perfume, which bloomed during the days of King Louis XIV in Versailles. Even today France is the largest European consumer of perfume and deodorants which - according to the national newspaper Le Figaro - is based on the fact that only 47% of the french shower every day.[http://www.embarrassingproblems.co.uk/sweating_a.htm]

France is also renowned for its cuisine and its wines. Good food (often opposed to fast food) is highly valued in France.

It was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel treaty which led to the EEC and EU. It greatly assisted then-Great Britain's North American colonies both militarily and financially in their effort to gain independence, and established universal legal codes in much of the non-Anglo-Saxon west. It has made a number of philosophical contributions to the world, including Descartes and Sartre, existentialism and post modernism. It gifted the Statue of Liberty to the USA in celebration of its independence, echoing the French aid given to the colonies during the American Revolutionary War.

In March of 2003 A.D., France was one of over a hundred nations that did not participate in the alliance that liberated [[Iraq]], with its aim of removing the [[Baathist]] regime of the dictator [[Saddam Hussein]], despite the clearly proven fact that Saddam Hussein was producing chemical and biological weapons which were found and destroyed by US troops.<ref>http://www.counterpunch.org/dixon06172004.html</ref> French forces did, however, participate in the war in Afghanistan, and suffered casualties in the fighting [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/oef.casualties/,/]

==Gaul==
Back during the time of the [[Roman Republic]], France was a territory called Gaul, populated by celtic tribes. [[Julius Caesar]] conquered Gaul, thanks to the lack of unity among the tribes. Gaul remained an important part of the [[Roman Empire]] for several centuries.

==Frankland under Clovis==
France is named after the Franks, a Saxon tribe who established Soissons, the capital. A Frank called [[Clovis]] united the Franks and established Frankland. Franks were pagans but Clovis converted to christianity (legend has it he prayed to Christ during a difficult battle, offering to become a Christian in exchange for victory ; shortly after that, the enemy fled).

[[Category:Countries]]

France

2007-03-27T13:32:33Z

Erebus: /* Frankland under Clovis */

{{stub}}
[[Image:map_of_france.jpg|thumbnail|right|250px|Map of France]]
France is a country in Western Europe.

At its height, the French Empire rivaled the British Empire, with colonies in every corner of the world. It continues to be a strong presence in academia and has been the birthplace of countless renowned scholars. It remains a powerhouse in the [[European Union]], often at odds with the [[United Kingdom]] on issues of EU policy. The capital city is Paris, often called the "City of Lights" due to its renown for a center of learning and philosophy.

A long standing tradition is the production and usage of perfume, which bloomed during the days of King Louis XIV in Versailles. Even today France is the largest European consumer of perfume and deodorants which - according to the national newspaper Le Figaro - is based on the fact that only 47% of the french shower every day.[http://www.embarrassingproblems.co.uk/sweating_a.htm]

It was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel treaty which led to the EEC and EU. It greatly assisted then-Great Britain's North American colonies both militarily and financially in their effort to gain independence, and established universal legal codes in much of the non-Anglo-Saxon west. It has made a number of philosophical contributions to the world, including Descartes and Sartre, existentialism and post modernism. It gifted the Statue of Liberty to the USA in celebration of its independence, echoing the French aid given to the colonies during the American Revolutionary War.

In March of 2003 A.D., France was one of over a hundred nations that did not participate in the alliance that liberated [[Iraq]], with its aim of removing the [[Baathist]] regime of the dictator [[Saddam Hussein]], despite the clearly proven fact that Saddam Hussein was producing chemical and biological weapons which were found and destroyed by US troops.<ref>http://www.counterpunch.org/dixon06172004.html</ref> French forces did, however, participate in the war in Afghanistan, and suffered casualties in the fighting [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/oef.casualties/,/]

==Gaul==
Back during the time of the [[Roman Republic]], France was a territory called Gaul, populated by celtic tribes. [[Julius Caesar]] conquered Gaul, thanks to the lack of unity among the tribes. Gaul remained an important part of the [[Roman Empire]] for several centuries.

==Frankland under Clovis==
France is named after the Franks, a Saxon tribe who established Soissons, the capital. A Frank called [[Clovis]] united the Franks and established Frankland. Franks were pagans but Clovis converted to christianity (legend has it he prayed to Christ during a difficult battle, offering to become a Christian in exchange for victory ; shortly after that, the enemy fled).

