Cadzand is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland . It is located in the municipality of Sluis , about 8 km northwest of Oostburg . The village contains 790 inhabitants (2010). Better known to many visitors is the nearby beach at Cadzand-Bad.
128-649: Cadzand was the scene of two battles during the Hundred Years' War Under the Secret Treaty of Dover , concluded in 1670 between Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France , England was supposed to get possession of Cadzand as well as Walcheren , as the reward for helping France in the then impending war against the Dutch Republic. In the event, the Dutch resistance - much stronger than anticipated - managed to repulse
256-593: A dynastic conflict , the war inspired French and English nationalism. The broader introduction of weapons and tactics supplanted the feudal armies where heavy cavalry had dominated, and artillery became important. The war precipitated the creation of the first standing armies in Western Europe since the Western Roman Empire and helped change their role in warfare . Civil wars, deadly epidemics, famines, and bandit free-companies of mercenaries reduced
384-595: A vassal of the King of France . As a result, the crown of England was held by a succession of nobles who already owned lands in France, which put them among the most influential subjects of the French king, as they could now draw upon the economic power of England to enforce their interests in the mainland. To the kings of France, this threatened their royal authority, and so they would constantly try to undermine English rule in France, while
512-596: A broad if uneven hierarchy of law and protection. These localised hierarchies were based on the bond of common people to the land on which they worked, and to a lord, who would provide and administer both local law to settle disputes among the peasants, as well as protection from outside invaders. The western provinces soon were to be dominated by three great powers: first, the Franks ( Merovingian dynasty ) in Francia 481–843 AD, which covered much of present France and Germany; second,
640-775: A distinct group in the central and eastern parts of Europe. The first great empire of the Middle Ages was the Frankish Empire of Charlemagne , while the Islamic conquest of Iberia established Al-Andalus . The Viking Age saw a second great migration of Norse peoples. Attempts to retake the Levant from the Muslim states that occupied it made the High Middle Ages the age of the Crusades , while
768-501: A flanking movement with his horsemen, cutting off the French retreat and successfully capturing King John and many of his nobles. With John held hostage, his son the Dauphin (later to become Charles V ) assumed the powers of the king as regent . After the Battle of Poitiers, many French nobles and mercenaries rampaged, and chaos ruled. A contemporary report recounted: ... all went ill with
896-751: A gradual rise in tension between the kings of France and England over territory; the official pretext was the interruption of the direct male line of the Capetian dynasty . Tensions between the French and English crowns had gone back centuries to the origins of the English royal family, which was French ( Norman , and later, Angevin ) in origin through William the Conqueror , the Norman duke who became King of England in 1066. English monarchs had, therefore, historically held titles and lands within France , which made them vassals to
1024-642: A large naval fleet off Marseilles as part of an ambitious plan for a crusade to the Holy Land . However, the plan was abandoned and the fleet, including elements of the Scottish navy, moved to the English Channel off Normandy in 1336, threatening England. To deal with this crisis, Edward proposed that the English raise two armies, one to deal with the Scots "at a suitable time" and the other to proceed at once to Gascony. At
1152-461: A period of peace, civilisation and an efficient centralised government in the subject territories ended in the 3rd century, when a series of civil wars undermined Rome's economic and social strength. In the 4th century, the emperors Diocletian and Constantine were able to slow down the process of decline by splitting the empire into a Western part with a capital in Rome and an Eastern part with
1280-561: A treaty was signed between France and Scotland during the reign of Philip the Fair , known as the Auld Alliance. Charles IV formally renewed the treaty in 1326, promising Scotland that France would support the Scots if England invaded their country. Similarly, France would have Scotland's support if its own kingdom were attacked. Edward could not succeed in his plans for Scotland if the Scots could count on French support. Philip VI had assembled
1408-609: The Aegean Sea , on the coast of Asia Minor , the Levant , Cyprus and Italy. Mycenaean artefacts have been found well outside the limits of the Mycenean world. Quite unlike the Minoans, whose society benefited from trade, the Mycenaeans advanced through conquest. Mycenaean civilization was dominated by a warrior aristocracy . Around 1400 BC, the Mycenaeans extended their control to Crete,
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#17330857347881536-507: The Battle of Adrianople on 14 April 1205. The reign of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria led to maximum territorial expansion and that of Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria to a Second Golden Age of Bulgarian culture . The Byzantine Empire was fully re-established in 1261. In the 11th century, populations north of the Alps began to settle new lands. Vast forests and marshes of Europe were cleared and cultivated. At
1664-761: The British Isles . Around 12,500 BC, the Würm glaciation ended. Magdalenian culture persisted until c. 10,000 BC, when it quickly evolved into two microlithist cultures: Azilian ( Federmesser ), in Spain and southern France , and then Sauveterrian , in southern France and Tardenoisian in Central Europe, while in Northern Europe the Lyngby complex succeeded the Hamburg culture with
1792-796: The Corinthian War and the defeat of Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra . At the same time at the north ruled the Thracian Odrysian Kingdom between the 5th century BC and the 1st century AD. Hellenic infighting left Greek city states vulnerable, and Philip II of Macedon united the Greek city states under his control. The son of Philip II, known as Alexander the Great , invaded neighboring Persia , toppled and incorporated its domains, as well as invading Egypt and going as far off as India, increasing contact with people and cultures in these regions that marked
1920-794: The Cro-Magnon population, Early European Farmers who migrated from Anatolia during the Neolithic Revolution , and Yamnaya pastoralists who expanded into Europe in the context of the Indo-European expansion . The Indo-European migrations started in Southeast Europe at around c. 4200 BC. through the areas around the Black sea and the Balkan peninsula . In the next 3000 years the Indo-European languages expanded through Europe. Around this time, in
