157-580: The Franciscan Recollects ( French : Récollets ) were a French reform branch of the Friars Minor , a Franciscan order. Denoted by their gray habits and pointed hoods, the Recollects devoted their lives to an extra emphasis on prayer, penance and spiritual reflection (recollection), focusing on living in small, remote communities the better to facilitate these goals. Today they are best known for their activities as missionaries in various parts of
314-719: A Huguenot (Protestant), Henry was involved in the French Wars of Religion , barely escaping assassination in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre . He later led Protestant forces against the French royal army. Henry inherited the throne of France in 1589 upon the death of Henry III . Henry IV initially kept the Protestant faith (the only French king to do so) and had to fight against the Catholic League , which refused to accept
471-467: A French army to support the Protestant claimants. Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully , his financial advisor, was particularly keen on joining the war, as France's finances at the time were secure. Henry declared that he was defending the rights of the Imperial princes, and also that he was honoring his previously agreements to defend the Protestant claimants. Henry also was seeking to curb the power of
628-744: A French official to teachers in the department of Finistère , in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language". The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process
785-514: A Protestant monarch. After four years of military stalemate, Henry converted to Catholicism, reportedly saying, "Paris is well worth a mass." As a pragmatic politician he promulgated the Edict of Nantes (1598), which guaranteed religious liberties to Protestants, thereby effectively ending the French Wars of Religion . An active ruler, Henry worked to regularize state finance, promote agriculture, eliminate corruption and encourage education. He began
942-793: A Recollect chaplain who accompanied LaSalle, Father Zenobius , preached to the Tensas tribe on the lower Mississippi River using his knowledge of the Illinois language . In 1759, British conquest once again interfered with the Franciscans. Five years later, the bishop of Quebec , Jean-François Hubert , annulled the vows of any friar professed after 1784. Their numbers gradually decreased until, by 1791, only five friars remained. The last Canadian Recollect, Father Louis Demers, died in Montreal in 1813. In Newfoundland , Recollect friars established
1099-506: A circumnavigation of the globe and informed Henry of his adventures. He had visited China and India, and met with Emperor Akbar . Historians have assessed that Henry IV was a convinced Calvinist , and only changed his formal religious confession to achieve his political goals. Henry IV was baptized as a Catholic on 5 January 1554. He was raised in the Reformed Tradition by his mother Jeanne III of Navarre . In 1572, after
1256-431: A comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages". In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations,
1413-641: A conclave to divide the territory of Quebec. Jean Dolbeau was assigned the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence Valley , the territory of the Montagnais (Innu), as well as the post of Tadoussac . Joseph Le Caron was given the Huron mission and other Amerindian populations in the regions of the Great Lakes . Denis Jamet receives missions between Quebec City and Trois-Rivières . As part of
1570-502: A difficult barrier to overcome. To solve this problem, the Recollects recruited truchements (helpers), who were young and resourceful men from humble backgrounds, to interpret indigenous linguistic patterns and respond with gestures and miming. The truchements were supported financially by the missionaries, giving some the opportunity to rise within New France's social ranks. For example, Nicolas Marsolet [ fr ]
1727-555: A foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050. French is the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages). French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
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#17327754037281884-465: A friary in 1689 at the island's capital, Plaisance (now Placentia ), which was staffed until 1701 by friars from Saint-Denis , near Paris . In 1701, they were replaced by friars from Brittany , an arrangement which lasted until the expulsion of the French from Newfoundland in 1714 after the Treaty of Utrecht . In English-speaking Newfoundland, Recollect priests from Ireland played a significant role in
2041-743: A great city, with the Pont Neuf , which still stands today, constructed over the river Seine to connect the Right and Left Banks of the city. Henry IV also built the Place Royale (known since 1800 as Place des Vosges ), and added the Grande Galerie to the Louvre Palace . Stretching more than 400 metres along the Seine river bank, at the time it was the longest edifice of its kind in
2198-652: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on
2355-494: A relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs. The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in
2512-573: A result of this voyage, Sagard published one of his more notable works Le grand voyage du Pays des Hurons (1632) and later his Histoire du Canada (1636) in which he described the daily life, customs, and habits of the Hurons . To this day Leclercq's Nouvelle Relation de la Gaspésie and Sagard's Le grand voyage du Pays des Hurons is considered an important piece belonging to the large corpus of texts published on eastern Canada during its French regime. The Recollects were also present in other parts of
2669-587: A second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as a working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and
2826-526: A second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only
2983-941: A second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as
3140-670: A significant Protestant leader, who then sought to facilitate an agreement between Wolfgang and Johann Sigismund. When peace was negotiated in the Treaty of Dortmund , Henry sent congratulatory messages to the Protestant claimants, and voiced his support, particularly against the Habsburgs who were likely to challenge the treaty. When Habsburg forces invaded Jülich, starting the War of the Jülich Succession , Henry decided to act. On 29 July, after consulting his advisors, Henry ordered
