'
France' had
colonial possessions, in various forms, from the beginning of the
17th century until the
1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, its
global colonial empire was the second largest in the world behind the
British Empire. At its peak, between
1919 and
1939, the second French colonial empire extended over 12,347,000 km² (4,767,000 sq. miles) of land. Including
metropolitan France, the total area of land under French
sovereignty reached
12,898,000 km² (4,980,000 sq. miles) in the 1920s and 1930s, which is 8.6% of the world's land area.
Currently, the remnants of this large
empire are hundreds of islands and
archipelagos located in the
North Atlantic, the
Caribbean, the
Indian Ocean, the
South Pacific, the
North Pacific, and the
Antarctic Ocean, as well as one mainland territory in
South America, totaling altogether
123,150 km² (47,548 sq. miles), which amounts to only 1% of the pre-
1939 French colonial empire's area, with 2,564,000 people living in them in 2007. All of these enjoy full political representation at the national level, as well as varying degrees of legislative . (See
Administrative divisions of France.)
Map of the first (light blue) and second (dark blue — plain and hachured) French colonial empires
Animated map showing the French colonial empires
Medieval French empire
France experienced a ''de facto'' existence as an empire with overseas possessions across the Mediterranean during the 12th and 13th centuries as a result of later
Crusades, although its society did not view it as such. The first incidence of France having an overseas possession was the first
Kingdom of Jerusalem, with
Baldwin I crowned in 1100. Indeed, the French term ''
Outremer'' originated with this kingdom. The
Fourth Crusade resulted in the partition of the
Byzantine Empire of 1204, with
Constantinople and surrounding lands in both
Europe and
Asia incorporated into the
Latin Empire, ruled by nobles from
Burgundy,
Flanders,
Hainaut, and
Courtenay. This empire survived Greek and Bulgarian attacks until its re-conquest by the
Nicaean Greeks in 1261. France also invaded Egypt during the
Seventh Crusade in 1249 and occupied the
Nile Delta for one year.
Angevin rule resumed in the
Kingdom of Sicily and
Malta from 1266 to the
Aragonese conquest of the early 14th century, this time as agents of France. The
Lusignan noble family of western France had the throne of the Kingdom of Jerusalem until its
Mamluk conquest in 1291 and of the
Kingdom of Cyprus until 1489.
First French colonial empire
The early voyages of
Giovanni da Verrazzano and
Jacques Cartier in the early
16th century, as well as the frequent voyages of French fishermen to the
Grand Banks off
Newfoundland throughout that century, were the precursors to the story of France's colonial expansion. But
Spain's jealous protection of its American monopoly, and the disruptions caused in France itself by the
Wars of Religion in the later 16th century, prevented any consistent efforts by France to establish colonies. Early French attempts to found colonies in
Brazil, in
1555 at
Rio de Janeiro (the so-called
France Antarctique) and in
1612 at
São Luís (the so-called
France Équinoxiale), and in
Florida (including
Fort Caroline in 1562) were not successful, due to
Portuguese and Spanish vigilance and prevention.
The story of France's colonial empire truly began on
July 27,
1605, with the foundation of
Port Royal in the colony of
Acadia in North America, in what is now
Nova Scotia,
Canada. A few years later, in
1608,
Samuel de Champlain founded
Quebec, which was to become the capital of the enormous, but sparsely settled, fur-trading colony of
New France (also called
Canada).
Although, through alliances with various
Native American tribes, the French were able to exert a loose control over much of the North American continent, areas of French settlement were generally limited to the
St. Lawrence River Valley. Prior to the establishment of the
1663 Sovereign Council, the territories of New France were developed as mercantile colonies. It is only after the arrival of intendant
Jean Talon in
1665 that France gave its American colonies the proper means to develop population colonies comparable to that of the British. But there was relatively little interest in colonialism in France, which concentrated rather on dominance within Europe, and for most of the history of New France, even Canada was far behind the
British North American colonies in both population and economic development. Acadia itself was lost to the British in the
Treaty of Utrecht in
1713.
