Colonial France

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Colonization is defined as the annexation of territory by a foreign force for political and economic purposes. This action represents one of the undeniable facts of world history, and developed in an increased form with the European expansion from the 15th century.

France gradually took part in this conquest of the world, until at the end of the 19th century it became the second colonising empire behind the United Kingdom. What distinguishes France from other powers is its colonial approach. Not only did the French colonists see themselves as carrying out an educational mission, but they also saw themselves as responsible for propagating the Catholic religion. This did not prevent France from also favouring its diplomatic, economic and commercial interests while asserting its undeniable influence in the world. Despite this, the economic benefits remained limited and trade with the colonies was restricted.

The French approach to colonisation remains hesitant: colonial expansion will never be a real priority for the country's leaders.

The failure of the first colonial expansion (1534-1830)

The colonies did not immediately represent a priority for the French state.

As early as 1534, French settlers settled in Canada, participating in the fishing trade and counting on the discovery of precious metals, but this last attempt was unsuccessful.

Then in the 17th century, France pushed its commercial ambitions even further by occupying the West Indies, notably Martinique, Guadeloupe and Santo Domingo. The economic system was based on slavery and the slave trade in order to develop the sugar cane and tobacco industries.

During the same period, French settlers settled in Senegal, Africa, the Indian Ocean (Reunion Island) and set up a few trading posts in India. A "comptoir" is defined as the move of a business, private or public, to a distant country.

The French presence abroad was not convincing, and in February 1763, during the Treaty of Paris which marked the end of the Franco-English wars, France renounced Canada and its establishments in Senegal. Although the economic situation in the West Indies remained flourishing in the years that followed, the French Revolution and the successive defeats of Napoleon confirmed the French colonial failure.

The new seizures of power (1830-1870)

The second French colonial wave began with the taking possession of Algiers in 1830. Little by little, France conquered new territories, without however managing to focus on the colonial advance. Thus, Algeria was conquered in 1860, followed by Black Africa: Gabon, Ivory Coast, Guinea. The French authorities annexed several islands in the Pacific, such as Tahiti and New Caledonia. France also tries to establish itself in Asia. Although it did not manage to surpass the British in China, the French established themselves in Cochinchina (south of Vietnam) and Cambodia.

In forty years, France thus found itself the second colonial power in the world, behind Great Britain, although colonies were not a priority for the state.

Expansionism (1879-1910)

Following the French defeat at the hands of Prussia in 1870-1871, the country remained cautious in its colonisation policy. Colonisation was justified by the need to assert French influence in the world, to develop trade and to "educate" the indigenous populations.

The first expansionist phase took place in the Maghreb, where the rapid conquest of Tunisia was followed by a more gradual conquest of Morocco.

In East Africa, France came up against the English who dominated the Nile basin. This failure is put into perspective by the takeover of Madagascar in 1896.

France continues its expansion in Indochina. Vietnam joins Cochinchina, Cambodia and Laos to create in 1887 the Indochinese Union under the French protectorate.

Management of the French colonies

Two ways of governing the colonies were offered to the French state: assimilation or association. On the one hand, under assimilation, the administration in Paris dictates the laws that will be directly enforced in the colonies. On the other hand, association is a more flexible system that adapts the laws of the colonizing country to local institutions and customs.

France applies assimilation, even if it delegates its power to four local general governments. The colonised populations remain subject to French authority and are not equal to French citizens. Despite the diversity of colonial administrative systems, the French state asserts its sovereignty.

French domination is also reflected in the economy, even though the economy of the colonies meets the requirements of the metropolis.

Colonial society

Indigenat, a special administrative regime applying to the native population, is characterised by the absence of the right to vote, the imposition of special taxes and the absence of essential freedoms, such as freedom of expression or association.

Similarly, the European colonial structure conflicts with local culture and mores. Barter, the economic system that describes the exchange of one good for another, is abolished. Settlers discouraged communal ways of life. The school system is used for colonial purposes, with education being an effective means of inflicting the European way of thinking.

The colonial economic system favours the emergence of new social classes: a relatively well-to-do and educated bourgeoisie, as well as a working class. Both groups were receptive to the notions of autonomy and independence that intensified in the inter-war period.

The Preliminaries to the End of the French Empire

When it came to power in 1936, the Popular Front instituted a few reforms extending the autonomy of the colonies, without really respecting them.

The two elements that were to shake up the French Empire were the economic crisis of the 1930s and the Second World War.

The Brazzaville conference in January 1944 testifies to the influence of the independence trend. The united countries tried to develop an administrative system that would give more power to the indigenous peoples. This discourse, while responding to nationalist demands, did not, however, grant them the independence they had hoped for.

The first nationalist victory that marked the failure of colonial France was the proclamation of independence of Lebanon and Syria in 1941 (effective in 1943).

Struggles and decolonisation

The first nationalist conflict will be in Indochina. The French army struggles to impose itself in the face of the communist independentists. The end of French Indochina will be marked by the defeat of Dien-Bien-Phu. The Geneva Agreements of July 1954 affirmed the independence of the states in the region and shared Vietnam.

This episode discredited colonial France and motivated the National Liberation Front (FLN) to provoke an armed insurrection in Algeria. The Algerian War was responsible for the birth of the Fifth Republic in France and the country was the victim of attacks on its own territory. The Evian agreements in 1962 marked the end of the war and the independence of Algeria.

Decolonisation proceeded without any real clashes in other countries: Tunisia became independent in 1956, the countries of Black Africa between 1960 and 1963.

Of the French empire, only the oldest colonies remained, which gradually became overseas departments and territories (DOM-TOM): French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Reunion, Martinique, French Polynesia, Mayotte, Wallis and Futuna, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, and New Caledonia.

STOPS : map of french colonization