3297-470: A universal recognition of his new title. Pope Sixtus V excommunicated Henry and declared him ineligible to inherit the crown. Most of the Catholic nobles who had joined Henry III for the siege of Paris also refused to recognize Henry of Navarre, and abandoned him. He set about winning his kingdom by force of arms, aided by English money and German troops. Henry's Catholic uncle Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon
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#17327754037283454-467: A useful dictionary. Despite their limited financial resources and small numbers, the Recollects were the first to carry out significant missionary work in New France. For example, they were the first pastors in the colony at Port Royal. Jean Dolbeau celebrated the first Mass ever said in Quebec. He became Provincial Commissary of the mission in 1618 and preached the first jubilee accorded to Canada. He built
3611-547: A variant of Canadian French , is spoken in parts of New England . Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana ), but is nearly extinct today. French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana , such as Mon Louis Island , Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in
3768-437: Is 95%, and in the French collectivity of Wallis and Futuna , it is 84%. In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal (95% and 84% respectively), French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French
3925-779: Is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance , the Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French
4082-472: Is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people , and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates , and on official buildings (alongside Arabic). Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon , with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone. The use of English
4239-489: Is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English). Given
4396-430: Is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including
4553-462: Is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share
4710-652: Is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories ( Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon ). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population. Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario , the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in
4867-503: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English
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5024-404: Is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects . The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from
5181-469: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in
5338-828: Is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights , the Caribbean Court of Justice , the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the International Court of Justice , the International Criminal Tribunal for
5495-576: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,
5652-553: Is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value. French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu , where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. In the French special collectivity of New Caledonia , 97% of the population can speak, read and write French while in French Polynesia this figure
5809-483: Is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50% of the population. Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg , where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco . At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in
5966-492: Is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire . In Louisiana , it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and New Hampshire . Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French . New England French , essentially
6123-424: Is the sole official language in the province of Quebec , where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal , which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism
6280-582: Is where the neighborhood of Recoleta got its name. The Recollects established a friary in Antigua, Guatemala . It was destroyed by the Santa Marta earthquakes of 1773 and is preserved today as a national monument, La Recolección Architectural Complex . The Recollect monastery/convent in Asunción was nationalised by José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia in 1824. Through the presence of Spanish rule in
6437-708: The Anglo-French War of 1626–1629 in Europe, the British captured Quebec City on 20 July 1629. On 9 September that year, the Recollects were forced to return to France along with the Jesuits, who were forcibly removed on 21 July. The two groups of friars were transported to Calais , France, where they arrived on 29 October 1629. The Recollects petitioned the French government several times between 1630 and 1637 to return to New France, but were blocked by Cardinal Richelieu and his agents, who were determined to keep both
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6594-764: The Aosta Valley region of Italy where it is the first language of approximately 50% of the population, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands . It is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa . The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland , with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French. The majority of
6751-462: The Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to the OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as
6908-696: The Collège Royal Henri-le-Grand in La Flèche (today the Prytanée Militaire de la Flèche ). He and Sully protected forests from further devastation, built a system of tree-lined highways, and constructed bridges and canals. He had a 1200-metre canal built in the park at the Château Fontainebleau (which may be fished today) and ordered the planting of pines, elms, and fruit trees. The King restored Paris as
7065-539: The Democratic Republic of Congo . There is not a single African French , but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages . Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth. It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries, but written forms of
7222-476: The Edict of Nantes which granted them many concessions. Henry was nicknamed Henri le Grand (the Great), and in France is also called le bon roi Henri (good king Henry) and le vert galant (The Green Gallant) for his numerous mistresses. In English he is most often referred to as Henry of Navarre. In 1609, Henry had grown infatuated with Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency , Princess of Condé , much to
