From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the FirstFrench colonial empire existed mainly in theAmericas andAsia. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the second Frenchcolonial empire existed mainly inAfrica andAsia.France had about 80 colonies throughout itshistory, the second most colonies in the world behind only theBritish Empire.[1] Around 40 countries gained independence fromFrance throughout its history, the second most in the world behind only theBritish 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 theAge 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 Occupation of Algeria 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 1534; 491 years ago (1534) to the present, either entirely or in part, either under French sovereignty or as mandate.
Map of the northern part and upper southern parts of theAmericas, showing the results of the expeditions ofFather Marquette andLouis Jolliet (1673) and ofCavelier de la Salle in theMississippi valley (1681).Map of the territories having been controlled by France in North America.This map shows theLouisiana Purchase area, which corresponds approximately with the western half of colonial French Louisiana, the part not ceded to English-speaking peoples in1763.Taking up of theLouisiana byLa Salle in the name of theKingdom of FranceNew France at its greatest extent in 1710.
Some territories in the eastern part ofThailand (independent state, but afterFranco-Siamese conflict of 1893, Thailand has lost 3 provinces during the next 15 years)
Adélie Land (1840–present) (sheltering one of two French Bases in Antarctica, the other one being Franco-Italian) (that borders with theAustralian Antarctic Territory on both sides and divides that in two)
^Manning, Patrick (1990).Slavery and African Life: Occidental, Oriental, and African Slave Trades. London: Cambridge University Press.
^Lovejoy, Paul E. (2012). Transformations of Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa. London: Cambridge University Press.
^Martin Klein, "Slave Descent and Social Status in Sahara and Sudan", inReconfiguring Slavery: West African Trajectories, ed. Benedetta Rossi (Liverpool:Liverpool University Press, 2009), 29.
^Godard, Philippe; Kerros, Tugdual de; Margot, Odette; Stanbury, Myra; Baxter, Sue; Western Australian Museum; Godard, Phillippe; De Kerros, Tugdual; Margot, Odette; Stanbury, Myra; Baxter, Sue (2008),1772 : the French annexation of New Holland : the tale of Louis de Saint Aloürn, Western Australian Museum,ISBN978-1-920843-98-4
^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
^"TAAF". Taaf.fr. Archived fromthe original on 2012-01-20. Retrieved2012-01-10.
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