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110-613: During the French protectorate of Cambodia , it was called Boulevard Doudart de Lagrée, in honor of Ernest Doudart de Lagrée , the corvette captain is the architect of the transfer of the capital from Oudong to Phnom Penh. During the Khmer Rouge rule, the building of the Central Bank of Cambodia was blown up, and rebuilt in 1991 in its previous location on Norodom Boulevard (then still Tou Samouth Boulevard). In July 1988, as

220-735: A French East India Company on the model of England and the Netherlands. On 1 June 1604, he issued letters patent to Dieppe merchants to form the Dieppe Company , giving them exclusive rights to Asian trade for 15 years. No ships were sent, however, until 1616. In 1609, another adventurer, Pierre-Olivier Malherbe , returned from a circumnavigation of the globe and informed Henry of his adventures. He had visited China and India and had an encounter with Akbar . Colonies were established in India's Chandernagore (1673) and Pondichéry in

330-528: A failed expedition in 1802, and were up against a crippling Royal Naval blockade the following year. As a result, the Empire of Haiti ultimately achieved independence in 1804 (becoming the first black republic in the world, followed by Liberia in 1847). The black and mulatto population of the island (including the Spanish east) had declined from 700,000 in 1789 to 351,819 in 1804. About 80,000 Haitians died in

440-833: A French language anti-colonial and at times, anti-Vietnamese newspaper. Minor independence movements, especially the Khmer Issarak , began to develop in 1940 among Cambodians in Thailand, who feared that their actions would have led to punishment if they had operated in their homeland. After the Fall of France in 1940, Cambodia and the rest of French Indochina were ruled by the Axis-puppet Vichy France government and despite an invasion of French Indochina , Japan allowed French colonial officials to remain in their colonies under Japanese supervision. In December 1940,

550-522: A French protectorate over his kingdom. At the time, Pierre-Paul de La Grandière , colonial governor of Cochinchina, was carrying out plans to expand French rule over the whole of Vietnam and viewed Cambodia as a buffer between French possessions in Vietnam and Siam. On 11 August 1863, Norodom signed a treaty acknowledging a French protectorate over his kingdom. Under the treaty, the Cambodian monarchy

660-632: A colony was founded on Saint Kitts in 1625 (the island had to be shared with the English until the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, when it was ceded outright). The current isle of the Commonwealth of Dominica in the eastern Caribbean also fell under increasing French settlement from the early 1630s. The Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique founded colonies in Guadeloupe and Martinique in 1635, and

770-551: A colony was later founded on Saint Lucia by (1650). The food-producing plantations of these colonies were built and sustained through slavery, with the supply of slaves dependent on the African slave trade . Local resistance by the indigenous peoples resulted in the Carib Expulsion of 1660. France's most important Caribbean colonial possession was established in 1664, when the colony of Saint-Domingue (today's Haiti )

880-846: A communist and an agent of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) by Sihanouk, he remained in exile until Lon Nol established the Khmer Republic in 1970. In June 1952, Sihanouk announced the dismissal of his cabinet, suspended the constitution, and assumed control of the government as prime minister. Then, without clear constitutional sanction, he dissolved the National Assembly and proclaimed martial law in January 1953. Sihanouk exercised direct rule for almost three years, from June 1952 until February 1955. After dissolution of

990-538: A draft treaty offered by the French in late 1948. Following dissolution of the National Assembly in September 1949, agreement on the pact was reached through an exchange of letters between King Sihanouk and the French government. It went into effect two months later, though National Assembly ratification of the treaty was never secured. The treaty granted Cambodia what Sihanouk called "fifty percent independence": by it,

1100-608: A failure, but on his way home by way of the United States, Canada, and Japan, Sihanouk publicised Cambodia's plight in the media. To further dramatise his "royal crusade for independence," Sihanouk declared that he would not return until the French gave assurances that full independence would be granted. He then left Phnom Penh in June to go into self-imposed exile in Thailand. Unwelcome in Bangkok, he moved to his royal villa near

1210-517: A large majority. Despite this, dissension within the party was rampant. Its founder, Sisowath Yuthevong, had died and no clear leader had emerged to succeed him. During the period 1948 to 1949, the Democrats appeared united only in their opposition to legislation sponsored by the king or his appointees. A major issue was the king's receptivity to independence within the French Union, proposed in

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1320-578: A protectorate in Morocco between the years of 1912 to 1956. France's general approach to governing the protectorate of Morocco was a policy of in-direct rule where they co-opted existing governance systems to control the protectorate. Specifically, the Moroccan elite and Sultan were both left in control while being strongly influenced by the French government. French colonialism in Morocco was discriminatory against native Moroccans and highly detrimental to

1430-587: A railway connected Phnom Penh with Battambang on the Thai border. Industry was later developed but was primarily designed to process raw materials for local use or for export. As in nearby British Burma and British Malaya , foreigners dominated the work force of the economy due to French discrimination against the Cambodians from holding important economic positions. Many Vietnamese were recruited to work on rubber plantations and later immigrants played key roles in

