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The Middle ages to the 19th Century in Paris

From Joan of Arc to Napoleon and Notre Dame to the Bastille, Paris has seen a variety of social changes, political upheavals, and famous historical characters. This short history from the Middle Ages to the early nineteenth century well help you put the city into context as you explore.

The Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, Paris was conquered and run by several different kings. As part of the English kingdom during the hundred years war, Paris was besieged by Joan of arc. Even the Black Death of the 14^th century went through and wiped out one-third of the population, leading to peasant uprisings.

Despite the turmoil of this time period, Paris’s thriving silver market and its university sector along the west bank allowed Paris to be the religious center of the medieval world. This can be seen in sites such as Notre Dame Cathedral, which was built in 1163. Paris was also the largest European city in the Middle Ages with a population of 100,000.

The Renaissance

The rise of the Renaissance brought lots of new changes to Paris, including a stronger and more centralized monarchy, ruled at first by François I who was a patron of the arts. Arts, universities, religion, secularism, science, and the spread of information all flourished during this time period. Even the café was invented as a place to philosophize during the Renaissance.

However, with the religious reformation that drew some believers away from the Catholic church, Paris became the place of religious unrest between the Catholics and the Huguenots or French Protestants. This led to the Wars of Religion between 1562 and e1598.

The violence was stifled for a time when the Huguenot King, Henry IV, came to power and granted religious tolerance and political rights for Huguenots through the Edict of Nantes.

The Sun King Louis XIV

While Louis XIII and his minister, Cardinal Richelieu, had a short and ruthless rule building castles, it was King Louis XIV who really had a knack for getting things into motion. During his reign he commissioned the Champs-Élysées, and business and commerce became an essential part of Paris’s economy. Even theatre and restaurants were born during the reign of the Sun King and the arts once again flourished.

The French Revolution

The rise in literacy and humanism among the Parisian population allowed the people to forget their religious rivalries and focus on more important things, such as the country’s debt, the high food prices, and the overall suffering of the lower classes.

On July 14, 1789, more than a thousand citizens stormed the prison known as the Bastille, and people across France burned the documents that held the information about their debts. The independent National Assembly then joined in and created the Rights of Man, which laid out the desire for equality among the French people.

The French Revolution eventually led to the execution of many people from the upper classes and ended in 1794. The country was then led by a five-man Directory.

Napoleon

By quelling a royalist uprising, Napoleon Bonaparte began his rise to power. He later took over the Directory and went from general in 1795 to Emperor by 1804. While he ruled, he was able to gain control over most of Europe and brought many of the spoils of war home to Paris. Along with artifacts to add to the Louvre, he also commissioned several arches, such as the Arc de Triomphe, which are still symbols of Paris today.

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The Middle ages to the 19th Century in Paris