2048-654: The Duchy of Brittany set off the War of the Breton Succession , in which Edward backed John of Montfort and Philip backed Charles of Blois. Action for the next few years focused on a back-and-forth struggle in Brittany. The city of Vannes in Brittany changed hands several times, while further campaigns in Gascony met with mixed success for both sides. The English-backed Montfort finally took
2176-669: The Early European modern humans . Some locally developed transitional cultures ( Uluzzian in Italy and Greece, Altmühlian in Germany, Szeletian in Central Europe and Châtelperronian in the southwest) use clearly Upper Paleolithic technologies at very early dates. Nevertheless, the definitive advance of these technologies is made by the Aurignacian culture, originating in the Levant (Ahmarian) and Hungary (first full Aurignacian). By 35,000 BC,
2304-503: The Edict of Serdica in 311), declaring the legality of Christianity in the Roman Empire. In addition, Constantine officially shifted the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to the Greek town of Byzantium , which he renamed Nova Roma – it was later named Constantinople ("City of Constantine"). Theodosius I , who had made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire , would be
2432-470: The English monarchs would struggle to protect and expand their lands. This clash of interests was the root cause of much of the conflict between the French and English monarchies throughout the medieval era. The Anglo-Norman dynasty that had ruled England since the Norman conquest of 1066 was brought to an end when Henry , the son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Empress Matilda , and great-grandson of William
2560-609: The European migrant crisis , and the Russian invasion of Ukraine . Homo erectus migrated from Africa to Europe before the emergence of modern humans. Homo erectus georgicus , which lived roughly 1.8 million years ago in Georgia , is the earliest hominid to be discovered in Europe. The earliest appearance of anatomically modern people in Europe has been dated to 45,000 BC, referred to as
2688-690: The Franks and part of the Carolingian dynasty , was crowned by the pope as emperor. His empire based in modern France, the Low Countries and Germany expanded into modern Hungary, Italy, Bohemia , Lower Saxony and Spain. He and his father received substantial help from an alliance with the Pope, who wanted help against the Lombards . His death marked the beginning of the end of the dynasty, which collapsed entirely by 888. The fragmentation of power led to semi-autonomy in
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#17330857347882816-481: The French royal domain ; by 1337, however, only Guyenne and Gascony were English. In 1328, Charles IV of France died without any sons or brothers, and a new principle, Salic law , disallowed female succession. Charles's closest male relative was his nephew Edward III of England , whose mother, Isabella , was Charles's sister. Isabella claimed the throne of France for her son by the rule of proximity of blood , but
2944-416: The Low Countries . His supporters could claim that they were loyal to the "true" King of France and did not rebel against Philip. In February 1340, Edward returned to England to try to raise more funds and also deal with political difficulties. Relations with Flanders were also tied to the English wool trade since Flanders' principal cities relied heavily on textile production, and England supplied much of
3072-595: The Middle Ages (AD 500–1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early European modern humans appear in the fossil record about 48,000 years ago, during the Paleolithic era. Settled agriculture marked the Neolithic era, which spread slowly across Europe from southeast to the north and west. The later Neolithic period saw the introduction of early metallurgy and the use of copper-based tools and weapons, and
3200-619: The Moors invaded the Christian Visigothic kingdom of Hispania in 711, under the Berber general Tariq ibn Ziyad . They landed at Gibraltar on 30 April and worked their way northward. Tariq's forces were joined the next year by those of his Arab superior, Musa ibn Nusair . During the eight-year campaign most of the Iberian Peninsula was brought under Muslim rule – save for small areas in
3328-561: The Roman and Greek cultures. Classical antiquity , also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the interwoven civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome known together as the Greco-Roman world , centered on the Mediterranean Basin . It is
3456-678: The University of Paris assemblies decided that males who derive their right to inheritance through their mother should be excluded from consideration. Therefore, excluding Edward, the nearest heir through the male line was Charles IV's first cousin, Philip, Count of Valois , and it was decided that he should take the throne. He was crowned Philip VI in 1328. In 1340, the Avignon papacy confirmed that, under Salic law , males would not be able to inherit through their mothers. Eventually, Edward III reluctantly recognized Philip VI and paid him homage for
3584-701: The Vikings who raided, traded, conquered and settled swiftly and efficiently with their advanced seagoing vessels such as the longships . The Vikings had left a cultural influence on the Anglo-Saxons and Franks as well as the Scots . The Hungarians pillaged mainland Europe, the Pechenegs raided Bulgaria, Rus States and the Arab states. In the 10th century independent kingdoms were established in Central Europe including Poland and
3712-721: The Visigothic kingdom 418–711 AD in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain); and third, the Ostrogothic kingdom 493–553 AD in Italy and parts of the western Balkans. The Ostrogoths were later replaced by the Kingdom of the Lombards 568–774 AD. Although these powers covered large territories, they did not have the great resources and bureaucracy of the Roman empire to control regions and localities; more power and responsibilities were left to local lords. On
3840-423: The War of Saint-Sardos (1324), the English king's holdings on the continent, as Duke of Aquitaine , were limited roughly to provinces in Gascony. The dispute over Guyenne is even more important than the dynastic question in explaining the outbreak of the war. Guyenne posed a significant problem to the kings of France and England: Edward III was a vassal of Philip VI of France because of his French possessions and
3968-627: The Western part fell to the Heruli chieftain Odoacer . Roman authority in the Western part of the empire had collapsed, and a power vacuum left in the wake of this collapse; the central organization, institutions, laws and power of Rome had broken down, resulting in many areas being open to invasion by migrating tribes. Over time, feudalism and manorialism arose, providing for division of land and labour, as well as
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4096-469: The fall of the Western Roman Empire (or by some scholars, before that) in the 5th century to the beginning of the early modern period in the 16th century marked by the rise of nation states , the division of Western Christianity in the Reformation , the rise of humanism in the Italian Renaissance , and the beginnings of European overseas expansion which allowed for the Columbian Exchange . Many consider Emperor Constantine I (reigned 306–337) to be
