The Vikings from Scandinavia began migrating to the region in the early-ninth century AD. In France they settled in Normandy, while in England they initially occupied an area in the north known as the Danelaw. In 1015 the Viking king Canute defeated the Anglo-Saxons in southern England and extended Viking rule over the whole country. In 1066, a disputed succession caused the Normans from Normandy led by William the Conqueror to invade England and for the first time since the Romans left, unify England and northern France under one crown.
Rochester castle was a Norman stronghold (classic route, Stage 2)
The Hundred Years’ War
For nearly 500 years the Norman kings of England and their Plantagenet successors sought to consolidate and expand their territory in Britain and France. The main confrontation was the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453) fought between France and an alliance of England and Burgundy. For many years the English and Burgundians had the upper hand and success at Crécy in 1346 (classic route, Stage 6) led to the capture of large areas of France. The turning point came in 1429 when a French force led by 17-year-old Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc) succeeded in lifting the siege of Orleans. By 1453 the English had been driven almost completely out of France, consolidating the French monarchy as the dominant force in the region. The last English stronghold at Calais (classic route, Stage 4) fell in 1558.
Religious influences and the rise of Protestantism
The Romans converted to Christianity in AD312 and this became the predominant religion in France. St Augustine brought Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England in AD597, establishing a church at Canterbury which later became the most important cathedral in the country. Following the murder of Thomas Becket (1170), Canterbury became a destination for pilgrims visiting Becket’s grave. Many ventured further, with both English and French pilgrims continuing through France to Rome or Santiago. During the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547), the Church of England split from the Catholic Church becoming Protestant. While there was a period of religious turmoil, the change stuck and Protestantism became the dominant force.
In France, the country’s biggest Catholic cathedral was built at Amiens in the 13th century (classic route, Stage 7) and an even bigger one started at Beauvais (classic route, Stage 8), but this was never finished. In the early 16th century the Protestant reformation reached France from Germany and Switzerland, rapidly taking hold driven by widespread perception of corruption among Catholic clergy. By mid-century many towns had substantial numbers of Protestant worshippers, known as Huguenots. This sparked violent reaction from devout Catholics led by the Duc de Guise and between 1562 and 1598 France was convulsed by a series of ferocious wars between religious factions. It is estimated that between two million and four million people died as a result of war, famine and disease. The wars were ended by the Edict of Nantes which granted substantial rights and freedoms to Protestants. However, this was not the end of the dispute. Continued pressure from Catholic circles gradually reduced these freedoms and in 1685 Louis XIV revoked the edict. Thankfully this did not provoke renewed fighting, many Huguenots choosing to avoid persecution by emigrating to Protestant countries (particularly Switzerland, Britain and the Netherlands), but it had a damaging effect on the economy.
The French Revolution
Both France and England were monarchies, although French kings ruled with more autocratic powers than English ones. This led eventually to violent revolution (1789–1799) which ended the ancien régime in France. The monarchy was swept away and privileges enjoyed by the nobility and clergy removed. Monasteries and religious institutions were closed while palaces and castles were expropriated by the state. Many were demolished, but some survived, often serving as barracks or prisons. In place of the monarchy a secular republic was established. The revolutionary mantra ‘liberté, égalité, fraternité’ is still the motto of modern day France. Chaos followed the revolution and a reign of terror resulted in an estimated 40,000 deaths, including King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. The English novelist Charles Dickens described this period in A Tale of Two Cities:’it was the best of times, it was the worst of times’. A coup in 1799 led to military leader Napoleon Bonaparte taking control.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Despite ruling France for only 16 years, Napoleon (1769–1821) had a greater influence on the political and legal structures of the country than any other person. He made peace with the Catholic Church and allowed many exiled aristocrats to return, although with limited powers. In 1804, he declared himself Emperor of France and started a series of military campaigns which saw the French briefly gain control of much of western and central Europe. Feeling threatened by French aggression, Britain went to war with France. A legacy from this period can be found all along the south-east coast of England (classic route, Stage 3 and Avenue Verte, Stage 3) in the form of Martello towers, small defensive forts built to defend against French invasion. Napoleon was defeated in 1815 by the combined forces of Britain and Prussia, this being the last war between the British and French.
Napoleon is buried under the dome of Les Invalides in Paris (classic route, Stage 11)
Agricultural and industrial revolutions
In Britain, political stability and an entrepreneurial environment allowed industry to develop and grow, fermenting the late 18th-century industrial revolution. Agricultural mechanisation caused millions of workers to leave the land and take jobs in factories producing textiles and iron goods which were distributed by a network of canals and railways and exported by a growing merchant fleet. This industrialisation was primarily in the north, with agriculture continuing to dominate the downland and Wealden valleys of south-east England. Indeed, the pre-19th-century iron industry in the Sussex Weald was unable to compete and ceased to exist.
French industrialisation came later, but by the mid-19th century the French economy was growing strongly based upon coal, iron and steel, textiles and heavy engineering. Coalfields developed in the Nord-Pas de Calais region and textile mills could be found across northern France.
Twentieth-century wars
The fields of northern France were the scene of much fighting during the First World War (1914–1918), with British and French armies engaged for over four years in trench warfare against an invading German army. The frontline lay east of the classic route, with some of the heaviest fighting in the Somme valley near Amiens (classic route, Stage 7). Despite being on the winning side, the French economy was devastated by the war and the depression of the 1930s. Invasion by Germany in the Second World War (1939–1945) led the French army to surrender and the British army to retreat across the Channel, with the Germans occupying northern France for four years. Defensive works spread along Britain’s south coast to defend against an expected German attack that never materialised. An allied invasion of France through Normandy (1944) lifted this occupation with Paris being liberated on 25 August.
European integration
After the war, France was one of the original signatories to the Treaty of Rome (1957) which established the European Economic Community (EEC) and led to the European Union (EU). Economic growth was strong and the French economy prospered. Political dissent, particularly over colonial policy, led to a new constitution and the establishment of the Fifth Republic under Charles de Gaulle in 1958. Subsequent withdrawal from overseas possessions has led to substantial immigration into metropolitan France from ex-colonies, creating the most ethnically diverse population in Europe. Since the 1970s, old heavy industry has almost completely disappeared and been replaced with high-tech industry and employment in the service sector.
Although not joining the EU until 1973 (and planning to leave in 2019), Britain’s post-war path has been remarkably like that of France. Withdrawal from empire in the 1960s and a movement of people from former colonies has made London almost as cosmopolitan as Paris. Heavy industry has been replaced by light industry and services