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French colonies in the Americas
Nouvelle France (New France). In its narrowest sense, this term refers only to the French colony of Canada. Indeed, some old maps show the inscription Nouvellle-France ou Canada. In its usual sense, the term refers to the three main North American colonies: Canada, Acadia and Louisiana (see below). In its most inclusive sense (used by Marc Lescarbot in 1609 in his Histoire de la Nouvelle- France), the term refers to all the French possessions in the Americas (French Guiana and Caribbeans included; Lescarbot even includes settlement attempts in Florida).
Canada (1534-1763). Originally this term referred to the valley of the Saint Lawrence river (today's southern Quebec). As settlement progressed westward in places like Detroit and Michilimackinac, Canada came to include the Great Lakes area as well (today's southern Ontario and adjacent parts of the USA). Some old French maps also consider today's New Brunswick as part of Canada (see below Acadia). Note that though "discovered" in 1534, the first trading post (Tadoussac) was only established in 1600, and the first permanent settlement (Quebec City) in 1608.
Acadie (Acadia, 1603-1713).In its narrowest sense, the term refered to the peninsular part of modern Nova Scotia, often with adjacent areas in today's southern New Brunswick. Though they sometimes had their own governors, Isle Royale and Isle Saint-Jean (today's Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island, respectively) are usually considered part of the French colony of Acadia. After the British conquest of the area, British maps tended to consider most of modern New Brunswick part of Nova Scotia. In reality, most of it was a contested area between France and England until 1763, which explains why French maps tend to include what is modern New Brunswick in colonial French Canada. Note that the original colony settled on Sainte-Croix island (today in Maine, USA) in 1603, moved in 1604 to Port-Royal (today Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia) and finally the settlers moved again to found Quebec City in 1608. The modern-day Acadians are descendents from Frenchmen who settled mainly in the 1660s. Note also that until the French definitely gave up Acadia to the English, it changed hands six times between the two European powers.
Louisiane (Louisiana). Originally, the French claimed all of the Mississippi valley from the Rocky Mountains to the top of the Appalachians as part of their Louisiana possession. In 1763, they lose the oriental half (east of the Mississippi, except for New Orleans). The rest was bought from France by the USA in 1803 after being under Spanish control for several decades. In this vast territory however, the French only colonized two areas: what is today southern Louisiana and an area known as Le pays des Illinois, centered around the current city of St. Louis, Missouri, which the French founded, and other nearby villages such as Sainte Geneviève, Missouri; Kaskaskia, Illinois; Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Cahokia, Illinois, Prairie du Rocher, Illinois. At the periphery, there were also settlements in Vincennes, Indiana; Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin and in Minnesota.
Terre-Neuve (Newfoundland) was also French for a while, and included Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and the Îles-de-la- Madeleine (Magdelena Islands), which today belong to Quebec.
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is the only territory in North America left today under French sovereignty.
Luc Baronian, 23 April 2005
In the Carribean, the French Crown possessed various
islands.
The largest territory was Saint-Domingue (today's
Haiti).
Guadeloupe's jurisdiction included la
Désirade, Dominica, La Frégate, Marie-Galante,
Saint Bartholomew, Saint Martin, les Saintes and a few other rocks.
Martinique's jurisdiction included Saint
Lucia and Tobago. Grenada has also been French for some time.
In South America, the French Crown possessed one of the Guyanas, today French Guyana.
Pierre Gay, 14 October 1999
French colonies in Asia
In the Near East, the territories under trusteeship of the
French Republic consisted of the
Alaouite State
(Lattaquié), Alep, Hatay (Alexandretta), Lebanon,
Syria and the
Sanjak of Damas and the
Jabel Druze (Souaida). These
territories are included today in the modern states of
Syria and Lebanon.
The French also held Cheik Said's Territory on the Yemenite
coast.
In the Far East, the French Empire consisted in Annam and Paracel islands, Cochinchina, Laos, Cambodia and Tonkin. All these territories were united into the Indochinese Union. They later became the independent states of Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia.
The French also possessed large concessions in China, such as in Canton, Nanking or Shanghai. Some other Chinese territories were under French sovereignty, such as Hankéou, His-men, Kouang-Tchéou-Wan or Tien-Tsin.
The French Crown ruled most of India between 1742 and 1763. After this date, various smaller territories and enclaves remained under French sovereignty until the 1950s: the towns of Pondichéry (1673-1954, possessed by the United Kingdom at some moments; there are here some privileges granted by the Indian government to thank the fact that France gave without reluctance its Indian possessions, that was not the case of Portugal), Chandernagor (1686-1951), Mahé (1721-1954), Karikal (1738-1954) and Yanaon (1751-1954), and the enclaves of Balassar, Cassimibazar, Calicut, Dacca, Goréty, Jouqdia, Masulipatam, Patna, and Surate.
Pierre Gay & Pascal Vagnat, 14 October 1999
French colonies in Africa
In Western and Central Africa, French possessions were
organized into two main federations: Afrique Occidentale
Française (French West Africa) and Afrique Equatoriale
Française (French Equatorial Africa). These federations
included territories of different status, such as colonies and
mandates.
The common and specific flag for all of these possessions was of
course the French Tricolore, but some possessions eventually hoisted
a flag of their own during French rule. These flags are to been found
on the pages of the various countries which resumed sovereignty after
independence.
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Colonies
Mandate |
Colonies
Mandate |
Pierre Gay, 13 October 1999
Jaume Ollé and Nozomi Kariyasu, 17 June 1998
In North Africa, the French colonized Algeria which was considered as integrated French territory (depending from the Minister of the Interior, whereas all other colonies depended from either the Colonial, Naval or Foreign offices); the French flag seems to have been the only national flag flying there. Morocco was a protectorate and had a specific civil ensign. Tunisia was also a protectorate and hoisted its current flag.