7379-606: The Edict of Nantes , which granted circumscribed liberties to the Huguenots. Henry IV successfully ended the civil wars. He and his ministers appeased Catholic leaders using bribes of about 7 million écus, a sum greater than France's annual revenue. In combination with other fiscal problems, the king was faced with a financial crisis by the middle of the 1590s. In response to this crisis, Henry resolved to convene an Assembly of Notables in November 1596 that he hoped would approve
7536-485: The European Union , French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains
7693-441: The Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar. Politically,
7850-447: The House of Bourbon , a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty . He pragmatically balanced the interests of the Catholic and Protestant parties in France as well as among the European states. He was assassinated in Paris in 1610 by a Catholic zealot, and was succeeded by his son Louis XIII . Henry was baptised a Catholic but raised in the Protestant faith by his mother. He inherited the throne of Navarre in 1572 on his mother's death. As
8007-439: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It
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#17327754037288164-446: The Jesuits . When Samuel de Champlain returned from his sixth voyage to Canada on 26 May 1613, he made plans to bring missionaries on his next voyage. Champlain had initially turned to the Recollects after receiving advice from his friend Sieur Louis Houel, Secretary to King Louis XIII and controller-general of the salt works at Hiers-Brouage . Houel was familiar with the Recollects who had been established in Brouage since 1610. Since
8321-403: The Low Countries , the reform took hold there, and then spread to the German friars. By the end of the 17th century, all of the provinces of the German-Belgian Nation of the Order of Friars Minor were Recollect. This branch of the Recollects did not die out with the French Revolution but survived and was reinvigorated in the 19th century. By that period, it was one of the four major branches of
8478-420: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It
8635-475: The Sulpicians who owned Montreal and its surrounding region. At this point, the conversion of Amerindians to Christianity was no longer the main priority of the Recollects, as they were more concerned with rebuilding infrastructure that had been left behind following their expulsion by the British in 1629. Nonetheless, they continued to partake in evangelization missions in Gaspesia , in Acadia , and in Louisiana . The Recollects usually had close connections to
8792-520: The United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , the World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin
8949-455: The 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct. French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole . It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language;
9106-474: The 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War . Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language. During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV , enjoyed
9263-420: The Alps. In January 1601, Henry accepted another offer of papal arbitration and gained not only Bresse, but Bugey and Gex . Savoy retained a narrow corridor through the Val de Chézery . This still allowed Spanish troops to cross from Lombardy to Franche Comté without going through France, but it created a choke point where the Spanish Road was a single bridge across the Rhône River . The Saluzzo conflict
9420-510: The Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English, and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau . According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French
9577-614: The Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies , namely Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy , Saint Martin , and Martinique . French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent, and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America. French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina , comprising modern-day Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades. In colonial Vietnam,
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#17327754037289734-430: The Catholic League nobles opposing Henry to win the Battle of Craon in 1592. The Spanish war was not ended with Henry's coronation, but after his victory at the Siege of Amiens in September 1597, the Peace of Vervins was signed in 1598. This freed his armies to settle the dispute with the Duchy of Savoy , ending with the Treaty of Lyon of 1601 , which arranged territorial exchanges. One of Henry's major problems
9891-449: The Dey of Algiers and the Ottoman Empire , but this project floundered with the arrival of John of Austria in Aragon and the disarmament of the Moriscos. In 1576, a three-pronged Ottoman fleet from Constantinople was planned to disembark between Murcia and Valencia while the French Huguenots would invade from the north and the Moriscos accomplish their uprising, but the fleet failed to arrive. After his crowning, Henry continued
10048-415: The Emperor's brother, also a member of the House of Habsburg . In case of such opposition, Philip indicated that princes of the House of Lorraine would be acceptable to him: the Duke of Guise; a son of the Duke of Lorraine; and the son of the Duke of Mayenne. The Spanish ambassadors selected the Duke of Guise, to the joy of the League. However, at that moment of seeming victory, the envy of the Duke of Mayenne
10205-408: The Empire, this local elite had been slowly abandoning Gaulish entirely, but the rural and lower class populations remained Gaulish speakers who could sometimes also speak Latin or Greek. The final language shift from Gaulish to Vulgar Latin among rural and lower class populations occurred later, when both they and the incoming Frankish ruler/military class adopted the Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin speech of
10362-559: The French Wars of Religion. On 9 June 1572, upon his mother's death, the 19-year-old became King of Navarre . At the death of his mother Queen Jeanne, it was arranged for Henry to marry Margaret of Valois , daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici . The wedding took place in Paris on 18 August 1572 on the parvis of Notre Dame Cathedral . On 24 August, the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre began in Paris. Several thousand Protestants who had come to Paris for Henry's wedding were killed, as well as thousands more throughout
10519-583: The French bureaucracy, the Recollects petitioned the papacy in Rome to return to New France, and succeeded in gaining permission to undertake their endeavour in 1637. However, they were once again denied passage aboard French ships. This conflict continued in 1643 when Queen Anne of Austria , the regent of France, granted their request; but once again no transport was obtained. The Recollects would not re-enter New France until 1670, nearly forty years since their expulsion After returning, they reestablished missions at Quebec, Trois-Rivières, and Montreal. On 22 March 1682