4224-456: The political system of feudalism came to its height. The Late Middle Ages were marked by large population declines, as Europe was threatened by the bubonic plague , as well as invasions by the Mongol peoples from the Eurasian Steppe . At the end of the Middle Ages, there was a transitional period, known as the Renaissance . Early Modern Europe is usually dated to the end of the 15th century. Technological changes such as gunpowder and
4352-647: The printing press changed how warfare was conducted and how knowledge was preserved and disseminated. The Reformation saw the fragmentation of religious thought, leading to religious wars . The Age of Exploration led to colonization , and the exploitation of the people and resources of colonies brought resources and wealth to Western Europe. After 1800, the Industrial Revolution brought capital accumulation and rapid urbanization to Western Europe, while several countries transitioned away from absolutist rule to parliamentary regimes. The Age of Revolution saw long-established political systems upset and turned over. In
4480-522: The 10th century, and by the year 1000, the Roman Catholic Apostolic Kingdom of Hungary was recognised in central Europe. With the brief exception of the Mongol invasions , major barbarian incursions ceased. Bulgarian sovereignty was re-established with the anti-Byzantine uprising of the Bulgarians and Vlachs in 1185. The crusaders invaded the Byzantine Empire, captured Constantinople in 1204 and established their Latin Empire . Kaloyan of Bulgaria defeated Baldwin I , Latin Emperor of Constantinople , in
4608-628: The 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries show a rapidly increasing population of Europe, which caused great social and political change from the preceding era. By 1250, the robust population increase greatly benefited the economy, reaching levels it would not see again in some areas until the 19th century. From about the year 1000 onwards, Western Europe saw the last of the barbarian invasions and became more politically organized. The Vikings had settled in Britain, Ireland, France and elsewhere, whilst Norse Christian kingdoms were developing in their Scandinavian homelands. The Magyars had ceased their expansion in
4736-493: The 20th century, World War I led to a remaking of the map of Europe as the large empires were broken up into nation-states . Lingering political issues would lead to World War II , during which Nazi Germany perpetrated The Holocaust . The subsequent Cold War saw Europe divided by the Iron Curtain into capitalist and communist states, many of them members of NATO and the Warsaw Pact , respectively. The West's remaining colonial empires were dismantled . The last decades saw
4864-444: The 5th millennium BC the Varna culture evolved. In 4700 – 4200 BC, the Solnitsata town, believed to be the oldest prehistoric town in Europe, flourished. The first well-known literate civilization in Europe was the Minoan civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. The Minoans were replaced by the Mycenaean civilization which flourished during
4992-479: The 7th century Byzantine history was greatly affected by the rise of Islam and the Caliphates . Muslim Arabs first invaded historically Roman territory under Abū Bakr , first Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate , who entered Roman Syria and Roman Mesopotamia . As the Byzantines and neighboring Sasanids were severely weakened by the time, amongst the most important reason(s) being the protracted, centuries-lasting and frequent Byzantine–Sasanian wars , which included
5120-399: The 9th century AD, at the Preslav Literary School , and experienced the Golden Age of Bulgarian cultural prosperity during the reign of emperor Simeon I the Great (893–927). Two states, Great Moravia and Kievan Rus' , emerged among the Slavic peoples respectively in the 9th century. In the late 9th and 10th centuries, northern and western Europe felt the burgeoning power and influence of
5248-447: The Aurignacian culture and its technology had extended through most of Europe. The last Neanderthals seem to have been forced to retreat to the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula . Around 29,000 BC a new technology/culture appeared in the western region of Europe: the Gravettian . This technology/culture has been theorised to have come with migrations of people from the Balkans (see Kozarnika ). Around 16,000 BC, Europe witnessed
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5376-494: The Burgundians and her subsequent execution (1431), a series of crushing French victories concluded the siege, favoring the Valois dynasty. Notably, Patay (1429), Formigny (1450), and Castillon (1453) proved decisive in ending the war. England permanently lost most of its continental possessions, with only the Pale of Calais remaining under its control on the continent until the Siege of Calais (1558). Local conflicts in neighbouring areas, which were contemporarily related to
5504-502: The Burgundians raised the prospects of an ultimate English triumph and persuaded the English to continue the war over many decades. A variety of factors prevented this, however. Notable influences include the deaths of both Henry and Charles in 1422, the emergence of Joan of Arc (which boosted French morale), and the loss of Burgundy as an ally (concluding the French civil war). The Siege of Orléans (1429) made English aspirations for conquest all but infeasible. Despite Joan's capture by
5632-454: The Calais area when their temple at Guinness was demolished by royal decree in the summer of that year. Three in particular were the Morel brothers, Isaac, Jacob and Pierre (changed to Pieter after moving to Cadzand), and the two brothers Jacob and Isaac Van Houte. All five "had been large landowners at Guemps, Offequerque, Hames, and Andres, close to Calais." Similar to a sister church in Canterbury, Kent, England, they helped re-build in Cadzand
5760-405: The Conqueror , became the first of the Angevin kings of England in 1154 as Henry II. The Angevin kings ruled over what was later known as the Angevin Empire , which included more French territory than that under the kings of France . The Angevins still owed homage to the French king for these territories. From the 11th century, the Angevins had autonomy within their French domains, neutralizing
5888-536: The French delayed the return of the lands, which helped Philip VI. On 6 June 1329, Edward III finally paid homage to the King of France. However, at the ceremony, Philip VI had it recorded that the homage was not due to the fiefs detached from the duchy of Guyenne by Charles IV (especially Agen). For Edward, the homage did not imply the renunciation of his claim to the extorted lands. In the 11th century, Gascony in southwest France had been incorporated into Aquitaine (also known as Guyenne or Guienne ) and formed with it
6016-401: The French forces under the House of Valois ultimately retained control over the Kingdom of France. The French and English monarchies thereafter remained separate, despite the monarchs of England (later Britain ) styling themselves as sovereigns of France until 1802 . The root causes of the conflict can be traced to the crisis of 14th-century Europe . The outbreak of war was motivated by
