Historically, England has been ruled by French aristocrats since the Plantagenet Dynasty, and this embarrassing status has no weight in the eyes of France: you are arrogant outside, and you have to bow before the king of France when you come back to me.
Edward III's mother Isabella was the daughter of Philip IV, the sister of King Charles IV of France, of whom Edward himself was a nephew.
Since Charles IV died without a male heir, the French chose Philip VI of Valois, the illegitimate cousin of Charles IV, to succeed him.
Edward III and his mother Isabella were not happy with this decision, but as the nephew of the previous emperor, Edward felt that he was fully qualified to be king of France. But the French side to "the throne to male not female", "your mother is not enough on the throne of the scrap, you don't think about it" to terminate Edward's further imagination.
For this reason, Edward had no choice but to recognize Philip VI as king.
Later, the disharmony between Britain and France over economy, war, and vassal relations finally made Edward III restless:
First, the French occupied the Flanders region, Edward had to ban the export of wool to the Flemish on the ground, forced the Flemish support against the French, the effect is very poor;Secondly, on the question of Scotland, Philip VI "turned his elbow outwards" to support the Scots, which Edward III had been unable to attack;
Third, and most important, Philip's decision to place Edward III's Duchy of Aquitaine under his control violated Edward's boundaries and allowed him to claim his rightful place as the grandson of Philip IV of France.
On 24 May 1337, Philip VI sent an army to capture Keene, and Edward III fought back, finally starting the War between England and France in November of that year.
Ever since he tore his face, Edward has been on the offensive. In 1339, he led a surprise attack on northwestern France, but the results were not good. In the subsequent Battle of Sruys, the French Navy was nearly wiped out in a nine-hour battle, but the British themselves suffered heavy casualties.
The war that followed was not so easy. Between 1337 and 1341, England and France fought several battles of varying scale. Apart from the victory of Sruiz, Edward III did not produce any results that satisfied the nobles for a long time.
In contrast, spending on the war sucked up the funds raised like a bottomless pit, and the eager Edward took a shortcut by leading his army into French territory and looting, hoping to fill the hole properly.
During a raid on Crecy, France, Edward, who had arrived in high spirits to seize resources, was confronted by the French army, which was waiting with a large army. At present, there are fewer than 10,000 troops, facing three times more than the other side's hands, Edward has to say that he is a little panicked.
Fortunately, the English, with their well-trained longbows, crushed the French cavalry, and the French army was scattered, and Philip VI of France fled.
At the Battle of Crecy, on August 26, 1346, the English defeated the French cavalry and crossbowmen with longbows; the English suffered only a few hundred casualties, while the French suffered between 6,000 and 30,000 casualties
In the mid-14th century, due to the madness of the Black Death in England, the two countries made a slight truce. The Black Prince Edward led another raid and captured King John II and the two princes, leaving France in chaos.
In order to redeem the king, representatives of the two countries signed the Peace of Bretiny in 1360, and the French paid the English half a million pounds, which was a large sum for Edward, equal to the sum of his income for five years.
After receiving this money, Edward III renounced his inheritance, and in turn he received the French lands southwest of the Loire, and was no longer required to salute the French king.
As an important fighter in the Hundred Years War, the black prince could have ascended the throne reasonably after his father retired and become a new generation of king to lead the British army to continue to fight. However, after the Black Prince became the ruler of Aquitaine, his subordinates bullied the city, and the popular opposition was widespread, which forced Edward to renounce the title of duke.
Within a few years, Edward died before his father, and his son Richard II unexpectedly ascended to the throne.
The 10-year-old Richard II had just assumed office when he was confronted with a peasant uprising and suffered many blows.
Because of the Poll Tax Act imposed on the peasants in England, the tax originally levied on the bourgeoisie was distributed equally to everyone. As a result, regardless of class, the lowest peasants had to pay the same amount of tax as the duke, which became the last straw to overpower the poor people.
Two armies of rebellious peasants arrived in London in June 1377, burned the palace of Richard II's uncle, and killed the Archbishop of Canterbury in a rage. The young Richard II was trapped in the Tower of London, and had to negotiate with his advisers. The negotiations resulted in the abolition of the privileges of British serf owners and lords, and the reduction of taxes for peasants.
Hastily put down the peasant uprising, Richard II was deeply aware of the internal problems, he only grasp the absolute power of the king, get rid of the interference of the aristocratic duke, England can become peaceful, the people will be honest, "live and work".
So in 1391, Richard II formally declared that the king's power was beyond the control of the law, a move that established his autocratic power as the leader of the state. The objections of the nobles were not taken into account by him.
In 1397, Richard II deported a number of nobles who disagreed with him, including Bolingbroke, the new king of England, Henry IV, who had successfully seized power.