In
1699, French territorial claims in North America expanded still further, with the foundation of
Louisiana in the basin of the
Mississippi River. The extensive trading network throughout the region connected to Canada through the
Great Lakes, was maintained through a vast system of fortifications, many of them centered in the
Illinois Country and in present-day
Arkansas.
As the French empire in North America expanded, the French also began to build a smaller but more profitable empire in the
West Indies. Settlement along the South American coast in what is today
French Guiana began in
1624, and a colony was founded on
Saint Kitts in
1625 (the island had to be shared with the English until the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, when it was ceded outright). The ''
Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique'' founded colonies in
Guadeloupe and
Martinique in
1635, and a colony was later founded on
Saint Lucia by (
1650).
Carte de L'Indoustan. Bellin, 1770.
The food-producing plantations of these colonies were built and sustained through
slavery, with the supply of slaves dependent on the
African slave trade. Local resistance by the
indigenous peoples resulted in the
Carib Expulsion of 1660.
The most important Caribbean colonial possession did not come until
1664, when the colony of
Saint-Domingue (today's
Haiti) was founded on the western half of the Spanish island of
Hispaniola. In the
18th century, Saint-Domingue grew to be the richest
sugar colony in the Caribbean. The eastern half of Hispaniola (today's
Dominican Republic) also came under French rule for a short period, after being given to France by Spain in
1795.
French colonial expansion was not limited to the
New World, however. In
Senegal in
West Africa, the French began to establish trading posts along the coast in
1624. In
1664, the
French East India Company was established to compete for trade in the
east. Colonies were established in
India in
Chandernagore in
Bengal (
1673) and
Pondicherry in the Southeast (
1674), and later at
Yanam (
1723),
Mahe (
1725), and
Karikal (
1739) (see
French India). Colonies were also founded in the Indian Ocean, on the Île de Bourbon (
Réunion,
1664), Île de France (
Mauritius,
1718), and the
Seychelles (
1756).
Colonial conflict with Britain
In the mid-18th century, a series of colonial conflicts began between France and the
Britain, which would ultimately result in the demise of most of the first French colonial empire. These wars were the
War of the Austrian Succession (
1744–
1748), the
Seven Years' War (
1756–
1763), the War of the
American Revolution (
1778–
1783), and the
French Revolution (
1793–
1802) and
Napoleonic (
1803-
1815) Wars. It may even be seen further back in time to the first of the
French and Indian Wars. This recurrent conflict has been collectivized as the so-called
Second Hundred Years' War.
Although the War of the Austrian Succession was indecisive — despite French successes in India under the French Governor-General
Joseph François Dupleix — the Seven Years' War, after early French successes in
Minorca and North America, saw a French defeat, with the numerically superior British (over one million to about 50 thousand French settlers) conquering not only
New France (excluding the small islands of
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon), but also most of France's West Indian (Caribbean) colonies, and all of the
French Indian outposts. While the peace treaty saw France's Indian outposts, and the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe restored to France, the competition for influence in India had been won by the British, and North America was entirely lost — most of
New France was taken by Britain (also refer to as
British North America, except Louisiana, which France ceded to Spain as payment for Spain's late entrance into the war (and as compensation for Britain's annexation of Spanish Florida). Also ceded to the British were
Grenada and
Saint Lucia in the West Indies. Although the loss of Canada would cause much regret in future generations, it excited little unhappiness at the time; colonialism was widely regarded as both unimportant to France, and immoral.
Some recovery of the French colonial empire was made during the
French intervention in the American Revolution, with Saint Lucia being returned to France by the
Treaty of Paris in 1783, but not nearly as much as had been hoped for at the time of French intervention. True disaster came to what remained of France's colonial empire in
1791 when Saint Domingue (comprised of the Western third of the Caribbean island of
Hispaniola ), France's richest and most important colony, was riven by a massive slave revolt, caused partly by the divisions among the island's elite, which had resulted from the
French Revolution of
1789. The slaves, led eventually by
Toussaint Louverture and then, following his capture by the French in
1801, by
Jean-Jacques Dessalines, held their own against French, Spanish, and British opponents, and ultimately achieved independence as
Haiti in
1804 (Haiti became the first black republic in the world, much earlier than any of the future African nations). In the meanwhile, the newly resumed war with Britain by the French, resulted in the British capture of practically all remaining French colonies. These were restored at the
Peace of Amiens in
1802, but when war resumed in 1803, the British soon recaptured them. France's repurchase of Louisiana in 1800 came to nothing, as the final success of the Haitian revolt convinced
Bonaparte that holding Louisiana would not be worth the cost, leading to its sale to the
United States in
1803 (the
Louisiana Purchase). Nor was the French attempt to establish a colony in
Egypt in
1798–
1801 successful.