[[Category:Countries]]

France

2007-03-27T13:19:49Z

Erebus: /* Gaul */

{{stub}}
[[Image:map_of_france.jpg|thumbnail|right|250px|Map of France]]
France is a country in Western Europe.

At its height, the French Empire rivaled the British Empire, with colonies in every corner of the world. It continues to be a strong presence in academia and has been the birthplace of countless renowned scholars. It remains a powerhouse in the [[European Union]], often at odds with the [[United Kingdom]] on issues of EU policy. The capital city is Paris, often called the "City of Lights" due to its renown for a center of learning and philosophy.

A long standing tradition is the production and usage of perfume, which bloomed during the days of King Louis XIV in Versailles. Even today France is the largest European consumer of perfume and deodorants which - according to the national newspaper Le Figaro - is based on the fact that only 47% of the french shower every day.[http://www.embarrassingproblems.co.uk/sweating_a.htm]

It was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel treaty which led to the EEC and EU. It greatly assisted then-Great Britain's North American colonies both militarily and financially in their effort to gain independence, and established universal legal codes in much of the non-Anglo-Saxon west. It has made a number of philosophical contributions to the world, including Descartes and Sartre, existentialism and post modernism. It gifted the Statue of Liberty to the USA in celebration of its independence, echoing the French aid given to the colonies during the American Revolutionary War.

In March of 2003 A.D., France was one of over a hundred nations that did not participate in the alliance that liberated [[Iraq]], with its aim of removing the [[Baathist]] regime of the dictator [[Saddam Hussein]], despite the clearly proven fact that Saddam Hussein was producing chemical and biological weapons which were found and destroyed by US troops.<ref>http://www.counterpunch.org/dixon06172004.html</ref> French forces did, however, participate in the war in Afghanistan, and suffered casualties in the fighting [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/oef.casualties/,/]

==Gaul==
Back during the time of the [[Roman Republic]], France was a territory called Gaul, populated by celtic tribes. [[Julius Caesar]] conquered Gaul, thanks to the lack of unity among the tribes. Gaul remained an important part of the [[Roman Empire]] for several centuries.

==Frankland under Clovis==
France is named after the Franks, a Saxon tribe who established Soissons, the capital. A Frank called [[Clovis]] united the Franks and established Frankland

[[Category:Countries]]

Nicolas Sarkozy

2007-03-27T13:05:00Z

Erebus:

'''Nicolas Sarkozy''' (born in 1955) is a French [[conservative]] politician. He is the president of the "[[UMP|Union pour un Mouvement Populaire]]", [[France]]'s main conservative party, and one of the main candidates for the [[2007 French presidential elections|presidential elections of 2007]]. Up until March 26th, 2007, he was also the Interior Minister. Sarkozy is considered to be more pro-[[United States of America|American]] than most French politicians.

Iraq

2007-03-24T14:05:11Z

Erebus:

The modern country of Iraq corresponds with the ancient region of Mesopotamia - known by many as the cradle of civilization - where the first cities and classical civilizations developed in the fertile region between the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates.
The first of these was the Sumerian civilization that arose in southern Mesopotamia around 4,500 BC. The Sumerians grew barley, chickpeas, lentils, millet, wheat, turnips, dates, onions, garlic, lettuce, leeks and mustard and raised cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. The fertility of the flood plains they farmed and their extensive use of irrigation created surplus food which supported the populations of their cities and a system of government - which stored and distributed food and created a system of laws. In order to administer this the Sumerians developed the earliest known form of writing - cuneiform - much of which survives as they wrote on clay tablets which were dried in the sun and many of which have survived. The Sumerians worshipped many gods and built large mud brick pyramids known as ziggurats as temples.

In 2371 BC King Sargon of Akkad established the Assyrian dynasty which conquered the region covered by the modern countries of Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria and Israel. The Assyrian Empire collapsed with the fall of it's capital Nineveh (the modern Iraqi town of Mosul)in 612 BC and it was replaced by the Babylonian Empire - Babylon was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world and home to the legendary hanging gardens of Babylon built by King Nebuchadnezzar the second. Mesopotamian dominance of the region ended when the Persian king Cyrus the Great invaded in 539 BC. It remained part of the Persian Empire until Alexander the Greats conquest in 331 BC. It was ruled of the Hellenic descendants of Alexander's army - the Seleucids - until the Persians regained control in around 150 BC and made Mesopotamia part of the Parthian Empire - the only civilisation to halt Roman expansionism.

