AD 1650-1800 Early modern

During the reign of Louis XIV (AD 1643-1715), the ‘Sun King’, France became the cultural leader of Europe. However autocratic government at home and aggressive foreign policy against the Netherlands, Britain and the Austrian Habsburgs ended in social crisis. Involvement in the War of the Austrian Succession (1741-48), the Seven Years' War (1756-63) and the American War of Independence (1777-83) led to the loss of French Indian and American colonies and the bankruptcy of the state.

In the 1780s, criticism of the administration grew, the financial situation deteriorated and harvests failed. Events moved quickly. In July Parisians stormed the notorious Bastille prison, signalling the start of the French Revolution. France was declared a Republic in 1792 and in 1793 King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette were executed. A period of political extremism, the Terror, followed when many aristocrats and moderates were guillotined. Eventually the government of the Directory was established (1795), but overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799.

In the 17th century, the United Provinces were a major sea power, but in the 18th century they lost their supremacy to Britain, and were encircled by the Habsburgs on land. Annexed by Napoleon, together with the Southern Netherlands, they became part of French Empire in 1795.