1540-669: A small force to the royal palace in Phnom Penh. The movement was only slightly successful as the governor-general of French Indochina prevented full colonisation due to possible conflicts with Cambodians and the monarch's power was reduced to that of a figurehead . In 1885, Si Votha , half brother of Norodom and contender for the throne, led a rebellion to dispose of the French-backed Norodom after coming back from exile in Siam. Gathering support from opposers of Norodom and

1650-602: A triumphant entry into Phnom Penh on 29 October 1951. It was not long, however, before he began demanding withdrawal of French troops from Cambodia. He reiterated this demand in early 1952 in Khmer Krok (Khmer Awake!) a weekly newspaper that he had founded. The newspaper was forced to cease publication in March, and Son Ngoc Thanh fled the capital with a few armed followers to join the Khmer Issarak. Branded alternately

1760-555: Is now entirely deprived of her influence and her power in the West Indies." Meanwhile, France's newly resumed war with Britain resulted in the British capture of practically all remaining French colonies. These were restored at the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, but when war resumed in 1803, the British soon recaptured them. France's 1800 recovery of Louisiana from Spain in the secret Third Treaty of San Ildefonso came to nothing, as

1870-900: Is sometimes known as the Second Hundred Years' War . Although the War of the Austrian Succession was indecisive – despite French successes in India under the French Governor-General Joseph François Dupleix and Europe under Marshal Saxe – the Seven Years' War, after early French successes in Menorca and North America, saw a French defeat, with the numerically superior British (over one million to about 50 thousand French settlers) conquering not only New France (excluding

1980-618: The French Union , which endured until 1958. Newer remnants of the colonial empire were integrated into France as overseas departments and territories within the French Republic. These now total altogether 119,394 km (46,098 sq. miles), with 2.8 million people in 2021. Links between France and its former colonies persist through La francophonie , the CFA franc , and joint military operations such as Operation Serval . During

2090-637: The French-Thai War erupted and despite French resistance against the Japanese backed Thai forces, Japan compelled French authorities to cede Battambang , Sisophon , Siem Reap (excluding Siem Reap town) and Preah Vihear provinces to Thailand. Japanese calls of "Asia for the Asiatics" found a receptive audience among Cambodian nationalists, although Tokyo's policy in Indochina was to leave

2200-531: The Isle de France (now Mauritius ). In 1825 Charles X sent an expedition to Haïti , resulting in the Haiti indemnity controversy . The beginnings of the second French colonial empire were laid in 1830 with the French invasion of Algeria , which was fully conquered by 1903. Historian  Ben Kiernan  estimates that 825,000 Algerians died during the conquest by 1875. The French Colonial Empire established

2310-443: The Khmer Issarak movement. Cambodia's situation at the end of the war was chaotic. The Free French , under General Charles de Gaulle , were determined to recover Indochina, though they offered Cambodia and the other Indochinese protectorates a carefully circumscribed measure of self-government. Convinced that they had a " civilizing mission ," they envisioned Indochina's participation in a French Union of former colonies that shared

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2420-692: The Mascarene Islands . Initial French colonial projects, partially administered by the French East India Company , prioritized plantation economies and slave labor. These economies were based on monoculture agriculture and forced African labor. Poor living conditions, famines, and disease made enslaved labor conditions particularly lethal across French colonies. French presence in Senegal began in 1626, although formal colonies and trading posts were not established until 1659 with

2530-667: The Netherlands , France took control of Mauritius, which it renamed the Island of France in 1721. Furthermore, France took control of Rodrigues in 1735 and Seychelles in 1756. On Reunion Island ( Bourbon Island ), the French East India Company first introduced the slave trade in the 1730s. The French East India Company additionally introduced coffee and sought to create a plantation economy centered around forced labor. Characteristic of plantation colonies,

2640-755: The " Second French colonial empire ", which began with the conquest of Algiers in 1830. On the eve of World War I, France's colonial empire was the second-largest in the world after the British Empire . France began to establish colonies in the Americas , the Caribbean , and India in the 16th century but lost most of its possessions after its defeat in the Seven Years' War . The North American possessions were lost to Britain and Spain, but Spain later returned Louisiana to France in 1800. The territory

2750-561: The 16th century, the French colonization of the Americas began. Excursions of Giovanni da Verrazzano and Jacques Cartier in the early 16th century, as well as the frequent voyages of French boats and fishermen to the Grand Banks off Newfoundland throughout that century, were the precursors to the story of France's colonial expansion. But Spain's defense of its American monopoly, and the further distractions caused in France itself in

2860-463: The 17th and 19th century to secure access to and to control the slave trade. Through an emphasis on controlling seaports, the French sought to forcibly extract enslaved people to send them abroad for profit. Colonial development prioritized export oriented production while local industry remained very underdeveloped. There was high development of production for export oriented production, notably of ground nuts in Senegal . In additional coastal areas,

2970-399: The 1802–03 campaign alone. Of the 55,131 French soldiers dispatched to Haiti in 1802–03, 45,000, including 18 generals, died, along with 10,000 sailors, the great majority from disease. Captain [first name unknown] Sorrell of the British navy observed, "France lost there one of the finest armies she ever sent forth, composed of picked veterans, the conquerors of Italy and of German legions. She

