157-600: The French East India Company ( French : Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales ) was a joint-stock company founded in France on 1 September 1664 to engage in trade in India and other Asian lands. It competed with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in the East Indies . Planned by Jean-Baptiste Colbert , it was chartered by King Louis XIV for
314-562: A de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share the official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and
471-531: A European war was true "only so long as English commerce does not suffer". Louis either failed to appreciate this or decided to ignore it and his actions gradually eroded Tory opposition. In early 1701, Louis registered Philip's claim to the French throne with the Parlement of Paris , raising the possibility of union with Spain, contrary to Charles' will, though Philip was only third in the French succession. In February,
628-720: A French official to teachers in the department of Finistère , in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language". The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process
785-431: A comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages". In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations,
942-543: A foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050. French is the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages). French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
1099-554: A mixture of anti-Castilian and anti-French sentiment meant the others supported Archduke Charles, the most important being Catalonia. Allied victory at Vigo Bay in October 1702 persuaded Peter II of Portugal to switch sides, giving them an operational base in this area. Archduke Charles landed at Lisbon in March 1704 to begin a land campaign, while the British-Dutch capture of Gibraltar
1256-509: A natural embarkation point for an attack on England, as demonstrated in 1688 . The third was to maintain a navy strong enough to protect British trade, control her waters and launch attacks on her enemies' commercial routes and coastal areas. Alignment on reducing the power of France and securing the Protestant succession for the British throne masked differences on how to achieve them. In general,
1413-483: A navy , and as the campaigns of 1708–1710 proved, even under severe pressure it could defend its borders. The Nine Years' War had shown France could not impose its objectives without support, and its new alliance with Spain and Bavaria made a successful outcome more likely. However, the previous wars had left France with severe economic problems. This was recognized by the Marquis de Chamlay , who advised Louis to not take on
1570-590: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on
1727-520: A policy weapon. The 1651–1663 Navigation Acts were a major factor in the Anglo-Dutch Wars , while between 1690 and 1704, English import duties on foreign goods increased by 400%. On 6 September 1700, France banned the import of English manufactured goods such as cloth and imposed prohibitive duties on a wide range of others. The field armies that operated in the Southern Netherlands during
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#17328560928071884-619: A purely offensive strategy. He argued that the combined might of the Grand Alliance forces made it highly improbable for France to launch a successful attack. The Dutch and Imperial fortresses were located far from convenient Franco-Spanish bases, and the Netherlands and Rhineland lacked easily navigable rivers for the Bourbon armies. Furthermore, besieging a major Dutch fortress demanded the commitment of two full armies. The French would thus pursue
2041-494: A relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs. The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in
2198-650: A result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including the United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ,
2355-626: A reversal of long-standing strategic policy, with France now supporting the Spanish position in Lombardy, rather than seeking to weaken it, and Austria doing the opposite. While Victor Amadeus initially allied Savoy with France, his long-term goal was the acquisition of the Duchy of Milan , which neither Bourbons nor Habsburgs would relinquish voluntarily. As discussed elsewhere in this article, securing his borders in Italy
2512-597: A separate peace but could not agree on the terms. The Great Frost of 1709 caused widespread famine in France and Spain, forcing Louis to re-open negotiations and he hinted at his willingness to cede French fortresses to the Dutch Republic. In May 1709 the Allies presented him with the preliminaries of the Hague. Britain and Austria still insisted on an undivided Spanish monarchy for Archduke Charles. The Allies demanded that Philip
2669-692: A strategy described as a "mixed war" in Europe. In this strategy, the Franco-Spanish forces would primarily assume a defensive posture to safeguard the vital fortresses they needed to retain. Offensive actions, on the other hand, were characterized by assertive posturing and strategic positioning, with an emphasis on sustaining their forces by living off enemy territory whenever feasible, while blocking enemy thrusts, and trying to engage them in battle where possible. Apart from denying an undivided Spanish monarchy to others, Louis's objectives were to secure his borders with
2826-571: A strong town on the eastern side of the Dutch Republic, and took Venlo , Roermond , Stevensweert and Liège along the Meuse . The 1703 campaign was marred by Allied conflicts over strategy. Despite capturing Bonn , they failed to take Antwerp , while a Dutch contingent narrowly escaped disaster at Ekeren in June. On the Upper Rhine , Imperial forces under Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden remained on
2983-478: A temporary suspension of hostilities. Unlike the crowns of France or Austria , that of Spain could be inherited through the female line. This allowed Charles' sisters Maria Theresa (1638–1683) and Margaret Theresa (1651–1673) to pass their rights onto the children of their respective marriages with Louis XIV and Emperor Leopold. Louis sought to avoid conflict over the issue through direct negotiation with his main opponent William III of England while excluding
3140-536: A variant of Canadian French , is spoken in parts of New England . Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana ), but is nearly extinct today. French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana , such as Mon Louis Island , Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in