6144-502: The French nobility rejected this, maintaining that Isabella could not transmit a right she did not possess . An assembly of French barons decided that a native Frenchman should receive the crown, rather than Edward. The throne passed to Charles's patrilineal cousin instead, Philip , Count of Valois . Edward protested but ultimately submitted and did homage for Gascony. Further French disagreements with Edward induced Philip, during May 1337, to meet with his Great Council in Paris. It
6272-440: The French throne was raised after the death of Louis X in 1316. Louis left behind a young daughter, Joan II of Navarre , and a son, John I of France , although he only lived for five days. However, Joan's paternity was in question, as her mother, Margaret of Burgundy , was accused of being an adulterer in the Tour de Nesle affair . Given the situation, Philip, Count of Poitiers and brother of Louis X, positioned himself to take
6400-446: The French-English attack, and the treaty was not implemented. In 1685 Cadzand was an important station on the escape route of Jean Harlan , a Huguenot from Calais , who escaped after Louis XIV's Revocation of the Edict of Nantes , reached Cadzand in a small boat and eventually founded a successful merchant family in Germany . Cadzand was also an important destination that year and shortly thereafter for other Huguenot refugees from
6528-688: The French. A conference was held at Brétigny that resulted in the Treaty of Brétigny (8 May 1360). The treaty was ratified at Calais in October. In return for increased lands in Aquitaine, Edward renounced Normandy, Touraine, Anjou and Maine and consented to reduce King John's ransom by a million crowns. Edward also abandoned his claim to the crown of France. The French king, John II , was held captive in England for four years. The Treaty of Brétigny set his ransom at 3 million crowns and allowed for hostages to be held in lieu of John. The hostages included two of his sons, several princes and nobles, four inhabitants of Paris, and two citizens from each of
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#17330857347886656-410: The Good), who had outflanked him near Poitiers but refused to surrender himself as the price of their acceptance. This led to the Battle of Poitiers (19 September 1356) where the Black Prince's army routed the French. During the battle, the Gascon noble Jean de Grailly , captal de Buch led a mounted unit that was concealed in a forest. The French advance was contained, at which point de Grailly led
6784-419: The King's hands because Edward III was in breach of his obligations as a vassal and had sheltered the King's "mortal enemy" Robert d'Artois . Edward responded to the confiscation of Aquitaine by challenging Philip's right to the French throne. When Charles IV died, Edward claimed the succession of the French throne through the right of his mother, Isabella (Charles IV's sister), daughter of Philip IV. His claim
6912-419: The Roman Empire in about 380. The Roman Empire had been repeatedly attacked by invading armies from Northern Europe and in 476, Rome finally fell . Romulus Augustus , the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire , surrendered to the Germanic King Odoacer . When Emperor Constantine had reconquered Rome under the banner of the cross in 312, he soon afterwards issued the Edict of Milan in 313 (preceded by
7040-466: The War of Saint-Sardos, Charles of Valois , father of Philip VI, invaded Aquitaine on behalf of Charles IV and conquered the duchy after a local insurrection, which the French believed had been incited by Edward II of England . Charles IV grudgingly agreed to return this territory in 1325. Edward II had to compromise to recover his duchy: he sent his son, the future Edward III , to pay homage. The King of France agreed to restore Guyenne, minus Agen , but
7168-425: The Wise and the leadership of Bertrand du Guesclin , the French had reconquered most of the lands ceded to King Edward in the Treaty of Brétigny (signed in 1360), leaving the English with only a few cities on the continent. In the following decades, the weakening of royal authority, combined with the devastation caused by the Black Death of 1347–1351 (which killed nearly half of France and 20–33% of England ) and
7296-410: The appearance of a new culture, known as Magdalenian , possibly rooted in the old Gravettian. This culture soon superseded the Solutrean area and the Gravettian of mainly France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Ukraine. The Hamburg culture prevailed in Northern Europe in the 14th and the 13th millennium BC as the Creswellian (also termed the British Late Magdalenian) did shortly after in
7424-503: The beginning of the Hellenistic period . After the death of Alexander the Great , his empire split into multiple kingdoms ruled by his generals, the Diadochi . The Diadochi fought against each other in a series of conflicts called the Wars of the Diadochi . In the beginning of the 2nd century BC, only three major kingdoms remained: the Ptolemaic Egypt , the Seleucid Empire and Macedonia . These kingdoms spread Greek culture to regions as far away as Bactria . Much of Greek learning
7552-412: The beginning of the geometric period, the Greek Dark Ages of traditional historiography. The Bronze Age collapse may be seen in the context of technological history that saw the slow spread of ironworking technology from present-day Bulgaria and Romania in the 13th and the 12th centuries BC. The Tumulus culture and the following Urnfield culture of central Europe were part of the origin of
7680-405: The building of megalithic structures, as exemplified by Stonehenge . During the Indo-European migrations , Europe saw migrations from the east and southeast. The period known as classical antiquity began with the emergence of the city-states of ancient Greece . Later, the Roman Empire came to dominate the entire Mediterranean Basin . The Migration Period of the Germanic people began in
7808-403: The capital in Byzantium, or Constantinople (now Istanbul). Constantinople is generally considered to be the center of " Eastern Orthodox civilization ". Whereas Diocletian severely persecuted Christianity , Constantine declared an official end to state-sponsored persecution of Christians in 313 with the Edict of Milan , thus setting the stage for the Church to become the state church of
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#17330857347887936-403: The causes, the Mycenaean civilization had disappeared after LH III C , when the sites of Mycenae and Tiryns were again destroyed and lost their importance. This end, during the last years of the 12th century BC, occurred after a slow decline of the Mycenaean civilization, which lasted many years before dying out. The beginning of the 11th century BC opened a new context, that of the protogeometric,
8064-455: The centre of the Minoan civilization, and adopted a form of the Minoan script (called Linear A ) to write their early form of Greek in Linear B . The Mycenaean civilization perished with the collapse of Bronze-Age civilization on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The collapse is commonly attributed to the Dorian invasion , although other theories describing natural disasters and climate change have been advanced as well. Whatever
