_Colonies._
In the extent and importance of her colonial dominion France is second
only to Great Britain. The following table gives the name, area and
population of each colony and protectorate as well as the date of
acquisition or establishment of a protectorate. It should be noted that
the figures for area and population are, as a rule, only estimates, but
in most instances they probably approximate closely to accuracy.
Detailed notices of the separate countries will be found under their
several heads:
+-----------------------------------+------------+--------------+-----------+
| Colony. | Date of |Area in sq. m.|Population.|
| |Acquisition.| | |
+-----------------------------------+------------+--------------+-----------+
| In Asia-- | | | |
| Establishments in India | 1683-1750 | 200 | 273,000 |
| In Indo-China-- | | | |
| Annarn | 1883 | 60,000 | 6,000,000 |
| Cambodia | 1863 | 65,000 | 1,500,000 |
| Cochin-China | 1862 | 22,000 | 3,000,000 |
| Tongking | 1883 | 46,000 | 6,000,000 |
| Laos | 1893 | 100,000 | 600,000 |
| Kwang-Chow-Wan | 1898 | 325 | 189,000 |
| | +--------------+-----------+
| Total in Asia | | 293,525 |17,562,000 |
| | +--------------+-----------+
| In Africa and the Indian Ocean-- | | | |
| Algeria | 1830-1847 | 185,000 | 5,231,850 |
| Algerian Sahara | 1872-1890 | 760,000 | |
| Tunisia | 1881 | 51,000 | 2,000,000 |
| West Africa-- | | | |
| Senegal | 1626 | 74,000 | 1,800,000 |
| Upper Senegal and Niger | | | |
| (including part of Sahara) | 1880 | 1,580,000 | 4,000,000 |
| Guinea | 1848 | 107,000 | 2,500,000 |
| Ivory Coast | 1842 | 129,000 | 2,000,000 |
| Dahomey | 1863-1894 | 40,000 | 1,000,000 |
| Congo (French Equatorial Africa)--| | | |
| Gabun | 1839 \ | | 376,000 |
| Mid. Congo | 1882 >| 700,000 | 259,000 |
| Ubangi-Chad | 1885-1899/ | | 3,015,000 |
| Madagascar | 1885-1896\ | | |
| Nossi-be Island | 1840 >| 228,000 | 2,664,000 |
| Ste Marie Island | 1750 / | | |
| Comoro Islands | 1843-1886 | 760 | 82,000 |
| Somali Coast | 1862-1884 | 12,000 | 50,000 |
| Réunion | 1643 | 965 | 173,315 |
| St Paul \ | 1892 | 3 \ | |
| Amsterdam / | | 19 >|uninhabited|
| Kerguelen[24] | 1893 | 1,400 / | |
| +------------+--------------+-----------+
| Total in Africa and Indian Ocean.| | 3,869,147 |25,151,165 |
| | +--------------+-----------+
| In America-- | | | |
| Guiana | 1626 | 51,000 | 30,000 |
| Guadeloupe | 1634 | 619 | 182,112 |
| Martinique | 1635 | 380 | 182,024 |
| St Pierre and Miquelon | 1635 | 92 | 6,500 |
| | +--------------+-----------+
| Total in America | | 52,092 | 400,636 |
| | +--------------+-----------+
| In Oceania-- | | | |
| New Caledonia and Dependencies | 1854-1887 | 7,500 | 72,000 |
| Establishments in Oceania | 1841-1881 | 1,641 | 34,300 |
| | +--------------+-----------+
| Total in Oceania | | 9,141 | 106,300 |
| | +--------------+-----------+
| Grand Total | | 4,223,905 |43,220,101 |
+-----------------------------------+------------+--------------+-----------+
It will be seen that nearly all the colonies and protectorates lie
within the tropics. The only countries in which there is a
considerable white population are Algeria, Tunisia and New Caledonia.
The "year of acquisition" in the table, when one date only is given,
indicates the period when the country or some part of it first fell
under French influence, and does not imply continuous possession
since.
_Government._--The principle underlying the administration of the French
possessions overseas, from the earliest days until the close of the 19th
century, was that of "domination" and "assimilation," notwithstanding
that after the loss of Canada and the sale of Louisiana France ceased to
hold any considerable colony in which Europeans could settle in large
numbers. With the vast extension of the colonial empire in tropical
countries in the last quarter of the 19th century the evils of the
system of assimilation, involving also intense centralization, became
obvious. This, coupled with the realization of the fact that the value
to France of her colonies was mainly commercial, led at length to the
abandonment of the attempt to impose on a great number of diverse
peoples, some possessing (as in Indo-China and parts of West Africa)
ancient and highly complex civilizations, French laws, habits of mind,
tastes and manners. For the policy of assimilation there was substituted
the policy of "association," which had for aim the development of the
colonies and protectorates upon natural, i.e. national, lines. Existing
civilizations were respected, a considerable degree of autonomy was
granted, and every effort made to raise the moral and economic status of
the natives. The first step taken in this direction was in 1900 when a
law was passed which laid down that the colonies were to provide for
their own civil expenditure. This law was followed by further measures
tending to decentralization and the protection of the native races.