3297-581: A will leaving an undivided Spanish monarchy to Joseph Ferdinand. However, the latter's death from smallpox in February 1699 undid these arrangements. In 1685, Maria Antonia passed her claim to the Spanish throne onto Leopold's sons, Joseph and Archduke Charles. Her right to do so was doubtful, but Louis and William used this to devise the 1700 Treaty of London . Archduke Charles became the new heir, while France, Savoy and Austria received territorial compensation; however, since neither Leopold nor Charles agreed,
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#17328560928073454-453: A working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As
3611-437: Is 95%, and in the French collectivity of Wallis and Futuna , it is 84%. In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal (95% and 84% respectively), French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French
3768-467: Is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people , and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates , and on official buildings (alongside Arabic). Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon , with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone. The use of English
3925-484: Is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English). Given
4082-551: Is considered a connected conflict since it affected the involvement of states such as Sweden , Saxony , Denmark–Norway and Russia . Armies in the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War frequently numbered over 100,000, requiring expenditure unsustainable for pre-industrial economies. The 1690s also marked the low point of the Little Ice Age , a period of cold and wet weather that drastically reduced crop yields across Europe. The Great Famine of 1695–1697 killed an estimated 15–25% of
4239-628: Is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories ( Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon ). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population. Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario , the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in
4396-549: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English
4553-404: Is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects . The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from
4710-462: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in
4867-775: Is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights , the Caribbean Court of Justice , the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the International Court of Justice , the International Criminal Tribunal for
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5024-618: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,
5181-538: Is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value. French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu , where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. In the French special collectivity of New Caledonia , 97% of the population can speak, read and write French while in French Polynesia this figure
5338-479: Is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50% of the population. Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg , where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco . At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in
5495-492: Is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire . In Louisiana , it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and New Hampshire . Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French . New England French , essentially
5652-424: Is the sole official language in the province of Quebec , where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal , which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism
5809-565: The Americas , the Spanish Netherlands , and colonies such as the Philippines . Negotiations between Louis and Emperor Leopold centred on dividing these territories, which the Spanish refused to allow. Since the acquisition of an undivided empire by either Austria or France would make them too powerful, its inheritance led to a war that involved most of Europe. The 1700–1721 Great Northern War
5966-738: The Aosta Valley region of Italy where it is the first language of approximately 50% of the population, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands . It is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa . The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland , with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French. The majority of
6123-587: The Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco; the Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to
6280-600: The Democratic Republic of Congo . There is not a single African French , but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages . Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth. It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries, but written forms of
6437-460: The Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only a second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and
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6594-616: The Dutch East India Company , including more than 20 years in Japan , and Marcara Avanchintz , an Armenian trader from Isfahan , Persia . In 1604, King Henry IV of France authorized the establishment of the Compagnie des Indes Orientales ( East India Company ), granting the new firm a 15-year monopoly on French trade with the East Indies . This company was a precursor to a firm of the same name founded Jean-Baptiste Colbert , though
6751-530: The European Union , French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains
6908-547: The Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar. Politically,
7065-399: The French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as
7222-510: The Great Northern War , while Frederick I made his support dependent on Leopold recognising Prussia as a kingdom and making it an equal member of the Grand Alliance. Since George, Elector of Hanover , was also heir to the British throne, his support was more reliable, but the suspicion remained that the interests of Hanover came first. British foreign policy was based on three general principles, which remained largely consistent from
7379-601: The Indian Ocean . Colbert's obsession with VOC led to series of early letdowns. One of France's main aims was to establish a French entrepôt in Madagascar to rival the Dutch colony of Batavia. By the 1680s, the company went insolvent and they had little choice but to rent out its monopoly to a group of merchants. The Indian trade remained under the company for approximately thirty years. In 1716, Scottish financier John Law arrived at
