French Empire (jan 1, 1534 – jan 1, 1980)

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1626 The French establish an outpost on Madagascar.

1645 The French establish an outpost at the mouth of Africa's Senegal River, where they trade for gum and for slaves.

1668 The French establish their first factory in India, at Surat.

1674 The French establish a trading post in India.

1677 The French build a fort on the island of Goree, a little more than a hundred miles to the south of the mouth of the Senegal River.

1682 Robert Cavalier LaSalle claims the Mississippi River valley for France.

1764 A French trading company establishes a trading post on the Mississippi River, to be known as St. Louis.

1793 At France's colonial possession St. Domingue (Haiti), the black leader Toussaint L'Ouverture decrees all slaves emancipated, and many slaves join his rebel army. The British, at war with France, land a force in the south of the colony.

1811 The French are driven from Portugal.

1830 France has reneged in paying its bill for wheat bought from Algeria. A new era of European imperialism begins with Charles X sending an invasion force of 36,000 troops to Algeria, claiming that he was responding to the insult to his ambassador. The invasion is described as a civilizing mission and a mission to abolish slavery and piracy – a response to Algeria's reputation in France for having attacked the ships of Christian nations during past centuries and for an estimated 25,000 European slaves in Algeria, including women in the harems.

1863 Cambodia become a French protectorate, with the approval of its king, Norodom.

1881- Tunisia

1884 France incorporates Vietnam into its empire. In Africa, France occupies Guinea.

1889 The Ivory Coast becomes a French protectorate, and the English and French agree on spheres of influence on the Gold Coast and on the Senegal and Gambia rivers.

1891 In West Africa, the French invade the Mandinka Empire, employing artillery and machine guns. The Mandinka ruler, Samoie Touré, resorts to a scorched earth policy and shifts his empire to the east.

1893 Laos becomes a French protectorate.

1894 Dahomey becomes a French colony.

1912- Morocco

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