10676-408: The French colony. The Recollects never neglected the French settlers in favour of devoting themselves entirely to the conversion of natives. French settlers were seen by the Recollects as the key to creating their ideal society; they wished to promote French-Native intermarriage, in the hopes of eventually building a larger Christian settlement. In practice, however, the native populations encountered by
10833-416: The Germanic Frankish language , which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order , a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabulary ) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man ), and the name of the language itself. Up until its later stages, Old French , alongside Old Occitan , maintained
10990-421: The Habsburgs. Henry's actions faced critique. Some saw him as a warmonger. The Papacy in particular was concerned that Henry was supporting Protestant princes. Henry responded to the papacy declaring that he was keeping the peace. When Habsburg ambassadors told Henry that he was contributing to the decline of Catholicism by supporting the Protestant claimants, Henry declared that he was merely trying to contain
11147-408: The Habsburgs. He also warned the Papacy to keep religion out of succession affairs. France assured the Protestant princes of the Empire that despite being Catholic, the French would still provide aid. Henry also sought to gain the aid of the English and Dutch. Henry greatly pressured the Dutch for support, appealing directly to states-general. Despite Henry's defense of the Protestant princes during
11304-511: The Huguenots including the exact places where worship may or may not take place, the recognition of three Protestant universities, and the allowance of Protestant synods. The king also issued two personal documents (called brevets ) which recognized the Protestant establishment. The Edict of Nantes signed religious tolerance into law, and the brevets were an act of benevolence that created a Protestant state within France. Despite this, it would take years to restore law and order to France. The Edict
11461-553: The Jesuit Acadian mission had failed in 1613 following a British raid led by Captain Samuel Argall against Port Royal in present-day Nova Scotia . There had also been resentment towards Jesuits in France at the time when Champlain was planning his mission. Echoes of controversies between the Jesuits and Jean de Biencourt de Poutrincourt et de Saint-Just, the lieutenant-governor of Acadia, involving comments made about
11618-546: The Jesuits and the Recollects out of New France. Several Recollects, including veteran missionary Joseph Le Caron, appealed to the Capuchin missionaries, originally from New England , to return the Quebec mission to them. The Capuchins acquiesced, but Cardinal Richelieu ordered that the Jesuits replace the Capuchins in Quebec, additionally forbidding the Recollects from travelling on French ships to New France. Frustrated with
11775-536: The Jülich War, many of the German states distrusted him. Afterall, Henry had converted to Catholicism in 1593. Also, France owed debts to some German states, which France struggled to repay. There were also concerns that Henry sought to become Emperor. It was widely believed that in 1610 Henry was preparing to escalate the war against the Holy Roman Empire , which was prevented by his assassination and
11932-751: The King of Navarre as a true subject and Frenchman, not a fanatic Huguenot aiming to subjugate Catholics, and Catholic royalist nobles also rallied to them. With this combined force, the two kings marched to Paris. The morale of the city was low, and even the Spanish ambassador believed the city could not hold out longer than a fortnight. However, on 2 August 1589, a monk infiltrated Henry III's camp and assassinated him. When Henry III died, his ninth cousin once removed, Henry of Navarre, nominally became king of France. The Catholic League, however, strengthened by foreign support—especially from Spain—was strong enough to prevent
12089-537: The Order of Friars Minor, all of which lived under obedience to the minister general of the order, but under their own procurators general . All of them were merged in the Great Union of 1897 mandated by Pope Leo XIII . At that time, there were seven provinces of Recollects. French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] )
12246-536: The Order, into the Observant Friars Minor . In Latin Ordo fratrum minorum recollectorum , this last word is the genitive form of recollecti ( sg. : recollectus , a participle of recolligere , ‘to gather’). The word is related to the French words recueilli (‘contemplative, meditative’) and recueillement ("gathering one's thought in contemplation, meditation"). The origin of
12403-441: The Recollects had no intentions on settling permanently in the French colony. This led the missionaries to instead travel alongside indigenous communities in the hopes of teaching them about the Catholic faith, much like their Jesuit counterparts. The goal of the Recollects in New France was to undertake missionary work among the indigenous peoples who lived there. This work was not without its challenges; for example, language proved
12560-576: The Three Henrys (1587–1589). The Duke of Guise pushed for complete suppression of the Huguenots and had much support among Catholic loyalists. Political disagreements among the parties set off a series of campaigns and counter-campaigns that culminated in the Battle of Coutras . In December 1588, King Henry III had the Duke of Guise murdered, along with his brother Louis, Cardinal of Guise, thinking
12717-569: The allegiance of the vast majority of his subjects. Since Reims , traditional coronation place of French kings, was still occupied by the Catholic League, Henry was crowned King of France at the Cathedral of Chartres on 27 February 1594. Pope Clement VIII lifted excommunication from Henry on 17 September 1595. He did not forget his former Calvinist coreligionists, however, and was known for his religious tolerance. In 1598 he issued
12874-528: The capital of the joint Kingdom of Navarre with the sovereign principality of Béarn . His parents were Jeanne III of Navarre (Jeanne d'Albret) and her husband, Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, King of Navarre . Although baptised as a Catholic, Henry was raised in the Calvinist faith by his mother, who had declared Calvinism the religion of Navarre. As a teenager, Henry joined the Huguenot forces in