7536-820: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It
7693-609: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It
7850-407: The Persian Gulf , Red Sea, and the northwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent . These accomplishments paled France in comparison with England and Dutch Republic . France's Atlantic ports pursued to compete and amalgamate with each other. The commercial and capital expertise was disbursed around the coastal regions of Brittany and Normandy . Like other nationally-chartered trading companies of
8007-476: The Rhine and Adda , while their absence limited operations in areas like Northern Spain. Better logistics, unified command, and simpler internal lines of communication gave Bourbon armies an advantage over their opponents. In 1700, Spain remained a great power in terms of territory control; recent research moreover shows that imports of bullion from the Americas reached their highest level between 1670 and 1700. However, this concealed major structural weaknesses;
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#17328560928078164-449: The Spanish Americas . For the Dutch, despite attaining their long sought-after Barrier Treaty , the war is seen as marking the beginning of their decline as a significant European power. Although Louis succeeded in placing his grandson on the Spanish throne, France was left financially exhausted. Charles II of Spain succeeded his father Philip IV at the age of four in 1665. Subject to extended periods of ill-health for much of his life,
8321-489: The Tories favoured a mercantilist strategy of using the Royal Navy to attack French and Spanish trade while protecting and expanding their own; land commitments were viewed as expensive and primarily of benefit to others. The Whigs argued France could not be defeated by seapower alone, making a Continental strategy essential, while Britain's financial strength made it the only member of the Alliance able to operate on all fronts against France. The Dutch had been engaged in
8478-474: The Treaty of Paris in 1763, the territories were returned to France. The company was not able to maintain itself financially, and it was abolished in 1769. King Louis XV issued a 1769 edict that required the company to transfer to the state all its properties, assets and rights, which were valued at 30 million livres. The King agreed to pay all of the company's debts and obligations, though holders of company stock and notes received only an estimated 15 percent of
8635-412: The West Indies , which produced sugar , then a hugely profitable commodity. Also, there were minor trade conflicts in South America, India, and Asia; the financial strains of war particularly affected the Dutch East India Company , as it was a huge drain on scarce naval resources. Related conflicts include Rákóczi's War of Independence in Hungary , which was funded by France and a serious concern for
8792-436: The World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin
8949-407: The capture of Menorca in 1708 allowed the Royal Navy to dominate the Western Mediterranean. Since many British politicians considered this their primary objective, they became reluctant to approve further expensive land campaigns in this theatre. The close links between war and trade meant conflict extended beyond Europe, particularly in North America, where it is known as Queen Anne's War , and
9106-458: The strategic depth needed to protect their commercial and demographic heartlands around Amsterdam against attack from the south. However, with the help of Maximilian of Bavaria, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands, the Dutch garrison troops had been replaced by French troops by 1701. Dutch priorities were to re-establish and strengthen the Barrier fortresses, retain control of the economically vital Scheldt estuary, and gain access to trade in
9263-492: The 'Barrier' fortresses in the Spanish Netherlands , granted at Ryswick. It also threatened the Dutch monopoly over the Scheldt granted by the 1648 Peace of Münster , while French control of Antwerp and Ostend would allow them to blockade the English Channel at will. Combined with other French actions that threatened English trade, this produced a clear majority for war and in May 1701, Parliament urged William to negotiate an anti-French alliance. On 7 September, Leopold,
9420-411: The 16th through the 20th centuries. The first, overriding all others, was to preserve a balance of power in Europe, an objective threatened by French expansion under Louis XIV. The second was to prevent the Low Countries from being controlled by a hostile power or one stronger than Britain; this included both the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch Republic, whose deep harbours and prevailing winds made her
9577-407: The 1707 Convention of Milan Emperor Joseph gave French troops in Lombardy free passage to Southern France. A combined Savoyard-Imperial attack on the French base of Toulon planned for April was postponed when Imperial troops were diverted to seize the Spanish Bourbon Kingdom of Naples . By the time they besieged Toulon in August, the French were too strong, and they were forced to withdraw. By
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#17328560928079734-455: The 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct. French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole . It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language;
9891-474: The 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War . Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language. During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV , enjoyed
10048-429: The Allies continued to advance in northern France, by 1709 Philip had cemented his position in Spain, the ostensible cause of the war. When Emperor Joseph I died in 1711, Archduke Charles succeeded his brother as Holy Roman Emperor . Since a union of Spain and Austria was as unwelcome as one with France, the new British government argued it was pointless to continue. By now, only British subsidies kept their allies in
10205-448: The Americas. While modern economists generally assume a constantly growing market, the then dominant theory of mercantilism viewed it as relatively static. This meant increasing your own share of a market required taking it from someone else, with the state facilitating this by attacking opponents' merchant ships and colonies. As a result, the war quickly expanded to North America , India , and other parts of Asia, with tariffs used as
