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• • France was just as important as Britain and the Netherlands
  • → Wars
  • But France was focused more on the European continent it failed to invest time, funds and energy in the colonies like the Brits and the Dutch
  • → The French colonised large areas, but didn’t develop them → little development, little migration
  • →The French were less committed/engaged than the English
• 1524-1542 - Jacques Cartier explores St. Lawrence

  
• 1605 - Acadia

  → Colony of New France, located in USA today
• 1608 - Samuel de Champlain founds Québec
• 1624 - French Guyana was established by the French.
• 1624 - First trade post was set up in Senegal by the French
• 1635 - Guadeloupe & Martinique

  • Both these countries got colonised by the French in 1635.
  • The French succeed in conquering half of Hispaniola.
• Western part of Hispaniola belonged to France, while the eastern part belonged to Spain.

  
• 1664 - Compagnie Française des Indes Orientales

  • Birth of the company
  • They sailed for islands in the Indian Ocean → Réunion, Mauritius, Seychelles

  
• 1673 - French Colonies in India

  • Pondicherry & Chandannagar
• 1682 - Cavalier de La Salle sails the Mississippi

  → Louisiana → named after Louis the 14th
• 1697 - Haiti was officially part of France
• Haiti

  • 1492-1697 → Spanish
  • 1697-1804 → French
  • Saint-Domingue: richest colony in the world
  • Insurrection under Toussaint L’Ouverture
  • Napoleon’s intervention and Dessaline’s victory
  • Became independent in 1804
• Haiti’s Poverty

  • Stereotype explanations
  • Nature: mountains and rainfall
  • Natural disasters → earthquakes
  • Black emperors
  • Voodoo
  • French role
  • Deforestation and erosion under the French
  • Haiti’s debts to France after 1825
  • Haiti’s situation
  • Political: international isolation & military priority
  • Haiti was afraid for invasion which would threaten their independence
  • Social: new elite after disappearance of the white
  • Economic: decline of plantation economy
  • Foreign interference
  • 1915-1935 US occupation
  • US support of dictators in the Cold War and beyond
  • Neoliberal measures imposed by the IMF
• 1798 - French victory against Mamluks in Egypt.

  • Egypt was a very strategic and economically important → shortcut to India
  • Mamluks → local rulers of Egypt
• 1827 - The Fan Affair

  • The French occupation of Algeria
  • 1827: The Fan Affair
  • The Dey (ruler of Algeria) hits the French consult with his fan.
  • The French took this as an insult.
• Tunisia awarded to France

  1878
• How Tunisia became French

  1. Peace negotiations in 1878

  2. At the end of the Russo-Turkish War
• Treaty of Berlin

  Replaced the treaty of San Stefano, which created a great Bulgaria
• What the Treaty of Berlin did

  • Austria-Hungary was given Bosnia
  • Russia was given Bessarabia and Caucasus
  • Britain was given Cyprus
  • France was given Tunisia
  • Italy was given nothing
• France was hesitant to take Tunisia

  Due to internal division after Mexican adventure and Italian environment of Gambetta
• How France established control over Tunisia

  In 1881 France established a protectorate
• 1830 - Conquest after the Fan Affair

  • After the Fan Affair → The French were so insulted, that they used this as an excuse to attack Algeria
  • The exact reason was that King Charles X wanted to boost his prestige
  • He was the last king of France
• 1839 - Abd al-Qādir

  • There was a lot of resistance against the French in Algeria.
  • Abd al-Qādir → he fought against the French for many years
  • (Rather a war than a rising)
  • In 1839 he owned his own state (in Algeria) in which he controlled 2/3 of Algerian territory
  • It took a long time for the French to defeat Abd al-Qādir
  • In this way, the French finally were able to control Algeria
• 1870 - Algeria becomes France

  • Algeria becomes French in 1870, which is very early
  • (But just the Northern part of Algeria)
• 1960 - 1 million pieds-noirs in Algeria

  • Algeria existed of 3 departments:
  • Algiers, Oran and Constantine
  • These weren’t considered colonies but full-fleshed provinces of France
  • There was also a lot of migration from France to Algeria
  • They sent people over there, they wanted to exploit, develop, cultivate Algeria
  • They send peasants, criminals, soldiers
  • Pieds-noirs → European people who migrated to the colonies (“black feet” referring to their black coloured footwear)
  • Algeria had way more white settlers than other countries in Africa (both Algeria and South-Africa)
• Assimilation in French Colonisation

  The approach where France aimed to turn its colonies into extensions of France itself, integrating local people into French culture and society.
• Objectives of Assimilation


  The goal was to make colonies like little overseas Frances, turning colonised people into French citizens despite difference in colour and culture.
• Influences on French Assimilation Policy

  • French Revolution: Universalism and the idea of equality.
  • Napoleon: Centralised institutions and governance.
  • Post-1815 and Post-1870: Nationalism and recovering from military defeats influenced French colonial policy.
• Complications of Assimilation


  The wide variety of cultures, languages, and traditions in the colonies made assimilation a complex process, leading to resistance and challenges.
• Timeframe and Regions for Assimilation


  Assimilation was particularly emphasised in the 19th century, especially in France's "vieilles colonies" (old colonies), but the approach faced difficulties due to the diversity of the colonised regions.
• Challenges of Assimilation


  The enormous variety in the colonies—cultural, linguistic, and religious—made it difficult to implement a uniform assimilation policy, leading to resistance and a need for flexible approaches.
• Association in Colonisation


  A colonial policy approach where the metropole engages in a bilateral relationship with its colonies, focusing more on humanité (humanity) rather than égalité (equality).
• Key Characteristics of Association


  A step back from strict assimilation, emphasising a bilateral economic relationship between the metropole and the colonies, with no significant change in centralisation.
• Reasons for Association Policy

  • Other Colonies: Observing the practices of other colonisers who did not apply strict assimilation.
  • Darwinism and Racism: The belief in racial hierarchies, leading to less emphasis on equality.
• Why Did the French Take a Step Back?

  • Assimilation did not work as expected, facing resistance and complications.
  • Other colonisers used different approaches, suggesting that strict assimilation might not be the most effective method.
• Centralisation in Association Policy


  Despite a shift toward a more bilateral relationship, the metropole maintained central control over the colonies, indicating that the core power structure did not change.
• Impact of Darwinism and Racism


  The prevalence of Darwinism and racism in the 19th and early 20th centuries supported a hierarchical view of races, influencing colonial policies and leading to reduced focus on equality.