Category Archives: French History

Women and War in Belgium

Posted on March 31, 2020 by

Gabrielle Petit stares defiantly into the distance, under gray skies in Brussels. Almost every morning, I walk beneath Petit’s stern gaze on my way to the archives, thinking about her last moments and about the long history of women and … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival Research, Civil Conflict, Civilians and Refugees in War, Current Research, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, European History, European Wars of Religion, French History, French Wars of Religion, Gender and Warfare, History of Violence, Laws of War, Reformation History, Religious Violence, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World, Women and Gender History | Leave a comment

Vichy France Offers Insights into the Trump Era

Posted on August 13, 2019 by

The Vichy government in occupied France during the Second World War became notorious for its collaboration with Nazi Germany and its organization of deportations of Jews and its participation in the bureaucratic mechanisms of the Holocaust. The Vichy regime and … Continue reading →

Posted in European History, European Union, French History, History in the Media, History of Violence, Human Rights, Museums and Historical Memory, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

D-Day 75th Anniversary

Posted on June 6, 2019 by

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy during the Second World War.  So, the Second World War is front-page news today in news media around the world, and many of the reports have a direct link … Continue reading →

Posted in European History, European Union, French History, Historical Film, History of Violence, Museums and Historical Memory, War and Society, War in Film, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Occupation of Paris after the Napoleonic Wars

Posted on April 3, 2019 by

My French history colleague and friend, Christine Haynes, discusses her new book on the occupation of Paris at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in a podcast of The Siècle. Christine Haynes’s book is entitled, Our Friends the Enemies: The … Continue reading →

Posted in Civilians and Refugees in War, Early Modern Europe, European History, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, History of Violence, Paris History, Urban History, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

The Defeat of Napoleon and the Occupation of France

Posted on February 12, 2019 by

My French historian colleague, Christine Haynes, recently published Our Friends the Enemies, a new book on the defeat of Napoleon and the occupation of France. The book description at Harvard University Press’s website reads: “The Napoleonic wars did not end … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Modern Europe, Empires and Imperialism, European History, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, Paris History, Strategy and International Politics, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Renaissance History and Franco-Italian Quarrels

Posted on February 8, 2019 by

French President Emmanuel Macron has recalled the French Ambassador to Italy, in response to the Italian government’s support of the Gilets Jaunes (Yellow Vests) protest movement in France. Italian Deputy Prime Ministers Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio have both … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History, Court Studies, Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Empires and Imperialism, European History, Food and Cuisine History, French History, French Wars of Religion, History in the Media, Italian History, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Political Culture, Renaissance Art and History, Women and Gender History | Leave a comment

History, Identity Politics, and the “French Destiny”

Posted on February 6, 2019 by

History and identity politics are intimately interwoven in modern French society. The history of the French Revolution and Napoleonic period to define the landscape of  political ideologies (socialism, liberalism, conservatism) in the nineteenth century and forged the language of modern … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, European History, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, Globalization, History in the Media, Museums and Historical Memory, Political Culture, Revolts and Revolutions, Strategy and International Politics, World History | Leave a comment

French Revolution and the Let Them Eat Cake Shutdown

Posted on January 25, 2019 by

Welcome to the “Let Them Eat Cake Shutdown.” The French Revolution has now entered into the current federal government shutdown in the United States. The BBC reports that “US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross has attracted scorn for suggesting workers affected … Continue reading →

Posted in Comparative Revolutions, French History, French Revolution and Napoleon, History in the Media, Political Culture, Revolts and Revolutions | Leave a comment

Painting from Louis XIV’s Reign Discovered in Paris

Posted on January 22, 2019 by

A large seventeenth-century oil painting (measuring 10-by-20-foot) has been discovered behind a wall in a building that is currently being restored for an Oscar de la Renta boutique in Paris. After workers discovered the painting, Oscar de la Renta brought … Continue reading →

Posted in Art History, Court Studies, Cultural History, Early Modern Europe, European History, French History, Mediterranean World, Noble Culture and History of Elites, Paris History, Religious History, Religious Politics, Strategy and International Politics, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

Generous Amazons Article in Spanish

Posted on January 9, 2019 by

I am excited to see that my “Generous Amazons” article on besieged women in the French Wars of Religion is now available in Spanish! Antonio Escobar Tortosa has kindly translated the article and Revista Universitaria de Historia Militar (RUHM) has … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Conflict, Civilians and Refugees in War, Early Modern Europe, European History, European Wars of Religion, French History, French Wars of Religion, Gender and Warfare, History of Violence, Religious Violence, War and Society, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment