During the late years of the eighteenth century, the spirit of enlightenment thinking and revolution were in the air. The world was changing, moving away from ingrained beliefs about religion, reason, society, and the rights of the individual and turning more towards the laws of nature as interpreted by the scientific method. Nowhere was the influence of this radical new way of thinking more apparent than in france, and the upheaval this caused would come to bloody fruition in the form of revolution.

Review the causes and the lasting effects brought about during this tumultuous time period when the common people of france struggled to remake their world upon the cornerstone of liberty.

In this book, you will discover the following:

• France's origins and its prehistory
• France's relations with the roman empire
• How the french survived the middle ages
• The french revolution and the impact it had on society
• The napoleonic wars and the changes napoleon made in france and its colonies
• French colonialism and a look at some of the major french colonies
• France during the world wars

The french have rightly prided themselves on their food, fashion, painting, sculpture, theater, films, and literature, among much else. The names escoffier, saint-laurent, monet, rodin, moliere, truffaut, and voltaire are known throughout the world. The famous eiffel tower is recognized as the symbol of france to people in the most remote places of the globe, but there is so much more to the history of france than escargot, wine, impressionism, and movies.