Second French colonial empire
"Three colours, one flag, one empire."
At the close of the
Napoleonic Wars, most of France's colonies were restored to it by Britain, notably Guadeloupe and Martinique in the West Indies, French Guiana on the coast of South America, various trading posts in
Senegal, the ''Île Bourbon'' (Réunion) in the Indian Ocean, and France's tiny Indian possessions. Britain finally annexed
Saint Lucia,
Tobago,
the Seychelles, and the ''Île de France'' (Mauritius), however.
The true beginnings of the second French colonial empire, however, were laid in
1830 with the
French invasion of Algeria, which was conquered over the next 17 years. During the
Second Empire, headed by
Napoleon III, an attempt was made to establish a colonial-type
protectorate in
Mexico, but this came to little, and the French were forced to abandon the experiment after the end of the
American Civil War, when the American president invoked the
Monroe Doctrine. This
French intervention in Mexico lasted from 1861 to 1867. Napoleon III also established French control over
Cochin-China (the southernmost part of modern
Vietnam including
Saigon), as well as a protectorate over
Cambodia.
It was only after the
Franco-Prussian War of
1870–
1871 and the founding of the
Third Republic (1871-1940) that most of France's later colonial possessions were acquired. From their base in Cochin-China, the French took over
Tonkin and
Annam (in modern Vietnam) in
1884-
1885. These, together with Cambodia and Cochin-China, formed
French Indochina (to which
Laos was added in 1887, and
Kwang-Chou-Wan in 1900). In 1849, the French "concession" in
Shanghai was established, lasting until 1946.
French colonies in 1891 (from ''
Le Monde Illustré'').
1. Panorama of ''Lac-Kaï'', French outpost in China.
2. ''Yun-nan'', in the quay of
Hanoi.
3. Flooded street of Hanoi.
4. Landing stage of Hanoi
Influence was also expanded in
North Africa, establishing a protectorate on
Tunisia in
1881 (Bardo Treaty). Gradually, French control was established over much of Northern, Western, and
Central Africa by the turn of the century (including the modern nations of
Mauritania, Senegal,
Guinea,
Mali,
Côte d'Ivoire,
Benin,
Niger,
Chad,
Central African Republic,
Republic of Congo), as well as the east African coastal enclave of
Djibouti (
French Somaliland). The
Voulet-Chanoine Mission, a military expedition, was sent out from Senegal in 1898 to conquer the Chad Basin and unify all French territories in West Africa. This expedition operated jointly with two other expeditions, the Foureau-Lamy and Gentil missions, which advanced from Algeria and Middle Congo respectively. With the death of the Muslim warlord
Rabih az-Zubayr, the greatest ruler in the region, and the creation of the Military Territory of Chad in 1900, the Voulet-Chanoine Mission had accomplished all its goals. The ruthlessness of the mission provoked a scandal in Paris. In
1911, after the
Agadir Crisis,
Morocco became a French protectorate.
At this time, the French also established colonies in the South Pacific, including
New Caledonia, the various island groups which make up
French Polynesia (including the
Society Islands, the
Marquesas, the
Tuamotus), and established joint control of the
New Hebrides with Britain.