8192-409: The changeover was gradual and by 330, when Constantine inaugurated his new capital, the process of hellenization and increasing Christianisation was already under way. The Empire is generally considered to have ended after the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The Plague of Justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the Byzantine Empire, including its capital Constantinople , in
8320-409: The city for five weeks, but the defences held and there was no coronation. Edward moved on to Paris, but retreated after a few skirmishes in the suburbs. Next was the town of Chartres . Disaster struck in a freak hailstorm on the encamped army, causing over 1,000 English deaths – the so-called Black Monday at Easter 1360. This devastated Edward's army and forced him to negotiate when approached by
8448-494: The climactic Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 , under Umar , the second Caliph, the Muslims entirely toppled the Sasanid Persian Empire , and decisively conquered Syria and Mesopotamia, as well as Roman Palestine , Roman Egypt , and parts of Asia Minor and Roman North Africa . In the mid 7th century AD, following the Muslim conquest of Persia , Islam penetrated into the Caucasus region, of which parts would later permanently become part of Russia. This trend, which included
8576-452: The conquests by the invading Muslim forces and by that the spread of Islam as well continued under Umar's successors and under the Umayyad Caliphate , which conquered the rest of Mediterranean North Africa and most of the Iberian Peninsula . Over the next centuries Muslim forces were able to take further European territory, including Cyprus , Malta, Crete , and Sicily and parts of southern Italy . The Muslim conquest of Hispania began when
8704-581: The crossings destroyed. He moved further south, worryingly close to Paris until he found the crossing at Poissy. This had only been partially destroyed, so the carpenters within his army were able to fix it. He then continued to Flanders until he reached the river Somme. The army crossed at a tidal ford at Blanchetaque, stranding Philip's army. Edward, assisted by this head start, continued on his way to Flanders once more until, finding himself unable to outmaneuver Philip, Edward positioned his forces for battle, and Philip's army attacked. The Battle of Crécy of 1346
8832-452: The crown, advancing the stance that women should be ineligible to succeed to the French throne. He won over his adversaries through his political sagacity and succeeded to the French throne as Philip V . When he died in 1322, leaving only daughters behind, the crown passed to his younger brother, Charles IV . Charles IV died in 1328, leaving behind his young daughter and pregnant wife, Joan of Évreux . He decreed that he would become king if
8960-499: The dominant kingdom in Western Europe. The war had a lasting effect on European history: both sides produced innovations in military technology and tactics, including professional standing armies and artillery, that permanently changed European warfare. Chivalry , which reached its height during the conflict, subsequently declined. Stronger national identities took root in both kingdoms, which became more centralized and gradually emerged as global powers . The term "Hundred Years' War"
9088-424: The dominant state was the remaining Eastern Roman Empire. In the feudal system, new princes and kings arose, the most powerful of which was arguably the Frankish ruler Charlemagne . In 800, Charlemagne, reinforced by his massive territorial conquests, was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III , solidifying his power in western Europe. Charlemagne's reign marked the beginning of a new Germanic Roman Empire in
9216-518: The duchy but not until 1364. In July 1346, Edward mounted a major invasion across the channel, landing on Normandy's Cotentin Peninsula at St Vaast . The English army captured the city of Caen in just one day, surprising the French. Philip mustered a large army to oppose Edward, who chose to march northward toward the Low Countries, pillaging as he went. He reached the river Seine to find most of
9344-404: The duchy free of French suzerainty . The French rejected this argument, so in 1329, the 17-year-old Edward III paid homage to Philip VI. Tradition demanded that vassals approach their liege unarmed, with heads bare. Edward protested by attending the ceremony wearing his crown and sword. Even after this pledge of homage, the French continued to pressure the English administration. Gascony was not
9472-508: The duchy of Aquitaine and Gascony in 1329. He made concessions in Guyenne but reserved the right to reclaim territories arbitrarily confiscated. After that, he expected to be left undisturbed while he made war on Scotland . Tensions between the French and English monarchies can be traced back to the 1066 Norman Conquest of England, in which the English throne was seized by the Duke of Normandy ,
9600-810: The end of the 1st century BC, under Augustus and his authoritarian successors. The Roman Empire had its centre in the Mediterranean, controlling all the countries on its shores; the northern border was marked by the Rhine and Danube rivers. Under the emperor Trajan (2nd century AD) the empire reached its maximum expansion, controlling approximately 5,900,000 km (2,300,000 sq mi) of land surface, including Italia , Gallia , Dalmatia , Aquitania , Britannia , Baetica , Hispania , Thrace , Macedonia , Greece , Moesia , Dacia , Pannonia , Egypt, Asia Minor , Cappadocia , Armenia , Caucasus , North Africa, Levant and parts of Mesopotamia . Pax Romana ,
9728-707: The ensuing Greco-Persian Wars , namely during the Second Persian invasion of Greece , and precisely after the Battle of Thermopylae and the Battle of Artemisium , almost all of Greece to the north of the Isthmus of Corinth had been overrun by the Persians, but the Greek city states reached a decisive victory at the Battle of Plataea . With the end of the Greco-Persian wars, the Persians were eventually forced to withdraw from their territories in Europe. The Greco-Persian Wars and
9856-672: The fall of remaining dictatorships in Western Europe and a gradual political integration , which led to the European Community , later the European Union . After the Revolutions of 1989 , all European communist states transitioned to capitalism. The 21st century began with most of them gradually joining the EU . In parallel, Europe suffered from the Great Recession and its after-effects ,
9984-450: The first " Byzantine emperor ". It was he who moved the imperial capital in 324 from Nicomedia to Byzantium , which re-founded as Constantinople, or Nova Roma (" New Rome "). The city of Rome itself had not served as the capital since the reign of Diocletian (284–305). Some date the beginnings of the Empire to the reign of Theodosius I (379–395) and Christianity's official supplanting of