In East Africa, the French ruled the French Somali Coast, which became the Overseas territory of the Afars and the Issas, and finally, upon independence in 1977, the Republic of Djibouti.
Pierre Gay, 14 October 1999
French colonies in the Indian Ocean
In the Central Western Indian Ocean, the French Crown
possessed the Bourbon island, the Isle de France
(today's Réunion and
Mauritius, respectively), and the
Seychelles islands for a short period of
time. The Republic added
Madagascar and the Comoros to the French
Indian Ocean colonies. While the Comoros
became independent, Mayotte island stayed
French.
Madagascar adopted a flag on 16 October 1958 similar to the
current one. Previous other flags were used in
the revolt of 1947, and at least three different patterns are
reported, all using the colors white, blue and red.
In the Southern Indian Ocean, the French colonized various islands (Kerguelen, Crozet, New Amsterdam, and other rocks) which were later regrouped into a single territory named French Austral and Antarctic Territories, to which the French slice of the Antarctic (Adelie Land) was adjoined. No specific flag under French royal colonial administration is yet reported here. However there is today a flag for the Senior Administrator of the French Austral and Antarctic Territories.
Pierre Gay, 14 October 1999
French colonies in the Pacific Ocean
In the South-Western Pacific, the French colonized
New Caledonia. The overseas territory
of New Caledonia is currently facing a change in status within
the French Republic, towards larger autonomy. Up North-East,
colonial Wallis and Futuna islands have
used various local flags under colonial administration.
Wallis and Futuna islands are currently an
overseas territory of the French Republic.
The French and the British also held a condominium over the
New Hebrides (now
Vanuatu).
In the South-Eastern Pacific, French Polynesia is currently an overseas territory of the French Republic, and is the only French territorial entity to have a specific flag enforced by law. Before this, colonial French Polynesia and its components have used various local flags before and during colonial administration.
Pierre Gay, 14 October 1999
Possessions of the first French Colonial Empire (until 1763)
mostly used flags such as the White
Cross or the Fleurdelysé
flags, while the French Republic used mostly the
Tricolore, and a few specific flags, such
as governor's flags (see below).
Despite the numerous and various administrative statuses of its
overseas possessions (colonies, mandates, protectorates, trusteeships
and other overseas territories in general...), and however large the
Empire, France has always considered itself
together with its colonial Empire as a single united political entity in which
each part was only a piece of a whole. As thus, it is logical
that such an entity, and its parts, used mostly the French flag.
The use of the French flag is therefore the
rule, while the use of local flags is the exception.
Pierre Gay, 14 October 1999
There was a somewhat unusual arrangement whereby Governors of
French Colonies were authorised by Ministre de la Marine Circular 29
of June 1833 to grant ships of any nation, and of a certain size,
liberty to use the French flag, and the right to be treated in all
respects as French ships, within certain defined limits.
One defined area was New Caledonia,
Australia, New Zealand,
and all islands of the South Pacific Ocean, and in 1872 the British
Vice-Consul in Nouméa, New Caledonia, reported that two
British ships were flying the French flag while under contract to act
as transports in Cochinchina.
Source: Public Record Office MT 10/168
David Prothero, 23 January 2001
![[Flag of French Colonial gouverneurs-généraux]](../images/f/fr-colgg.gif)
Flag of a Governor-General - Image by Pierre Gay, 11 July 2000
Flaggenbuch (1939) [neu92] shows the Governor-General's flag as a blue square flag with a square French ensign (blue 30%, white 33%, red 37%) in canton. The today's flag of the Ministry (or Junior Secretary) for the Overseas, is a square version of the former colonial Governors' flag.
Pierre Gay, 30 September 1999
Misattributed flag
![[Misattributed flag]](../images/f/fr!topps.gif)
Misattributed flag of "Algeria" - Image by Eugene Ipavec, 17 February 2012
The 1950's Topps "Flags of the World" trading cards show for Algeria a light blue flag with a tricolore canton (photo), maybe a misinterpretation of the Governor-General's flag.
Eugene Ipavec, 17 February 2012
![[Flag of French Colonial gouverneurs]](../images/f/fr-colgc.gif)
Flag of a Governor - Image by Pierre Gay, 11 July 2000
Flaggenbuch (1939) shows the Governor's flag as above but with a swallow tail added. Actually, this flag was for all Governors of particular French colonies. For instance, Senegal, a federated colony inside the French West Africa, which itself was ruled by a Governor-General, was administred by a Governor, just like French Sudan, Guinea, or any other colony in French West Africa. The same hold for Indochina, ruled by a Governor-General, with Tonkin, for example, administred by a Governor.
Pierre Gay 30 September 1999
![[Flag of the Communauté]](../images/f/fr-commu.gif)
Flag of the Community of French States - Image by Mark Sensen, 11 July 2000
The Community was officially abolished only in 1995 in the French Constitution, when it had already been obsolete for quite a long time. The Community had since given way to Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie organisation, established in 1970 and gathering 52 members and observer states, very much more successful because it was not as "Empire-oriented" nor as neo-colonial.
Barraclough [c2b81] shows the flag of the Community, or "Standard" as the image is labelled, as square with a gold fringe. The words "LIBERTÉ ÉGALITÉ FRATERNITÉ" are written one above each other in gold vertically touching each three stripes. The flag has a special finial in the form of a wreath containing two clasped hands. Since the principle of the Community itself does not seem to have taken root, the banner has fallen from use. Originally several copies were made, of which one remained in Paris whilst the others were sent to the capitals of the member countries.
Pierre Gay, Pascal Vagnat and Mark Sensen, 6 May 1999
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