Causes Of The Hundred Years War

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The Hundred Years War was a battle between the French and English in hopes for possession over the French kingdom. The war started when the English King, Edward III, claimed the French throne. At first, England's new weapon, the longbow, and its stronger, more centralized government were enough to overcome the larger yet disorganized French population. But as France gained a national identity, the English began to suffer defeats.
In May of 1337, the nations were looking for national identity and were attempting to become stronger. This provided the fuel needed for the Hundred Years War that was sparked by Edward III's claim to the French throne. Charles IV succeeded his father Phillip IV the Fair to the French throne, and died leaving no male heir. The 15 year old English king at the time, Edward III, grandson of Phillip the Fair claimed the throne as his own, but the French barons instead placed Charles IV's cousin, Phillip VI of Valois on the throne. This situation provided the start of the war, but was not the only reason behind it. There was a lot of background as to why the war started. The Hundred Years War was not one large war, but many small, continuous wars in a long period of time, lasting roughly 116 years.
England was strong in the wool industry but did not produce any finished products. Instead, they shipped the wool to Flanders to be woven into cloth. The English claimed this land as their own, and so did the French. The English people and the French people were both trying to create stronger nations and an independence from each other. There was great tension between the people of each nation. The Hundred Years War started mostly because of three reasons. The first one being Edward III's claim to the French thro...

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... war effort. “The English crown became increasingly in debt, indeed when Henry V died the crown had a deficit of £30,000 and a debt of £25,000.” The French maintained their focus throughout the war. They had a simple goal that of evicting the English from France. The French were ill served by their leadership during most of the war with the exception of Charles VI, who chose the right strategy for his reign. One of the main reason's for France's eventual victory was the simple fact that France was too large nation for the English to defeat. Realistically, the English never had much hope of defeating France and the English conduct of the war was such that France would stay outraged and continue to fight. One of the largest factors in the overall English defeat in the Hundred Years War was their loss of focus in the strategy they employed during the course of the war.

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