In the 7th Century AD Mesopotamia was incorporated into the vast Muslim Arab empire that covered most of the middle east, north Africa and Spain. In the 8th century the capital of this empire was moved to Baghdad which at a time when Europe was in the dark ages became the greatest centre for science and art since the time of the ancient Greeks. It was here that Astronomy and Algebra (both Arab words) were studied and advanced, and many familiar stories were first told like those of Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and the forty thieves and the thousand and one Arabian nights. By the twelve century this great empire was in serious decline due to the crusades, breakaway Muslim states in north Africa, the Mongols in the east and from its own rebellious mercenary soldiers - the Mamalukes and the Turks. Following the assassination of the last caliph of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258 there were nearly four centuries of conquest and chaos as Mesopotamia was invaded by Seleucids, Turks, Ottomans, Mongols (under Ghengis Khan), Turkoman, Tartars and Kurds.

In the 16th Century Mesopotamia became part of the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

In the early 20th Century Arab nationalists including Iraqis began rebelling against their Turkish rulers. With the outbreak of the First World War they fought alongside the Allies against the Turks in the hope of gaining their independence. Many Iraqis supported Britain's invasion and occupation of Iraq in 1917 as it ended Turkish rule, however France and Britain would control the Arab lands and Iraq came under the British mandate. When Iraqi tribesmen rebelled against British rule, the rebellion was put down using aerial bombardment - the first time air power had been used in such a way. In 1932 Iraq was granted independence although Britain still exercised considerable control over the country and had retained Kuwait for its oil.

In the years following the second world war Iraq was allied to Britain, the United States and Turkey, and Britain continued to exert considerable influence over the country. In 1958 an "anti-imperialists" military coup overthrew and executed the British-installed royal family. The coup leader Abd al-Quassim banned all political parties and declared that Kuwait was part of Iraq. The Arab League then asked Britain to send troops to Kuwait to prevent an Iraqi invasion of a one of it's member states. The troop deployment prevented a war but al-Quassim responded by allying Iraq with the Soviet Union and communist China. Quassim used money taken from the western owned Iraq Petroleum Company to carry out economic reforms in Iraq. Western governments were becoming concerned Iraq could become the "new Cuba" and in 1963 they supported a pro-western coup that overthrew Quassim. Between 1963 and 1968 there was a period of political instability with several failed governments and attempted coups.

In 1968 the Ba-ath Party seized power in a coup lead by General Bakr. The Ba-ath Party believes in the creation of a single socialists pan-Arab state that would replace all existing Arab countries and in the cold war it was strongly aligned with the Soviet Union. In 1970 all foreign businesses including the Iraq Petroleum Company were seized and Iraq declared oil would be used as "a political weapon in the struggle against imperialism and Zionism". In 1979 Saddam Hussein replaced Bakr as president of Iraq. Saddam was a particularly brutal ruthless man, he attempted to assassinate Quassim in 1959, played a major role in the 1968 coup and under Bakr he had lead the much feared Ba-athist secret police. One of his first acts as President was to call a Ba-ath Party assembly were he declared his main political rivals to be traitors and spies, they were lead from the assembly one by one to be tried and executed.

In 2003 Ba'athist party dictator Saddam Hussein, accused of hiding weapons of mass destruction, was removed from power by a US-led coalition of forces. Saddam had effectively stopped previous attempts at enforcement of UN resolutions by essentially bribing several Seucrity Council members, namely the Russian Federation and France through the corrupt [[Oil for Food]] program managed by UN General Secretary [[Kofi Anan]]'s son. After two years in interrogation, Saddam was hanged by the new Iraqi regime. Iraq is currently plagued by terrorism and considered by some to be heading towards civil war.

[[Category:Countries]]
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Vietnam

2007-03-19T18:09:24Z

Erebus:

Vietnam is a [[Communist]] nation in Southeast Asia bordering [[China]], [[Cambodia]], [[Laos]], and the [[Pacific Ocean]]. Much of Vietnam is mountaineous or covered in jungle. In the 20th century Vietnam was the site of guerilla fighting during World War Two in the 1940s, a war against the French for independance in the 1950s, and a civil war between the US backed South Vietnam and the Red China/USSR backed North Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s. After American forces withdrew in 1975 the entire country fell to communism and the butcherous [[Khmer Rouge]] in nearby Cambodia was emboldened. The wide-spread use by the US Air Force of concentrated herbicides, especially the dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange, has been criticized for its long-lasting consequences on the environment. According to the Vietnamese government, it led to an important increase in birth defects.

