Second French Empire

By: Tom Blanton

The Beginning

• The Beginning of the second French empire began when France invaded Algeria in 1830, taking 17 years to conquer.

• Napoleon III headed the second empire.• Napoleon III established a protectorate over Cambodia in

1863 and French control in Cochinchina in 1867 and 1874.• The French took over Tonkin and Annam in 1884-1885 from

their base in Cochinchina

Towards the End

• After WW1, the French made their last colonial gains.• They took on mandates over the former Turkish territories of

the Ottoman Empire.• France took on the civilizing mission in the late 19th and early

20th centuries, believing it was their duty to bring civility to people who didn’t have it.

• Africans who adopted French culture, taking up a fluent use of the French language and converting to Christianity, were granted equal French citizenship in their colonies.