The history of France from the Norman Conquest to the battle of Waterloo is to some extent the history of the rivalry of the English and French monarchies, though from the death of Henry II of France in 1559 to the opening of the war of the League of Augsburg in 1689, the two countries were for the most part at peace. From the accession of Charles of Spain to the Imperial throne as the Emperor Charles V to the present day — with the exception of the period from the opening of the Seven Years' War to the outbreak of the Revolution — France has always regarded the leading Power in Germany, whether Austria or, since 1866, Prussia, with suspicion if not with actual animosity.
In both cases she has had justification. The possessions of England in France down even to the reign of the English Queen Mary were a sufficient cause for exasperation, and after 1688 the colonial rivalry of the two Powers rendered hostilities frequent. Then shortly after the accession of the Emperor Charles V projects arose for the partition of France between him and Henry VIII, while during the Religious Wars in France the continued hostility of the Habsburg lirie in Spain, followed by the attempt of the Emperor in the Thirty Years' War to subject Europe to his sway, necessarily called forth the fiercest opposition in France. Till 1756 the two countries were frequently at war, and after the outbreak of hostilities in 1792 the French Government endeavoured to crush Austria — a policy pursued by Napoleon with consider able success.
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