France

2007-03-18T03:24:54Z

Erebus:

{{stub}}
France is a country in Western Europe.

At its height, the French Empire rivaled the British Empire, with colonies in every corner of the world. It continues to be a strong presence in academia and has been the birthplace of countless renowned scholars. It remains a powerhouse in the [[European Union]], often at odds with the [[United Kingdom]] on issues of EU policy. The capital city is Paris, often called the "City of Lights" due to its renown for a center of learning and philosophy.

[[Image:map_of_france.jpg]]

It was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel treaty which led to the EEC and EU. It greatly assisted then-Great Britain's North American colonies both militarily and financially in their effort to gain independence, and established universal legal codes in much of the non-Anglo-Saxon west. It has made a number of philosophical contributions to the world, including Descartes and Sartre, existentialism and post modernism. Its own colonial behavior and the treatment of non-French soldiers has been criticized. Racial distinctions were made between “French soldiers” and “Soldiers of France”. It maintains the vestiges of [[Imperialism]] with the CFA (African France) in much of west and central Africa.It gifted the Statue of Liberty to the USA in celebration of its independence, echoing the French aid given to the colonies during the American Revolutionary War.

In March of 2003 A.D., France did not participate in the alliance that attacked [[Iraq]], with its ostensible aim to remove the [[Baathist]] regime, suspected of hiding weapons of mass destruction. This prompted backlash and a criticism from some Americans, causing them to question whether France's status as a U.S. ally had been undermined.
==Gaul==
Back during the time of the [[Roman Republic]], France was a territory called Gaul. It was home to many fierce Saxon tribes. [[Julius Caesar]] personally led the invasion. Eventually the Empire crumbled.
==Frankland under Clovis==
France is named after the Franks, a Saxon tribe who established Soissons, the capital. A Frank called [[Clovis]] united the Franks and established Frankland
==Weak monarchs==
Clovis's successors grew to be lazy and weak.

[[Category:Countries]]

Theodora

2007-03-18T03:21:01Z

Erebus:

Daughter of a bear-keeper, she became the wife of [[Justinian]] (emperor of Constantinople during the 6th century) and advocated women's rights. She supported the monophysite heresy (stating that Christ's nature was almost exclusively divine).

France

2007-03-15T19:27:33Z

Erebus:

France is a country in Western Europe, about 3,500 miles from the [[United States]]. At its height it rivaled the British Empire with colonies in every corner of the world. It continued to be a strong presence in academia and has been the birthplace of countless renowned scholars. It remains a powerhouse in the [[European Union]], and is consistently at odds with the [[United Kingdom]] on issues of EU policy. The capital city is Paris, often called the "City of Lights" due to its renown for a center of learning and philosophy.

[[Image:map_of_france.jpg]]

It was a founding member of the European Coal and Steel treaty which led to the EEC and EU. Its contributions to western culture have been immense if controversial. It greatly assisted England's North American colonies both militarily and financially in their effort to gain independence, and established universal legal codes in much of the non-Anglo-Saxon west. It has made a number of philosophical contributions to the world, including Descartes and Sartre, existentialism and postmodernism. Its own colonial behavior and the treatment of non-French soldiers has been criticized of late. It maintains the CFA (African France) in much of west and central Africa. It gifted the statue of liberty to the USA in celebration of its independence, echoing the French aid given to the colonies during the American Revolutionary War.

==Politics==

In March of 2003 A.D., France did not participate in the alliance to remove the [[Baathist]] regime in Iraq, accused of hiding weapons of mass destruction. That position prompted heavy backlash and criticism from the American people and caused them to question whether France's status as a U.S. ally had been undermined.

[[Category:Countries]]

James the Less

2007-03-13T02:13:46Z

Erebus:

James the Less was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus, one of two Apostles named James, and the author of the first Catholic Epistle. His father was Alphaeus of Cleophas, and his mother Mary was a close relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus. For this reason James was sometimes called the brother of the Lord. James the Less was a witness of the Resurrection of Christ, and Paul would consult him about the Gospel.

