The Angevin Empire, A Symbole of a long Rivalry Between France and England (Part 1)
France and England are pretty famous rivals. Today this rivalry is more likely to be limited to Friday night soccer games, but things used to be much more intense between the two nations. We can count, for example, the Napoleonic wars, the 7 Years War, the war of Spanish Succession and the 100 Years War amongst all the moments the two came into conflict. However, today we will go over the biggest middle-finger England gave to France in the form of the Angevin Empire. For the French readers, don't worry, this is more of a 'settling the score' action anyway . The Foundations The “empire” (historians can't seem to agree whether it was one or not), was actually formed in 1154. Henry II, duke of Normandy and count of Anjou, married the duchess of Aquitaine, Eleanor, which set the foundation for the Angevin Empire. The weird thing is that the Angevin territories were seen as an English nation from the beginning. However, England entered the fray much later. This may be exp...