Western Civilization: Ancient and Medieval Times Discuss the Hundred Years' War: What were its causes? Why did the war continue for so long? What advantages did each party have? What were the results of the war for England and France? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay From 1337 to 1453, the Hundred Years' War was a major conflict fought between the English and the French. The war began due to territorial disputes between the English and the French when the French defeated the English at the Battle of Castillon, along France to claim the English territories (Keen 2014). The great conflict between England and France actually began years before the war. When William of Normandy conquered England, he “created a state lying on both sides of the Channel” (Hundred Y. 2015). The English kings in the 14th century held the Duchy of Guienne located in France and were tired of paying homage to France because of it. “The status of the duchy of Guyenne (or Aquitaine): although it belonged to the kings of England, it remained a fiefdom of the French crown, and the kings of England wanted an independent possession” (Hundred 2015). They no longer wanted France to control them. Edward III of England, in particular, was displeased with Philip VI of France when he did not keep his promise to restore the piece of Guienne that had been taken by Charles IV. Other causes of the war included English action to control the territory of Flanders, Philip supporting Scotland against the English (Cento Y. 2015) and the English being the closest living heir to the last Capetian king (Charles IV), they then claimed the crown of France belonged to them (Cento 2015). This war lasted more than a hundred years because it was a series of skirmishes and battles that spread throughout this time. It wasn't just a great war that took a hundred years to fight. There were periods of peace between the battles, but the overall conflict between England and France was not resolved until a hundred years later. For example, there was a time during the war when Edward, the “Black Prince” of England, held King John II of France prisoner. The French came and negotiated the release of their king for three million crowns and some lands. The “Black Prince” accepted and freed the king. The “Black Prince” died and his ten-year-old son, Richard II, was crowned King of England. This established a ten-year period of peace between England and France during the war (mid-2015). Some of the advantages the English had over the French were based on battle strategies and weapons technologies. The English “avoided pitched battles, engaged in quick and profitable raids, stole what they could and destroyed everything else, and captured enemy nights for ransom (Pojer 2015).” Their weapons included the longbow and crossbow. The longbow was an advantage because of its flexibility, rate of fire, and stopping power, and the crossbow because it did not require much skill to use it effectively, had great power, and required low manpower for archers (Weapons 1987 ).The French also had their advantages. The French had a population of around sixteen million and used this fact to their advantage when they were able to field an army of over 50,000 men when the maximum number fielded by the English was around 32,000. The French were also much richer than the English and could afford more supplies and resources to replenish their army after each skirmish and battle (Pojer 2015). The war ended in 1453. By this time the English had lost all their major centers except Calais and the French 2012).