What are Hundred Days in French History?
The Hundred Days is also called the “War of the 7th Coalition”. This marks the time between the return of Napoleon from the island of Elba after spending 11 months of exile to Paris on the 20th of March 1815. It also signifies the 2nd restoration of King Louis XVIII on the 8th of July 1815 and this is 110 days. This time period witnessed the War of the 7th Coalition and comprised the Neapolitan War, the Waterloo Campaign, and many other insignificant campaigns.
In French “Cent Jours” means the hundred days. The phrase “hundred days French cent jours” was used by Gaspard Comte de Chabrol, the prefect of Paris when he made his speech that welcomed the king to Paris on the 8th of July. During this time, Napoleon returned but the Vienna Congress was sitting. On the 13th of March, 7 days before Napoleon returned to Paris, the Congress of Vienna declared him an outlaw. Then on the 25th of March, Russia, the UK, Prussia, and Austria, the 4 supreme powers as well as key members of the 7th Coalition, bound themselves for putting 150,000 men into the field and it put an end to his rule.
This prepared the stage for the final conflict that happened in the Napoleonic Wars besides the defeat of Napoleon. Hundred days french cent jours, the period between the 10th of March 1815, when Napoleon returned from Elba to Paris, and the 28th of June 1815, when Louis XVI was restored to power.
The Journey of Napoleon
On the 20th of March 1815, Napoleon along with his supporters marched into Paris after they escaped from their exile in Elba one month earlier. Due to the terror, Louis XVIII fled the capital at the recurrence of the former emperor and the military hero. Hundred Days of Napoleon did cease the Waterloo battle in June. This compelled his abdication and finally ensured Louis’ restoration to the throne of France in July.
So, hundred days of French history is considered the ultimate scene of Napoleon besides the domination of the French that the French Revolution initiated.
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Hundred Days Significance
The succession of irregular conflicts between England and France that happened during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was not classed as the War of Hundred Days until the year 1823. Customarily, the war was known to have started in the year 1337 when Philip VI tried to reclaim Guyenne from King Edward 3rd. He responded by claiming the throne of France and it lasted until 1453 when the French people claimed a win over the uncertain country at the Castillon Battle. If you go by this calculation then you will find that the war of Hundred Years lasted one hundred and sixteen years.
Nonetheless, the source of the episodic fight can be traced nearly three hundred years earlier to the year 1066. This was the time when the duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror, conquered English before he was crowned the king.
Theoretically, the French king’s vassal that is the simultaneous novice role of William in the form of the king of England brought forward a multifaceted net of dynastic marriages. Here, descendants of both the English and French kingdoms could claim the same regions. With time, these overseas belongings resulted in some inevitable clashes.
By the year 1337, the declaration of Philip VI that Edward III did forfeit his authority to Guyenne was the push that Edward required for renewing his claim to the throne of France in the form of the nephew besides the King Charles IV’ closest male relative who breathed his last in the year 1328.
If you look from the perspective of the French, then the customary dates that were credited to the war of the 100 Years that began from the year 1337 and ended in the year 1453 show both the beginning and finishing of the hostilities of English on French soil. Nonetheless, the English were successful in retaining the ownership of Calais' port city until 1558. It continued to claim the throne of France until King George 3rd relinquished this title in the year 1800.
Unknown Facts About Hundred Days
After covering the hundred days definition and meaning, it is important to know about some unknown facts associated with the hundred days.
When the French ruler Charles IV died without leaving a son in the year 1328, the first cousin of Charles was selected to succeed and he became King Philip VI. Still, Edward III of England in the form of the nearest male relation to the king was found to possess a stronger claim. It was the French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte who ruled for 100 days and there were 111 days. Napoleon ruled between the 20th of March 1815 and the 8th of July 1815.
After exile, humiliation, and abdication, the ex-French emperor was down though not out. After this, Napoleon did launch his return to greatness besides the battlefield.
Hopefully, we have successfully covered all the vital information on Hundred days French history and other related information.
FAQs on Hundred Days: French History
1. Who was Napoleon Bonaparte?
Also recognized as Napoleon I, Napoleon Bonaparte was an emperor and military leader of France who conquered a major part of Europe during the nineteenth century. Napoleon rose rapidly through various ranks of the military at the time of the French Revolution. After he seized political power, he became emperor in 1804. Napoleon was a skilled, ambitious, and shrewd military strategist and he waged war against different European nations’ coalitions successfully and also expanded his empire.
After a catastrophic invasion of France in 1812, Napoleon quit the throne a couple of years later and was exiled. In the year 1815, he returned to power briefly and after the Battle of Waterloo defeat, he abdicated one more time and was exiled. And here, he died when he was just 51.
2. What is the definition and meaning of hundred days?
The 100 days timeline can be traced to Napoleon Bonaparte because it is the time he took to return from exile. During this period, he also reinstated himself as a ruler who ruled France and also waged war against the Prussian and English armies before his ultimate defeat. Though it took one hundred and eleven days to give him a mulligan, it is summed up as one hundred days. In the year 1815, Napoleon became successful in reclaiming his power and Americans did not begin to assess their presidents in one hundred day increments until Roosevelt came one century later.
3. What was the effect of the Battle of Waterloo?
The Battle of Waterloo turned out to be a hugely important battle where the army of Anglo-allied stood against repeated attacks of the French fast. However, with the assistance of many Prussian corps that made their appearance on the battlefield east, they did manage to defeat the French Army. Grouchy engaged a rearguard from Prussia at the immediate Battle of Wavre and though he emerged victorious, his failure to avert the Prussians that marched to Waterloo signified his actions made French turn losers at Waterloo. On the next day, which is on the 19th of June, Grouchy left Wavre to begin a long retreat to Paris.
