II.

Establishment and Early Setbacks

Although the French kings were interested in establishing their position in Europe, they refused to accept the Line of Demarcation, the division of the outside world between Spain and Portugal that was laid down by Pope Alexander VI in 1493-1494. Francis I, in particular, was fascinated by the legend that China could be reached via the Atlantic Ocean, and he favoured the three journeys of Jacques Cartier who explored the St Lawrence River in Canada (1534-1543). With the later missions of Samuel de Champlain, this became New France, where, in the 17th century some 4,000 French peasants settled. Breton and Norman sailors went to Newfoundland for the cod-fishing, to Madeira and Morocco for supplies of sugar and much else.

In the 17th century the French established themselves on Martinique, Guadeloupe and St Domingo; and after Frenchmen had explored the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, they established a possession that, in honour of Louis XIV, was called Louisiana (1682). By the 18th century France possessed Canada, Louisiana, the French West Indies, some points of commerce in Senegal, the islands of France and Bourbon (later known as Mauritius and Réunion) in the Indian Ocean, and some trading posts in India, the most important of which were Pondicherry (now known as Puducherry) and Chandernagore (established 1673-1674) and were poised for further development there. However, this French Empire was at the centre of Anglo-French wars, notably in Canada and India. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 stripped France of Canada (following the French and Indian War) and ended its drive for power in India, which had been defeated by British forces and their allies in the Carnatic Wars.

By 1815 the French Empire was reduced to Martinique and Guadeloupe, St Pierre and Miquelon (off the southern coast of the Island of Newfoundland), trading posts in Senegal and five posts in India and Réunion. To this was added in 1817 the legally disputed territory of French Guiana, which was made into a penal colony. In 1830, for reasons of royal prestige, the French acquired Algeria, but it was some time before the conquest was actively pursued and European settlement organized there. Under Napoleon III French economic interests were actively promoted in Senegal, China, Indochina (especially Cochin China) and New Caledonia, as they were pursued in Syria and (unsuccessfully) in Mexico.