10112-511: The influence of the Federmesser group as well. Evidence of permanent settlement dates from the 8th millennium BC in the Balkans. The Neolithic reached Central Europe in the 6th millennium BC and parts of Northern Europe in the 5th and 4th millenniums BC. The modern indigenous populations of Europe are largely descended from three distinct lineages: Mesolithic hunter-gatherers , a derivative of
10240-632: The intervention of Tervel of Bulgaria and weakened the Umayyad dynasty and reduced their prestige. In 722 Don Pelayo formed an army of 300 Astur soldiers, to confront Munuza's Muslim troops. In the battle of Covadonga , the Astures defeated the Arab-Moors, who decided to retire. The Christian victory marked the beginning of the Reconquista and the establishment of the Kingdom of Asturias , whose first sovereign
10368-504: The issue. King John of England inherited the Angevin domains from his brother Richard I . However, Philip II of France acted decisively to exploit the weaknesses of John, both legally and militarily, and by 1204 had succeeded in taking control of much of the Angevin continental possessions . Following John's reign, the Battle of Bouvines (1214), the Saintonge War (1242), and finally
10496-488: The kingdom and the State was undone. Thieves and robbers rose up everywhere in the land. The Nobles despised and hated all others and took no thought for usefulness and profit of lord and men. They subjected and despoiled the peasants and the men of the villages. In no wise did they defend their country from its enemies; rather did they trample it underfoot, robbing and pillaging the peasants' goods ... Edward invaded France, for
10624-432: The kings of France. The status of the English king's French fiefs was a significant source of conflict between the two monarchies throughout the Middle Ages. French monarchs systematically sought to check the growth of English power, stripping away lands as the opportunity arose, mainly whenever England was at war with Scotland , an ally of France . English holdings in France had varied in size, at some points dwarfing even
10752-651: The last emperor to preside over a united Roman Empire, until his death in 395. The empire was split into two halves: the Western Roman Empire centred in Ravenna , and the Eastern Roman Empire (later to be referred to as the Byzantine Empire ) centred in Constantinople. The Roman Empire was repeatedly attacked by Hunnic , Germanic , Slavic and other "barbarian" tribes (see: Migration Period ), and in 476 finally
10880-654: The late 4th century AD and made gradual incursions into various parts of the Roman Empire. The fall of the Western Roman Empire in AD 476 traditionally marks the start of the Middle Ages . While the Eastern Roman Empire would continue for another 1000 years, the former lands of the Western Empire would be fragmented into a number of different states. At the same time, the early Slavs began to become established as
11008-680: The late 6th century BC, the Greek city states in Asia Minor had been incorporated into the Persian Empire , while the latter had made territorial gains in the Balkans (such as Macedon , Thrace , Paeonia , etc.) and Eastern Europe proper as well. During the 5th century BC, some of the Greek city states attempted to overthrow Persian rule in the Ionian Revolt , which failed. This sparked the first Persian invasion of mainland Greece . At some point during
11136-578: The loss of their continental landholdings, as well as the general shock at losing a war in which investment had been so significant, helped lead to the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487). The economic consequences of the Hundred Years' War not only produced a decline in trade but also led to a high collection of taxes from both countries, which played a significant role in civil disorder. The question of female succession to
11264-507: The mother church they lost in Guinness, Calais. During the year 1847 a large exodus of people from Cadzand, occurred, mainly to the United States. One ship, the "bark Maria", carried within it that year a significant number of Cadzanders, like Isaac LeMahieu and Suzanne Morel. Until 1 April 1970, Cadzand was a separate municipality. It then was annexed by the municipality of Oostburg . It
11392-520: The newly settled Kingdom of Hungary . The Kingdom of Croatia also appeared in the Balkans. The subsequent period, ending around 1000, saw the further growth of feudalism , which weakened the Holy Roman Empire. In eastern Europe, Volga Bulgaria became an Islamic state in 921, after Almış I converted to Islam under the missionary efforts of Ahmad ibn Fadlan . Slavery in the early medieval period had mostly died out in western Europe by about
11520-624: The nineteen principal towns of France. While these hostages were held, John returned to France to try to raise funds to pay the ransom. In 1362, John's son Louis of Anjou , a hostage in English-held Calais, escaped captivity. With his stand-in hostage gone, John felt honour-bound to return to captivity in England. History of Europe The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500),
11648-645: The northwest ( Asturias ) and largely Basque regions in the Pyrenees . In 711, Visigothic Hispania was weakened because it was immersed in a serious internal crisis caused by a war of succession to the throne. The Muslims took advantage of the crisis within the Hispano - Visigothic society to carry out their conquests. This territory, under the Arab name Al-Andalus , became part of the expanding Umayyad empire. The second siege of Constantinople (717) ended unsuccessfully after
11776-516: The only part of Aquitaine that remained in his hands was the Duchy of Gascony. The term Gascony came to be used for the territory held by the Angevin ( Plantagenet ) kings of England in southwest France, although they still used the title Duke of Aquitaine. For the first 10 years of Edward III's reign, Gascony had been a significant friction point. The English argued that, as Charles IV had not acted properly towards his tenant, Edward should be able to hold
11904-433: The only sore point. One of Edward's influential advisers was Robert III of Artois . Robert was an exile from the French court, having fallen out with Philip VI over an inheritance claim. He urged Edward to start a war to reclaim France, and was able to provide extensive intelligence on the French court. France was an ally of the Kingdom of Scotland as English kings had tried to subjugate the country for some time. In 1295,
12032-526: The onslaught of the arising Islamic Caliphate ( Rashidun and Umayyad ). By 650, the provinces of Egypt , Palestine and Syria were lost to the Muslim forces , followed by Hispania and southern Italy in the 7th and 8th centuries (see Muslim conquests ). The Arab invasion from the east was stopped after the intervention of the Bulgarian Empire (see Han Tervel ). The Middle Ages are commonly dated from
12160-555: The other hand, it also meant more freedom, particularly in more remote areas. In Italy, Theodoric the Great began the cultural romanisation of the new world he had constructed. He made Ravenna a centre of Romano-Greek culture of art and his court fostered a flowering of literature and philosophy in Latin . In Iberia, King Chindasuinth created the Visigothic Code . In the Eastern part
