The centralized state in France and the Estates General

After the Frankish empire broke up, the Western Frankish kingdom split into dozens of almost independent principalities. The personal lands of the Capetian kings — the domain — stretched from Paris to Orléans, while the dukes of Normandy, Burgundy, Brittany and Aquitaine held more land than the king himself. King Louis VI (early 12th century) began to impose order in his domain by pulling down the castles of the barons. Philip II (1180–1223) struggled with King John of England and in 1204 won back Normandy. Under Louis IX (1226–1270) it was agreed that the county of Toulouse in the south would pass to the crown (treaty of 1229), private wars between lords were banned and royal coins became valid across the country; the King’s Council and the Supreme Court (the Parlement of Paris) grew stronger. From the 12th century peasants’ dependence began to be abolished and part of the taxes was paid in money. A division of labour between provinces appeared: Normandy produced iron and salt, Champagne and Burgundy wine and linen, Flanders woollen cloth, and Paris became the largest centre of crafts and trade. Townspeople and small and middle feudal lords supported a strong royal power, while the great lords opposed it. Thus France increasingly became a centralized state.