The French made their last major colonial gains after the
First World War, when they gained mandates over the former
Turkish territories of the
Ottoman Empire that make up what is now
Syria and
Lebanon, as well as most of the former German colonies of
Togo and
Cameroon. A hallmark of the French colonial project in the late 19th century and early 20th century was the
civilizing mission (''mission civilisatrice''), the principle that it was Europe's duty to bring civilization to benighted peoples. As such, colonial officials undertook a policy of Franco-Europeanization in French colonies, most notably
French West Africa. Africans who adopted French culture, including fluent use of the French language and conversion to Christianity, were granted equal French citizenship, including suffrage. Later, residents of the "
Four Communes" in Senegal were granted citizenship in a program led by the Afro-French politician
Blaise Diagne.
Collapse of the empire
Main articles: Decolonisation
The French colonial empire began to fall apart during the
Second World War, when various parts of their empire were occupied by foreign powers (
Japan in Indochina, Britain in
Syria,
Lebanon, and
Madagascar, the US and Britain in
Morocco and
Algeria, and
Germany in
Tunisia). However, control was gradually reestablished by
Charles de Gaulle. The
French Union, included in the 1946
Constitution, replaced the former colonial Empire.
However, France was immediately confronted with the beginnings of the
decolonization movement.
Paul Ramadier (
SFIO)'s cabinet repressed the
Malagasy insurrection in 1947. In Asia,
Ho Chi Minh's
Vietminh declared
Vietnam's independence, starting the
Franco-Vietnamese War. In
Cameroun, the
Union of the Peoples of Cameroon's insurrection, started in 1955 and headed by
Ruben Um Nyobé, was violently repressed.
When this ended with French defeat and withdrawal from Vietnam in
1954, the French almost immediately became involved in a new, and even harsher conflict in their oldest major colony,
Algeria.
Ferhat Abbas and
Messali Hadj's movements had marked the period between the two wars, but both sides radicalized after the Second World War. In 1945, the
Sétif massacre was carried on by the French army. The
Algerian War started in 1954. Algeria was particularly problematic for the French, due to the large number of European settlers (or ''
pieds-noirs'') who had settled there in the century and a quarter of French rule.
Charles de Gaulle's accession to power in
1958 in the middle of the crisis ultimately led to independence for
Algeria with the
1962 Evian Accords.
The French Union was replaced in the new 1958
Constitution by the
French Community. Only
Guinea refused by referendum to take part to the new colonial organization. However, the French Community dissolved itself in the midsts of the Algerian War; all of the other African colonies were granted independence in
1960, following local
referendums. Some few colonies chose instead to remain part of France, under the statuses of
overseas ''départements'' (territories). Critics of
neocolonialism claimed that the ''
Françafrique'' had replaced formal direct rule. They argued that while de Gaulle was granting independence on one hand, he was creating new ties through
Jacques Foccart's help, his counsellor for African matters. Foccart supported in particular the
Biafra secession (or Nigerian civil war) during the late 1960s.
Extent of the French colonial empires
Here is a list of all the countries that were part of the French colonial empires in the last 500 years, either entirely or in part, either under French sovereignty or as mandate or protectorate. When only a part of the country was under French rule, that part is listed in parentheses after the country. When there are no parentheses, it means the whole country was formerly part of any one of the French colonial empires. Countries listed are those where French sovereignty applied effectively. Areas that were only claimed, but not effectively controlled (such as
Manhattan or
Western Australia) are not listed.
"1st" means the country/territory was part of the first French colonial empire. "2nd" means the country/territory was part of the second French colonial empire. "Now" means this is a territory still part of the French Republic today.