13031-637: The chagrin of her husband, Henry II, Prince of Condé . On 28 November 1609, the Prince and Princess fled to Brussels in the Spanish Netherlands . King Henry was furious, and believed that the Prince was conspiring against him, so he threatened to raise an army of 60,000 to capture him and bring back the princess. This corresponded with the War of the Jülich Succession, so it added to the tension, especially with Spain. Though generally well-liked, Henry
13188-536: The claims of France and the Duke of Savoy. The Duke offered to cede Bresse to France if he could retain Saluzzo. Henri IV accepted this, but Spain objected that Bresse was a vital part of the Spanish Road, and persuaded the Duke to reject the decision. Henry IV was already at Lyon and had soldiers ready, and four days later he marched fifty thousand men against the duchy, occupying almost all of its area west of
13345-439: The country in the days that followed. Henry narrowly escaped death thanks to the help of his wife and his promise to convert to Catholicism. He was forced to live at the court of France, but he escaped in early 1576. On 5 February of that year, he formally abjured Catholicism at Tours and rejoined the Protestant forces in the military conflict. He named his 16-year-old sister, Catherine de Bourbon , regent of Béarn. Catherine held
13502-544: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Henry IV of France Henry IV ( French : Henri IV ; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great , was King of Navarre (as Henry III ) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch of France from
13659-459: The creation of new royal revenues. The assembly approved the creation of a new tax on goods entering towns that would be known as the pancarte , however in 1597 the crown was again rocked by military crisis when the Spanish seized Amiens . Huguenot leaders were placated by the Edict of Nantes , which had four separate sections. The articles laid down the tolerance which would be accorded to
13816-519: The demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future". However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso . Significant as a judicial language, French
13973-468: The difficulties encountered by missionaries when converting natives, which led to these texts being dismissed by readers as pessimistic. This explains, in part with the burning of the Recollects convent in 1796, the small quantity of texts related to the missions which have survived to this day. Recollects were important in the documentation of indigenous life in New France. Chrestien Leclercq wrote Nouvelle Relation de la Gaspésie , which concerns itself with
14130-448: The economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged." Knowledge of French
14287-594: The elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as " Tây Bồi " (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade. However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as
14444-497: The encouragement of his mistress, Gabrielle d'Estrées , Henry permanently renounced Protestantism and converted to Catholicism to secure his hold on the French crown, thereby earning the resentment of the Huguenots and his ally Elizabeth I of England . He was said to have declared that Paris vaut bien une messe ("Paris is well worth a Mass "), although the attribution is doubtful. His acceptance of Catholicism secured
14601-425: The first friary of the Recollects at Quebec in 1620. Texts written by Recollect missionaries combined aspects of natural history and ethnography, as they generally paid very close attention to the environments these men lived in. In the case of Sagard, he describes everything that he sees, from plants, to animals, to his relations with the natives he encounters. Compared to the Jesuits, Recollect presence in New France
14758-516: The first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France . During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations ( lingua franca ). It retained this role until approximately the middle of
14915-713: The first successful French colonization of the Americas . He promoted trade and industry, and prioritized the construction of roads, bridges, and canals to facilitate communication within France and strengthen the country's cohesion. These efforts stimulated economic growth and improved living standards. While the Edict of Nantes brought religious peace to France, some hardline Catholics and Huguenots remained dissatisfied, leading to occasional outbreaks of violence and conspiracies. Henry IV also faced resistance from certain noble factions who opposed his centralization policies, leading to political instability. His main foreign policy success
15072-915: The former Yugoslavia , International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body . It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union , and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights 's two working languages. In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today ,
15229-829: The gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish. The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert , which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240. Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life ( chêne , bille , etc.), animals ( mouton , cheval , etc.), nature ( boue , etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau ), farming and rural units of measure ( arpent , lieue , borne , boisseau ), weapons, and products traded regionally rather than further afield. This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being
15386-403: The introduction and early leadership of Roman Catholicism on the island, following the public announcement of religious liberty to Roman Catholics by Governor John Campbell in 1784. The evangelization missions taking place between 1615 and 1629 can be divided into three periods. The first, from 1615 to 1623, was a period of discovery: it marked their initial effort at understanding and discovering
15543-509: The kings of France had resisted the interference of the pope in political matters, and that he should not raise a foreign prince or princess to the throne of France under the pretext of religion. Mayenne was angered that he had not been consulted prior to this admonishment, but yielded, since their aim was not contrary to his present views. Despite these setbacks for the League, Henry remained unable to take control of Paris. On 25 July 1593, with
15700-454: The language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world. French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census , it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population). French