3080-596: The 19th century, the kingdom of Cambodia had been reduced to a vassal state of the Kingdom of Siam (Rattanakosin rule) which had annexed its western provinces, including Angkor while growing influence from the Vietnamese Nguyễn dynasty threatened the eastern portion of the country. After the French establishment of a colony in Cochinchina (present-day southern Vietnam) in 1862, King Norodom of Cambodia requested

3190-946: The African and Asian continents. In December 1600, a company was formed through the association of Saint-Malo , Laval , and Vitré to trade with the Moluccas and Japan. Two ships, the Croissant and the Corbin , were sent around the Cape of Good Hope in May 1601. One was wrecked in the Maldives , leading to the adventure of François Pyrard de Laval , who managed to return to France in 1611. The second ship, carrying François Martin de Vitré , reached Ceylon and traded with Aceh in Sumatra , but

3300-511: The British in the region, who feared uncontrolled French expansion and control of Siam would upset the balance of powers in Indochina. Originally serving as a buffer territory for France between its more important Vietnamese colonies and Siam, Cambodia was not initially seen as an economically important area. The colonial government's budget originally relied largely on tax collections in Cambodia as its main source of revenue, and Cambodians paid

3410-479: The Buddhist clergy, and others whose opinions had been greatly influenced by the nationalistic appeals of Nagaravatta before it had been closed down by the French in 1942. Many Democrats sympathised with the violent methods of the Khmer Issarak. The Liberal Party, led by Prince Norodom Norindeth , represented the interests of the old rural elites, including large landowners. They preferred continuing some form of

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3520-573: The Caribbean island of Hispaniola ), France's richest and most important colony, was riven by a massive slave revolt , caused partly by the divisions among the island's elite, which had resulted from the French Revolution of 1789. The slaves, led eventually by Toussaint L'Ouverture and then, following his capture by the French in 1801, by Jean-Jacques Dessalines , held their own against French and British opponents. The French launched

3630-730: The Chaom Chao roundabout onto National Road 3 and turns left towards the Borey Santepheap II Bus Terminal. Produced in 1988, Czechoslovak drama film Devět kruhů pekla (English: Nine Circles of Hell ) pictures the Khmer Rouge extras advance on Norodom Boulevard. 11°32′34″N 104°55′40″E  /  11.54278°N 104.92778°E  / 11.54278; 104.92778 French protectorate of Cambodia The French protectorate of Cambodia ( Khmer : ប្រទេសកម្ពុជាក្រោមអាណាព្យាបាលបារាំង ; French : Protectorat français du Cambodge ) refers to

3740-703: The French colonists were a minority on Reunion Island. In 1763 there were only 4,000 French colonists while there were over 18,000 African enslaved people. The majority of enslaved people on Reunion Island worked on coffee plantations. They primarily came from Madagascar, Mozambique, and Senegal. The economy of the Mauritius (Island of France) was similarly based on an exploitative plantation system dependent on forced African labor. The monoculture plantations farmed sugar cane, cotton, indigo, rice, and wheat. Around 2,000 colonists and enslaved people from Reunion Island migrated to Mauritius. Conditions for enslaved people on

3850-444: The French for full independence while trying to neutralise party politicians and supporters of the Khmer Issarak and Viet Minh who considered him a French collaborator. During the tumultuous period between 1946 and 1953, Sihanouk displayed the remarkable aptitude for political survival that sustained him before and after his fall from power in March 1970. The Khmer Issarak was an extremely heterogeneous guerrilla movement , operating in

3960-551: The French from committing fully to the conflict, and thus the French forces suffered high losses. For example, at the Battle of El Herri in 1914, 600 French soldiers were killed. The fighting was primarily characterized by Guerrilla warfare. The Zaian forces additionally received military and economic support from the Central Powers. The Berber independence leader Abd el-Krim (1882–1963) organized armed resistance against

4070-620: The French governed indirectly and preserved the existing government structure. The bey remained an absolute monarch, Tunisian ministers were still appointed, although they were both subject to French authority. Over time, the French gradually weakened the existing structures of power and centralized power into a French colonial administration. French West Africa was a confederation of eight other French colonial territories including French Mauritania , French Senegal , French Guinea , French Ivory Coast , French Niger , French Upper Volta , French Dahomey , French Togoland , and French Sudan . At

4180-448: The French officials, but was taken captive by the French army and subsequently killed, officially putting an end to the rebellion. In 1896, France and the British Empire signed an accord recognizing each other's sphere of influence over Indochina , especially over Siam. Under this accord, Siam had to cede the province of Battambang back to the now French-controlled Cambodia. The accord acknowledged French control over Vietnam (including

4290-563: The French passed the succession to Norodom's brother Sisowath , whose branch of the royal family was nationalistic but more cooperative with the French than Norodom's. Likewise, Norodom was viewed as responsible for the constant Cambodian revolts against French rule. Another reason was that Norodom's favourite son, whom he wanted to succeed him as king, Prince Yukanthor , had, on one of his trips to Europe, stirred up public opinion about French colonial brutalities in occupied Cambodia. France later tightened its control over Cambodia while expanding

4400-558: The French protectorate on Cambodia. Cambodia was integrated into the French Indochina union in 1887 along with the French colonies and protectorates in Laos and Vietnam ( Cochinchina , Annam , and Tonkin ). In 1947, Cambodia was granted self-rule within the French Union and had its protectorate status removed in 1949. Cambodia later gained independence. The day was celebrated as Independence Day on 9 November 1953. During

