Le Monde

Francophone (the French-speaking World)

Why do people speak

French all over the world?

Answer: Colonialism

After watching this presentation,

students will be able to:

Explain why French is spoken all

over the world

Define colonization

Identify the causes & effects of

colonialism

Construct a timeline of French

colonialism

What is colonization?

One country takes control of another

country

The colonizer (or ruling country) takes

resources from the colony

The colonizer often pushes its culture

and language on the colony

Why do countries COLONIZE

other countries?

To become richer

To gain power

To increase opportunities to trade

To expand

Because they think that their culture

and way of life is better

French Colonialism

France had many colonies from the

1600s-1960s.

In the 1800s and 1900s, France was the

second biggest colonizer in the world

(after England).

Colonialism

French Colonialism

Initially French colonialism was driven

more by the state, the church , and the

military, rather than by business

interests.

The ideological legitimization for French

colonialism was mission civilisatrice

(similar to “white man’s burden”): to

spread French culture, language, and

religion throughout the colonies.

French Colonialism

Later, it became a scramble for power,

with all the major European powers

competing for more colonies. More

colonies meant more resources. More

resources meant more economic gain.

French Colonialism

The first phase of French colonial efforts

was focused in Canada, the Louisiana

Territory, the Caribbean, and west Africa.

During the second phase of French

colonialism (1870 to World War II), the

empire grew to include most of north

Africa and Indochina.

Partition

of Africa

What were the effects of

colonialism?

Exploitation of resources

Change of culture

Political upheavals