15857-479: The language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English. A former French mandate , Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used". The French language in Lebanon
16014-612: The language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario . Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa ,
16171-479: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what
16328-416: The massacre of French Calvinists, he was forced by Catherine de' Medici and the royal court to convert. In 1576, after escaping from Paris, he abjured Catholicism and returned to Calvinism. In 1593, to gain recognition as King of France , he converted again to Catholicism. Although a formal Catholic, he valued his Calvinist upbringing and was tolerant toward the Huguenots until his death in 1610, and issued
16485-562: The merchants from the Société des Marchands de Rouen et de Saint-Malo were paying Champlain's expensive transportation costs, they insisted he and Houel choose effective yet inexpensive missionaries to join the voyage. Thus, the vows of poverty observed by friars played in their favor. Champlain was also influenced by the successful Franciscan missions in the New World and in Japan. Furthermore,
16642-539: The mission in New France, Fathers Joseph Le Caron , Jean Dolbeau , and Brother Pacifique Duplessis (du Plessis) were chosen as missionaries to accompany Champlain. Although the Recollects were not the first religious order in New France (the Jesuits had been in Acadia since 1611), they were the first to enter and establish themselves as an order in the province of Quebec. Upon arrival the Recollet Fathers formed
16799-471: The name "Recollects" is still debated. Some historians attribute it to the recollection houses (retreats). Others credit it to the orders’ practice of accepting only those who possessed the ability of recollection. The Recollect branch of the Friars Minor developed out of a reform movement of the Order which began in 16th-century Spain under figures such as Peter of Alcantara , where the followers of
16956-504: The natives. In fact, when they first arrived in New France, they openly welcomed "unruly" native children within their walls in order to teach them the way of God. Even though they quickly realized that they did not have enough money to continue this mission, they still maintained relatively good relations with the natives, especially with the Hurons . As the Recollect Gabriel Sagard shows in his writings, their convent
17113-420: The necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language". When public education was made compulsory , only French was taught and the use of any other ( patois ) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany . Instructions given by
17270-652: The official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco;
17427-534: The other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language. All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF). French was the official language of French India , consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry . It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965. A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of
17584-544: The policy of a Franco-Ottoman alliance and received an embassy from Sultan Mehmed III in 1601. In 1604, a "Peace Treaty and Capitulation " was signed between Henry IV and the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I , granting France numerous advantages in the Ottoman Empire. In 1606–07, Henry IV sent Arnoult de Lisle as Ambassador to Morocco to request the observance of past friendship treaties. An embassy
17741-471: The preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union , where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture . Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union. A leading world language , French
17898-522: The reform were known as Alcantarines. It was observed by communities of friars in France in Tulle in 1585, at Nevers in 1592, at Limoges in 1596 and in Paris at Couvent des Récollets in 1603. The distinctive character of Recollection houses was that they were friaries to which brothers desirous of devoting themselves to prayer and penance could withdraw to consecrate their lives to spiritual reflection. At
18055-484: The regency for nearly thirty years. Henry became heir presumptive to the French throne in 1584 upon the death of Francis, Duke of Anjou , brother and heir to the Catholic Henry III , who had succeeded Charles IX in 1574. Given that Henry of Navarre was the next senior agnatic descendant of King Louis IX , King Henry III had no choice but to recognise him as the legitimate successor. A conflict for
18212-514: The regicide of King Henry IV on 14 May 1610, resonated in France. These events persuaded Champlain that the Recollects were the right religious order to bring to New France. The Recollects travelled to New France with Champlain in 1615, where they first arrived at Tadoussac in May 1615, and later travelled to Quebec City in June 1615. Father Denis Jamet, the commissary overseeing the establishment of
18369-472: The regions of Huronia and Tadoussac . During the second phase, from 1623 to 1625, the Recollects concentrated their efforts of evangelization in Huronia. The third period, from 1625 until their expulsion from New France in 1629, marks a time frame in which the Recollects shared their territory with the Jesuits, as the latter only arrived in New France in 1625. Recollect and Jesuit missionaries were very much
18526-551: The reign of Henry IV, rivalry continued among France, Habsburg Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire for the mastery of Western Europe. The conflict was not resolved until after the Thirty Years' War . During Henry's struggle for the crown, Spain had been the principal backer of the Catholic League, and it tried to thwart Henry. Under the Duke of Parma , an army from the Spanish Netherlands intervened in 1590 against Henry and foiled his siege of Paris. Another Spanish army helped
18683-437: The removal of the brothers would restore his authority. However, the populace was horrified and rose against him. The King was no longer recognized in several cities; his effective power was limited to Blois , Tours, and the surrounding districts. In the general chaos, Henry III relied on Henry of Navarre and his Huguenots. The two kings were united by a common interest—to win France from the Catholic League. Henry III recognized
18840-580: The request of Henry IV. From 1604 to 1609, following the return of François Martin de Vitré, Henry attempted to set up a French East India Company on the model of England and the Netherlands. On 1 June 1604, he issued letters patent to Dieppe merchants to form the Dieppe Company , giving them exclusive rights to Asian trade for 15 years, but no ships were sent until 1616. In 1609, another adventurer, Pierre-Olivier Malherbe , returned from
