The French Empire achieved military supremacy in mainland Europe through notable victories in the War of the Third Coalition against Austria, Prussia, Russia, and allied nations, notably at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. When French Empires are considered that of Napoleon leaps to mind. Local Resistance by the indigenous peoples resulted in the Carib Expulsion of 1660. Early French victories exported many ideological features of the French Revolution throughout Europe: the introduction of the Napoleonic Code throughout the continent increased legal equality, established jury systems and legalised divorce, and seigneurial dues and seigneurial justice were abolished, as were aristocratic privileges in all places except Poland. Although France's colonies were restored in 1945, France had almost immediately to engage in suppressing a bitter independence struggle in Indochina. In 1699, French territorial claims in North America expanded still further with the foundation of Louisiana in the basin of Mississippi River. In 1804, the Constitution of the Year XII established the First French Empire with Napoleon Bonaparte — previously First Consul for Life, with wide-ranging powers — as Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. The French colonial empire constituted the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. The French also expanded their influence in North Africa, establishing a protectorate on Tunisia in 1881. These were restored at the Peace of Amiens in 1802, but when war resumed in 1803, the British soon recaptured them. On 18 May 1804, Napoleon was granted the title Emperor of the French (L'Empereur des Français, pronounced by the French Sénat (a Senator) and was crowned on 2 December 1804, signifying the end of the French Consulate and of the French First Republic. In the middle of the 18th century, a series of colonial conflicts began between France and Britain, which ultimately resulted in the destruction of most of the first French colonial empire and the near complete expulsion of France from the Americas. The eastern half of Hispaniola also came under French rule for a short period, after being given to France by Spain shortly after the loss of Saint-Domingue to France by the Haitian Revolution. The plot included Bonaparte's brother Lucien, then serving as speaker of the Council of Five Hundred, Roger Ducos, another Director, and Talleyrand. Some recovery 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. In the meanwhile, the newly resumed war with Britain resulted in British capture of practically all remaining French colonies. Although Sieyès expected to dominate the new regime, the Consulate, he was outmaneuvered by Bonaparte, who drafted the Constitution of the Year VIII and secured his own election as First Consul. In the 18th century, Saint-Domingue grew to be the richest sugar colony in the Caribbean. The French Colonial Empire, 1500-1800. But Spain's jealous protection of its American monopoly, and the disruptions caused in France itself by the Wars of Religion in the later sixteenth century, prevented any consistent efforts by France to establish colonies. Prior to the establishment of the 1663 Sovereign Council, the territories of New France was developed as mercantile colonies. Between the 19th and 20th centuries, France ruled over colonies that span about 4,980,000 sq mi. That ended the period of the French Consulate and of the French First Republic. 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 and Lebanon, the US and Britain in Morocco and Algeria, Germany in Tunisia). On 9 November 1799 (18 Brumaire VIII under the French Republican Calendar) and the following day, troops led by Bonaparte seized control. Across the world, the dominance of the French as a colonial power was only overshadowed by the British. Colonies were also founded in the Indian Ocean, on the Île de Bourbon (Réunion, 1664), Île Royale (Mauritius, 1718), and the Seychelles (1756). The first French colonial empire consisted mainly of possessions in the Americas, both on the North Am… 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 Revolutionary (1793-1802) and Napoleonic (1803-1815) Wars. The First French Empire (French: Empire Français), also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France. The First French Empire, officially the French Republic (until 1809) then the French Empire (French: Empire Français; Latin: Imperium Francicum), was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. After independence, some of France's former colonies continued to participate in the French Union, and later in the French Community, nurturing to varying extents political, economic and cultural ties with their former colonial power. 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. Wikimedia The first French colonial empire. In Senegal in West Africa, the French began to establish trading posts along the coast in 1624. These wars were the War of the Austrian Succession (1744–17… The food plantations of these colonies were built and sustained by slavery from the abduction of slaves from Africa. 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, 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). When this ended with French defeat and withdrawal in 1954, the French almost immediately became involved in a new, and even harsher conflict in their oldest major colony, Algeria. A series of wars, known collectively as the Napoleonic Wars, extended French influence to much of Western Europe and into Poland. (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). A distinction is generally made [by whom?] The Revolution, needless to say, was a disaster for the old French colonial empire and on the international front things were not improved by the creation of the actual “French Empire” under Napoleon who resigned himself to the loss of Haiti and sold the massive Louisiana Territory to the United States. Three years later in 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded Québec. French Colonial Empire The first French colonial conquests date from the 16th century, the Age of Discovery. The second colonial empire, constructed in the late 19th Century, began in earnest after the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. The French colonial empire constituted the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. The size of the territory claimed by the French empire in the 19th and 20th centuries was second only to Britain. The French colonial empire constituted the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. Acadia itself was lost to the British in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. On 9 November 1799 (18 Brumaire, An VIII under the French Republican Calendar), and the following day, tro… In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte was confronted by Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès – one of the five Directors who constituted the executive branch of the French government—who sought his support for a coup d'état to overthrow the French Constitution of 1795. The plot included Bonaparte's brother Lucien, then serving as speaker of the Council of Five Hundred, Roger Ducos, another Director, and Talleyrand. However, control was gradually reestablished by Charles de Gaulle. French colonial expansion was not limited to the New World, however. 