<Tr> <Td> Overseas France </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <P> The French colonial empire constituted 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 colonial empire," that existed until 1814, by which time most of it had been lost, and the "second colonial empire", which began with the conquest of Algiers in 1830 . The second colonial empire came to an end after the loss in later wars of Indochina (1954) and Algeria (1962), and relatively peaceful decolonizations elsewhere after 1960 . </P> <P> Competing with Spain, Portugal, the Dutch United Provinces and later England, France began to establish colonies in North America, the Caribbean and India in the 17th century . A series of wars with Great Britain and other European major powers during the 18th century and early 19th century resulted in France losing nearly all of its conquests . France rebuilt a new empire mostly after 1850, concentrating chiefly in Africa as well as Indochina and the South Pacific . Republicans, at first hostile to empire, only became supportive when Germany started to build their own colonial empire . As it developed, the new empire took on roles of trade with France, especially supplying raw materials and purchasing manufactured items as well as lending prestige to the motherland and spreading French civilization and language and the Catholic religion . It also provided manpower in the World Wars . </P> <P> It became a moral mission to lift the world up to French standards by bringing Christianity and French culture . 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 was always receding (and) the colonial populations treated like subjects not citizens ." France sent small numbers of settlers to its empire, contrary to Great Britain and previously Spain and Portugal, with the only notable exception of Algeria, where the French settlers nonetheless always remained a small minority . </P>

How did france lose its north american empire