James the Less was the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and was probably martyred around the year 62. Non-Christian Jews respected James the Less and called him "James the Just."

James the Less wrote his epistle around year 49 A.D., or perhaps a decade later. Interestingly, it states that faith alone is not sufficient :

"2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."

"2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"

"2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only."

"2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

Hell

2007-03-12T16:42:18Z

Erebus:

'''Hell''' (from the [[Hebrew]] "sheol") is a Christian afterlife where the wicked are punished eternally for all the [[sin]]s they perpetrated during their lifetime on Earth. The only way to avoid hell is to know, love, and serve the Lord.

Also: Where we're dining tonight.

According to french writer Jean-Paul Sartre, Hell is other people.

Battle of Tours

2007-03-12T16:40:38Z

Erebus:

The Battle of Tours was waged in AD 732. It was the decisive battle in which Charles Martel stopped the advance of the [[Muslim]] armies into Europe, after they had conquered all of Spain. The Muslim leader, Emir Abd er Rahman was killed and the Muslims retreated to [[Spain]]. Muslims refer to the Battle of Tours as the "Court of Martyrs". It is referred to as the Battle of Poitiers in France (in truth, the battle happened between Poitiers and Tours).

Nicolas Sarkozy

2007-03-12T16:39:08Z

Erebus:

Nicolas Sarkozy (born in 1955) is a french conservative politician. He is the president of the "Union pour un Mouvement Populaire", France's main conservative party. He is also the Interior Minister and one of the main candidates for the presidential elections of 2007. Sarkozy is considered to be more pro-american than most french politicians.

Battle of Tours

2007-03-11T02:22:24Z

Erebus:

Les Républicains

2007-03-11T02:00:39Z

Erebus:

The Union for a Popular Movement is [[France]]'s largest [[conservative]] political party. It was initially aligned with the policies of [[Jacques Chirac]], but has increasingly differed with him, especially when it officially expressed opposition to [[Turkey]]'s membership in the [[European Union]] after Chirac supported it. It nominated [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] (who is also the president of the party) for [[2007 French Presidential Elections|President in 2007]].

Islam

2007-03-11T01:57:14Z

Erebus:

'''Islam''' is a [[monotheism|monotheistic]] religion of Abraham based on the teachings of [[Muhammad]]. Islam has grown to be the second largest religion in the world, with over 1.4 billion followers. The word "Islam" means submission to God. The followers of Islam are called [[Muslim|Muslims]]. Muslims practice complete monotheism, worshiping a god called [[Allah]] and believing Muhammad to be his last and greatest prophet. They live by the Koran, which they consider to be the pure and holy word of Allah. Muslims wash their hands before reading the book, which is considered complete and perfect only in the original Arabic, and burn old copies instead of throwing them away. Muslims follow the five pillars of Islam.

[[Image:Mecca.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Mecca, the holy city of the Muslim's]]

===Five Pillars of Islam===

*'''Shahadah (Profession of Faith)''' -The Shahadah is the Muslim profession of faith. The English translation is "''There is none worthy of worship except God, and [[Muhammad]] is the messenger of God''"

*'''Salat (Ritual Prayer)''' -All Muslims are required to Pray to Allah five times each day while facing [[Mecca]].

*'''Zakat (Charity)''' Able Muslims must donate to the poor based on the wealth one has accumulated. In current usage it is interpreted as 2.5% of the value of most valuables and savings held for a full [[lunar year]].

*'''Sawm (Fasting)''' All Muslims must fast during daylight hours during the entire month of [[Ramadan]]. According to Muslims, this purifies the body and soul.

*'''Hajj (Pilgrimage)''' All able-bodied Muslims must make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lives.

[[Image:Quran.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Pages from the Koran, the holy book of the Islamic religion.]]

==Islam and Christianity==

While Muslims do not believe Jesus to be the Son of God, they consider him to be one of God's most important prophets.