12288-567: The pagan Roman religion , or following his death in 395, when the empire was split into two parts, with capitals in Rome and Constantinople. Others place it yet later in 476, when Romulus Augustulus , traditionally considered the last western emperor, was deposed, thus leaving sole imperial authority with the emperor in the Greek East . Others point to the reorganisation of the empire in the time of Heraclius (c. 620) when Latin titles and usages were officially replaced with Greek versions. In any case,
12416-474: The period during which Greece and Rome flourished and had major influence throughout much of Europe , North Africa , and West Asia . The Hellenic civilisation was a collection of city-states or poleis with different governments and cultures that achieved notable developments in government, philosophy, science, mathematics, politics, sports, theatre and music. The most powerful city-states were Athens , Sparta , Thebes , Corinth , and Syracuse . Athens
12544-748: The period roughly between 1600 BC, when Helladic culture in mainland Greece was transformed under influences from Minoan Crete, and 1100 BC. The major Mycenaean cities were Mycenae and Tiryns in Argolis, Pylos in Messenia, Athens in Attica, Thebes and Orchomenus in Boeotia, and Iolkos in Thessaly. In Crete , the Mycenaeans occupied Knossos . Mycenaean settlement sites also appeared in Epirus , Macedonia , on islands in
12672-578: The plague had passed and England was able to recover financially, King Edward's son and namesake, the Prince of Wales , later known as the Black Prince , led a Chevauchée from Gascony into France, during which he pillaged Avignonet , Castelnaudary , Carcassonne , and Narbonne . The next year during another Chevauchée he ravaged Auvergne , Limousin , and Berry but failed to take Bourges . He offered terms of peace to King John II of France (known as John
12800-424: The population drastically in France. But at the end of the war, the French had the upper hand due to their better supply, such as small hand-held cannons, weapons, etc. In England, political forces over time came to oppose the costly venture. After the war, England was left insolvent, leaving the conquering French in complete control of all of France except Calais. The dissatisfaction of English nobles , resulting from
12928-440: The province of Guyenne and Gascony (French: Guyenne-et-Gascogne ). The Angevin kings of England became dukes of Aquitaine after Henry II married the former Queen of France, Eleanor of Aquitaine , in 1152, from which point the lands were held in vassalage to the French crown. By the 13th century the terms Aquitaine , Guyenne and Gascony were virtually synonymous. At the beginning of Edward III's reign on 1 February 1327,
13056-516: The raw material they needed. Edward III had commanded that his chancellor sit on the woolsack in council as a symbol of the pre-eminence of the wool trade. At the time there were about 110,000 sheep in Sussex alone. The great medieval English monasteries produced large wool surpluses sold to mainland Europe. Successive governments were able to make large amounts of money by taxing it. France's sea power led to economic disruptions for England, shrinking
13184-465: The region, and has been defined as a critical starting point for the formation of states in Europe. To the east, Bulgaria was established in 681 and became the first Slavic country. The powerful Bulgarian Empire was the main rival of Byzantium for control of the Balkans for centuries and from the 9th century became the cultural centre of Slavic Europe. The Empire created the Cyrillic script during
13312-547: The same time, ambassadors were to be sent to France with a proposed treaty for the French king. At the end of April 1337, Philip of France was invited to meet the delegation from England but refused. The arrière-ban , a call to arms, was proclaimed throughout France starting on 30 April 1337. Then, in May 1337, Philip met with his Great Council in Paris. It was agreed that the Duchy of Aquitaine, effectively Gascony, should be taken back into
13440-462: The significant economic crisis that followed, led to a period of civil unrest in both countries. These crises were resolved in England earlier than in France. The newly crowned Henry V of England seized the opportunity presented by the mental illness of Charles VI of France and the French civil war between Armagnacs and Burgundians to revive the conflict. Overwhelming victories at Agincourt (1415) and Verneuil (1424), as well as an alliance with
13568-401: The sister of the dead Charles IV, but the question arose whether she could transmit a right to inherit that she did not possess. Moreover, the French nobility balked at the prospect of being ruled by an Englishman, especially one whose mother, Isabella, and her lover, Roger Mortimer , were widely suspected of having murdered the previous English king, Edward II . The French barons, prelates, and
13696-434: The third and last time, hoping to capitalise on the discontent and seize the throne. The Dauphin's strategy was that of non-engagement with the English army in the field. However, Edward wanted the crown and chose the cathedral city of Reims for his coronation (Reims was the traditional coronation city). However, the citizens of Reims built and reinforced the city's defences before Edward and his army arrived. Edward besieged
13824-557: The threat from Scotland. In France, Edward proceeded north unopposed and besieged the city of Calais on the English Channel, capturing it in 1347. This became an important strategic asset for the English, allowing them to keep troops safely in northern France. Calais would remain under English control, even after the end of the Hundred Years' War, until the successful French siege in 1558 . The Black Death , which had just arrived in Paris in 1348, ravaged Europe. In 1355, after
13952-465: The unborn child were male. If not, Charles left the choice of his successor to the nobles. Joan gave birth to a girl, Blanche of France (later Duchess of Orleans). With Charles IV's death and Blanche's birth, the main male line of the House of Capet was rendered extinct. By proximity of blood , the nearest male relative of Charles IV was his nephew, Edward III of England . Edward was the son of Isabella ,
14080-566: The victory of the Greek city states directly influenced the entire further course of European history and would set its further tone. Some Greek city-states formed the Delian League to continue fighting Persia, but Athens' position as leader of this league led Sparta to form the rival Peloponnesian League . The Peloponnesian Wars ensued, and the Peloponnesian League was victorious. Subsequently, discontent with Spartan hegemony led to
14208-457: The war typically charts it as taking place over 116 years. However, it was an intermittent conflict which was frequently interrupted by external factors, such as the Black Death , and several years of truces . The Hundred Years' War was a significant conflict in the Middle Ages . During the war, five generations of kings from two rival dynasties fought for the throne of France, which was then
