Why French hate English?
When the Norman crusader William the Conqueror defeated Harold in 1066 and sat on the throne of England, the French victory, claimed the English, was not so much due to the military prowess of the conqueror from Normandy, as for the battle tired army of Harold.
Of the few stories that my father would repeatedly narrate to me when I was in sub – five, this was surely one. Although, I always knew what was coming next in the story, it was always nice to hear from him.
The French won, yet the British deny them the kudos for this victory, and I wonder if this could be one reason why the French detest the British. Of course they also believe, it was with guile and not guts that the British wrested the colony of India from the French.
Also, Napoleon, who most French hero worship, to the British was never more than a “corsican usurper” – Napoleon was born in Corsica and not France - whose defeat at Waterloo was more importantly a defeat of a paradigm than that of a ruler or despot. The treatment given to him at St Helena was also very shabby.
But I think more than India, the 100 years war or the sordid soccer nationalism that all Europeans are congenitally configured to contest, or the “Corsican” jibe for Boneparte, it was the treatment that the English gave to the beautiful Joan of Arc that peeves the French most.
It is true, Joan was very young and it is also true that she was beautiful and I say this with a credence and also certitude that even her contemporaries can be denied, but what is of greater value is that she was a virgin, and perhaps the only virgin in France then and yet the English killed her. Outrageous and completely unacceptable and clearly a national tragedy! No wonder the French wounds are so permanent and the hostility toward the British so pervasive.
Thankfully, Sania Mirza was never an icon like Joan ‘d Arc, else more than 26/11, this would be the grouse that many of us would nurse against our delinquent neighbor nation. Of course many of us would perhaps most chauvinistically argue if she was a virgin, as for most, that aspect would clearly forsake her iconic tennis star status, just as it did in the case of JoA.
Working for a French company I have started admiring the French. They are always so French, yet so adaptable. They love their cuisine, more so the nouvelle cuisine, and yet they always indulge themselves with the local food and appreciate it so much. Paris is so beautiful, yet they find beauty sometimes even in the squalor of India. They are wired to appreciate the finer and delicate aspects of human life. In the squalor and poverty, they admire the grit of the people to fight and stay happy.
One of my French colleages once said – “ you don’t feel unsafe when you walk through a poor colony in India. In most countries, you feel unsafe including Paris.” How true. And speaks volumes of the Indian culture. The poor never blame the rich for their state. “Niyati” is more often than not the culprit.
In contrast, the American world view is quite myopic, and can be compared to the Indian world view of 3 centuries ago. The world view I am convinced is reflective of the phase in which the civilization is to enter. The myopic world view almost inevitably reflects the beginning of the end.
If you happen to travel intercity in USA, the vast unpopulated terrain does give an illusion that the world is America and nothing beyond. You cannot blame the Americans completely after-all. Their country is actually vast, un-traversable and very sparsely populated. When you are in America, it is difficult to believe there is a world beyond.
But just like Napoleonic surge was arrested by Russian winter, the American surge is already receding in the face of the Chinese checker.
But what I need to research now is why the British detest the French. There is more to it than just reciprocation.
When the Norman crusader William the Conqueror defeated Harold in 1066 and sat on the throne of England, the French victory, claimed the English, was not so much due to the military prowess of the conqueror from Normandy, as for the battle tired army of Harold.
Of the few stories that my father would repeatedly narrate to me when I was in sub – five, this was surely one. Although, I always knew what was coming next in the story, it was always nice to hear from him.
The French won, yet the British deny them the kudos for this victory, and I wonder if this could be one reason why the French detest the British. Of course they also believe, it was with guile and not guts that the British wrested the colony of India from the French.
Also, Napoleon, who most French hero worship, to the British was never more than a “corsican usurper” – Napoleon was born in Corsica and not France - whose defeat at Waterloo was more importantly a defeat of a paradigm than that of a ruler or despot. The treatment given to him at St Helena was also very shabby.
But I think more than India, the 100 years war or the sordid soccer nationalism that all Europeans are congenitally configured to contest, or the “Corsican” jibe for Boneparte, it was the treatment that the English gave to the beautiful Joan of Arc that peeves the French most.
It is true, Joan was very young and it is also true that she was beautiful and I say this with a credence and also certitude that even her contemporaries can be denied, but what is of greater value is that she was a virgin, and perhaps the only virgin in France then and yet the English killed her. Outrageous and completely unacceptable and clearly a national tragedy! No wonder the French wounds are so permanent and the hostility toward the British so pervasive.
Thankfully, Sania Mirza was never an icon like Joan ‘d Arc, else more than 26/11, this would be the grouse that many of us would nurse against our delinquent neighbor nation. Of course many of us would perhaps most chauvinistically argue if she was a virgin, as for most, that aspect would clearly forsake her iconic tennis star status, just as it did in the case of JoA.
Working for a French company I have started admiring the French. They are always so French, yet so adaptable. They love their cuisine, more so the nouvelle cuisine, and yet they always indulge themselves with the local food and appreciate it so much. Paris is so beautiful, yet they find beauty sometimes even in the squalor of India. They are wired to appreciate the finer and delicate aspects of human life. In the squalor and poverty, they admire the grit of the people to fight and stay happy.
One of my French colleages once said – “ you don’t feel unsafe when you walk through a poor colony in India. In most countries, you feel unsafe including Paris.” How true. And speaks volumes of the Indian culture. The poor never blame the rich for their state. “Niyati” is more often than not the culprit.
In contrast, the American world view is quite myopic, and can be compared to the Indian world view of 3 centuries ago. The world view I am convinced is reflective of the phase in which the civilization is to enter. The myopic world view almost inevitably reflects the beginning of the end.
If you happen to travel intercity in USA, the vast unpopulated terrain does give an illusion that the world is America and nothing beyond. You cannot blame the Americans completely after-all. Their country is actually vast, un-traversable and very sparsely populated. When you are in America, it is difficult to believe there is a world beyond.
But just like Napoleonic surge was arrested by Russian winter, the American surge is already receding in the face of the Chinese checker.
But what I need to research now is why the British detest the French. There is more to it than just reciprocation.
