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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.
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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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