The French Colonial Empire: Map & History
The second largest colonial empire of the 19th and 20th centuries, spanning 11.5 million km² across West and Equatorial Africa, Indochina, and the Maghreb.
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The second largest colonial empire of the 19th and 20th centuries, spanning 11.5 million km² across West and Equatorial Africa, Indochina, and the Maghreb.
Modern Countries Once Part of The French Colonial Empire
At its mapped extent, The French Colonial Empire covered territory in 53 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- Burkina Faso1905–1957 CE · nearly all
- Mali1880–1957 CE · nearly all
- Cambodia1868–1955 CE · nearly all
- Chad1900–1957 CE · nearly all
- Niger1900–1957 CE · nearly all
- Netherlands1673–1813 CE · nearly all
- Belgium1673–1813 CE · nearly all
- Benin1885–1957 CE · nearly all
- Togo1915–1957 CE · nearly all
- Djibouti1890–1957 CE · nearly all
- Luxembourg1687–1813 CE · nearly all
- Guadeloupe1791–1939 CE · nearly all
- Mauritius1791–1810 CE · nearly all
- Andorra1809–1814 CE · nearly all
- Comoros1805–1957 CE · nearly all
- Martinique1791–1939 CE · nearly all
- Vatican (Holy See)1809–1813 CE · nearly all
- Vietnam1860–1955 CE · nearly all
- Guinea1885–1957 CE · nearly all
- Côte d'Ivoire1890–1957 CE · nearly all
- France1534–1939 CE · nearly all
- Gabon1849–1957 CE · nearly all
- Mauritania1859–1957 CE · nearly all
- Republic of the Congo1880–1957 CE · most
- Laos1895–1955 CE · most
- Senegal1880–1957 CE · most
- Algeria1848–1957 CE · most
- Central African Republic1890–1957 CE · most
- French Guiana1853–1939 CE · most
- Poland1807–1808 CE · most
- Lebanon1918–1939 CE · most
- Madagascar1898–1957 CE · most
- Tunisia1885–1955 CE · most
- Syria1920–1939 CE · most
- Cameroon1915–1957 CE · most
- Morocco1912–1955 CE · most
- Haiti1791 CE · a large part
- Slovenia1811–1813 CE · a large part
- Spain1809–1813 CE · a large part
- Belarus1812–1813 CE · a large part
- Croatia1811–1813 CE · a large part
- Lithuania1812–1813 CE · a large part
- Germany1757–1923 CE · a large part
- North Macedonia1917 CE · a large part
- Libya1944–1952 CE · a large part
- Portugal1811 CE · a small part
- Italy1540–1813 CE · a small part
- Switzerland1805–1813 CE · a small part
- Austria1805–1810 CE · a small part
- Turkey1919–1938 CE · a small part
- Dominican Republic1791 CE · a small part
- Mexico1862–1869 CE · a small part
- Russia1807–1813 CE · a small part
States and Provinces
- Toliary, Madagascar
- Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
- Bamako, Mali
- Boke, Guinea
- Guinaa, French Guiana
- Kayes, Mali
- Mahajanga, Madagascar
- Nzerekore, Guinea
- Rhône-Alpes, France
- Veracruz, Mexico
- Adamaoua, Cameroon
- Andalucía, Spain
- Bretagne, France
- Castilla y León, Spain
- Centre, Cameroon
- Est, Cameroon
- Faranah, Guinea
- Kankan, Guinea
- Languedoc-Roussillon, France
- Niedersachsen, Germany
- Ségou, Mali
- Tamanghasset, Algeria
- Timbuktu, Mali
- Tiris Zemmour, Mauritania
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside The French Colonial Empire's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Interactive map
French Africa on the World War I map →
See French Africa’s territory change day by day from 3 August 1914, with every battle it fought.
Interactive map
French Third Republic on the World War II map →
See French Third Republic’s territory change day by day from 3 September 1939, with every battle it fought.
Key Events in the History of The French Colonial Empire
Mapped, with their causes, timeline and answers to common questions.
- American Revolution (1765 – 1783)The American Revolution was the rebellion in which thirteen British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America threw off British rule and founded the United States. A dispute over taxation and self-government that began in 1765 turned into war at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, and on 4 July 1776 the colonies declared their independence. With help from France, Spain and the Netherlands, the Continental Army under George Washington won the war at Yorktown in 1781, and Britain recognised the new nation in the Treaty of Paris of 1783.
- Waterloo and the Congress of Vienna (1814 – 1815)In 1814–1815 the victors over Napoleon met at the Congress of Vienna to redraw the map of Europe. Their work was interrupted when Napoleon escaped from Elba, retook France and was finally beaten by Wellington and Blücher at Waterloo, in Belgium, on 18 June 1815. The settlement agreed at Vienna, the German Confederation, a larger Prussia and Russia, a united Netherlands and restored monarchies, shaped Europe until the revolutions of 1848 and the unification of Germany and Italy.
- Vietnam War (1955 – 1975)The Vietnam War was fought from 1955 to 1975 between communist North Vietnam, backed by the Soviet Union and China, and South Vietnam, backed above all by the United States, which sent more than half a million troops. It grew out of the war against French rule and the division of Vietnam at the 17th parallel in 1954. After the Tet Offensive of 1968 turned American opinion against the war, US forces withdrew under the Paris Peace Accords of 1973, and North Vietnamese tanks entered Saigon on 30 April 1975, reuniting the country under communist rule.
Imperial History & Territorial Expansion
Divided into the First Colonial Empire (New France in North America and the Caribbean) and the massive Second Colonial Empire forged after 1830 in North Africa (Algeria), West Africa (AOF), Equatorial Africa (AEF), and French Indochina. Following World War I under the League of Nations mandates, the French empire reached 11.5 million square kilometers, fundamentally shaping international diplomacy, the Napoleonic legal code, and the global Francophone community.
French Colonial Empire Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
French exploratory fleet enters the Saint Lawrence River.
Napoleon crowned Emperor; promulgation of the Civil Code.
Beginning of the creation of the Second French Colonial Empire in North Africa.
Empire reaches 11.5 million square kilometers across Africa, Indochina, and the Levant.
Key Monarchs, Architects & Strategists
Enduring Planetary Legacy
- ✓Global dissemination of the Napoleonic Code, forming the base of civil law in over 80 countries
- ✓The worldwide Francophonie community comprising over 300 million French speakers
- ✓Diffusion of Enlightenment values, the metric measurement system, and human rights charters
- ✓Monumental urban architecture and civic boulevards replicated from Paris to Saigon and Dakar
French Colonial Empire: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the French Colonial Empire exist?
The French Colonial Empire is dated to 1534 CE – 1980 CE (Peak: 1920 CE), in the Industrial era.
What was the capital of the French Colonial Empire?
The capital of the French Colonial Empire was Paris.
How large was the French Colonial Empire at its peak?
At its peak in 1920 the French Colonial Empire covered about 11,500,000 km².
Geographic Lifelines
Other Sovereign Realms
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Söğüt, Bursa, Edirne, Constantinople
Industrial Era • Capital: London
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore, Delhi
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Raigad