4510-439: The French set up slave plantations. Initial French development prioritized the building of roads to connect natural resources to harbors and ports. Additional initial French settlements were established on the Mascarene Islands which include Reunion Island , Mauritius , and Rodrigues . Reunion Island was first settled in 1642 and was administered by the French East India Company starting in 1665. After initial settlement by

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4620-508: The French, Si Votha led a rebellion that was primarily concentrated in the jungles of Cambodia and the city of Kampot where Oknha Kralahom "Kong" led the resistance. French forces later aided Norodom to defeat Si Votha under agreements that the Cambodian population be disarmed and acknowledge the resident-general as the highest power in the protectorate. Oknha Kralahom "Kong" was called back to Phnom Penh to discuss peace with King Norodom and

4730-590: The French-educated Cambodian elite, the Western ideas of democracy and self-rule as well as French restoration of monuments such as Angkor Wat created a sense of pride and awareness of Cambodia's once powerful status in the past. In education, there was also growing resentment among Cambodian students of the minority Vietnamese holding a more favoured status. In 1936, Son Ngoc Thanh and Pach Choeun began publishing Nagaravatta ( Notre cité ) as

4840-547: The Kingdom of Cambodia when it was a French protectorate within French Indochina , a collection of Southeast Asian protectorates within the French colonial empire . The protectorate was established in 1863 when the Cambodian King Norodom requested the establishment of a French protectorate over his country, meanwhile Siam (modern Thailand ) renounced suzerainty over Cambodia and officially recognised

4950-492: The Mascarene Island plantations were very poor. Enslaved labor was highly lethal because of poor living conditions and famines. After a series of crop failures from 1725 to 1737, as much as 10% of the islands' enslaved populations died due to famine and disease. In the middle of the 18th century, a series of colonial conflicts began between France and Britain , which ultimately resulted in the destruction of most of

5060-429: The Moroccan economy. Moroccans were treated as second class citizens and discriminated against in all aspects of colonial life. Infrastructure was discriminatory in colonial Morocco. The French colonial government built 36.5 kilometers of sewers in the new neighborhoods created to accommodate new French settlers while only 4.3 kilometers of sewers were built in indigenous Moroccan communities. Additionally, land in Morocco

5170-563: The Russian Federation Boulevard which goes from Norodom Boulevard toward Phnom Penh International Airport . The International School of Phnom Penh and Lycée Sisowath are located on the boulevard, as are the embassies of Singapore and Myanmar . In 2020, the new headquarters of the Cambodian People's Party were inaugurated on Norodom Boulevard. In July 2017, in a bid to ease traffic congestion,

5280-407: The Spanish and French for control of Morocco . The Spanish had faced unrest off and on from the 1890s, but in 1921 Spanish forces were massacred at the Battle of Annual . El-Krim founded an independent Rif Republic that operated until 1926 but had no international recognition. Paris and Madrid agreed to collaborate to destroy it. They sent in 200,000 soldiers, forcing el-Krim to surrender in 1926; he

5390-551: The Viet Minh by some estimates controlled as much as 50 percent of Cambodia's territory. In 1946, France allowed the Cambodians to form political parties and to hold elections for a Consultative Assembly that would advise the monarch on drafting the country's constitution. The two major parties were both headed by royal princes. The Democratic Party , led by Prince Sisowath Yuthevong, espoused immediate independence, democratic reforms, and parliamentary government. Its supporters were teachers, civil servants, politically active members of

5500-434: The Vietnamese commanders left Phnom Penh, Khmer citizens holding small Vietnamese and Cambodian flags sat on the curbs of Tou Samouth Boulevard, where the old U.S. Embassy building stands, to wave at the passing formations. The Communist Party of Kampuchea had renamed the boulevard in honor of Tou Samouth , and it kept that name until 1995, when it was named in honor of King Norodom, in a major renaming campaign during which

5610-454: The accidental French annexation of Trat Province in 1904. Both France and Siam agreed to do a territorial exchange based on the Franco-Siamese treaty of 1907. From this, the French gained the provinces of Battambang and Siem Reap , originally Cambodian territory until the latter part of the 18th century. The acquirement of these provinces would be the last phase of French territorial expansion in Indochina as Siam would later co-operate with

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5720-443: The assembly, he created an Advisory Council to supplant the legislature and appointed his father, Norodom Suramarit , as regent. In March 1953, Sihanouk went to France. Ostensibly, he was travelling for his health; actually, he was mounting an intensive campaign to persuade the French government to grant complete independence. The climate of opinion in Cambodia at the time was such that if he did not achieve full independence quickly,

5830-543: The beginning of Napoleon III's reign, the presence of France in Senegal was limited to a trading post on the island of Gorée , a narrow strip on the coast, the town of Saint-Louis , and a handful of trading posts in the interior. The economy had largely been based on the slave trade , carried out by the rulers of the small kingdoms of the interior, as well as elite families, until France abolished slavery in its colonies in 1848. In 1854, Napoleon III named an enterprising French officer, Louis Faidherbe , to govern and expand

