The French colonization of the Americas began in the 16th century, and continued in the following centuries as France established a colonial empire The French colonial empire is the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 1600s to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire extended over 12,347,000 km² of land at its height in in the Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere, also Western hemisphere or western hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian , the other half being the eastern hemisphere. It is also used to specifically refer to the Americas (or the New World) and adjacent waters, while excluding other territories that lie. France founded colonies in much of eastern North America, on a number of Caribbean islands, and in South America. Most colonies were developed to export products such as fish, sugar, and furs. As they colonized the New World, the French established forts and settlements that would become such cities as Quebec Quebec , French: Québec ([keˈbɛk] ( listen)), also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City (French: Ville de Québec) is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec – after Montreal, about 233 kilometres (145 mi) to the southwest. As of the 2006 and Montreal Montreal (French: Montréal; pronounced [mɔ̃ʁeˈal] in French, i / in Canada; Detroit Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded on July 24, 1701, by the Frenchman Antoine de la, Green Bay Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of 581 feet above sea level and is located 112 miles (180 km) north of Milwaukee. As of the 2000 census Green Bay had a population of 102,313, St. Louis St. Louis (pronounced /seɪnt ˈluːɪs/ or /sænt ˈluː.iː/; French: Saint-Louis or St-Louis, [sɛ̃ lwi] ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. The city itself has an estimated population of 354,361 and is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,879,934, the largest urban area in Missouri and 16th-largest, Mobile Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern U.S. state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 198,915 during the 2000 census. Mobile is the principal municipality of the Mobile Metropolitan, Biloxi Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2000 census recorded the population as 50,644, although the 2008 Census Estimate placed the population at 45,670. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County, Baton Rouge Baton Rouge (pronounced /ˌbætən ˈruːʒ/; French: Bâton-Rouge [bɑtɔ̃ ʁuʒ] ; Choctaw: Itta Homma; "red stick") is the capital and second-largest city of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and has an estimated population of 227,017. The metropolitan area, known as Greater Baton Rouge, has an estimated population and New Orleans New Orleans (pronounced /nuː ˈɔrliənz/ or /nuː ɔrˈliːnz/, locally [nuː ˈɔrlənz] or [ˈnɔrlənz]; French: La Nouvelle-Orléans [la nuvɛlɔʁleɑ̃] ) is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana in the United States; and Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's official population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census and Cap-Haïtien Cap-Haïtien is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti. Previously, named as Cap-Français and Cap-Henri, it was an important city during the colonial period and was the first capital of the Kingdom of Northern Haiti under King Henri Christophe in Haiti Haiti (pronounced /ˈheɪti/ ; French Haïti, pronounced: [a.iti]; Haitian Creole: Ayiti, Haitian Creole pronunciation: [ajiti]), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti ; Repiblik Ayiti) is a Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago. Ayiti (land.

North America

The French first came to the New World as explorers, seeking a route to the Pacific ocean and wealth. Major French exploration of North America began under the Francis I, King of France. In 1524, Francis sent Italian-born Giovanni da Verrazano to explore the region between Florida With an area of 65,758 square miles , it is ranked 22nd in size among the 50 U.S. states. Florida has the most coastline in the Contiguous United States encompassing approximately 1,200 miles. The state has four large urban areas, a number of smaller industrial cities, and many small towns and Newfoundland Newfoundland (pronounced /ˈnjuːfənlænd/ ( listen); French: Terre-Neuve, Irish: Talamh an Éisc) is a large Canadian island 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador for a route to the Pacific Ocean. Verrazzano gave the names Francesca and Nova Gallia New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period extending from the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River, by Jacques Cartier in 1534, to the cession of New France to Spain and Britain in 1763. At its peak in 1712 (before the Treaty of Utrecht), the territory of New France extended from Newfoundland to the Rocky to that land between New Spain The Viceroyalty of New Spain was the first of four viceroyalties created to govern Spain's territories in North and Central America. It was ruled by a viceroy from Mexico City who governed many territories on behalf of the King of Spain. The Viceroyalty of New Spain lasted from 1535 to 1821, and was one of two early viceroyalties established in and English Newfoundland, thus promoting French interests.^[1]

