PARIS, 17th century

The first time Paris became capital of any French territory, was in 987 AD. The Kingdom of West Francia extended from Belgium to Pyrenees and Paris was made the capital that lasted till the 15th century. The name Paris was adopted in around the 9th century when it was changed from Parisios. Apart from Paris, places like Troyes, Bourges, Versailles, Bordeaux and Vichy saw the shifting of the government either due to a possible attack or fleeing of certain rulers because of certain situations. Nevertheless, Paris has always been an inseparable part of European as well as world history.

Originally known as Lutetia, at the end of the 3rd century AD, the city fell in the hands of the barbarians. The name Lutetia disappeared and was slowly succeeded by the Parisii tribes, thus getting the name Parisios and eventually, Paris. But till the 10th century, Paris wasn't yet an established city. After overthrowing an attempt to re-establish a Roman empire in the west, the new king Hugh Capet in the 10th century, and his successors, took another century to fully form Paris as a city. By the 12th century, Paris became a center of civilization wherein there were nobles, royal officials, clergymen, artisans, merchants, soil-tillers, vine-growers and students from cross-countries living and accelerating the urbanization of the city.

For the next couple of centuries, Paris expanded drastically. It started growing beyond the walls of St. Denis in the north, Boulogne in the west, Charenton in the south and Pantin in the east. In the 15th century, France was occupied by the English forces between 1420 to 1436, during the '100 years war'. During this time France went in a personal union with England and liberation started not before the 16th century, and Calais became the last English possession to be occupied by France in 1558. Between 1355-58, under the authority of Étienne Marcel, the Parisians first declared themselves as independent commune.

If there is one major event France has contributed to the world history that has toppled the course of action, it is the French Revolution of 1789. Although controversial and its intend to pull down the monarch wasn't technically achieved (since Napoleon Bonaparte came into the picture), but it did resulted in introducing the concepts of democracy and a republican state to France (and of course, beheading the king and the queen). The storming of the Bastille in 1789 was the first of a series of key actions by the Parisian people during the revolution.

Coming to the two World Wars, although Parisians prevented the Germans from advancing to the city in the first war, they couldn't do the same during the second. The government seat during the war shifted from Paris to Tours and Bordeaux (June 1940) before moving to Vichy, which became the temporary capital of the French State (the southern portion since the north was under German occupation). At the end of the war, Paris was liberated in 1944 and restored as the capital of France.

Today Paris is a hub of trade, commerce, culture, language and education and is by far one of the most magnificent cities in the world. The Eiffel Tower, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, the Louvre, the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur etc., and every single building in the city has attracted tourists, painters, merchants, investors and almost everyone throughout history. Interestingly, there are several other places in the world sharing the same name 'Paris'. A couple of American states such as Arkansas, Idaho, Texas, Virginia etc., countries such as Denmark, Kiribati, Panama, Canada, Puerto Rico and even in Antarctica, one can find at least one area named 'Paris'.

Here's a map of a 17th century Paris, before it had started to develop. One interesting place marked here is 'Madrid', which is Château de Madrid, one of the several 16th century Renaissance buildings in the city.