The Hundred Years' War

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III claimed that he himself was deserving of the throne because his mother was the sister of the late French king, while Philip VI was only a cousin. But according to French law, no women could inherit the throne, nor could the crown be inherited through a woman.

"Philip of Valois chances of becoming King of France had been remote and he had not been brought up as the future lieutenant of God on Earth. Philip VI spent much of his resources on entertainment and finery with gay abandon." 5 This caused conflict with the king's subjects. Since the king was considered to be sacred and inviolable, neither cousin would challenge Philip VI. However, they would exploit the situation and King Edward III lost no time and invaded Normandy with an army of 10,000 men. 6

This leads to another cause for The Hundred Years' War. The land along the Channel and Atlantic coasts was England's first line of defense against an invasion. England held claim to this territory from the twelth ...

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center of the shipping and trading industry. Commodities such as grains, dairy products, dyes and salt would be shipped into Bordeaux via the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers and the merchants were charged a customs fee for these products. Also, Bordeaux would receive duties on wine, whether shipped-in or grown on Gascon soil. Consequently, the profits from the tolls and customs made Bordeaux the economic capital of Gascony. Furthermore, control of neighboring areas such as Guyenne and Calais were economically vital. Their union with Bordeaux would ensure England with a monopoly of the shipping and trading industry from Spain, Portugal and Brittany. 10 France was the richest country in Europe ...

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