Later, in 1534, Francis sent Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big settlements he saw at Stadacona (Quebec on the first of three voyages to explore the coast of Newfoundland and the St. Lawrence River The Saint Lawrence River is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage of the Great Lakes Basin. It traverses the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and forms part of the international boundary between. The French subsequently tried to establish several colonies throughout North America that failed, due to weather, disease or conflict with other European powers. Cartier attempted to create the first permanent European settlement in North America at Cap-Rouge (Quebec City) in 1541 with 400 settlers but the settlement was abandoned the next year after bad weather and Indian attacks. A small group of French troops were left on Parris Island, South Carolina Parris Island is a former census-designated place in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,841 at the 2000 census. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Parris Island is included within the Beaufort Urban Cluster and the larger Hilton Head Island–Beaufort Micropolitan Statistical Area. The area was annexed by the in 1562 to build Charlesfort, but left after a year when they were not resupplied from France. Fort Caroline Fort Caroline was the first French colony in the present-day United States. Established in what is now Jacksonville, Florida on June 22, 1564, it was intended as a refuge for the Huguenots. It lasted only a year before being obliterated by the Spanish. The site is now operated as Fort Caroline National Memorial established in present-day Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida, and is the county seat of Duval County. The consolidation of the city and county governments in 1968, and a corresponding expansion of the city limits to include almost the entire county, placed the majority of Jacksonville's population within the city limits. As such it is the most in 1564, lasted only a year before being destroyed by the Spanish from St. Augustine St. Augustine is a city in Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565, it is the oldest continuously occupied European established city, and the oldest port, in the continental United States. St. Augustine lies in a region of Florida known as The First Coast, which extends from Amelia Island in the. An attempt to settle convicts on Sable Island Sable Island is a small Canadian island situated 180 km southeast of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2008, the island is a year-round home to approximately five people (four Environment Canada station personnel and one resident researcher). In summer, this number swells to include seasonal contractors, research scientists, off Nova Scotia in 1598 failed after a short time. In 1599, a sixteen-person trading post was established in Tadoussac (in present-day Quebec Quebec is the second most populous province, after Ontario. Most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. English-speaking communities and English-language institutions are concentrated in the west of the island of Montreal but are also significantly present in the Outaouais, the), of which only five men survived the first winter. In 1604, Saint Croix Island, Maine Saint Croix Island , long known to locals as Dochet Island, is a small uninhabited island in Maine near the mouth of the Saint Croix River that forms part of the International Boundary separating Maine from New Brunswick was the site of a short-lived French colony, much plagued by illness, perhaps scurvy. Fort Saint Louis From 1685 until 1689, a French colony, Fort Saint Louis, existed near what is now Inez, Texas . Explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle intended to found the colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River, but inaccurate maps and navigational errors caused his ships to instead anchor 400 miles (650 km) west, off the coast of Texas near Matagorda Bay was established in Texas in 1685, but was gone by 1688.

