List of French possessions and colonies explained

From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire existed mainly in the Americas and Asia. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the second French colonial empire existed mainly in Africa and Asia. France had about 80 colonies throughout its history, the second most colonies in the world behind only the British Empire.[1] Around 40 countries gained independence from France throughout its history, the second most in the world behind only the British Empire.[2] Over 50% of the world’s borders today, were drawn as a result of British and French imperialism.[3] [4] [5]

France began to establish colonies in North America, the Caribbean and India, following Spanish and Portuguese successes during the Age of Discovery, in rivalry with Britain. A series of wars with Britain during the 18th century and early 19th century, which France finally lost, almost ended its colonial ambitions in these regions, and without it what some historians term the "first" French colonial empire. In the 19th century, starting with the conquest of Algiers in 1830, France began to establish a new empire in Africa and Southeast Asia. The following is a list of all countries that were part of the French colonial empires from to the present, either entirely or in part, either under French sovereignty or as mandate.

In the Americas

See also: Former colonies and territories in Canada and Timeline of the colonization of North America.

In Southern Europe

In Africa

French North Africa

French West Africa

French Equatorial Africa

East Africa and Indian Ocean

In Asia

In Oceania

In Antarctica

See also

Notes and References

  1. Shillington, Kevin (2005). Encyclopedia of African history. New York: CRC Press, p. 878
  2. [David Armitage (historian)|David Armitage]
  3. Book: Manning, Patrick . Slavery and African Life: Occidental, Oriental, and African Slave Trades . Cambridge University Press . London . 1990.
  4. Lovejoy, Paul E. (2012). Transformations of Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa. London: Cambridge University Press.
  5. Martin Klein, "Slave Descent and Social Status in Sahara and Sudan", in Reconfiguring Slavery: West African Trajectories, ed. Benedetta Rossi (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2009), 29.
  6. Web site: Drapeau de Rurutu - Tahiti Heritage. www.tahitiheritage.pf. 23 September 2017. 10 October 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141010032549/http://www.tahitiheritage.pf/fiche-drapeau-de-rurutu-24163.htm. dead.
  7. Web site: Consulter le sujet - L'Australie serait-elle française ?!... • [Forums |publisher=Francedownunder.com |access-date=2011-03-26].
  8. Philippe Godard, Tugdual de Kerros 2002, "Louis de Saint Aloüarn, un marin breton à la conquête des terres australes", Les Portes du large, Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, 331-336
  9. Web site: TAAF . Taaf.fr . 2012-01-10 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120120224633/http://www.taaf.fr/spip/spip.php?article108 . 2012-01-20 .
  10. Web site: Kerguelen – yves trémarec – james cook – asia – hillsborough – rhodes . Kerguelen-voyages.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131002171809/http://www.kerguelen-voyages.com/c/95/p/b0ef218cd2b18874c9a7d4b61925146f/Kerguelen-yves-tremarec-james-cook-asia-hillsborough-rhodes.html . 2013-10-02 .

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "List of French possessions and colonies".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.