Franco-Prussian War

Introduction

Precipitated by a combination of the political ineptitude of Napoleon III and the Macchiavellian policies of Bismarck, the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 was one of the most traumatic events in French history. Defeated in the field, her capital besieged and occupied, France was forced to cede Alsace-Lorraine and to pay an enormous indemnity to the conquerors. Moreover, as a consequence of the war, the emergence and suppression of the Commune in Paris resulted in acts of brutality by both Communards and government on a scale to compare with the worst excesses of the Revolution.

Discussion

Inevitably, the effects on the Impressionists were ...