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. The extensive trading network throughout the region connected to Canada through the Great Lakes and was maintained through a vast system of fortifications, much 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. French dominance was reaffirmed during the War of the Fourth Coalition, at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt in 1806 and the Battle of Friedland in 1807.He was defeated during the 1815 battle of Waterloo. Colonial conflict with Great Britain, 1744-1815. France was immediately confronted with the beginnings of the decolonisati… A distinction is generally made between the "First colonial empire", that existed until 1814, by which time most of it had been lost, and the "Second colonial empire", which began with the conquest of Algiers in 1830. Between the 1920s and 1930s French colonies had an estimated population of about 110 million, half of British India. The early voyages of Giovanni da Verrazano and Jacques Cartier in the early 16th century, as well as the frequent voyages of French fishermen to the Grand Banks[?] The first French colonial empire The early voyages of Giovanni da Verrazano 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. France should not be synonymous with the word “freedom”. Britain finally annexed Saint Lucia, Tobago, the Seychelles, and the Île Royale (Mauritius), however. 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). Algeria was particularly problematic due to the large number of European settlers (or pied-noir) who had settled there in the century and a quarter of French rule; in addition, a sizeable Jewish community feared that independence would expose them to retribution by the Muslim majority. Note that the original colony settled on Sainte-Croix island (today in Maine, USA) in 1603, moved in 1604 to Port-Royal (today Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia) and finally the settlers moved again to found Quebec City in 1608. The French colonial Empire was the set of territories that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. The early voyages of Giovanni da Verrazano 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. 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 North America, saw a catastrophic French defeat, with the British conquering not only New France, but most of France's West Indian colonies, and all of the French Indian outposts. Yet Napoleon’s realms were dwarfed by the Second French Colonial Empire, which reached its peak in 1920, controlling roughly 8.5 % of the world’s landmasses. 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 (see French rule in Algeria). The First French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte of France and the dominant power in much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. Early French attemp… Napoleon also established French control over Cochin-China (the southernmost part of modern Vietnam, including Saigon), as well as a protectorate over Cambodia. Although France had already established an overseas colonial empire beginning in the 17th century, the French state had remained a kingdom under the Bourbons and a republic after the Revolution. He thus became the most powerful person in France, a power that was increased by the Constitution of the Year X, which made him First Consul for life. It is only after the arrival of intendant Jean Talon that France gave its American colonies the proper means to develop population colonies comparable to that of the British. Theme images by Josh Peterson. The First French Empire: Napoleon Bonaparte After the French Revolution and the overthrow of the Ancien Regime, France cycled through several attempts at finding the right form of government. It was only after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 that most of France's later colonial possessions were acquired. They dispersed the legislative councils, leaving a rump legislature to name Bonaparte, Sieyès and Ducos as provisional Consuls to administer the government. 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). Nor was the French attempt to establish a colony in Egypt in 1798-1801 successful. For most of the history of New France, even Canada was far behind the British North American colonies in both population and economic development. The early voyages of Giovanni da Verrazano 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. The first true colony was not founded until Port Royal was built in the new land of Acadia in 1605, which would later be called Nova Scotia, Canada. The French colonial empire began to fall during the Second World War, when various parts were occupied by foreign powers (Japan in Indochina, Britain in Syria, Lebanon, and Madagascar, the United States and Britain in Morocco and Algeria, and Germany and Italy in Tunisia). In a more general sense, the French Empire described France's colonies and dominions overseas. 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 de Bourbon (Réunion) in the Indian Ocean, and France's tiny Indian possessions. 