The Americas
North America
★
Canada (most of eastern and central Canada, see
Acadia and
New France) -- 1st
★
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon -- 1st, 2nd, & now
★
United States (entire basin of the
Mississippi and
Missouri rivers,
Great Lakes, see
New France and
Louisiana) -- 1st
Caribbean
★
Anguilla (briefly) -- 1st
★
Antigua and Barbuda (briefly) -- 1st
★
Dominica -- 1st
★
Dominican Republic (briefly) -- 1st
★
Grenada -- 1st
★
Guadeloupe -- 1st, 2nd, & now
★
Haiti -- 1st
★
Martinique -- 1st, 2nd, & now
★
Montserrat (briefly) -- 1st
★
Saint Martin (northern half only) -- 1st, 2nd, & now
★
Saint-Barthélemy -- 1st, 2nd, & now
★
Saint Lucia -- 1st
★
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines -- 1st
★
Sint Eustatius (briefly) -- 1st
★
St Kitts and Nevis (
St Kitts, but not
Nevis) -- 1st
★
Trinidad and Tobago (
Tobago only) -- 1st
★
US Virgin Islands (
Saint Croix only) -- 1st
South America
★
Brazil (
Rio de Janeiro briefly, and
São Luís briefly) -- 1st
(see
France Antarctique and
France Équinoxiale)
★
French Guiana -- 1st, 2nd, & now
Africa
North Africa
★
Morocco (89% of Morocco) -- 2nd
★
Algeria -- 2nd
★
Tunisia -- 2nd
West Africa
★
Benin (as Dahomey) -- 2nd
★
Burkina Faso (as Upper Volta)-- 2nd
★
Côte d'Ivoire -- 2nd
★
Guinea -- 2nd
★
Mali (as French Sudan) -- 2nd
★
Mauritania -- 2nd
★
Niger -- 2nd
★
Senegal -- 1st & 2nd
★
Togo -- 2nd
Equatorial Africa
★
Cameroon (91% of Cameroon) -- 2nd
★
Central African Republic (as Oubangui Chari)-- 2nd
★
Chad -- 2nd
★
Gabon -- 2nd
★
Republic of the Congo ('Congo-Brazzaville') -- 2nd
Indian Ocean
★
Comoros -- 2nd
★
Madagascar -- 2nd
★
Mauritius -- 1st
★
Mayotte - 2nd & now
★
Réunion -- 1st, 2nd, & now
★
Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean - 2nd & now
★
Seychelles -- 1st
★
Tanzania (
Zanzibar, briefly) -- 2nd
Red Sea
★
Djibouti (as French Somaliland) -- 2nd
★
Yemen (
Cheikh Saïd peninsula) -- 2nd
Asia
Middle East
★
Lebanon -- 2nd
★
Syria -- 2nd
★
Turkey (Sanjak of Alexandretta, now called
Hatay Province) -- 2nd
South Asia
★
India
★
★ half of India (see
French India)-- 1st
★
★ only
Pondicherry,
Karikal,
Yanaon,
Mahé, and
Chandernagore -- 2nd
East Asia
★
China
★
★
Kwang-Chou-Wan leased territory, now the city of
Zhanjiang (
Guangdong province) -- 2nd
★
★ French
concessions in
Shanghai,
Guangzhou,
Tianjin, and
Hankou -- 2nd
★
★ French sphere of influence recognized by China over the provinces of
Yunnan,
Guangxi,
Hainan, and
Guangdong -- 2nd
South East Asia
★
Cambodia - 2nd
★
Laos - 2nd
★
Vietnam (as
Annam,
Tonkin, and
Cochin China) - 2nd
★ Eastern
Thailand under French Sphere of Influence - 2nd
Oceania
★
Clipperton - 2nd & now
★
New Caledonia -- 2nd & now
★
French Polynesia -- 2nd & now
★
Vanuatu (
condominium shared with the
British Empire) -- 2nd
★
Wallis and Futuna -- 2nd & now
Antarctic Ocean
★
French Southern and Antarctic Lands -- 2nd & now
Unsuccessful colonisations
★ Brazil — Settlement of the sites of Rio de Janeiro ("
France Antarctique") from 1555 to 1567, and São Luís, Maranhão ("
France Équinoxiale"), from 1612 to 1614.
★ Florida —
Huguenots settled near present-day
Jacksonville in 1562 and were massacred by the Spanish in 1565.
★
French India — France once had the largest share of the India trade, but lost nearly all of it during the
Seven Years' War. The
remaining trading posts were annexed by India in the 1950s
★
The campaign of Egypt — In 1798
Napoleon Bonaparte mounted a
daring expedition to Egypt. His aim was to either build a canal or to establish an overland route, and thus re-establish a viable road to regain these possessions. Though the
Mamluks were
defeated on land, the enterprise was hopeless after the
Battle of the Nile, as the British cut off the sea lanes of the army of Egypt.