14336-664: The war, including the War of the Breton Succession (1341–1364), the Castilian Civil War (1366–1369), the War of the Two Peters (1356–1369) in Aragon , and the 1383–1385 crisis in Portugal , were used by the parties to advance their agendas. By the war's end, feudal armies had mainly been replaced by professional troops, and aristocratic dominance had yielded to a democratization of the manpower and weapons of armies. Although primarily
14464-645: The west, the Holy Roman Empire . Outside his borders, new forces were gathering. The Kievan Rus' were marking out their territory, a Great Moravia was growing, while the Angles and the Saxons were securing their borders. For the duration of the 6th century, the Eastern Roman Empire was embroiled in a series of deadly conflicts, first with the Persian Sassanid Empire (see Roman–Persian Wars ), followed by
14592-482: The wool trade to Flanders and the wine trade from Gascony. On 22 June 1340, Edward and his fleet sailed from England and arrived off the Zwin estuary the next day. The French fleet assumed a defensive formation off the port of Sluis . The English fleet deceived the French into believing they were withdrawing. When the wind turned in the late afternoon, the English attacked with the wind and sun behind them. The French fleet
14720-597: The year 1000 AD, replaced by serfdom . It lingered longer in England and in peripheral areas linked to the Muslim world, where slavery continued to flourish. Church rules suppressed slavery of Christians. Most historians argue the transition was quite abrupt around 1000, but some see a gradual transition from about 300 to 1000. In 1054, the East–West Schism occurred between the two remaining Christian seats in Rome and Constantinople (modern Istanbul). The High Middle Ages of
14848-511: The years 541–542. It is estimated that the Plague of Justinian killed as many as 100 million people. It caused Europe's population to drop by around 50% between 541 and 700. It also may have contributed to the success of the Muslim conquests . During most of its existence, the Byzantine Empire was one of the most powerful economic, cultural, and military forces in Europe, and Constantinople
14976-642: Was Don Pelayo. The conquerors intended to continue their expansion in Europe and move northeast across the Pyrenees, but were defeated by the Frankish leader Charles Martel at the Battle of Poitiers in 732. The Umayyads were overthrown in 750 by the ' Abbāsids , and, in 756, the Umayyads established an independent emirate in the Iberian Peninsula. The Holy Roman Empire emerged around 800, as Charlemagne, King of
15104-435: Was a complete disaster for the French, largely credited to the English longbowmen and the French king, who allowed his army to attack before it was ready. Philip appealed to his Scottish allies to help with a diversionary attack on England. King David II of Scotland responded by invading northern England, but his army was defeated, and he was captured at the Battle of Neville's Cross on 17 October 1346. This greatly reduced
15232-514: Was a conflict between the kingdoms of England and France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages . It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a claim to the French throne made by Edward III of England . The war grew into a broader military, economic, and political struggle involving factions from across Western Europe , fuelled by emerging nationalism on both sides. The periodisation of
15360-672: Was a powerful Hellenic city-state and governed itself with an early form of direct democracy invented by Cleisthenes ; the citizens of Athens voted on legislation and executive bills themselves. Athens was the home of Socrates , Plato , and the Platonic Academy . The Hellenic city-states established colonies on the shores of the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea ( Asia Minor , Sicily , and Southern Italy in Magna Graecia ). By
15488-621: Was adopted by later historians as a historiographical periodisation to encompass dynastically related conflicts, constructing the longest military conflict in European history . The war is commonly divided into three phases separated by truces: the Edwardian War (1337–1360), the Caroline War (1369–1389), and the Lancastrian War (1415–1453). Each side drew many allies into the conflict, with English forces initially prevailing; however,
15616-479: Was agreed that Gascony should be taken back into Philip's hands, which prompted Edward to renew his claim for the French throne, this time by force of arms. In the early years of the war, the English, led by their king and his son Edward, the Black Prince , saw resounding successes, notably at Crécy (1346) and at Poitiers (1356), where King John II of France was taken prisoner. By 1378, under King Charles V
15744-473: Was almost destroyed in what became known as the Battle of Sluys . England dominated the English Channel for the rest of the war, preventing French invasions . At this point, Edward's funds ran out and the war probably would have ended were it not for the death of the Duke of Brittany in 1341 precipitating a succession dispute between the duke's half-brother John of Montfort and Charles of Blois , nephew of Philip VI. In 1341, this inheritance dispute over
15872-508: Was assimilated by the nascent Roman state as it expanded outward from Italy, taking advantage of its enemies' inability to unite: the only challenge to Roman ascent came from the Phoenician colony of Carthage , and its defeats in the three Punic Wars marked the start of Roman hegemony . First governed by kings , then as a senatorial republic (the Roman Republic ), Rome became an empire at
16000-421: Was considered invalidated by Edward's homage to Philip VI in 1329. Edward revived his claim and in 1340 formally assumed the title "King of France and the French Royal Arms". On 26 January 1340, Edward III formally received homage from Guy, half-brother of the Count of Flanders . The civic authorities of Ghent , Ypres , and Bruges proclaimed Edward King of France. Edward aimed to strengthen his alliances with
16128-400: Was in January 2003, with the merger of Sluis-Aardenburg and Oostburg, that Cadzand found itself within the newly enlarged municipality of Sluis . The successful 2023 Belgian-Flemish television series Knokke Off was partially set on a camping site in Knokke. Hundred Years%27 War Kingdom of England The Hundred Years' War ( French : Guerre de Cent Ans ; 1337–1453)
16256-423: Was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in Europe. The Early Middle Ages span roughly five centuries from 500 to 1000. In the East and Southeast of Europe new dominant states formed: the Avar Khaganate (567–after 822), Old Great Bulgaria (632–668), the Khazar Khaganate (c. 650–969) and Danube Bulgaria (founded by Asparuh in 680) were constantly rivaling the hegemony of the Byzantine Empire. From
16384-437: Was required to recognize the suzerainty of the King of France over them. In practical terms, a judgment in Guyenne might be subject to an appeal to the French royal court. The King of France had the power to revoke all legal decisions made by the King of England in Aquitaine, which was unacceptable to the English. Therefore, sovereignty over Guyenne was a latent conflict between the two monarchies for several generations. During
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