by 
The
video
above
shows
the
evolution
of
France’s
borders
between
985
and
1947,
when
it
finally
arrived
at
the
boarders
it
still
has
in
2025.
Here
are
some
of
the
major
key
dates:
1)
985
Context:
This
is
near
the
start
of
the
Capetian
dynasty
(Hugh
Capet
crowned
in
987).
-
Key
point:
The
map
shows
how
little
the
French
king
directly
controlled
in
the
late
900s.
2)
Early
1000s
Context:
Gradual
consolidation
under
the
early
Capetians,
though
territory
growth
is
modest.
Sometimes
historians
mark
1032
because
of
inheritances
in
Burgundy
(the
Kingdom
of
Arles/Burgundy
joined
the
Holy
Roman
Empire,
but
parts
of
it
drifted
under
French
influence).
-
Key
point:
Very
slow
centralization;
the
crown
is
still
relatively
weak
compared
to
its
great
vassals.
3)
Late
1100s
(c. 1180)
–
Accession
of
Philip
II
(Philip
Augustus)
Context:
Philip
II
Augustus
(r. 1180–1223)
begins
systematically
to
recover
royal
control
over
Normandy,
Anjou,
Maine,
and
Touraine
from
the
Plantagenets
(the
“Angevin
Empire”).
-
Key
point:
The
frame
often
shows
a
small
but
growing
“blob”
around
the
Île‐de‐France
and
expansions
into
the
north
and
west.
4)
1204
–
Conquest
of
Normandy
and
Western
Lands
Context:
Philip
II
conquers
Normandy,
Maine,
Anjou,
and
Touraine
from
King
John
of
England
around
1204.
-
Key
point:
A
major
expansion
of
the
royal
domain
westward,
effectively
splitting
the
Angevin
possessions
in
two.
5)
1220s–1230s
–
Albigensian
Crusade
and
Treaty
of
Paris
(1229)
Context:
Royal
authority
expands
in
the
south
after
the
Albigensian
(Cathar)
Crusade.
In
1229,
the
Count
of
Toulouse
submits
to
the
French
crown.
-
Key
point:
Large
swaths
of
Languedoc
come
under
direct
royal
control.
6)
1271
–
Appanages
Reverting
to
Crown
Context:
Alphonse
of
Poitiers
(brother
of
Louis IX)
dies,
and
his
vast
lands
(including
Toulouse)
revert
to
the
crown.
-
Key
point:
Consolidates
nearly
all
of
southern
France
under
Capetian
rule.
7)
Hundred
Years’
War
Begins
(1337)
Context:
Before
the
war’s
major
losses,
France
is
large
but
about
to
face
the
English
claim
to
the
throne.
-
Key
point:
No
immediate
huge
boundary
shift
here,
but
the
frame
might
mark
the
situation
just
before
the
major
fighting.
8)
1360
–
Treaty
of
Brétigny
Context:
In
the
midst
of
the
Hundred
Years’
War,
England
forces
France
to
cede
a
large
swath
of
southwestern
France.
-
Key
point:
You’ll
see
a
big
“bite”
taken
out
of
France
in
Aquitaine.
9)
Late
1300s
–
Reconquest
Under
Charles V
Context:
Charles V
(r. 1364–1380)
and
his
generals
recover
most
of
the
lands
lost
at
Brétigny.
-
Key
point:
The
French
map
regains
southwestern
regions,
though
Calais
remains
English.
10)
Early
1400s
–
English
Conquests
(Henry V)
Context:
Another
reversal
during
the
Hundred
Years’
War:
Henry V
of
England
conquers
Normandy
(1417–1419).
The
Treaty
of
Troyes
(1420)
disinherits
the
Dauphin.
-
Key
point:
Northern
France
(including
Paris)
and
parts
of
the
northwest
come
under
English
or
Burgundian
control.
11)
1453
–
End
of
the
Hundred
Years’
War
Context:
After
Joan
of
Arc’s
interventions
and
subsequent
French
victories,
the
English
hold
in
France
collapses
(except
Calais).
-
Key
point:
France
recovers
nearly
all
territory,
with
only
Calais
remaining
under
English
control.
12)
1477
–
Death
of
Charles
the
Bold
Context:
The
Duchy
of
Burgundy’s
ruler
dies,
leading
to
French
acquisition
of
Picardy
and
the
duchy
proper
(though
the
Low
Countries
fall
to
the
Habsburgs).
-
Key
point:
France
expands
east/northeast.
13)
1482–1493
–
Treaties
of
Arras
&
Senlis
Context:
Further
settlement
of
Burgundian
inheritance.
France
solidifies
control
over
Burgundy,
Artois,
and
Picardy.
-
Key
point:
Fills
out
northeastern
France.
14)
1491–1532
–
Union
With
Brittany
Context:
The
marriage
of
Charles VIII
(and
later
Louis XII)
to
the
Duchess
of
Brittany
leads
to
full
union
in
1532.
-
Key
point:
Brittany
formally
becomes
part
of
the
French
crown.
15)
1552
–
“Three
Bishoprics”
Context:
Henry II
of
France
seizes
Metz,
Toul,
and
Verdun
from
the
Holy
Roman
Empire.
-
Key
point:
Beginning
of
France’s
push
into
the
region
that
would
become
Lorraine/Alsace.
16)
1598
–
Edict
of
Nantes
Context:
Not
a
major
boundary
change
but
some
maps
show
Henry IV’s
consolidation.
By
1601,
the
Treaty
of
Lyon
also
gives
France
Bresse,
Bugey,
and
Gex
(on
the
Savoy
border).
