French West Africa was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Côte d’Ivoire, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Dahomey (now Benin), and Niger.

The French presence in Africa dates to the 17th century, but the main period of colonial expansion came in the 19th century with the invasion of Ottoman Algiers in 1830, conquests in West and Equatorial Africa during the so-called scramble for Africa and the establishment of protectorates in Tunisia and Morocco in the …

During the Colonial period in Africa, the British and the French colonized more than 95% of the continent.

Reaching into the Niger valley, Senegal became the primary French base in West Africa and a model colony. Dakar became one of the most important cities of the French Empire and of Africa.

The French colonial encounter in West Africa was driven by commercial interests and, perhaps to a lesser degree, a civilizing mission. The political administration and the economic interests were fairly uniform throughout the colonial period.

Vietnam became a French colony in 1877 with the founding of French Indochina, which included Tonkin, Annam, Cochin China and Cambodia. (Laos was added in 1893.) The French lost control of their colony briefly during World War II, when Japanese troops occupied Vietnam.

The French language was brought to the African continent through colonialism. During the 1950s and 60s, France and Belgium lost control of their African colonies, however, French is still spoken in at least 29 African countries.

In exchange for military protection against attempted coups and the payment of hefty kickbacks, African leaders guaranteed French companies access to strategic resources such as diamonds, ores, uranium, gas and oil.

All the African French varieties differ from standard French, both in terms of pronunciation and vocabulary, but the formal African French used in education, media and legal documents is based on standard French vocabulary.

France is one of the continent’s main economic partners and its number-two trading partner in Europe. In addition to trade, French companies contribute to this growth through their investments and the creation of added value in Africa.

The Vietnamese rejected French rule for pretty much the same reason that the American colonies rejected British rule. The reason for that is that the Vietnamese wanted to be free and independent just like people from just about every country want to be.

French West Africa (French: Afrique occidentale française, AOF) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Côte d’Ivoire, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), Dahomey (now Benin) and Niger. The capital of the federation was Dakar.

To the six colonies already constituting French West Africa in the late 1890s – Senegal, French Sudan, Upper Volta, French Guinea, Ivory Coast and Dahomey – two more will soon be added.

During this time the Voulet–Chanoine Mission, a military expedition, was sent from Senegal in 1898 to conquer the Chad Basin and unify all French territories in West Africa. Until the unification of these colonies into French West Africa, these conquered areas were usually governed by French Army officers and dubbed “Military Territories.”

In this article, French influence in Africa throughout the colonial period will be reviewed. The continent served both as a source of slaves and a stop for ships of Europeans on the way to Asia.