10362-427: The Bourbons or the Habsburgs from doing so. This divergence and Austria's financial collapse in 1703 meant the campaign in Spain was reliant on Anglo-Dutch naval support and after 1706, British funding. Particularly during the reign of Joseph I , the priority for the Habsburgs was to secure their southern borders from French intervention in northern Italy and suppress Rákóczi's War of Independence in Hungary. Much of
10519-510: The Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English, and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau . According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French
10676-614: The Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies , namely Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy , Saint Martin , and Martinique . French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent, and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America. French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina , comprising modern-day Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades. In colonial Vietnam,
10833-402: The Castilian elite. The Spanish Netherlands had been governed by prince-elector Max Emanuel of Bavaria since 1692, while links with Italy, traditionally the major source of Spanish recruits and funding, had been weakened by decades of neglect and heavy taxation. It was widely, if reluctantly, accepted in Madrid that preserving an independent Spanish Empire required comprehensive reforms, including
10990-425: The Dutch Republic and Britain signed the Treaty of The Hague renewing the 1689 Grand Alliance . Its provisions included securing the Dutch Barrier in the Spanish Netherlands, the Protestant succession in England and Scotland and an independent Spain but did not refer to placing Archduke Charles on the Spanish throne. When the exiled James II of England died on 16 September 1701, Louis reneged on his recognition of
11147-408: The Empire, this local elite had been slowly abandoning Gaulish entirely, but the rural and lower class populations remained Gaulish speakers who could sometimes also speak Latin or Greek. The final language shift from Gaulish to Vulgar Latin among rural and lower class populations occurred later, when both they and the incoming Frankish ruler/military class adopted the Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin speech of
11304-693: The French Bourbons and the Habsburgs . Charles named his heir as Philip of Anjou , a grandson of Louis XIV of France , whose claim was backed by France and most of Spain . His rival, Archduke Charles of Austria , was supported by the Grand Alliance , whose primary members included Austria , the Dutch Republic , and Great Britain . Significant related conflicts include the 1700 to 1721 Great Northern War , and Queen Anne's War . Although by 1701 Spain
11461-547: The French behind the Adda River . Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme , one of the best French generals, took command and was substantially reinforced; Prince Eugene managed a draw at the Battle of Luzzara but the French recovered most of the territory and lost the year before. In October 1703, Victor Amadeus declared war on France; by May 1706, the French held most of Savoy except Turin while victories at Cassano and Calcinato forced
11618-447: The French royal court. The French court were in deep misery and were impotent to cover their debts caused due to War of Spanish Succession . Law approached the Crown with a scheme to construct a national bank and introduce paper currency, which would facilitate France's shift to credit economy. The company failed to found a successful colony on Madagascar , but was able to establish ports on
11775-401: The French secured a royal mandate from Emperor Aurangzeb that granted them to trade on the port of Surat . By 1683, the French had directed their attention toward the prominent site of Pondicherry, however the shift did little to offset the company's chronic shortage of capital. By 1738, the company owned 1,432 slaves, 630 of whom resided in the French colony of Isle de France . Many slaves in
11932-591: The French would prevent the Allies from making a decisive breach in their frontiers. British involvement was primarily driven by the need to protect their trade routes in the Mediterranean. By putting Archduke Charles on the Spanish throne, they also hoped to gain commercial privileges within the Spanish Empire. Despite their dynastic claim, the Austrian Habsburgs viewed securing Northern Italy and suppressing
12089-476: The Germanic Frankish language , which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order , a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabulary ) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man ), and the name of the language itself. Up until its later stages, Old French , alongside Old Occitan , maintained
12246-550: The Grand Alliance in 1701 had been achieved, but success in 1708 made them overconfident. French diplomats focused on the Dutch, whom they considered were more likely to favour peace than their allies, for victory at Ramillies removed any direct military threat to the Republic, while highlighting differences with Britain on the Spanish Netherlands. Peace talks broke down in late 1708 because the Allies had agreed not to negotiate
12403-563: The Habsburgs throughout the war. In South-Eastern France, Britain funded the Huguenot 1704-1710 Camisard rebellion; one objective of the 1707 campaign in Northern Italy and Southern France was to support this revolt, one of a series that began in the 1620s. By the end of 1708, the French had withdrawn from Northern Italy, while the maritime powers controlled the Spanish Netherlands, and secured
12560-460: The Holy Roman Empire, weaken his rival Austria, and increase French commercial strength through access to trade with the Americas. Despite being the dominant power within the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian and Imperial interests did not always coincide. The Habsburgs wanted to put Archduke Charles on the throne of an undivided Spanish monarchy, while their Allies were fighting to prevent either
12717-571: The Hungarian revolt as higher priorities. With the Dutch focusing on Flanders post-1704, this theatre was largely dependent on British naval and military support. Spain at the time was a personal union between the Crowns of Castile and Aragon . The latter was further divided into the separate entities of Catalonia , Aragon , Valencia , Majorca , Sicily , Naples , and Sardinia . In 1701, Majorca, Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia declared for Philip, while