★ New Zealand — A colony was established at
Akaroa on Banks Peninsula in the South Island in April 1840, but Britain had gained sovereignty over New Zealand through the
treaty of Waitangi in February.
★ Siam — The king of
Siam had to surrender its hegemony over
Laos and
Cambodia and to grant commercial concessions to France, but managed to retain independence as a buffer state between
French Indochina and the
British Raj.
★ Suez — Though built by a French company, many in Britain considered the
Suez canal vital for communication with its possessions in the Orient, and
the British government willy-nilly took control of Egypt in 1883.
★ Africa — France and the British Empire competed for possession of continuous territories from along the west to east and south to north axis of the continent respectively. This rivalry provoked the
Fashoda incident in 1898; its peaceful resolution led to the
Entente Cordiale.
Organization of the French Empire in 1931
At the height of the second French colonial empire in
1931, the Empire was organized into the following colonies:
Africa and the Indian Ocean
★
Algeria (not a colony, but three separate ''
départements'' officially considered part of
Metropolitan France, and one territory under military rule)
★
★
Alger ''département''
★
★
Oran ''département''
★
★
Constantine ''département''
★
★
Territoires du Sud territory
★
Tunisia (a protectorate)
★
French Morocco (a protectorate)
★
French West Africa
★
★
Mauritania
★
★
Senegal
★
★
French Guinea
★
★
Ivory Coast
★
★
Upper Volta
★
★
French Sudan
★
★
Niger
★
★
Dahomey (now
Benin)
★
French Togoland (a League of Nations Mandate, previously
German Togoland)
★
French Equatorial Africa
★
★
Chad
★
★
Oubangi-Chari
★
★
Middle Congo
★
★
Gabon
★
Cameroun (a
League of Nations Mandate, previous
German Kamerun)
★
French Somaliland (including the Cheik-Saïd peninsula, now part of
Yemen)
★
Madagascar
★ Islands in Indian Ocean, including
Réunion, the
Comoros,
Mayotte, the
Kerguelen Islands,
Amsterdam Island,
Saint-Paul Island, the
Crozet Islands, and the
Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean)
The Americas
★
French Guiana
★
Guadaloupe (including
Saint Barthélemy and half of
Saint Martin)
★
Martinique
★
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Asia
★ French
concessions in
China:
Shanghai,
Guangzhou,
Tianjin, and
Hankou
★
French India (
Pondicherry,
Chandernagore,
Karaikal,
Mahé,
Yanaon, now part of
India)
★
French Indochina
★
★
Annam (a protectorate, part of modern Central
Vietnam)
★
★
Cambodia (Kampuchea)(a protectorate)
★
★
Cochin China (a colony, part of modern South Vietnam)
★
★
Laos (a protectorate)
★
★
Tonkin (a protectorate, part of modern North Vietnam)
★
Kwang-Chou-Wan (a leased port in
China)
★
Lebanon (a League of Nations Mandate)
★
Syria (a League of Nations Mandate, including the
Sanjak of Alexandretta)
The Pacific
★
French Polynesia (a colony, including
Clipperton Island)
★
New Caledonia (a colony, including
Wallis and Futuna)
★
New Hebrides (held in condominium with the
United Kingdom)
See also
★
Overseas departments and territories of France
★
Decolonisation
★
Global empire
★ February 23, 2005
French law on colonialism (repealed start of 2006)
★
Franco-Trarzan War of 1825
★
French colonial forces
★
French colonisation of the Americas
★
French Equatorial Africa
★
French Empire (for the European based empires)
★
French West Africa
★
La Francophonie
★
Franco-Mauritian
★
Franco-Réunionnaise
★
French Canadian
★
Pied-noir
★
Caldoche
References
★ Thomas Pakenham, ''The Scramble for Africa'' (1991)
★ Maria Petringa, ''Brazza, A Life for Africa'' (2006)
External links
★
L'Afrique francophone
★
Threats to the national independence of Thailand, from
Thailand's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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