From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1680 to over , the second largest empire in the world at the time behind only the Spanish Empire.Havard, Vidal, Histoire de L'Amérique française, Flammarion, 2003, p. 67. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the French colonial empire was the second largest colonial empire in the world only behind the British Empire; it extended over Robert Aldrich, Greater France: A History of French Overseas Expansion (1996) p 304 of land at its height in the 1920s and 1930s. In terms of population however, on the eve of World War II, France and her colonial possessions totaled only 150 million inhabitants, compared with 330 million for British India alone. The total area of the French colonial empire, with the first (mainly in the Americas and Asia) and second (mainly in Africa and Asia), the French colonial empires combined, reached , the second largest in the world (the first being the British Empire).Robert Aldrich, Greater France: A History of French Overseas Expansion (1996) p 304 The French colonial empire had an enormous impact on world history. France had about 80 colonies throughout its history, the second most colonies in the world behind only the British Empire.Shillington, Kevin (2005). Encyclopedia of African history. New York: CRC Press, p. 878 Around 40 countries gained independence from France throughout its history, the second most in the world behind only the British Empire.David Armitage, The Declaration of Independence in World Context, Organization of American Historians, Magazine of History, Volume 18, Issue 3, Pp. 61–66 (2004) Over 50% of the world's borders today were drawn as a result of British and French imperialism.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", in Reconfiguring Slavery: West African Trajectories, ed. Benedetta Rossi (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2009), 29.

This is a list of all territories that were part of the French colonial empires in the last 500 years, either entirely or in part, either under French sovereignty or as mandate or protectorate. When only a part of the country was under French rule, that part is listed in parentheses after the country. When there are no parentheses, it means the whole country was formerly part of any one of the French colonial empires. Countries listed are those where French sovereignty applied effectively. Areas that were only claimed, but not effectively controlled (such as Manhattan or Western Australia) are not listed.

N.B. "1st" means the country/territory was part of the first French colonial empire. (pre 1814/1815) "2nd" means the country/territory was part of the second French colonial empire. (post 1830) "Now" means this is a territory still part of the French Republic today.

The Americas North America

Canada (most of eastern and central Canada, see Acadia and Canada, New France)—1st Saint-Pierre and Miquelon—1st, 2nd, & now United States (entire basin of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, Great Lakes, see Louisiana (New France))—1st

Caribbean Anguilla (briefly)—1st Antigua and Barbuda (briefly)—1st Dominica—1st Dominican Republic (briefly)—1st Grenada—1st Guadeloupe—1st, 2nd, & now Haiti—1st Martinique—1st, 2nd, & now Montserrat (briefly)—1st Saint Martin (northern half only)—1st, 2nd, & now Saint-Barthélemy—1st, 2nd, & now Saint Lucia—1st Saint Vincent and the Grenadines—1st Sint Eustatius (briefly)—1st St Kitts and Nevis (St Kitts, but not Nevis)—1st Trinidad and Tobago (Tobago only)—1st US Virgin Islands (Saint Croix only)—1st

South America Brazil (Rio de Janeiro briefly, and São Luís briefly)—1st (see France Antarctique and France Équinoxiale) French Guiana—1st, 2nd, & now

Africa North Africa

Name of territoryDatesStatusCommentsAlgeria1830Colony1848 annexed to France1962 IndependentMorocco1912protectorate1956IndependentEgypt1798protectorate1801IndependentTunisia1881protectorate1956Independent

West Africa Benin (as Dahomey)—2nd Burkina Faso (as Upper Volta)—2nd Côte d'Ivoire—2nd Guinea—2nd Mali (as French Sudan)—2nd Mauritania—2nd Niger—2nd Senegal—1st & 2nd Togo—2nd

Equatorial Africa Cameroon (91% of Cameroon)—2nd Central African Republic (as Oubangui-Chari)—2nd Chad—2nd Democratic Republic of Congo ('Congo-Kinshasa')—2nd Gabon—2nd Republic of the Congo ('Congo-Brazzaville')—2nd

Indian Ocean Comoros—2nd Madagascar—2nd Mauritius—1st Mayotte—2nd & now Réunion—1st, 2nd, & now Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean—2nd & now Seychelles—1st Tanzania (Zanzibar, briefly)—2nd

Red Sea Djibouti (as French Somaliland)—2nd Yemen (Cheikh Saïd peninsula)

Asia Middle East Lebanon—2nd Syria—2nd Turkey (Sanjak of Alexandretta, now called Hatay Province)—2nd

South Asia India small coastal and riverine trading enclaves and minor political influence over few kingdoms (see French India)—1st only Pondicherry, Karikal, Yanaon, Mahé, and Chandernagore—2nd

East Asia China Kwang-Chou-Wan leased territory, now the city of Zhanjiang (Guangdong province)—2nd French concessions in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Hankou—2nd French sphere of influence recognized by China over the provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, Hainan, and Guangdong—2nd

South East Asia Cambodia—2nd Laos—2nd Vietnam (as Tonkin, Annam, and Cochinchina)—2nd Eastern Thailand under French Sphere of Influence—2nd

Oceania Clipperton—2nd & now New Caledonia—2nd & now French Polynesia—2nd & now Vanuatu (condominium shared with the British Empire)—2nd Wallis and Futuna—2nd & now

Antarctic Ocean French Southern and Antarctic Lands—2nd & now

See also History of France

References