12874-616: The Imperialists into the Trentino valley. However, in July 1706, Vendôme and any available forces were sent to reinforce France's northern frontier after the defeat at Ramillies . Reinforced by German auxiliaries led by Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau , Prince Eugene broke the siege of Turin in September; despite a minor French victory at Castiglione , the war in Italy was over. To the fury of his allies,
13031-621: The Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as a second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as
13188-696: The Indians and the British until they ultimately were defeated by Robert Clive . Several Indian trading ports, including Pondichéry and Chandernagore , remained under French control until 1954. France's main rivalry came from the British . As a result of constant wars in Europe, notably the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War the British were able to exert control over French territories in India. With
13345-591: The Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to
13502-633: The Nine Years' War had often reached 100,000 men. The size of armies continued to grow during the War of the Spanish Succession. Between 1702 and 1707, the field armies in the Southern Netherlands had a strength of 60,000 to 80,000 men, and from 1708 onwards, over 120,000 men. These extensive armies placed immense strain on pre-industrial economies. Armies were restricted by their dependence on water-borne transport for supplies, so campaigns focused on rivers like
13659-448: The OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as a second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
13816-513: The Protestant William III as king of England and Scotland and supported the claim of James' son, James Francis Edward Stuart . War became inevitable and when William himself died in March 1702, his successor Queen Anne confirmed her support for the Treaty of the Hague. The Dutch now led by Grand Pensionary Anthonie Heinsius did the same, despite French hopes that without a Stadtholder
13973-562: The Rhine, joined forces with Louis of Baden and Prince Eugene, and crossed the Danube on 2 July. Allied victory at Blenheim on 13 August forced Bavaria out of the war and the Treaty of Ilbersheim placed it under Austrian rule. Allied efforts to exploit their victory in 1705 floundered on poor coordination, tactical disputes, and command rivalries. A diplomatic crisis between the Dutch Republic and England
14130-553: The Spanish Empire. Although the English Duke of Marlborough was Allied commander in the Low Countries , the Dutch provided most of the manpower and supplies. Strategy in this theatre was thus subject to the approval of their field deputies and generals. When Dutch forces operated outside the Spanish Netherlands this was often a concession to their English allies. Throughout the 17th century, Savoy sought to replace Spain as
14287-455: The Spanish nobility resented what they considered to be the arrogance of the Austrians, a key factor in the selection of Philip as their preferred candidate in 1700. In return for British support, Charles agreed to major commercial concessions within the empire, as well as accepting British control of Gibraltar and Menorca . These made him widely unpopular at all levels of Spanish society, and he
14444-521: The Spanish-controlled Duchy of Milan and allied Duchy of Mantua in Northern Italy announced their support for Philip and accepted French troops. Combined with efforts to build an alliance between France and Imperial German states in Swabia and Franconia , these were challenges Leopold could not ignore. Helped by the governor, Max Emanuel of Bavaria , French troops replaced Dutch garrisons in
14601-495: The Spanish. Leopold and Margaret's daughter Maria Antonia (1669–1692) married Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria in 1685, and on 28 October 1692, they had a son, Joseph Ferdinand . Under the October 1698 Treaty of the Hague between France, Britain and the Dutch Republic, five-year-old Joseph was designated heir to Charles II; in return, France and Austria would receive parts of Spain's European territories. Charles refused to accept this; on 14 November 1698, he published
14758-528: The assets and papers of the East India Company. While its liquidation proceedings were being set up, directors of the company bribed various senior state officials to allow the company to carry out its own liquidation, rather than be supervised by the government. When this became known the following year, the resulting scandal led to the execution of key Montagnard deputies like Fabre d'Églantine and Joseph Delaunay , among others. The infighting sparked by
14915-462: The borders of the Dutch Republic; in the Mediterranean, the maritime powers had achieved naval supremacy, and Britain acquired permanent bases in Gibraltar and Menorca. However, as Marlborough himself pointed out, the French frontiers remained largely intact, their army showed no signs of being defeated, while Philip proved far more popular with the Spanish than his rival. Many of the objectives set out by
15072-641: The colony operated on a plantation economy . The French economy crashed drastically in 1721 due to Law's reforms. Following this event, the company again started trading and settling in India. The reorganized corporation resumed its operating independence in 1723. The company's interest in the Mughal Empire was to prove no easier. The French arrived at the Indian subcontinent decades after the English, Portuguese and Dutch in establishing trade in India. On 4 September 1666,
15229-572: The colony were imported by the company from the West African region of Senegambia ; these included laptots , African slaves who forcibly served onboard the company's ships. With the decline of the Mughal Empire, the French decided to intervene in Indian political affairs to protect their interests, notably by forging alliances with local rulers in south India. From 1741 the French under Joseph François Dupleix pursued an aggressive policy against both
15386-458: The continued existence of the empire was not due to Spanish strength but to maintain a balance between the powers competing for a share of its markets. Despite fighting a series of wars against Spain from 1667 to 1697, France was also its most significant economic partner, supplying labour and controlling a large proportion of its foreign trade. This consideration was an important factor in the decision to name Philip his heir. Its dependence on others
15543-601: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between supporters of