==Islam and Paganism==

Although most Muslims profess belief in a single, almighty [[Allah|God]], a substantial minority of accredited Western scholars believe that some Muslim beliefs, like those of the early [[Roman Catholic Church]], system can be traced back to distinctly polytheistic antecedents. Some, for example, have attempted to link Allah to a moon deity, though Allah is cited in the Koran as the God of Abraham and Isaac (Judaism and Christianity). <ref>Abramahov, "Islamic Theology". Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, 1988. [http://www.amazon.com/Islamic-Theology-Binyamin-Abrahamov/dp/0748611029/sr=8-4/qid=1172042917/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/105-1837174-2630046?ie=UTF8&s=books]</ref> Others have pointed to the pagan roots of various Muslim prohibitions, such as the ban on pork (also practiced in Orthodox Judaism) originating in the 3rd-century AD Damascene [[cult]] of the [[pig-god]] [[Jamal]]. <ref>Ibid.</ref> There is some evidence that traditional Muslim scholars have been suppressing this information as well as various recently-recovered scrolls that hint at early Muslim human sacrifice, which was also a part of early Judaism which ended after the Genisis story of Abraham and Isaac (e.g., at Uhud). <ref>Esposito, "The Oxford History of Islam", p. 523. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1999. [http://www.amazon.com/Oxford-History-Islam-John-Esposito/dp/0195107993/sr=8-1/qid=1172042853/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-1837174-2630046?ie=UTF8&s=books]</ref> Like all major religions, Christianity included, Islam has ill-understood and fascinating roots that modern scholarship has yet to fully plumb.

==References==
<references/>

Theodora

2007-03-11T01:50:48Z

Erebus:

Wife of [[Justinian]] (emperor of Constantinople during the 6th century) who advocated women's rights. She supported the monophysite heresy (stating that Christ's nature was almost exclusively divine).

French Revolution

2007-03-11T01:39:07Z

Erebus:

The French Revolution is the most famous revolution in all of history. It started out with hope and promise, but ended with nearly everyone being executed by the [[Guillotine]]. Then there was a "Reign of Terror", terrifying chaos when anyone and everyone could be killed at any time.

Before the Revolution, France had three levels in its social system: The First, Second, and Third Estates. The [[First Estate]] was about 1% of the population, but it controlled 10% of the land. The First Estate consisted of the clergy, and they did not pay any taxes. The [[Second Estate]] was about 2% of the population and they controlled 20% of the land. These were the nobility, and they too payed very little taxes. The [[Third Estate]] was everyone else, and they were badly overtaxed by the monarch. This overtaxing was a major cause of the French Revolution. Interestingly, taxes also helped to spark the [[American Revolution]].

The leaders of the Third Estate were the middle class, called the [[bourgeoisie]]. They were educated in the ideas of the [[Enlightenment]], most importantly [[Jean Jacques Rousseau]]. Rousseau's book, "The Social Contract" supported a [[direct democracy]], rather that the republican government that had been adopted in [[America]]. The social contract spoke against titles for nobility and demanded complete equality for all people. These ideas later inspired communist writers like [[Karl Marx]].

France was near bankruptcy in 1789 due to King Louis XVI’s extravagance and high taxes, which discouraged work. The Second Estate then made a big mistake in demanding a meeting of the Estates-General, which was a French Assembly that had not met in 175 years. The defect in this strategy was that each Estate had one vote in the Assembly, such that the First and Second Estates could always outvote the Third Estate. That was acceptable in the early 1600s, but the Third Estate would not allow this in 1789 after learning the Enlightenment ideas. They wanted a system of one vote per delegate, which would have given the Third Estate the same number of votes as the First and Second Estate combined.

When the First and Second Estates refused this request by the Third Estate, it left and formed a new National Assembly. When the Third Estate was locked out of its meeting place, it met on tennis court and took the “Tennis Court Oath” to draft a new French constitution.

Violence soon hit the streets. On July 14, 1789 (“[[Bastille Day]]”), French peasants stormed the large Paris prison known as Bastille, freeing the inmates. The Great Fear or panic resulted, as riots occurred and peasants proceeded to burn wealthy homes. [[Louis XVI]] and his wife, [[Marie Antoinette]], were forced from their home in Versailles by a riot of women over the high price of bread. Supposedly the snobby Antoinette responded unsympathetically to the lack of bread for the peasants by declaring, “Let them eat cake!” Historians doubt she ever actually said that.