18997-471: The rest largely speak French as a first language. As a French Creole language , Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles . French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in
19154-534: The same time, they were also active in many pastoral ministries, becoming especially known as military chaplains to the French army. The French Recollects had 11 provinces , with 2,534 friaries by the late 18th century. The branch was suppressed during the French Revolution . The Recollects were important as early missionaries to the French colonies in Canada , although they were later displaced by
19311-574: The same, in the sense that both orders sought to Christianize natives, while at the same time using similar methodologies. Within the Recollect theory of conversion, the French settlers in New France played a primordial role in the Christianization of indigenous peoples. They believed that colonization and evangelization were inseparable. On the contrary, the Jesuits held their evangelization efforts completely separate from their involvement in
19468-547: The strongest candidate was probably the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain , daughter of Philip II of Spain , whose mother Elisabeth had been the eldest daughter of Henry II of France . In the religious fervor of the time, the Infanta was considered a suitable queen, provided she married a suitable husband. The French overwhelmingly rejected Philip's first choice, Archduke Ernest of Austria ,
19625-541: The subsequent rapprochement with Spain under the regency of Marie de' Medici . Even before Henry's accession to the French throne, the French Huguenots were in contact with Aragonese Moriscos in plans against the Habsburg government of Spain in the 1570s. Around 1575, plans were made for a combined attack of Aragonese Moriscos and Huguenots from Béarn under Henry against Spanish Aragon , in agreement with
19782-518: The succession of the wealthy Duchies were in dispute. Henry aimed to maintain peace among the Protestant princes of the Holy Roman Empire to present a united front against the Habsburgs. To achieve this, Henry encouraged a peaceful settlement over the succession between the two main protestant claimants: Wolfgang Wilhelm of Palatinate-Neuburg and Johann Sigismund of Brandenburg . He communicated this with Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel ,
19939-453: The throne of France then ensued, contested by these three men and their respective supporters: Salic law barred inheritance by the king's sisters and all others who could claim descent through only the female line. However, since Henry of Navarre was a Huguenot, many Catholics refused to acknowledge the succession, and France was plunged into a phase of the Wars of Religion known as the War of
20096-466: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In
20253-679: The two official languages—along with Dutch —of the Brussels-Capital Region , where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh , and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy , of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais , Fribourg and Bern . French
20410-508: The urban intellectual elite. The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization . Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, and influences in conjugation and word order. Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by
20567-485: The use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons , which are German-speaking ) and one of
20724-771: The use of imported gold and silver cloth. He also built royal factories to produce luxuries such as crystal glass, silk, satin, and tapestries (at Gobelins Manufactory and Savonnerie manufactory workshops). The king re-established silk weaving in Tours and Lyon , and increased linen production in Picardy and Brittany . He had distributed 16,000 free copies of the practical manual The Theatre of Agriculture by Olivier de Serres. King Henry's vision extended beyond France, and he financed several expeditions of Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts and Samuel de Champlain to North America. France laid claim to New France (now Canada). During
20881-544: The ways of life of those indigenous communities that he resided with as a result of his missions among the Mi’kmaq of Gaspésie. As a result of spending so much time among the Mi’kmaq people, Leclercq was able to learn their language. His fluency in their dialect allowed him to compose a dictionary of the Mi’kmaq language, meant to serve as an aid for future missionaries who would live among these First Nations people. Pacifique Duplessis
21038-536: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of
21195-462: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as
21352-431: The world, most notably in early French Canada. This branch of the Order had its origins in the 16th century. Officially named the "Order of Friars Minor Recollect", they used the post-nominal initials O.F.M. Rec. ( Latin : Ordo fratrum minorum recollectorum ) or O.M.R. ( Ordo minorum recollectorum ). In 1897 Pope Leo XIII dissolved the Recollect branch and merged it, along with several other reform branches of
21509-520: The world. He promoted the arts among all classes of people, and invited hundreds of artists and craftsmen to live and work on the building's lower floors. This tradition continued for another two hundred years, until ended by Napoleon I . The art and architecture of his reign have become known as the Henry IV style . Economically, Henry IV sought to reduce imports of foreign goods to support domestic manufacturing . To this end, new sumptuary laws limited
21666-878: The world. In 1521, the Province des Anges sent a few missionaries, R.P. Martin de Valence with nine priests and two fathers in the West Indies , and there, they converted in a very short time more than one thousand and two hundred Indians. In the late 17th century, the order had these provinces outside of Europe: four in New Spain , four in Peru , and two elsewhere in Latin America and two in Southeast Asia. The Recollect monastery/convent in Buenos Aires
21823-455: Was Henry IV's last major military operation, but he continued to finance Spain's enemies. He generously assisted the Dutch Republic with over 12 million livres between 1598 and 1610. In some years, the payment was 10% of France's total annual budget. France also sent subsidies to Geneva after the Duke of Savoy attempted to capture the city in 1602. In 1609, the death of the childless Johann William , Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg , meant that