15700-579: The defensive, although they took Landau in 1702. Supported by the Bavarians, during the 1703 campaign French forces retook Landau, won victories at Friedlingen , Höchstädt and Speyerbach , then captured Kehl and Breisach . With Austrian resources absorbed by Rákóczi's War of Independence in Hungary, the Franco-Bavarian plan for 1704 was to march on Vienna. To relieve the pressure, Marlborough marched up
15857-508: The demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future". However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso . Significant as a judicial language, French
16014-708: The dominant power in Northern Italy . Savoy consisted of two main geographic segments; Piedmont , which contained the capital Turin , and the Duchy of Aosta on the Italian side of the Alps , with the Duchy of Savoy and County of Nice in Transalpine France. The latter were almost impossible to defend and combined with the anti-Habsburg policy pursued by Louis XIV and his predecessors, this meant Savoy generally sided with France. However, Piedmont provided foreign powers access to
16171-448: The economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged." Knowledge of French
16328-504: The elimination of the privileges or Fueros held by the Aragonese states. It was no coincidence Archduke Charles had strong support in areas that were part of the Crown of Aragon, including Catalonia and Valencia . Under Louis XIV , France was the most powerful state in Europe, with revenue-generating capacities that far exceeded those of its rivals. Its geographical position provided enormous tactical flexibility; unlike Austria, it had
16485-585: The elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as " Tây Bồi " (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade. However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as
16642-425: The end of 1707, fighting in Italy ceased, apart from small-scale attempts by Victor Amadeus to recover Nice and Savoy. The first objective for the Grand Alliance in this theatre was to secure the Dutch frontiers, threatened by the alliance between France, Bavaria, and Joseph Clemens of Bavaria , ruler of Liège and Cologne . During 1702, the Grand Alliance repelled an assault on Nijmegen , captured Kaiserswerth ,
16799-669: The episode also brought down Georges Danton and can be said to have led to the downfall of the Montagnards as a whole. French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance ,
16956-509: The face value of their investments by the end of corporate liquidation in 1790. The company was reconstituted in 1785 and issued 40,000 shares of stock, priced at 1,000 livres apiece. It was given monopoly on all trade with countries beyond the Cape of Good Hope for an agreed period of seven years. The agreement, however, did not anticipate the French Revolution , and on 3 April 1790 the monopoly
17113-508: The first business was not a joint-stock company , and was funded by the French Crown. The seventeenth century saw several French efforts to trade with the East Indies. They were influenced by the successful business ventures of the Dutch East India Company . Between the 1630s and early 1660s, French efforts were smaller in scale, but they enjoyed some success. French merchant ships traversed
17270-506: The first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France . During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations ( lingua franca ). It retained this role until approximately the middle of
17427-858: The former Yugoslavia , International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body . It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union , and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights 's two working languages. In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today ,
17584-818: The gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish. The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert , which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240. Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life ( chêne , bille , etc.), animals ( mouton , cheval , etc.), nature ( boue , etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau ), farming and rural units of measure ( arpent , lieue , borne , boisseau ), weapons, and products traded regionally rather than further afield. This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being
17741-434: The issue of his successor was a matter of diplomatic debate for decades. For example, in 1670 Charles II of England agreed to support the rights of Louis XIV of France , while the 1689 Grand Alliance committed England and the Dutch Republic to back those of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor . When Charles died in 1700, the Spanish Empire was no longer the dominant great power , but still included much of Italy and
17898-450: The language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world. French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census , it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population). French
18055-474: The language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English. A former French mandate , Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used". The French language in Lebanon
18212-602: The language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario . Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa ,
18369-475: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what
18526-540: The nearby islands of Bourbon and Île-de-France (today's Réunion and Mauritius ). By 1719, it had established itself in India , but the firm was near bankruptcy . In the same year the Compagnie des Indes Orientales was merged under Law's direction with other French trading companies to form the Compagnie Perpétuelle des Indes . This merger resulted in the company being involved in importing slaves to Louisiana , as
18683-420: The necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language". When public education was made compulsory , only French was taught and the use of any other ( patois ) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany . Instructions given by
18840-528: The other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language. All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF). French was the official language of French India , consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry . It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965. A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of
18997-458: The popularity of the motto "Gallicus amicus non vicinus" (France is a good friend, not a good neighbour) within the Dutch Republic. The War of Devolution (1667–68) and the Franco-Dutch War (1672–78) showed the Spanish could not defend the Southern Netherlands, and so the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick allowed the Dutch to place garrisons in eight key cities. They hoped this barrier would provide