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). France's defeat in 1814 (and then again in 1815), marked the end of the Empire. The "second colonial empire" is the French colonies in Africa. The "first colonial empire" was from the French colonization of the Americas to the Napoleonic Wars. During the time of 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. Hist… During the 19th and 20th centuries, the French colonial empire was one of the largest in the world, just behind the Spanish Empire and later the British Empire ; it extended over 12,898,000 km 2 (4,980,000 sq mi) of land at its height in the 1920s and 1930s. Some colonies chose instead to remain part of France, under the statuses of oversea département or oversea territory. At its height in 1812, the French Empire had 130 departments, ruled over 70 million subjects, maintained an extensive military presence in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Duchy of Warsaw, and counted Prussia and Austria as nominal allies. These, together with Cambodia and Cochin-China, formed French Indochina (to which Laos was added in 1893 and Kwang-Chou-Wan in 1900). In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte was confronted by Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès—one of five Directors constituting the executive branch of the French government—who sought his support for a coup d'état to overthrow the Constitution of the Year III. 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 to establish colonies. In 1849, French concession in Shanghai was established, which existed until 1946. French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories, which the empire had acquired during the Scramble for Africa in the 1880s. It was the dominant power of much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. The First French Colonial Empire. Also ceded to the British were Grenada and Saint Lucia in the West Indies. The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). The early voyages of Giovanni da Verrazzano and Jacques Cartier in the early sixteenth 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. From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1680 to over 10,000,000 square kilometres (3,900,000 sq mi), the second largest empire in the world at the time behind only the … Western colonialism - Western colonialism - The French: France probably could have become the leading European colonial power in the 17th and 18th centuries. True disaster came to what remained of France's colonial empire in 1791 when Saint Domingue, France's richest and most important colony, was riven by a massive slave revolt, caused partly by the divisions among the islands elite resulting from the French Revolution of 1789. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The First French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte of France and the dominant power in much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. These territories were Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali ), French Guinea (now Guinea ), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Dahomey (now Benin) and Niger. A distinction is generally made between the "first colonial empire", that existed until 1814, by which time most of it had been lost, and the "second colonial empire", which began with the conquest of Algiers in 1830. Most of the other French African colonies had already been granted independence in 1960, following local referendums. From their base in Cochin-China, the French took over Tonkin and Annam (in modern Vietnam) in 1883. Powered by. The French colonial empire constituted the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 17th century onward. In 1664 the French East India Company was established to compete for trade in the east. It had the largest population and wealth, the best army while Louis XIV ruled, and, for a time in his reign, the strongest navy. The first colonial empire A late comer in the discovery of the Americas, France tended to prefer piracy to the actual establishment of colonies and trading posts. between the "first colonial empire," that existed until 1814, by which time most of it had been lost, and the "second colonial empire", which began with the conquest of Algiers in 1830. The French Union, included in the 1946 Constitution of 1946, replaced the former colonial Empire. Former French Colonies. 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. The word empire traditionally describes a state ruled by an emperor (with claims to succeed the Roman Empire); a title possessed by Napoleon Bonaparte and Napoleon III. 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 were unsuccessful, due to Portuguese and Spanish vigilance. Global map which shows the First French Colonial Empire in light blue, the second in dark blue. Québec became the capital of the colony of New France, which thrived mostly on the fur trade. modern New Brunswick in colonial French Canada. off Newfoundland throughout that century, were the precursors to the story of France's colonial expansion. France's repurchase of Louisiana in 1800 came to nothing, as the final success of the Haitian revolt convinced Bonaparte that holding it would not be worth the cost, leading to its sale to the United States in 1803 (the Louisiana Purchase). During Napoleon's early career, Egypt was also conquered for a brief period, but French rule there only extended to the immediate area around the Nile. Although France had already established a colonial empire overseas since the early 17th century, the French state had remained a kingdom under the Bourbons and a republic after the French Revolution. The French made their last major colonial gains after the First World War, when they gained mandates over the former Turkish territories that make up what is now Syria and Lebanon, as well as most of the former German colonies of Togo and Cameroon. Historians refer to Napoleon's regime as the First Empire to distinguish it from the restorationist Second Empire (1852–1870) ruled by his nephew as Napoleon III. In the mid-18th century, a series of colonial conflicts began between France and the Kingdom of Great Britain, which would ultimately result in the demise of most of the first French colonial empire. The slaves, led eventually by Toussaint l'Ouverture 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. Settlement along the South American coast in what is today French Guiana began in 1624, and a colony was founded on Saint Kitts in 1627 (the island had to be shared with the English until the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, when it was ceded outright). Charles de Gaulle's accession to power in 1958 ultimately led to independence for Algeria in 1962. Generally made between the "first colonial empire," that existed until 1814, by which time most of it had been lost, and the "second colonial empire", which began with the conquest of Algiers in 1830. It might be outdated or ideologically biased. 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