5940-429: The border areas. The group included indigenous leftists , Vietnamese leftists, anti-monarchical nationalists ( Khmer Serei ) loyal to Son Ngoc Thanh, and plain bandits taking advantage of the chaos to terrorise villagers. Though their fortunes rose and fell during the immediate postwar period (a major blow was the overthrow of a left-wing friendly government in Bangkok in 1947), by 1954 the Khmer Issarak operating with

6050-516: The boulevard. Line 2 runs southeast from the Chroy Changvar roundabout along France Street (47) towards Wat Phnom, turns onto Norodom Boulevard, continues to National Road 2, and stops at the base of the Takhmao bridge. Line 3 runs south from the Russey Keo Garden Bus Terminal along National Road 5 , onto Sisowath Quay , turns right on Street 106, left on Norodom Boulevard, right on Street 130 to Central Market , then takes Kampuchea Krom Street (128) west, onto Russian Federation Boulevard, turns left at

6160-410: The capital, was under the direct administration of the Resident-General. The first decades of French rule in Cambodia included numerous reforms into Cambodian politics, such as the reduction of the monarch's power and abolition of slavery. In 1884, the governor of Cochinchina, Charles Antoine François Thomson , attempted to overthrow the monarch and establish full French control over Cambodia by sending

6270-411: The close of the Napoleonic Wars , most of France's colonies were restored to it by Britain, notably Guadeloupe and Martinique in the West Indies , French Guiana on the coast of South America , various trading posts in Senegal , the Île Bourbon ( Réunion ) in the Indian Ocean , and France's tiny Indian possessions; however, Britain finally annexed Saint Lucia , Tobago , the Seychelles , and

6380-429: The colonial economy as fisherman and businessmen. Chinese Cambodians continued to be largely involved in commerce but higher positions were given to the French. Unlike in Vietnam, Cambodian nationalism remained relatively quiet during much of French rule mostly due to lesser education influence, which caused literacy rates remain low and prevented nationalist movements like those taking place in Vietnam. However, among

6490-408: The colonial government nominally in charge. When a prominent, politically active Buddhist monk, Hem Chieu , was arrested and unceremoniously defrocked by the French authorities in July 1942, the editors of Nagaravatta led a demonstration demanding his release. They, as well as other nationalists, apparently overestimated the Japanese willingness to back them, for the Vichy authorities quickly arrested

6600-410: The colonial relationship was formally ended, and the Cambodians were given control of most administrative functions. Cambodian armed forces were granted freedom of action within a self-governing autonomous zone comprising Battambang and Siemreab provinces, which had been recovered from Thailand after World War II, but which the French, hard-pressed elsewhere, did not have the resources to control. Cambodia

6710-414: The colonial relationship with France, and advocated gradual democratic reform. In the Consultative Assembly election held in September 1946, the Democrats won 50 of 67 seats. With a solid majority in the assembly, the Democrats drafted a constitution modelled on that of the French Fourth Republic . Power was concentrated in the hands of a popularly elected National Assembly. The king reluctantly proclaimed

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6820-436: The colony of Cochinchina and the protectorates of Annam and Tonkin), Cambodia, as well as Laos, which was added in 1893 following French victory in the Franco-Siamese crisis and French influence over eastern Siam. The French government also later placed new administrative posts in the colony and began to develop it economically while introducing French culture and language to locals as part of an assimilation program. In 1897,

6930-474: The colony, and to give it the beginning of a modern economy. Faidherbe built a series of forts along the Senegal River, formed alliances with leaders in the interior, and sent expeditions against those who resisted French rule. He built a new port at Dakar , established and protected telegraph lines and roads, followed these with a rail line between Dakar and Saint-Louis and another into the interior . He built schools, bridges, and systems to supply fresh water to

7040-436: The common experience of French culture. Neither the urban professional elites nor the common people, however, were attracted by this arrangement. For Cambodians of practically all walks of life, the brief period of independence, from March to October 1945, had been enjoyable. The lassitude of the Khmer was a thing of the past. In Phnom Penh, Sihanouk, acting as head of state, was placed in a delicate position of negotiating with

7150-446: The demonstrators and gave Pach Choeun, one of the Nagaravatta editors, a life sentence. The other editor, Son Ngoc Thanh, escaped from Phnom Penh to Tokyo. The subject of European colonies in Asia was among those discussed during the war by the Allied leaders of the Big Three , Franklin D. Roosevelt , Stalin , and Churchill at the three summit meetings – Cairo Conference , Tehran Conference and Yalta Conference . With regard to

7260-745: The economy to grow. To foster exports, modern agricultural methods were introduced, particularly by colonial entrepreneurs who had been granted land concessions in the Battambang province (West). As the French automobile industry grew, rubber plantations like the ones already in Cochinchina and Annam were built and run by French investors. Economic diversification continued throughout the 1920s, when corn and cotton crops were also grown. Despite economic expansion and investment, Cambodians still continued to pay high taxes and in 1916, protests broke out demanding for tax cuts. Infrastructure and public works were also developed under French rule, and roads and railroads were constructed in Cambodian territory. Most notably,

7370-402: The establishment of the 1663 Sovereign Council , the territories of New France were developed as mercantile colonies . It is only after the arrival of intendant Jean Talon in 1665 that France gave its American colonies the proper means to develop population colonies comparable to that of the British. Acadia itself was lost to the British in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Back in France, there