A major French settlement lay on the island of Hispaniola Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west, and Puerto Rico to the east, directly within the hurricane belt. Hispaniola is perhaps most famous as the site of the first European colonies in the New World,, where France established the colony of Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue was a French colony on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola from 1659 to 1804, when it became the independent nation of Haiti on the western third of the island in 1664. Nicknamed the "Pearl of the Antilles", Saint-Domingue became the richest colony in the Caribbean before a 1791 slave revolt, which began the Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution was a period of brutal conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, leading to the elimination of slavery and the establishment of Haiti as the first republic ruled by people of African ancestry. Although hundreds of rebellions occurred in the New World during the centuries of slavery, only the revolt on Saint-Domingue,, led to freedom for the colony's slaves in 1794 and, a decade later, complete independence for the country, which renamed itself Haiti Haiti (pronounced /ˈheɪti/ ; French Haïti, pronounced: [a.iti]; Haitian Creole: Ayiti, Haitian Creole pronunciation: [ajiti]), officially the Republic of Haiti (République d'Haïti ; Repiblik Ayiti) is a Caribbean country. Along with the Dominican Republic, it occupies the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago. Ayiti (land. France briefly also ruled the eastern portion of the island, which is now the Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic (pronounced /dɒmˌɪnɪkən rɨˈpʌblɪk/ ; Spanish: República Dominicana, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðominiˈkana]) is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, France ruled much of the Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees, are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Greater Antilles form the West Indies. The islands are a long partly volcanic island arc, most of which wrap around the eastern end of the Caribbean Sea on the western boundary with the Atlantic Ocean, and at various times. Islands that came under French rule during part of all of this time include Dominica Dominica, (pronounced /dəˈmɪnɪkə/ ; French: Dominique) officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. To the north-northwest lies Guadeloupe, to the southeast Martinique. Its size is 754 square kilometres (291 sq mi) and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of 1,447, Grenada Grenada (pronounced /ɡrɨˈneɪdə/ ) is an island country and sovereign state consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. Grenada is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres (629 sq. mi) and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe is also one of the twenty-six regions of, Marie-Galante Marie-Galante is an island of the Caribbean Sea located in the Guadeloupean archipelago. Marie-Galante is constitutionally part of France, as Guadeloupe is an overseas région and département, Martinique Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of 1,128 km2 (436 sq mi). Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados. As with the other overseas departments, Martinique is one of the, St. Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy , officially the Collectivity of Saint Bartholomew (French: Collectivité de Saint-Barthélemy), is an overseas collectivity of France. Often abbreviated to Saint-Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the collectivity is one of the four territories among the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean that comprise the French West, St. Croix Saint Croix is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States. It is the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands, being 28 by 7 miles (45 by 11 km). However, the territory's capital, Charlotte Amalie, is located on Saint Thomas, St. Kitts Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Together with the island of Nevis, Saint Kitts constitutes one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia Saint Lucia (pronounced /seɪnt ˈluːʃə/ ; French: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Lucia was founded in 1886 by Sir Arthur Sidders when he set sail from the port of Bristol, England. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the islands of Saint, St. Martin Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately 300 km (186 miles) east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km2 island is divided roughly 60/40 between France (53 km2) and the Netherlands Antilles (34 km2); it is the smallest inhabited sea island divided between two nations, a division dating to 1648. The southern Dutch half comprises the, St. Vincent and Tobago Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt. Control of many of these islands was contested between the French, the British and the Dutch; in the case of St. Martin, the island was divided in two, a situation that persists to this day. Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1801. It was created by the merger of the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England, under the Acts of Union 1707, to create a single kingdom encompassing the whole of the island of Great captured some of France's islands during the Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War was a major military conflict that lasted from 1756 until the conclusion of the treaties of Hubertusburg and Paris in 1763. It involved all of the major European powers of the period^[2] and the Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts declared against Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionized European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to the. Following the latter conflict, France retained control of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Marie-Galante, St. Barthélemy, and its portion of St. Martin; all remain part of France today. Guadeloupe (including Marie-Galante and other nearby islands) and Martinique each is an overseas departments An overseas department is a department of France that is outside metropolitan France. They have the same political status as metropolitan departments. As integral parts of France and the European Union, overseas departments are represented in the National Assembly, Senate, and Economic and Social Council, vote to elect European Parliament (MEP), of France, while St. Barthélemy and St. Martin each became an overseas collectivity The French overseas collectivities , like the French regions, themselves, are first-order administrative divisions of France. The collectivities include some former French overseas territories and other French overseas entities with a particular status, all of which were given the name collectivités d'outre-mer by constitutional reform on 28 of France in 2007.

In Martinique, unlike Saint-Domingue, slavery was not abolished during the French Revolution. Meanwhile, in Guadeloupe slaves gained their freedom from 1795 (due to pressures by the French Revolution, the convention in Paris performed this task and sent Victor Hugues to implement the new law) but then faced the reinstatement of the institution of slavery by Napoleon in 1802.

South America

From 1555 to 1567, French Huguenots, under the leadership of vice-admiral Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon, made an attempt to establish the colony of France Antarctique in what is now Brazil, but were expelled. From 1612 to 1615, a second failed attempt was made in present-day São Luís, Brazil.

French Guiana was first settled by the French in 1604, although its earliest settlements were abandoned in the face of American Indian hostility and tropical diseases. The settlement of Cayenne was established in 1643, but was abandoned. It was re-established in the 1660s. Except for brief occupations by the English and Dutch in the 17th century, and by the Portuguese in the 19th century, Guiana has remained under French rule ever since. From 1851 to 1951 it was the site of a notorious penal colony, Devil's Island (Île du Diable). Since 1946, French Guiana is an overseas department of France.

In 1860, a French adventurer, Orelie-Antoine de Tounens proclaimed himself king of Araucania and Patagonia. His claim was not accepted by foreign powers and Chile and Argentina took firm control over the regions, treating him as insane.

See also

• Atlantic World
• French and Indian Wars
• French colonial empire
• French in Canada
• French in the United States
• Illinois Country
• New France

Notes

1. ^ 1524: The voyage of discoveries, Centro studi storici Verrazzano
2. ^ As the French and Indian War started two years earlier, and continued until the signing of the peace treaty, the name Seven Years' War is more properly applied to the European phase of the war.

References

• Holbrook, Sabra (1976), The French Founders of North America and Their Heritage, New York: Atheneum, ISBN 0689304900

Categories: Colonization of the Americas | Former colonies of France

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