19154-480: The population in present-day Scotland , Scandinavia and the Baltic states , plus another two million in France and Northern Italy . This combination of financial exhaustion and famine led to the October 1697 Treaty of Ryswick , a compromise that left the succession unresolved. Since it now seemed clear Charles would die without children, Leopold signed only with extreme reluctance, and all sides viewed Ryswick as only
19311-401: The preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union , where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture . Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union. A leading world language , French
19468-422: The purpose of trading in the Eastern Hemisphere . It resulted from the fusion of three earlier companies, the 1660 Compagnie de Chine , the Compagnie d'Orient and Compagnie de Madagascar. The first Director General for the Company was François de la Faye , who was adjoined by two Directors belonging to the two most successful trading organizations at that time: François Caron , who had spent 30 years working for
19625-419: The republic would be torn apart internally. On 8 May the Dutch Republic declared war on France, followed by the British and the Emperor on 15 May and the Imperial Diet on 30 September. The importance of trade and economic interests to the participants is often underestimated; contemporaries viewed Dutch and English support for the Habsburg cause as primarily driven by a desire for access to Spanish markets in
19782-407: The rest largely speak French as a first language. As a French Creole language , Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles . French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in
19939-444: The restive southern French provinces of the Dauphiné and Vaunage , former Huguenot strongholds with a long history of rebellion. This provided Victor Amadeus II with a degree of leverage, allowing him to manoeuvre between opposing parties to expand his territories. During the Nine Years' War in 1690, Savoy joined the Grand Alliance before agreeing to a separate peace with France in 1696. The accession of Philip V in 1701 led to
20096-405: The struggle to contain France since the Rampjaar (Disaster Year) of 1672, when the Dutch Republic had nearly been overrun by the French army. Apart from the worry about the balance of power, the Dutch had long been concerned with the fate of the Spanish Netherlands, viewing it as a strategic buffer against France. This perception endured even during periods of alliance with France, as evidenced by
20253-413: The succession of Archduke Charles, insisting William help him enforce the Treaty of London meant he might achieve his territorial aims without fighting. However, his son the Dauphin rejected the idea; French diplomats also advised Austria would fight regardless, while neither the British nor Dutch would go to war for a settlement intended to avoid war. Louis therefore accepted on behalf of his grandson, who
20410-468: The time, the Company was based on a mercantilist model of trade, and complemented a colonialist foreign policy. The initial capital of the revamped Compagnie des Indes Orientales was 15 million livres, divided into shares of 1000 livres apiece. Louis XIV funded the first 3 million livres of investment, against which losses in the first 10 years were to be charged. The initial stock offering quickly sold out, as courtiers of Louis XIV recognized that it
20567-414: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In
20724-430: The treaty was largely pointless. By early October 1700, Charles was dying; his final will left the throne to Louis XIV's grandson Philip, Duke of Anjou ; if he refused, the offer would pass to his younger brother the Duke of Berry , followed by Archduke Charles. Charles died on 1 November 1700, and on the 9th, Spanish ambassadors formally offered the throne to Philip. Louis briefly considered refusing; although it meant
20881-619: The two official languages—along with Dutch —of the Brussels-Capital Region , where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh , and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy , of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais , Fribourg and Bern . French
21038-508: The urban intellectual elite. The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization . Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, and influences in conjugation and word order. Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by
21195-425: The use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons , which are German-speaking ) and one of
21352-482: The vast majority of these imports were used to fund debt or pay foreign merchants. When the new Bourbon administration took over in 1701, they found the empire bankrupt and effectively defenceless, with fewer than 15,000 troops in Spain itself and a navy consisting of 20 ships in total. Almost constant warfare during the 17th century made the economy subject to long periods of low productivity and depression, and largely reliant upon others for its prosperity. In many ways,
21509-490: The war, and their withdrawal led to the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, followed by the treaties of Rastatt and Baden in 1714. Philip was confirmed as king of Spain but renounced his claim and those of his descendants to the French throne. The Spanish Empire ceded much of its Italian territories to Savoy and Austria, along with the Spanish Netherlands, although it remained largely intact outside Europe. Britain received Gibraltar and Menorca and acquired major trade concessions in
21666-481: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of
21823-402: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as
21980-436: Was a significant blow to Bourbon prestige. An attempt to retake it was defeated in August , with a land siege being abandoned in April 1705. The 1705 Pact of Genoa between Catalan representatives and Britain opened a second front in the north-east; the loss of Barcelona and Valencia left Toulon as the only major port available to the Bourbons in the Western Mediterranean. Philip tried to retake Barcelona in May 1706 but
22137-531: Was abolished by an act of the new French Assembly which enthusiastically declared that the lucrative Far Eastern trade would henceforth be "thrown open to all Frenchmen". The company, accustomed neither to competition nor official disfavor, fell into steady decline and was finally liquidated in 1794. Even as the company was headed consciously toward extinction, it became embroiled in its most infamous scandal. The Committee of Public Safety had banned all joint-stock companies on 24 August 1793, and specifically seized
