Timeline of French Imperialism

A timeline of the creation and maintenance of the French Empire.

1500s

1555: France attempts to create a colony in Rio de Janerio, now Brazil called 'French Antarctique'.
1562: France attempts to create a colony in Florida, now USA called Fort Caroline.
1565: France abandons Fort Caroline after a conflict with the Spanish Empire.
1567: France abandons French Antarctique.

1605: France colonises Nova Scotia, now Canada.
1608: France colonises Quebec, now Canada.
1624: France colonises French Guiana.
1624: France establishes trading posts on the coast of Senegal.
1625: France colonises part of Saint Kitts, shared with the British Empire.
1635: France colonises Guadelope and Martinique.
1650: France colonises Saint Lucia.
1660: France begins the Carib Expulsion, involving killing, enslaving or deporting the remaining survivors to Dominica and Saint Vincent.
1664: France colonises Haiti.
1664: France colonises Réunion.
1673: France colonises parts of India, establishing the city of Chandernagore.
1674: France colonises Pondichéry in India.
1680: France colonises Illinois, now USA.

1713: Following the War of the Spanish Succession, France is forced to give away Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Saint Kitts to the British Empire.
1718: France colonises Mauritius.
1723: France colonises Yanam in India.
1725: France colonises Mahe in India.
1739: France colonises Karikal in India.
1756: France colonises the Seychelles.
1791: The Haitian Revolution begins as the first major anti-colonial revolt against the French.

1804:
1815: France has its colonies returned to it by Britain, at this point consisting of Guadelope, Martinique, French Guiana, trading posts in Senegal, Réunion and France's cities in India. However, the British Empire claims the Seychelles, Mauritius, Tobago and Saint Lucia.
1830: France seizes the city of Algiers from the Ottoman Empire.
1884: France colonises Vietnam.
1893: France colonises Laos.

1947: France begins the suppression of the Malagasy Uprising, using methods mass execution, torture, war rape, torching of entire villages, collective punishment and other atrocities such as throwing live Malagasy prisoners out of an airplane (death flights), estimates for death in the conflict range from 11,000 to 100,000.^[1]
1954: France begins to fight against an anti-colonial revolution in Algeria, the conflict kills between 250,000 and 300,000 people and turns 3,000,000 into refugees.^[2]