By then the French Revolution was in full swing. The National Assembly approved the “[[Declaration of the Rights of Man]],” which combined ideas of the American Declaration of Independence with some Enlightenment concepts. The result of this combination had many debatable claims. The entire document is short and worth reading in full: http://www.hrcr.org/docs/frenchdec.html

Unlike the American declaration that “all men are created equal,” the French version declared that “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.” Unlike the American declaration that all men have inalienable rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” the French version declared that all men have natural rights of “liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.” Some of the French declarations seem silly, like this one: “Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.” What is the meaning of a freedom if it is arbitrarily limited by undefined “abuses of this freedom”? True freedom can only exist if everyone is able to say or write everything he wants. No law should prevent him from doing so, even if he feels like accusing his neighbor of being a pedophile with no proof or saying all Jews are subhuman and should be killed.

In 1791, a French journalist named [[Olympe de Gouges]] proposed a “[[Declaration of the Rights of Woman]],” but the National Assembly rejected her proposal. She, like many other leaders of that time, was eventually executed by guillotine.

The French National Assembly established a [[constitutional monarchy]] and, in 1791, adopted a new constitution that created a Legislative Assembly. Three factions quickly formed in the new Legislative Assembly, known as the radicals (liberals), moderates (centrists) and conservatives, similar to those political movements today in the United States. The three factions sat in different sections of the large assembly hall, with the radicals (liberals) sitting on the left, the moderates sitting in the center, and the conservatives sitting on the right. That gave rise to the left-center-right terminology that we still use today in the United States to describe these three political groups.

Meanwhile, Prussia and Austria were at war with one another, and Prussia offered to help the French King Louis XVI and his royal family. In response, in August 1792, the French revolutionaries imprisoned the king and his family.

A new National Convention replaced the Legislative Assembly and abolished the monarchy in order to establish a republic in 1792, which gave all adult males the right to vote. A radical political group called the Jacobins gained power, led by Georges Danton and Jean Paul Marat. Under the influence of the Jacobins, the National Convention used the guillotine to execute Louis XVI in January 1793. By this time many countries, including Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Prussia and Austria, had formed a First Coalition to prevent the violence in France from spreading outside. The National Convention responded by drafting people into an army. Historians claim women were drafted, but such a politically inspired claim is worth investigating before accepting it.

The execution of Louis XVI led almost immediately to the Reign of Terror. [[Maximilian Robespierre]], head of the Committee of Public Safety, proceeded to guillotine numerous alleged enemies, including Marie Antoinette. In a classic illustration of Jesus’s teaching that “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword,” Jacobin leaders [[Georges Danton]] (a fiery orator) was guillotined, and [[Jean-Paul Marat]] (a scientist) was stabbed to death in his bathtub. Eventually Robespierre himself was guillotined in 1794, and the Reign of Terror ended with his death.

At last the government of France was in the hands of a legislature, and an executive branch of five men called the Directory. The Directory picked a young, highly successful military genius named [[Napoleon]] to lead the French army. The very next day Napoleon seized all power in France as its dictator, in November 1799.

The influence of the French Revolution was immense throughout the western hemisphere, as other peoples felt that they, too, could rise up against their rulers and defeat them. Historians credit the French Revolution with spreading the ideas of the Enlightenment, limiting the power of nobility and clergy, and ending an absolute monarchy. But many who supported the French Revolution in its beginning were horrified by where it led, including numerous executions and terror. Some would say that France never fully recovered, as the French Revolution unleashed an hostility towards Christianity that continues to this day in France. Islam has recently risen in power there and many experts foresee that France may become a muslim country by the middle of the century.

France

2007-03-11T01:26:07Z

Erebus:

France is a country in Europe, which thrived especially during the Middle Ages (the Middle Ages roughly cover the period from the 5th century to the beginning of the 16th century). It remains a powerhouse in the [[European Union]], and is consistently at odds with the [[United Kingdom]] on issues of EU policy. The capital city is Paris.

[[Image:map_of_france.jpg]]

France did not support President Bush's invasion of Iraq even though american soldiers liberated it during World War II.

It was a founder member of the European Coal and Steel treaty which was lead to the EEC and EU. Its contributions to western culture have been immense if contraversial. It assisted the USA to gain its independence, established universal legal codes in much of the non anglo saxon west. It made a number of philosophical contributions to the world, including Descartes and Sartre, existentialism and post modernism. Its own colonial behaviour and the treatment of non French soldiers has been criticised of late. It maintains the CFA (African France) in much of west and central Africa. It gifted the statue of liberty to the USA in celebration of its independence.