100 Years War Research Paper

AP Euro homework
The 100 Years’ War The hundred years’ war began in 1337 when the boy king of England, Edward III, made a claim to the French throne after Charles IV died without producing a single male heir. However this was only the final straw, there were many other factors that started the war, such as England and Frances’ close proximity and need for conquest. The fifteen year old also happened to be the vassal of the dead French king, and was coincidentally in possession of several pieces of large French land. One of these territories was Flanders, a village whose economy relied on the trade of English wool; this did nothing to help already inflamed communication between England and France. It would seem to the untrained eye that going into the war France had a clear advantage because of its larger population and greater wealth; however England was much more centralized and did not rely on feudal society which turned out to be a deciding factor at the beginning of the war. The English also happened to have a much better trained, and more professional army at their disposal. But for France the hits just kept coming. The part of their populous that was wealthy was also very stingy and not keen on backing a war effort, so instead the French relied on the banks in Italy for funds.
Once again a side is given an advantage disguised as a disadvantage, but this time it is the French.
They face a peasant uprising called the Jacquerie, but it was quelled diplomatically through the Peace of Brétigny-Calais which allowed them a bit of room to recover in terms of time. The reason this was an advantage to the French was because of the timing; the French were allowed to gain the upper-hand momentarily, as the English faced a peasant rebellion of their own. This position of superiority was fleeting because Henry V of England staged the Invasion of Normandy, hitting the French where they were still in
chaos.
However Frances real secret weapon was Joan of Arc and the thousands of faithful followers that accompanied her. Believing there was no other option, Charles VII allowed her to lead troops into the nearly lost city of Orléans, which had been under siege up until its liberation at the hands of Joan and her army. Her unbelievable victory boosted the moral of the people of France to unbelievable levels. The victories that followed allowed French to take control back of most of its land, and more importantly, its throne. However Charles did little to free Joan from the English when she was captured, and she was tortured then executed after being charged with heresy. The war was finally ended in 1430 after Burgundy made peace with Charles VII and France made its final moves, in the end allowing England to keep only the coastal city of Calais.