Last modified: 2006-05-06 by ivan sache
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French colonies in the Americas
Nouvelle France (New France). In its narrowest sense, this term refers only to the French colony of Canada. Indeed, some old maps show the inscription Nouvellle-France ou Canada. In its usual sense, the term refers to the three main North American colonies: Canada, Acadia and Louisiana (see below). In its most inclusive sense (used by Marc Lescarbot in 1609 in his Histoire de la Nouvelle- France, the term refers to all the French possessions in the Americas (French Guiana and Caribbeans included; Lescarbot even includes settlement attempts in Florida).
Canada (1534-1763). Originally this term referred to the valley of the Saint Lawrence river (today's southern Quebec). As settlement progressed westward in places like Detroit and Michilimackinac, Canada came to include the Great Lakes area as well (today's southern Ontario and adjacent parts of the USA). Some old French maps also consider today's New Brunswick as part of Canada (see below Acadia). Note that though "discovered" in 1534, the first trading post (Tadoussac) was only established in 1600, and the first permanent settlement (Quebec City) in 1608.
Acadie (Acadia, 1603-1713). In its narrowest sense, the term reffered to the peninsular part of modern Nova Scotia, often with adjacent areas in today's southern New Brunswick. Though they sometimes had their own governors, Isle Royale and Isle Saint-Jean (today's Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island, respectively) are usually considered part of the French colony of Acadia. After the British conquest of the area, British maps tended to consider most of modern New Brunswick part of Nova Scotia. In reality, most of it was a contested area between France and England until 1763, which explains why French maps tend to include what is modern New Brunswick in colonial French Canada. Note that the original colony settled on Sainte-Croix island (today in Maine, USA) in 1603, moved in 1604 to Port-Royal (today Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia) and finally the settlers moved again to found Quebec City in 1608. The modern-day Acadians are descendents from Frenchmen who settled mainly in the 1660s. Note also that until the French definitely gave up Acadia to the English, it changed hands six times between the two European powers.
Louisiane (Louisiana). Originally, the French claimed all of the Mississippi valley from the Rocky Mountains to the top of the Appalachians as part of their Louisiana possession. In 1763, they lose the oriental half (east of the Mississippi, except for New Orleans). The rest was bought from France by the USA in 1803 after being under Spanish control for several decades. In this vast territory however, the French only colonized two areas: what is today southern Louisiana and an area known as Le pays des Illinois, centered around the current city of St. Louis, Missouri, which the French founded, and other nearby villages such as Sainte Geneviève, Missouri; Kaskaskia, Illinois; Cap Girardeau, Missouri; Cahokia, Illinois: Prairie du Rocher; Illinois. At the periphery, there were also settlements in Vincennes, Indiana; Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and in Minnesota.
Terre-Neuve (Newfoundland) was also French for a while, and included Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and the Iles-de-la- Madeleine (Magdelena Islands), which today belong to Quebec.
Luc Baronian, 23 April 2005
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is the only territory in North America left today under French sovereignty.In the Carribean, the French Crown possessed various
islands.
The largest territory was Saint-Domingue (today's
Haiti).
Guadeloupe's jurisdictionincluded la
Désirade, Dominica, La Frégate, Marie-Galante,
Saint Bartholomew, Saint Martin, les Saintes and a few other rocks.
Martinique's jurisdiction included Saint
Lucia and Tobago. Grenada has also been French for some time.
In South America, the French Crown possessed one of the Guyanas, today French Guyana.
Pierre Gay, 14 October 1999
French colonies in Asia
In the Near East, the territories under trusteeship of the
French Republic consisted of the
Alaouite State
(Lattaquié), Alep, Hatay (Alexandretta), Lebanon,
Syria and the
Sanjak of Damas and the
Jabel Druze (Souaida). These
territories are included today in the modern states of
Syria and Lebanon.
The French also held Cheik Said's Territory on the Yemenite
coast.
In the Far East, the French empire consisted in Annam and Paracel islands, Cochinchina, Laos, Cambodia and Tonkin. All these territories were united into the Indochinese Union. They later became the independent states of Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia.
The French also possessed large concessions in China, such as in Canton, Nanking or Shanghai. Some other Chinese territories were under French sovereignty, such as Hankéou, His-men, Kouang-Tchéou-Wan or Tien-Tsin.
The French Crown ruled most of India between 1742 and 1763. After this date, various smaller territories and enclaves remained under French sovereignty until the 1950s.