The system of administration bears nevertheless many marks of the
"assimilation" era. None of the French possessions is self-governing in
the manner of the chief British colonies. Several colonies, however,
elect members of the French legislature, in which body is the power of
fixing the form of government and the laws of each colony or
protectorate. In default of legislation the necessary measures are taken
by decree of the head of the state; these decrees having the force of
law. A partial exception to this rule is found in Algeria, where all
laws in force in France before the conquest of the country are also (in
theory, not in practice) in force in Algeria. In all colonies Europeans
preserve the political rights they held in France, and these rights have
been extended, in whole or in part, to various classes of natives. Where
these rights have not been conferred, native races are _subjects_ and
not _citizens_. To this rule Tunisia presents an exception, Tunisians
retaining their nationality and laws.
In addition to Algeria, which sends three senators and six deputies to
Paris and is treated in many respects not as a colony but as part of
France, the colonies represented in the legislature are: Martinique,
Guadeloupe and Réunion (each electing one senator and two deputies),
French India (one senator and one deputy), Guiana, Senegal and
Cochin-China (one deputy each). The franchise in the three first-named
colonies is enjoyed by all classes of inhabitants, white, negro and
mulatto, who are all French citizens. In India the franchise is
exercised without distinction of colour or nationality; in Senegal the
electors are the inhabitants (black and white) of the communes which
have been given full powers. In Guiana and Cochin-China the franchise is
restricted to citizens, in which category the natives (in those
colonies) are not included.[25] The inhabitants of Tahiti though
accorded French citizenship have not been allotted a representative in
parliament. The colonial representatives enjoy equal rights with those
elected for constituencies in France.
The oversight of all the colonies and protectorates save Algeria and
Tunisia is confided to a minister of the colonies (law of March 20,
1894)[26] whose powers correspond to those exercised in France by the
minister of the interior. The colonial army is nevertheless attached (law
of 1900) to the ministry of war. The colonial minister is assisted by a
number of organizations of which the most important is the superior
council of the colonies (created by decree in 1883), an advisory body
which includes the senators and deputies elected by the colonies, and
delegates elected by the universal suffrage of all citizens in the
colonies and protectorates which do not return members to parliament. To
the ministry appertains the duty of fixing the duties on foreign produce
in those colonies which have not been, by law, subjected to the same
tariff as in France. (Nearly all the colonies save those of West Africa
and the Congo have been, with certain modifications, placed under the
French tariff.) The budget of all colonies not possessing a council
general (see below) must also be approved by the minister. Each colony and
protectorate, including Algeria, has a separate budget. As provided by the
law of 1900 all local charges are borne by the colonies--supplemented at
need by grants in aid--but the military expenses are borne by the state.
In all the colonies the judicature has been rendered independent of the
executive.
The colonies are divisible into two classes, (1) those possessing
considerable powers of local self-government, (2) those in which the
local government is autocratic. To this second class may be added the
protectorates (and some colonies) where the native form of government is
maintained under the supervision of French officials.
Class (1) includes the American colonies, Réunion, French India,
Senegal, Cochin-China and New Caledonia. In these colonies the system of
assimilation was carried to great lengths. At the head of the
administration is a governor under whom is a secretary-general, who
replaces him at need. The governor is aided by a privy council, an
advisory body to which the governor nominates a minority of unofficial
members, and a council general, to which is confided the control of
local affairs, including the voting of the budget. The councils general
are elected by universal suffrage of all citizens and those who, though
not citizens, have been granted the political franchise. In
Cochin-China, in place of a council general, there is a colonial council
which fulfils the functions of a council general.
In the second class of colonies the governor, sometimes assisted by a
privy council, on which non-official members find seats, sometimes
simply by a council of administration, is responsible only to the
minister of the colonies. In Indo-China, West Africa, French Congo and
Madagascar, the colonies and protectorates are grouped under
governors-general, and to these high officials extensive powers have
been granted by presidential decree. The colonies under the
governor-general of West Africa are ruled by lieutenant-governors with
restricted powers, the budget of each colony being fixed by the
governor-general, who is assisted by an advisory government council
comprising representatives of all the colonies under his control. In
Indo-China the governor-general has under his authority the
lieutenant-governor of the colony of Cochin-China, and the residents
superior at the courts of the kings of Cambodia and Annam and in
Tongking (nominally a viceroyalty of Annam). There is a superior council
for the whole of Indo-China on which the natives and the European
commercial community are represented, while in Cochin-China a privy
council, and in the protectorates a council of the protectorate, assists
in the work of administration. In each of the governments general there
is a financial controller with extensive powers who corresponds directly
with the metropolitan authorities (decree of March 22, 1907). Details
and local differences in form of government will be found under the
headings of the various colonies and protectorates.