22294-531: Was during the period of the Crusades in which French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades who referred to them as Franj , numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero). Within Old French many dialects emerged but
22451-459: Was given two months to cede his throne to Charles, while France was required to remove him by force if he did not comply, besides having to cede the strongholds, Thionville , Cambrai and Valenciennes as collateral. Although Spain was of less importance to them, the Dutch negotiators, led by Heinsius, considered these strict conditions necessary to ensure that peace conditions were honoured, as they doubted Louis' sincerity. They were concerned that
22608-400: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul
22765-462: Was illustrated in 1703; despite the presence of an invading Allied army, the French ambassador urged Louis to allow Dutch and English merchants to purchase wool from Spanish farmers, "otherwise the flocks cannot be maintained". Enacting political or economic reform was extremely complex since Habsburg Spain was a personal union between the Crowns of Castile and Aragon , each with very different political cultures. Most of Philip's support came from
22922-518: Was in their interests to support the King's overseas initiative. The Compagnie des Indes Orientales was granted a 50-year monopoly on French trade in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, a region stretching from the Cape of Good Hope to the Straits of Magellan . The French monarch also granted the company a concession in perpetuity for the island of Madagascar, as well as any other territories it could conquer. The company possessed greater resources and better political banking than France's previous ventures in
23079-420: Was initially successful when the French surprised the Allied garrisons at Ghent and Bruges , it failed after the Allies defeated them at the Battle of Oudenaarde . In its aftermath the Allies managed to capture Lille , the strongest fortress of the French fortress belts, while a French assault on Brussels was reppelled and Ghent and Bruges recaptured. But despite losses like Lille and other strongpoints,
23236-469: Was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha . Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. Under the Constitution of France , French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992, although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates
23393-455: Was never able to sustain himself outside the coastal regions, which could be supplied by the Anglo-Dutch navies. The Wittelsbach -controlled states of Bavaria , Liège , and Cologne allied with France, but the vast majority of the Empire remained neutral, or limited their involvement to the supply of mercenaries. Like Bavaria, the larger entities pursued their own policies; his claim to the Polish crown meant Augustus of Saxony focused on
23550-418: Was no longer the predominant European power, its global empire still included the Spanish Netherlands , large parts of Italy , and the Americas . Its acquisition by either France or Austria threatened the European balance of power , and Philip's proclamation as king of Spain on 16 November 1700 led to war. The French held the advantage in the early stages but were forced onto the defensive after 1706. Although
23707-746: Was of greater concern to Emperor Leopold than Spain itself. This meant Britain was the only power inclined to help Victor Amadeus achieve this objective and he changed sides in 1703 after the Anglo-Dutch navies won control of the Western Mediterranean. The war in Italy primarily involved the Spanish-ruled Duchy of Milan and the French-allied Duchy of Mantua , considered essential to the security of Austria's southern borders. In 1701, French troops occupied both cities and Victor Amadeus II , Duke of Savoy, allied with France, his daughter Maria Luisa marrying Philip V. In May 1701, an Imperial army under Prince Eugene of Savoy moved into Northern Italy; by February 1702, victories at Carpi , Chiari , and Cremona forced
23864-423: Was only averted by the dismissal of General Slangenburg , while the imposition of Austrian rule in Bavaria caused a brief but vicious peasant revolt . In May 1706, the French were comprehensively defeated at Ramillies by an Allied army under Marlborough, which then occupied much of the Spanish Netherlands in under two weeks. France assumed a largely defensive posture for the rest of the war. The 1707 campaign
24021-432: Was proclaimed Philip V of Spain on 16 November 1700. With most of his objectives achieved by diplomacy, Louis now made a series of moves that combined to make war inevitable. The Tory majority in the English Parliament objected to the Partition Treaties, chiefly the French acquisition of Sicily , an important link in the lucrative Levant trade. However, a foreign diplomat observed their refusal to become involved in
24178-495: Was repulsed, while his absence allowed an Allied force from Portugal to enter Madrid and Zaragoza . However, lack of popular support and logistical issues meant the Allies could not hold territory away from the coastline, and by November, Philip controlled Castile, Murcia , and parts of Valencia. Allied efforts to regain the initiative ended with defeat at Almansa in April 1707, followed by an unsuccessful siege of Toulon in August. Despite these failures, control of Gibraltar and
24335-411: Was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language , which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The population remained 90% indigenous in origin; the Romanizing class were the local native elite (not Roman settlers), whose children learned Latin in Roman schools. At the time of the collapse of
24492-437: Was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census. In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census. According to a demographic projection led by the Université Laval and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie ,
24649-452: Was without any significant events, as both parties focussed on other fronts. The French, now under Marshal Vendôme, avoided battle and Marlborough did little to force one upon them. By 1708, the focus of both sides was again almost entirely on the fighting in the Low Countries. The allies once more set their sights on breaking French fortification belts, while the French themselves planned a major counteroffensive . Although this counteroffensive
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