Pierre Gay, 14 October 1999
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Pondichéry (1673-1954) (possessed by UK at some moments). There are here some privileges granted by the Indian government to thank the fact that France gave without reluctance its Indian possessions, that is not the case of Portugal. Chandernagor (1686-1951) Mahé (1721-1954) Karikal (1738-1954) Yanaon (1751-1954) |
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Pascal Vagnat, 22 February 1996
French colonies in Africa
In Western and Central Africa, French possessions were organised into two main federations: Afrique Occidentale Française (French West Africa) and Afrique Equatoriale Française (French Equatorial Africa). These federations included territories of different status, such as colonies and mandates.
The common and specific flag for all of these possessions was of course the French Tricolore, but some possessions eventually hoisted a flag of their own during French rule. These flags are to been found on the pages of the various countries which resumed sovereignty after independence.
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Colonies
Mandate |
Colonies
Mandate |
Pierre Gay, 13 October 1999
Jaume Ollé and Nozomi Kariyasu, 17 June 1998
In North Africa, the French colonized Algeria which was considered as integrated French territory (depending from the Minister of the Interior, whereas all other colonies depended from either the Colonial, Naval or Foreign offices); the French flag seems to have been the only national flag flying there. Morocco was a protectorate and had a specific civil ensign. Tunisia was also a protectorate and hoisted its current flag.
In East Africa, the French ruled the French Somali Coast, which became the Overseas territory of the Afars and the Issas, and finally, upon independence in 1977, the Republic of Djibouti.
Pierre Gay, 14 October 1999
French colonies in the Indian Ocean
In the Central Western Indian Ocean, the French Crown
possessed the Bourbon island, the Isle de France
(today's Réunion and
Mauritius, respectively), and the
Seychelles islands for a short period of
time. The Republic added
Madagascar and the Comoros to the French
Indian Ocean colonies. While the Comoros
became independent, Mayotte island stayed
French.
Madagascar adopted a flag on 16 October 1958 similar to the
current one. Previous other flags were used in
the revolt of 1947, and at least three different patterns are
reported, all using the colors white, blue and red.
In the Southern Indian Ocean, the French colonized various islands (Kerguelen, Crozet, New Amsterdam, and other rocks) which were later regrouped into a single territory named French Austral and Antarctic Territories, to which the French slice of the Antarctic (Adelie Land) was adjoined. No specific flag under French royal colonial administration is yet reported here. However there is today a flag for the Senior Administrator of the French Austral and Antarctic Territories.
Pierre Gay, 14 October 1999
French colonies in the Pacific Ocean
In the South-Western Pacific, the French colonized
New Caledonia. The overseas territory
of New Caledonia is currently facing a change in status within
the French Republic, towards larger autonomy. Up North-East,
colonial Wallis and Futuna islands have
used various local flags under colonial administration.
Wallis and Futuna islands are currently an
overseas territory of the French Republic.
The French and the British also held a condominium over the
New Hebrides (now
Vanuatu).
In the South-Eastern Pacific, French Polynesia is currently an overseas territory of the French Republic, and is the only French territorial entity to have a specific flag enforced by law. Before this, colonial French Polynesia and its components have used various local flags before and during colonial administration.
Pierre Gay, 14 October 1999
Possessions of the first French Colonial Empire (until 1763) mostly used flags such as the White Cross or the Fleurdelysé flags, while the French Republic used mostly the Tricolore, and a few specific flags, such as marks of office.
Despite the numerous and various administrative statuses of its overseas possessions (colonies, mandates, protectorates, trusteeships and other overseas territories in general...), and however large the empire, France has always considered itself together with its colonial empire as a single united political entity in which each part was only a piece of a whole. As thus, it is logical that such an entity, and its parts, used mostly the French flag.
The use of the French flag is therefore the rule, while the use of local flags is the exception.
Pierre Gay, 14 October 1999
There was a somewhat unusual arrangement whereby Governors of French Colonies were authorised by Ministre de la Marine Circular 29 of June 1833 to grant ships of any nation, and of a certain size, liberty to use the French flag, and the right to be treated in all respects as French ships, within certain defined limits.
One defined area was New Caledonia, Australia, New Zealand, and all islands of the South Pacific Ocean, and in 1872 the British Vice-Consul in Nouméa, New Caledonia, reported that two British ships were flying the French flag while under contract to act as transports in Cochinchina.
Source: Public Record Office MT 10/168
David Prothero, 23 January 2001