The Hundred Years War was a conflict that marked the formation process of the national monarchies of France and England. On the political plane, this war was motivated by the political crisis that gripped France after the death of Philip, the Beautiful, in 1328. Seeking to enjoy the economic advantages arising from the unification of the crowns, British King Edward III demanded the French throne, as he was the grandson of the late French monarch.
Furthermore, economic interest also explains this exhausting confrontation. During this period, the monarchs were concerned with strengthening their political power through the collection of taxes. It was from this situation that the British and French disputed fiscal control over the prosperous region of Flanders. On the one hand, the British sought to control Flanders by providing the wool used by their weavers. However, France exercised political control in the region because of old feudal ties.
In much of the confrontation, the British defeated the French armies imposing a heavy defeat. In the year 1415, English troops took part of French territory, imprisoning King Charles VI and dominating the city of Paris. The British triumph was soon legitimized with the signing of the Treaty of Troyes, which transferred the northern portion of France to the domain of the English King Henry V. Until then, it seemed impossible that the French could reverse the supremacy achieved by the British.
However, in the year 1429, the role played by an obstinate Frenchwoman named Joan of Arc gave other fates to this conflict. Leading a small army organized by the monarch Charles VII, this legendary warrior managed to reconquer the Orleans region from English rule. Soon after, the euphoria caused by this achievement also made possible the retaking of Reims. Immediately, the English were alarmed by the feats of this unknown peasant woman.
While Charles VII was hailed as the new king of France, the British planned to capture and assassinate Joan of Arc. Imprisoned thanks to the efforts of the Duke of Burgundy, Joan of Arc was offered to the ecclesiastical courts on charges of witchcraft. Tried and convicted, the French heroine was burned alive in the city of Rouen, in the year 1431. With this, the British aimed to stifle a possible military reaction on the part of France.
However, the conquests undertaken by the blessed warrior mobilized the French population in new battles against England. Mirrored in Joan of Arc, the French imposed successive defeats on British armies. In 1453, the conquest of the city of Bordeaux forced the English to admit their defeat, ending the Hundred Years War. Thereafter, the French monarchy gained extensive powers under the tutelage of King Charles VII.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/guerra-dos-cem-anos.htm