7480-425: The first French colonial empire and the near-complete expulsion of France from the Americas. These wars were the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748), the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the American Revolution (1775–1783), the French Revolutionary Wars (1793–1802) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). It may even be seen further back in time to the first of the French and Indian Wars . This cyclic conflict

7590-403: The foundation of Port Royal in the colony of Acadia in North America, in what is now Nova Scotia , Canada. A few years later, in 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec , which was to become the capital of the enormous, but sparsely settled, fur-trading colony of New France (also called Canada). New France had a rather small population, which resulted from more emphasis being placed on

7700-451: The founding of Saint-Louis , and 1677 with the founding of Gorée . Additionally, the first settlement of Madagascar began in 1642 with the establishment of Fort Dauphin . Initial French colonial expansion in Senegal and Madagascar was primarily motivated by desires to secure access to natural resources including gum arabic, groundnuts (or peanuts) and other raw materials. In addition they were further motivated by desires throughout

7810-401: The fur trade rather than agricultural settlements. Due to this emphasis, the French relied heavily on creating friendly contacts with the local First Nations community. Without the appetite of New England for land, and by relying solely on Aboriginals to supply them with fur at the trading posts, the French composed a complex series of military, commercial, and diplomatic connections. These became

7920-520: The highest taxes per capita among the French colonies in Indochina. Poor and sometimes unstable administration in the early years of French rule in Cambodia meant infrastructure and urbanisation grew at a much lesser rate than in Vietnam and traditional social structures in villages still remained. However, as French rule consolidated after the Franco-Siamese crisis , development slowly increased in Cambodia, where rice and pepper crops allowed for

8030-596: The humiliation of defeat and occupation, France was eager to maintain its overseas empire at the end of the Second World War." However, after 1945, anti-colonial movements began to challenge European authority. Revolts in Indochina and Algeria proved costly and France lost both colonies. After these conflicts, a relatively peaceful decolonization took place elsewhere after 1960. The French Constitution of 27 October 1946 (Fourth French Republic) established

8140-624: The largest colony of India, Roosevelt pressed very strongly for a declaration of grant of independence by war's end, a pressure doggedly resisted by Churchill. In regards to non-British colonies in Asia, Roosevelt and Stalin had decided in Tehran that the French and the Dutch would not return to Asia after the war. Roosevelt's untimely death before the war's end, was followed by developments very different from what Roosevelt had envisaged. The British backed

8250-664: The later 16th century by the French Wars of Religion , prevented any constant efforts by France to settle colonies. Early French attempts to found colonies in Brazil, in 1555 at Rio de Janeiro (" France Antarctique ") and in Florida (including Fort Caroline in 1562), and in 1612 at São Luís (" France Équinoxiale "), were not successful, due to a lack of official interest and to Portuguese and Spanish vigilance. The story of France's colonial empire truly began on 27 July 1605, with

8360-589: The most enduring alliances between the French and the First Nation community. The French were, however, under pressure from religious orders to convert them to Catholicism . Through alliances with various Native American tribes, the French were able to exert a loose control over much of the North American continent. Areas of French settlement were generally limited to the St. Lawrence River Valley. Prior to

8470-434: The names of Phnom Penh streets linked to communist figures were changed to names commemorating Khmer royalty and history of Cambodia. By 2018, along Norodom Boulevard, a non-operational new traffic light obscured the view of the old traffic lights, which still function as normal but cannot be seen by drivers. It crosses with the east–west Sihanouk Boulevard at Independence Monument and near Wat Langka . It also crosses

8580-438: The new Cambodian state in 1954. French colonial empire The French colonial empire ( French : Empire colonial français ) comprised the overseas colonies , protectorates , and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the " First French colonial empire ", that existed until 1814, by which time most of it had been lost or sold, and

8690-539: The new Phnom Penh governor on Friday announced that Norodom Boulevard was one of the 11 main roads to be freed of vendors. Illegal parking and street vendors that encroach the pavements alongside Preah Norodom Boulevard between Wat Phnom and Independence Monument continue to cause serious disruptions because Preah Norodom Boulevard is the main road which national and international delegates travel on and its pavements are equipped with special luxury tiles for pedestrians and people with disabilities to use. Two bus routes use

8800-473: The new constitution on 6 May 1947. While it recognised him as the "spiritual head of the state," it reduced him to the status of a constitutional monarch, and it left unclear the extent to which he could play an active role in the politics of the nation. Sihanouk would turn this ambiguity to his advantage in later years, however. In the December 1947 elections for the National Assembly, the Democrats again won

8910-542: The peasant population. All other power was in the hands of the Resident-General and the colonial bureaucracy. This bureaucracy was formed mostly of French officials, and the only Asians freely permitted to participate in government were ethnic Vietnamese , who were viewed as the dominant Asians in the Indochinese Union. In 1904, King Norodom died and rather than pass the throne on to Norodom's sons,

9020-413: The people were likely to turn to Son Ngoc Thanh and the Khmer Issarak, who were fully committed to attaining that goal. At meetings with the French president and with other high officials, Sihanouk was suggested as being unduly "alarmist" about internal political conditions. The French also made the thinly veiled threat that, if he continued to be uncooperative, they might replace him. The trip appeared to be

