Great French War

The Great French War is a sometimes-used term to describe the period of conflict beginning on April 20, 1792 and continuing until November 20, 1815. The conflict began when France declared war on Austria following a gradual increase in tensions following the French Revolution in 1789. The wars continued through several régime changes in France (beginning with the deposition of King Louis XVI in 1792 and continuing through the Terror instigated by the Jacobins under Maximilien de Robespierre). The Jacobins were in turn overthrown and an Executive Directory set up, eventually also giving way to the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte - first as First Consul then as Emperor. The period of the war prior to the seizure of power by Bonaparte in 1799 is generally refered to as the Revolutionary Wars and the period afterward is known as the Napoleonic Wars.

Related Topics:
April 20 - 1792 - November 20 - 1815 - France - French Revolution - 1789 - King Louis XVI - Terror - Jacobins - Maximilien de Robespierre - Napoleon Bonaparte - First Consul - Emperor - 1799 - Revolutionary Wars - Napoleonic Wars

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In total the war claimed between 4 million and 6.5 million lives (including civilian casualties) and involved between 6 and 10 million combatants. It was fought principally in Europe, but conflict did occur in both north Africa and south Africa as well as in South America, North America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, India and throughout much of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Related Topics:
Europe - Africa - South America - North America - Caribbean - Middle East - India - Atlantic - Indian

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The entire period of warfare is often referred to as the Napoleonic or French Revolutionary Wars, without separating the two. Some historians even consider the period of warfare from the wars of Louis XIV until the Battle of Waterloo a second hundred years war.

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See: Revolutionary Wars; Napoleonic Wars; War of 1812; Second and Third Anglo-Maratha Wars.

Related Topics:
Revolutionary Wars - Napoleonic Wars - War of 1812 - Second - Third

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