-
Key
point:
Southeastern
frontier
shifts
slightly
at
Savoy’s
expense.
17)
1648
–
Peace
of
Westphalia
Context:
At
the
end
of
the
Thirty
Years’
War,
France
officially
gains
part
of
Alsace.
-
Key
point:
First
big
French
foothold
east
of
the
Vosges.
18)
1659
–
Treaty
of
the
Pyrenees
Context:
Concludes
war
with
Spain.
France
acquires
Roussillon
and
parts
of
Cerdagne.
-
Key
point:
Southern
boundary
with
Spain
shifts
north–south
Pyrenees
line
further
south.
19)
1678–1679
–
Treaties
of
Nijmegen
Context:
Louis XIV’s
wars
yield
the
annexation
of
Franche‐Comté
(previously
a
Spanish
Habsburg
possession).
-
Key
point:
France
now
has
a
continuous
swath
of
territory
in
the
east.
20)
1684–1689
–
“Reunions”
and
Ryswick
(1697)
Context:
Louis XIV
uses
“chambers
of
reunion”
to
claim
various
enclaves
near
Alsace/Lorraine,
but
the
Treaty
of
Ryswick
(1697)
forces
some
returns.
-
Key
point:
The
map
bulges
and
then
slightly
shrinks
on
the
eastern
frontier.
21)
1713
–
Treaty
of
Utrecht
Context:
Ends
the
War
of
the
Spanish
Succession.
France
largely
keeps
its
“hexagon,”
though
it
relinquishes
some
minor
enclaves
in
the
north/east.
-
Key
point:
The
shape
of
France
stabilizes
in
Europe,
but
no
major
expansions.
22)
1766
–
Incorporation
of
Lorraine
Context:
When
Stanisław
Leszczyński
(duke
of
Lorraine
and
father‐in‐law
to
Louis XV)
dies,
Lorraine
reverts
to
the
French
crown.
-
Key
point:
France
completes
its
hold
on
Lorraine.
23)
1768
–
French
conquest
of
Corsica
Context:
France
conquer
Corsica.
-
Key
point:
Corsica
first
appears
as
fully
part
of
France
on
most
maps.
24)
1791–1792
–
Revolution
and
Annexation
of
Avignon
Context:
The
French
Revolution
leads
to
the
annexation
of
the
Comtat
Venaissin
(Papal
territory
around
Avignon).
-
Key
point:
Southeastern
France
is
rounded
out.
25)
1795–1802
–
Revolutionary
Wars
Context:
France
annexes
Belgium
(Austrian
Netherlands)
and
the
left
bank
of
the
Rhine,
among
other
areas.
-
Key
point:
The
map
extends
northeast
beyond
the
“classical”
borders—though
many
of
these
lands
are
“sister
republics”
or
military
occupations.
26)
1804–1810
–
Napoleonic
Empire
at
its
Height
Context:
Napoleon
consolidates
or
directly
annexes
northern
Italy,
the
Netherlands,
parts
of
Germany,
and
extends
control
through
client
states.
By
1810,
the
“French
Empire”
reaches
well
beyond
the
old
borders.
-
Key
point:
A
very
large
“Greater
France”
in
the
GIF
27)
1814–1815
–
First
and
Second
Paris
Treaties
Context:
Napoleon’s
defeat.
France
is
forced
back
essentially
to
its
1792
borders
(the
first
treaty
was
quite
lenient,
the
second
a
bit
harsher).
-
Key
point:
Loss
of
all
“Imperial”
conquests,
returning
to
something
close
to
the
Bourbon
realm
of
the
late
18th
century.
28)
1815–1848
–
Bourbon
Restoration
/
July
Monarchy
Context:
Borders
remain
mostly
stable
within
Europe;
the
map
rarely
changes
unless.
-
Key
point:
Minimal
changes
in
this
time.
29)
1860
–
Annexation
of
Savoy
and
Nice
Context:
As
part
of
a
deal
with
the
Kingdom
of
Sardinia
(allied
with
France
in
the
war
against
Austria),
France
acquires
Savoy
and
the
County
of
Nice.
-
Key
point:
Southeastern
border
shifts
significantly,
adding
the
modern
départements
of
Savoie/Haute‐Savoie
and
Alpes‐Maritimes.
30)
1871
–
Franco‐Prussian
War
Context:
France
loses
Alsace
(except
the
Belfort
area)
and
part
of
Lorraine
to
the
newly
formed
German
Empire.
-
Key
point:
A
chunk
of
France
is
“bitten
off”
on
maps
from
1871
to
1919.
31)
1919
–
Treaty
of
Versailles
Context:
At
the
end
of
World
War I,
Alsace‐Lorraine
is
restored
to
France.
-
Key
point:
Map
reverts
to
the
“pre‐1871”
frontier/
32)
(World
War II
Occupation,
1940–44)
Context:
While
the
GIFs
does
not
include
a
frame
for
German
occupation
or
the
Vichy
armistice
line,
that
is
because
it
was
not
a
legal
cession
of
territory—just
an
occupation
zone.
33)
1947
–
Treaty
of
Paris
(Minor
Adjustments
with
Italy)
Context:
France
gains
small
border
areas
(Tende
and
La Brigue)
from
Italy.
This
is
the
last
small
shift
of
the
metropolitan
French
border.
-
Key
point:
Final
“modern”
shape
of
France
as
recognized
today
in
Europe.
For
more
see:
Go to Source
Author: Brilliant Maps