9130-530: The police, the courts, and financial matters. The French yielded: the police and the judiciary were transferred to Cambodian control at the end of August, and in October the country assumed full command of its military forces. King Sihanouk, now a hero in the eyes of his people, returned to Phnom Penh in triumph and independence day was celebrated on 9 November 1953. Control of residual matters affecting sovereignty, such as financial and budgetary affairs, passed to

9240-550: The protectorate's territory in 1902 and 1904 through treaties with Siam, which added Preah Vihear Province and Champasak Province to Cambodia and gave France full control over the Bassac River respectively. Prior to Cambodia's historical claim over Stung Treng Province , in 1904 an exchange occurred wherein Cambodia ceded Champasak and obtained Stung Treng from French Laos. Later territorial disputes between France and Siam over Battambang and Siem Reap Provinces led to

9350-731: The region connected to Canada through the Great Lakes , was maintained through a vast system of fortifications, many of them centred in the Illinois Country and in present-day Arkansas. As the French empire in North America grew, the French also began to build a smaller but more profitable empire in the West Indies . Settlement along the South American coast in what is today French Guiana began in 1624, and

9460-633: The return of French and Dutch rule in Asia and organised dispatches of Indian soldiers under British command for this purpose. In an effort to enlist local support in the final months of the war, the Japanese dissolved the French colonial administration on 9 March 1945, and urged Cambodia to declare its independence within the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere . Four days later, King Sihanouk decreed an independent Kampuchea (the original Khmer pronunciation of Cambodia). Son Ngoc Thanh returned from Tokyo in May, and

9570-492: The ruins of Angkor in Siemreab Province. Siemreab, part of the autonomous military zone established in 1949, was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Lon Nol , formerly a right-wing politician who was becoming a prominent, and in time would be an indispensable Sihanouk ally within the military. From his Siemreab base, the king and Lon Nol contemplated plans for resistance if the French did not meet their terms. Sihanouk

9680-450: The ruling Resident-General complained to Paris that the current king of Cambodia, King Norodom was no longer fit to rule and asked for permission to assume the king's powers to collect taxes, issue decrees, and even appoint royal officials and choose crown princes. From that time, Norodom and the future kings of Cambodia were figureheads and merely were patrons of the Buddhist religion in Cambodia, though they were still viewed as god-kings by

9790-469: The small islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon ), but also most of France's West Indian (Caribbean) colonies, and all of the French Indian outposts . While the peace treaty saw France's Indian outposts, and the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe restored to France, the competition for influence in India had been won by the British, and North America was entirely lost – most of New France

9900-628: The south east (1674), and later at Yanam (1723), Mahe (1725), and Karikal (1739) (see French India ). In 1664, the French East India Company was established to compete for trade in the east. Although initial French colonization primarily occurred in the Americas and in Asia , the French did establish a few colonies and trading posts on the African continent. Initial French colonization in Africa began in modern-day Senegal , Madagascar , and along

10010-585: The success of the Haitian Revolution convinced Napoleon that holding Louisiana would not be worth the cost, leading to its sale to the United States in 1803. The French attempt to establish a colony in Egypt in 1798–1801 was not successful. Battle casualties for the campaign were at least 15,000 killed or wounded and 8,500 prisoners for France; 50,000 killed or wounded and 15,000 prisoners for Turkey, Egypt, other Ottoman lands, and Britain. At

10120-546: The time; colonialism was widely regarded as both unimportant to France, and immoral. Some recovery of the French colonial empire was made during the French intervention in the American Revolution , with Saint Lucia being returned to France by the Treaty of Paris in 1783, but not nearly as much as had been hoped for at the time of French intervention. True disaster came to what remained of France's colonial empire in 1791 when Saint Domingue (the Western third of

10230-869: The towns. He also introduced the large-scale cultivation of Bambara groundnuts and peanuts as a commercial crop. 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. French Equatorial Africa was a confederation of French colonial possessions in the Sahel and Congo River regions of Africa. Colonies included in French Equatorial Africa include French Gabon , French Congo , Ubangui-Shari , and French Chad . Cameroon

10340-500: Was accorded diplomatic recognition by the United States and by most non-communist powers, but in Asia only Thailand and South Korea extended recognition. The Democrats won a majority in the second National Assembly election in September 1951, and they continued their policy of opposing the king on practically all fronts. In an effort to win greater popular approval, Sihanouk asked the French to release nationalist Son Ngoc Thanh from exile and to allow him to return to his country. He made

10450-551: Was allowed to remain, but power was largely vested in a resident general to be housed in Phnom Penh . France was also to be in charge of Cambodia's foreign and trade relations as well as provide military protection. Siam later recognised the protectorate after France ceded the Cambodian province of Battambang and recognised Thai control of Angkor . The seat of the Governor-General for the whole of French Indochina

10560-567: Was always receding [and] the colonial populations treated like subjects not citizens." France sent small numbers of settlers to its empire, with the notable exception of Algeria, where the French settlers took power while being a minority. In World War II, Charles de Gaulle and the Free French took control of the overseas colonies one-by-one and used them as bases from which they prepared to liberate France . Historian Tony Chafer argues: "In an effort to restore its world-power status after