_Colonial Finance._--The cost of the extra-European possessions, other
than Algeria and Tunisia, to the state is shown in the expenses of the
colonial ministry. In the budget of 1885 these expenses were put at
£1,380,000; in 1895 they had increased to £3,200,000 and in 1900 to
£5,100,000. In 1905 they were placed at £4,431,000. Fully
three-fourths of the state contributions is expenditure on military
necessities; in addition there are subventions to various colonies and
to colonial railways and cables, and the expenditure on the
penitentiary establishments; an item not properly chargeable to the
colonies. In return the state receives the produce of convict labour
in Guiana and New Caledonia. Save for the small item of military
expenditure Tunisia is no charge to the French exchequer. The similar
expenses of Algeria borne by the state are not separately shown, but
are estimated at £2,000,000.
The colonial budgets totalled in 1907 some £16,760,000, being
divisible into six categories: Algeria £4,120,000; Tunisia £3,640,000;
Indo-China[27] about £5,000,000; West Africa £1,600,000; Madagascar
£960,000; all other colonies combined £1,440,000. The authorized
colonial loans, omitting Algeria and Tunisia, during the period
1884-1904 amounted to £19,200,000, the sums paid for interest and
sinking funds on loans varying from £600,000 to £800,000 a year. The
amount of French capital invested in French colonies and
protectorates, including Algeria and Tunisia, was estimated in 1905 at
£120,000,000, French capital invested in foreign countries at the same
date being estimated at ten times that amount (see _Ques. Dip. et
Col._, February 16, 1905).
_Commerce._--The value of the external trade of the French
possessions, exclusive of Algeria and Tunisia, increased in the ten
years 1896-1905 from £18,784,060 to £34,957,479. In the last-named
year the commerce of Algeria amounted to £24,506,020 and that of
Tunisia to £5,969,248, making a grand total for French colonial trade
in 1905 of £65,432,746. The figures were made up as follows:
+--------------------+-------------+------------+-------------+
| | Imports. | Exports. | Total. |
+--------------------+-------------+------------+-------------+
| Algeria | £15,355,500 | £9,150,520 | £24,506,020 |
| Tunisia | 3,638,185 | 2,331,063 | 5,969,248 |
| Indo-China | 10,182,411 | 6,750,306 | 16,932,717 |
| West Africa | 3,874,698 | 2,248,317 | 6,123,015 |
| Madagascar | 1,247,936 | 914,024 | 2,161,960 |
| All other colonies.| 4,258,134 | 5,481,652 | 9,739,786 |
+--------------------+-------------+------------+-------------+
| Total | £38,556,864 |£26,875,882 | £65,432,746 |
+--------------------+-------------+------------+-------------+
Over three-fourths of the trade of Algeria and Tunisia is with France
and other French possessions. In the other colonies and protectorates
more than half the trade is with foreign countries. The foreign
countries trading most largely with the French colonies are, in the
order named, British colonies and Great Britain, China and Japan, the
United States and Germany. The value of the trade with British
colonies and Great Britain in 1905 was over £7,200,000. (F. R. C.)
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--P. Joanne, _Dictionnaire géographique et administrative
de la France_ (8 vols., Paris, 1890-1905); C. Brossard, _La France et
ses colonies_ (6 vols., Paris, 1900-1906); O. Reclus, _Le Plus Beau
Royaume sous le ciel_ (Paris, 1899); Vidal de La Blache, _La France.
Tableau géographique_ (Paris, 1908); V.E. Ardouin-Dumazet, _Voyage en
France_ (Paris, 1894); H. Havard, _La France artistique et
monumentale_ (6 vols., Paris, 1892-1895); A. Lebon and P. Pelet,
_France as it is_, tr. Mrs W. Arnold (London, 1888); articles on
"Local Government in France" in the _Stock Exchange Official
Intelligence Annuals_ (London, 1908 and 1909); M. Block, _Dictionnaire
de l'administration française_, the articles in which contain full
bibliographies (2 vols., Paris, 1905); E. Levasseur, _La France et ses
colonies_ (3 vols., Paris, 1890); M. Fallex and A. Mairey, _La France
et sis colonies au début du XX^e siècle_, which has numerous
bibliographies (Paris, 1909); J. du Plessis de Grenédan, _Géographie
agricole de la France et du monde_ (Paris, 1903); F. de St Genis, _La
Propriété rurale en France_ (Paris, 1902); H. Baudrillart, _Les
Populations agricoles de la France_ (3 vols., Paris, 1885-1893);
J.E.C. Bodley, _France_ (London, 1899); A. Girault, _Principes de
colonisation et de législation coloniale_ (3 vols., Paris, 1907-1908);
_Les Colonies françaises_, an encyclopaedia edited by M. Petit (2
vols., Paris, 1902). Official statistical works: _Annuaire statistique
de la France_ (a summary of the statistical publications of the
government), _Statistique agricole annuelle, Statistique de
l'industrie minérale et des appareils de vapeur, Tableau général du
commerce et de la navigation_, Reports on the various colonies issued
annually by the British Foreign Office, &c. Guide Books: Karl
Baedeker, _Northern France, Southern France_; P. Joanne, _Nord,
Champagne et Ardenne; Normandie_; and other volumes dealing with every
region of the country.