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• History of Christianization of Europe
• Soviet Union, Communist influence
• Map of European ethnic groups
• Map of Fascism in Europe (1922-75)
• History of Islamic conquest in Europe
• Religions & ethnic groups in Russia
• Detailed map of French colonization
• Detailed map of British colonization
• Napoleon's conquests & legacy
• Ethnic & religious map of pre-Nazi Poland

--MORE & NON-ENGLISH--



• Muhammad cartoon crisis in pictures
• Stalin's private summer home
• Ravenna: capital of Gothic empire
• Czar Nicholas II's Ukrainian palace
• European traditional costumes/dress
• Inside the Vatican, house of all wealth

--MORE & NON-ENGLISH--

• Islamic Mujahidin vs. Spain & El Cid
• Poland-Lithuania vs. Teutonic Order
• Nevskiy's Russia vs. German Crusaders
• Prussia vs. France (Nazi Propaganda)
• Qadafi: Europe will soon be Islamic
• Ivan the Terrible vs. Muslim Tatars
• Soviet Propaganda: Defeat of Germany 

--MORE & NON-ENGLISH--

• The Gypsies in history and today, Europe's public enemy
• History of Jihad in Chechnya
& Caucasus vs. Russians

• History of the Muslim Tatars in Russia
• Ethnic & religious history of Serbs, Croats, & Bosnians
• Breakaway states and independence movements in Europe
• The ancient Germanic Runic alphabet and Runestones
• Inside Bulgaria, 1st Slavic nation,
land of Thracian masters of gold

• 510-year struggle for Albanian homeland, and 552 for Kosovo
• 4,000-year-old white mummies of China, bringers of Buddhism 

--MORE & NON-ENGLISH--

 

Detailed Map of French Colonization history
by James Mayfield (Chairman, European Heritage Library)

Print this Article    •    About the Author    •    Bibliography/Sources

Below is one of our exclusive and detailed maps of the French Colonial Empire from the establishment of the first colonies in the 16th century until the eventual dissolution caused by internal political conflicts, the defeat of France in the 7-Years' War and of Napoleon's First French Empire, and the decolonization borne of the global post-WWII liberalism movement.

Long considered a nation of effeminate "weaklings" prone to hoisting the white flag at the first sign of danger, the French actually conquered one of the greatest empires the world has ever known, forever shaping their domains' societies, economies, and linguistic behavior. French ambitions emerged out of the need to compete with growing maritime empires of the Portuguese, Dutch, and Spaniards, firstly exploring the Caribbean, Canada, the Indian territories of the American northeast, Oceania, and finally to conquer the resilient tribes of Africa and the powerful nations of Vietnam and Thailand (from which it took Laos and Cambodia). The French Revolution, despite its modern qualities of liberalism and equality, only pushed the drive for colonial domination and imperialism further. France is unique in the fact that the post-colonial experience of West Africa almost in entirety has France to thank, since she quickly became the undespited ruler of the interior Sahel and coastal tribes. France's empire was effectively doomed with the conquest of France by Germany during World War II. Lebanon and Syria's Muslim colonial subjects, who enjoyed German support, quickly took the opportunity to declare independence from the weakened state. This was a foreshadow of France's post-war problems to follow. Seeking to re-establish the French nation into its former glory so tainted by its humiliating defeat in the war, the 4th French Republic struggled to put down the revolt of their subjects in more than a dozen colonies. The Algerian War of Independence, which cost anywhere from 200,000 to even a million lives by some liberal estimates, is often considered to have led to the dissolution of the 4th French Republic, the severing of nearly all of France's colonial empire, and the establishment of the modern 5th French Republic. Today, France has among the most overseas colonial territories, including French Polynesia (Tahiti), French Guyana, Martinique, etc.

This EHL map shows the dates of colonial rule and each province's ultimate fate (transfer to another power, independence, etc.). Disparate trading settlements are not shown; only full colonial possessions are marked.

Click the below map for the full-size version! Click on the map again to zoom.

If an error has been made, please notify the EHL Staff.

 

________________________________________

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James Mayfield is the owner and Chairman of the European Heritage Library. I am working for a doctorate in history, with a specific emphasis on Islamic and European histories. I am well versed in all world cultures, ethnicities, religions, languages, politics, and historical evolution in relation to and against each other.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES USED:

The image used as the basis for the map is widely distributed and not protected.


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