10670-465: Was appointed foreign minister. On 15 August 1945, the day Japan surrendered, a new government was established with Son Ngoc Thanh acting as prime minister. When an Allied force occupied Phnom Penh in October, Thanh was arrested for collaboration with the Japanese and was sent into exile in France to remain under house arrest. Some of his supporters went to north-western Cambodia, then still under Thai control, where they banded together as one faction in

10780-704: Was based in Saigon until the capital moved to Hanoi in 1902. Cambodia, being a constituent protectorate of French Indochina, was governed by the Résident Supérieur (Resident-General) for Cambodia, who was directly appointed by the Ministry of Marine and Colonies in Paris. The Resident-General was in turn assisted by Residents, or local governors, who were posted in all the provincial centres, such as, Battambang , Pursat , Oudong , and Siem Reap . Phnom Penh ,

10890-472: Was captured by the Dutch on the return leg at Cape Finisterre . François Martin de Vitré was the first Frenchman to write an account of travels to the Far East in 1604, at the request of Henry IV, and from that time numerous accounts on Asia would be published. From 1604 to 1609, following the return of François Martin de Vitré, Henry developed a strong enthusiasm for travel to Asia and attempted to set up

11000-529: Was exiled in the Pacific until 1947. Morocco became quiet, and in 1936 became the base from which Francisco Franco launched his revolt against Madrid. The French protectorate of Tunisia lasted from 1881 to 1956. The protectorate was initially established after the successful invasion of Tunisia in 1881. The groundwork for occupation was laid on April 24, 1881, when the French deployed 35,000 troops from Algeria to invade several Tunisian cities. As in Morocco,

11110-427: Was far more expensive for Moroccans than for French settlers. For example, while the average Moroccan had a plot of land 50 times smaller than their French settler counterparts, Moroccans were forced to pay 24% more per hectare. Moroccans were additionally prohibited from buying land from French settlers. Colonial Morocco's economy was designed to benefit French businesses at the detriment of Moroccan laborers. Morocco

11220-628: Was forced to import all of its goods from France despite higher costs. Additionally, improvements to agriculture and irrigation systems in Morocco exclusively benefited colonial agriculturalists while leaving Moroccan farms at a technological disadvantage. Between the years of 1914 to 1921 the Zaian Confederation of Berber Tribes, primarily from the Atlas Mountain region of Morocco, staged an armed resistance against French colonial control . The outbreak of World War One prevented

11330-437: Was founded on the western half of the Spanish island of Hispaniola . In the 18th century, Saint-Domingue grew to be the richest sugar colony in the Caribbean. The eastern half of Hispaniola (today's Dominican Republic ) also came under French rule for a short period, after being given to France by Spain in 1795. With the end of the French Wars of Religion , King Henry IV encouraged various enterprises to establish trade with

11440-551: Was initially colonized by the German Empire in 1884. The indigenous people of Cameroon refused to work on German related projects, which turned into force labor. However, after World War One, the colony was partitioned by France and Britain. The French colony lasted from 1916 to until self-rule was achieved in 1960. French colonialism in Madagascar began in 1896 when France established a protectorate by force and ended in

11550-410: Was making a high-stakes gamble, for the French could easily have replaced him with a more pliable monarch; however, the military situation was deteriorating throughout Indochina, and the French government, on 3 July 1953, declared itself ready to grant full independence to the three states of Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos . Sihanouk insisted on his own terms, which included full control of national defence,

11660-629: Was relatively little interest in colonialism, which concentrated rather on dominance within Europe, and for most of its history, New France was far behind the British North American colonies in both population and economic development. In 1699, French territorial claims in North America expanded still further, with the foundation of Louisiana in the basin of the Mississippi River . The extensive trading network throughout

11770-516: Was seen as a way to restore French prestige in the world. It was also to provide manpower during the world wars. A major goal was the Mission civilisatrice or " Civilizing Mission ". In 1884, the leading proponent of colonialism, Jules Ferry , declared: "The higher races have a right over the lower races, they have a duty to civilize the inferior races ." Full citizenship rights – assimilation – were offered, although in reality "assimilation

11880-461: Was still required to co-ordinate foreign policy matters with the High Council of the French Union, however, and France retained a significant measure of control over the judicial system, finances, and customs. Control of wartime military operations outside the autonomous zone remained in French hands. France was also permitted to maintain military bases on Cambodian territory. In 1950 Cambodia

11990-419: Was taken by Britain (also referred to as British North America ), except Louisiana , which France ceded to Spain as payment for Spain's late entrance into the war (and as compensation for Britain's annexation of Spanish Florida). Also ceded to the British were Grenada and Saint Lucia in the West Indies. Although the loss of Canada would cause much regret in future generations, it excited little unhappiness at

12100-567: Was then sold to the United States in 1803 . France rebuilt a new empire mostly after 1850, concentrating chiefly in Africa as well as Indochina and the South Pacific . As it developed, the new French empire took on roles of trade with the metropole , supplying raw materials and purchasing manufactured items. Especially after the disastrous Franco-Prussian War , which saw Germany become the leading economic and military power of Continental Europe, acquiring colonies and rebuilding an empire

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