21980-417: Was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to the French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French
22137-442: Was aroused, and he blocked the proposed election of a king. The Parlement of Paris also upheld the Salic law. They argued that if the French accepted natural hereditary succession, as proposed by the Spaniards, and accepted a woman as their queen, then the ancient claims of the English kings would be confirmed, and the monarchy of centuries past would be rendered illegal. The Parlement admonished Mayenne, as lieutenant-general, that
22294-421: Was considered a heretical usurper by some Catholics and a traitor to their faith by some Protestants. Henry was the target of at least 12 assassination attempts, including by Pierre Barrière in August 1593 and by Jean Châtel in December 1594. Henry was killed in Paris on 14 May 1610 by François Ravaillac , a Catholic zealot who stabbed him while his coach was stopped on Rue de la Ferronnerie . The carriage
22451-531: Was during the period of the Crusades in which French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades who referred to them as Franj , numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero). Within Old French many dialects emerged but
22608-400: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul
22765-444: Was granted a seigneury , while Pierre Boucher became governor of Trois-Rivières, later founding the town of Boucherville . Their return to New France in 1670 was led by Father Germain Allart, accompanied by Gabriel de la Ribourde, Simple Landon, Hilarion Guenin, Anselme Bardoun, and Brother Luc. The territory of Quebec had since been carved up amongst the Jesuits, who claimed the Laurentian Valley and other western territories, and
22922-469: Was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha . Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. Under the Constitution of France , French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992, although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates
23079-454: Was later sent to Trois-Rivères, where he evangelized Aboriginal communities, cared for the sick, and educated children. Because of the latter, he has been considered the first schoolmaster in New France. In 1620, the Recollects completed construction on the Notre-Dame-des-Agnes convent in Quebec, the first Canadian convent and Seminary. Father Nicolas Viel travelled to Huronia with Gabriel Sagard and other missionaries to assist Father Le Caron. As
23236-445: Was met by opposition from the parlements , which objected to the guarantees offered to Protestants. The Parlement de Rouen did not formally register the edict until 1609, although it begrudgingly observed its terms. During his reign, Henry IV worked through the minister Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully , to regularize state finance, promote agriculture, drain swamps, undertake public works, and encourage education. He established
23393-468: Was minimal. The writings of the Recollects were less popular than those of the Jesuits, who targeted a wider audience. Consequently, their works were less influential for the Jesuit writings on New France were considered more authoritative sources on the New World. When writing about their missions, the Recollects emphasized the importance of observing, interacting with and understanding indigenous societies prior to writing about them. Their works often spoke of
23550-443: Was proclaimed king by the League, but the Cardinal was Henry's prisoner at the time. Henry was victorious at the Battle of Arques and the Battle of Ivry , but failed to take Paris after besieging it in 1590. When Cardinal de Bourbon died in 1590, the League could not agree on a new candidate at the Estates General called to settle the question, also attended by the envoys of Spain. While some supported various Guise candidates,
23707-409: Was sent to Ottoman Tunisia in 1608 led by François Savary de Brèves . Under Henry IV, various enterprises were set up to develop long-distance trade. In December 1600, a company was formed through the association of Saint-Malo , Laval , and Vitré to trade with the Moluccas and Japan. Two ships, the Croissant and the Corbin , were sent around the Cape of Good Hope in May 1601. The Corbin
23864-411: Was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language , which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The population remained 90% indigenous in origin; the Romanizing class were the local native elite (not Roman settlers), whose children learned Latin in Roman schools. At the time of the collapse of
24021-401: Was the Peace of Vervins in 1598, which made peace in the long-running conflict with Spain. He formed a strategic alliance with England. He also forged alliances with Protestant states, such as the Dutch Republic and several German states, to counter the Catholic powers. His policies contributed to the stability and prominence of France in European affairs. Henry de Bourbon was born in Pau ,
24178-418: Was the Spanish Road which traversed Spanish territory through Savoy to the Low Countries. His first opportunity to cut the Spanish Road was a dispute over the ownership of the Marquisate of Saluzzo . The last marquis left Saluzzo to the French crown in 1548 (when Savoy was occupied by France), but the territory became disputed during the chaos of the Wars of Religion. The pope was asked to arbitrate between
24335-437: Was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census. In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census. According to a demographic projection led by the Université Laval and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie ,
24492-544: Was very close to a few indigenous settlements, and he himself was very good friend with some Hurons. Some even addressed him with Huron kinship terms; some called him Ayein (meaning "son"), and others called him Ataquen (meaning "brother"). He also writes about what a typical day with them looked like: He would usually eat with them, and then he would sometimes follow them as they went about their everyday lives. They taught him about their beliefs, their customs, and they taught him their language, which would later help him in creating
24649-417: Was wrecked in the Maldives , leading to the adventure of François Pyrard de Laval , who managed to return to France in 1611. The Croissant , carrying François Martin de Vitré , reached Ceylon and traded with Aceh in Sumatra , but was captured by the Dutch on the return leg at Cape Finisterre . François Martin de Vitré was the first Frenchman to write an account of travels to the Far East in 1604, at
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