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Period: to
French Imperialism
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North American territories
France colonized North America in many places. The first of them was Acadia, or present day Nova Scotia. Next was the area of the US referred to as the Louisiana Purchase. This land was later sold to compensate for war losses. This resulted in a loss of French territory. -
The Peninsular War
In 1807, Portugal refused to follow the Continental System. Therefore, Napoleon sent his army into Portugal and forced out their king. Napoleon then made his brother the king of the newly conquered Spain. He left no monarch in Portugal and controlled that indirectly. This was one of NApoleon's great successes. -
Napoleon conquers Europe
Napoleon Bonaparte conquered most of Europe as emperor. He forced Austria and Prussia to sign a peace treaty to prevent the two from fighting. Napoleon also directly ruled the Netherlands and Spain. During this time, the Papal States, Russia, and Denmark allied with Napoleon. Finally, he abolished the Holy Roman Catholic Church. -
French in Algeria
The French first began to occupy this territory in 1830. The relations between France and Algeria had been adversarial because of bombardments by King Louis XIV. This was one of many actions by Louis XIV that caused a hardened relationship. Algeria was also the first French African colony.This started a chain of settlements in Africa. -
French Senegal
The French were invading south of the Sahara along the Senegalese cost in 1843. They then set up camp at the end of a river in Senegal. Senegal expansion stated when the French government took over a the city of St.Louis . However, expansion was halted due to a need to pay war fines. Germany forced France to pay the costs of war. -
French Indochina
There were many regions that were availale for nations to take in southeast Asia. France took advantage of this oppurtunity and sent their miltary into the Asian territory. This territory became known as French Indochina. The economies and the governments of these Asian nations were greatly increased under French rule. -
Franco-Prussian War
France was doomed from the start. Its troops were quickly overcome by the Prussian forces and were defeated. The result was the occupation of Germany in France. This forced France to pay a large fine to cover the costs of war. France was then left alone by the Germans -
French Sudan
At first, the French felt tha there was no reason to concern themselves with Sudan. However, they then decided to step in, as hey feared that Britain would gain the Middle Niger Valley. This is why French started its colonization of Sudan. It tok France 10 years to the area. However, by 1899 the French were able to place the Sudan under its own administration. -
Ivory Coast
In hopes to outflank Samory Toure, The French sent military expeditions north. This area known as the Ivory Coast got its name because of its abundance of elephant teeth. French merchant firms operated long-established trading posts on the coast at Bassam and Assinie. However, neither became particularly large or important due to the climate. This is because of Europeans detesting, and the lack of adequate port facilities. -
French Dahomey
The 1892 French campaign in Dahomey affected European attitudes about Africa. It seemed that Dahomey depended on practices--human sacrifice. When the British launched the Third Anglo-Ashanti War in 1894, they received help from newspaper correspondents who wrote unconfirmable accounts of African cruelty and barbaric acts. Since the only Europeans in a position to verify such reports were soldiers, no one ever heard of the African culture. This was the expedition to Dahomey.
