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Dynasties, Sovereigns, and Governments of France: Africa

FRENCH COLONIES.-The colonial possessions of France are dispersed over Asia, Africa, America, and Polynesia, and embrace a total area of over 400,000 sq. m. Algeria is not comprised in the list-it having a Government and laws distinct from the other colonial possessions—and is looked upon, partly from its proximity to France, and partly from serving as camp and practice field of a large portion of the standing army,as more closely related to the mother country. Algeria, as well as all the other colonies, is represented in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies, and regarded as forming, politically, a part of France. The colonies of France are: In Asia, possessions in India, French Cochin China; in Africa, Senegal Settlements, Gold Coast, and Gaboon, Island of Réunion, Island of St. Marie, Islands of Mayotte and Nossi-Bé; in America, Guiana, or Cayenne (noted as a penal colony under Napoleon III.), Guadaloupe and dependencies, Martinique, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Island of St. Bartholomew; in Polynesia, New Caledonia, (the present penal settlement for political prisoners), Loyalty Islands, Clipperton Island, and the Marquesas. The Countries under French protection are: In Asia, Kingdom of Cambodia; in Polynesia, Tahiti and dependencies, Touamoto Islands, Gambier, Toubouai, and Vavitou. The colonies and protectorates have a population of nearly 31,000,000. The only colonies possessing commercial importance are the Island of Réunion, on the coast of Africa, and those of Martinique and Guadaloupe in the West Indies. In 1848 slavery was abolished by decree throughout the whole of the colonial possessions of France.

GREAT CITIES. -Paris, the second city of Europe in population and wealth, the capital of France, and the most interesting of all its cities, is situated on the banks of the Seine, 110 m. from the sea. The area enclosed within the fortifications covers 28 sq. m., but with its suburbs Paris forms a special department with an area of 184 sq. m., and a population of 2,344,550. The city lies on a nearly level plain with an elevation of about 200 ft, above the sea level, and a range of low hills partially surrounds it. Paris is strongly fortified, and has a bastioned wall 21 m. in circumference and of great strength. This interior line of defence is supplemented by 20 great forts, surrounding the city on every side, and distant from 1 to 3 m. from the enceinte. No city in the world presents such varied attractions to the traveller as does Paris. Its splendid thoroughfares, magnificent parks and open spaces, galleries of art, public buildings, monuments, and triumphal arches, palaces, theatres, its bridges, and its historical associations and recollections, combine to make this wonderful city the resort of all Europe. The Seine is crossed by 30 bridges, some of which are of great beauty. Under the Second Empire splendid streets and boulevards were created, and no city in the world can equal Paris in the beauty of its thoroughfares and public grounds. Of the public edifices the most famous are the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Madeleine, the Church of St. Genevieve (formerly the Pantheon), the Palaces of the Louvre, the Luxembourg, and the Elysee Bourbon. The Palace of the Tuileries and the magnificent Hotel de Ville, with many other splendid public structures, were destroyed during the rule of the Commune (May, 1871). The Grand Opera House, constructed by Napoleon III., is incomparably the finest theatre in existence, and the Government buildings, colleges, halls, and theatres are of great splendor. The Louvre is one of the finest galleries in the world, and contains works of art of priceless value. The Arc de l'Etoile, the Column Vendome, and the many beautiful monuments and groups of statuary entitle Paris to be considered as the best adorned city of Europe. Its hospitals, libraries, and schools are on a scale commensurate with its importance as the chief city of France, while its manufactures and commerce afford support to an immense industrial population. With the exception of the Communists whose energies were of a destructive character, every Government which has prevailed in Paris has striven to outdo its predecessors in beautifying the city, and with such success that it has long been famed as the most attractive capital in Europe. Marseilles Toulon, Bordeaux, Lyons, Tours, Orleans, Calais, La Rochelle, Dunkirk, Limoges, Amiens, Rouen, Nantes, Toulouse, Poitiers, and hundreds of other scarcely less important and interesting cities, are conspicuous either, for the amount of their commerce, the beauty of their buildings, or the associations connected with them.

HISTORY.-Ancient Gaul, which was conquered by Cæsar shortly before the beginning of the Christian era, was overrun by the Franks on the decline of the Roman power, and the French monarchy was founded by Clovis in the 6th century. The great Charlemagne ruled not only over France but Italy and the greater part of Germany also, but on his death the empire fell to pieces, and his descendants lost control. The Capetan dynasty was established in 987, and with its collateral branches, the houses of Valois, Orleans, Angouleme, and Bourbon, held the throne until the great revolution of 1788-92. But until the 16th century such tributary princes as the Dukes of Burgundy, Aquitaine, etc., were almost independent of their suzerain, and much more in the habit of making war on the King of France than of showing fealty to him. During a great many years, also, the English held many parts of France, and the country was constantly engaged in war. The most flourishing days of the monarchy began with Henry of Navarre, and closed with Louis XIV. Under his immediate successors the nation lost much of its power, and the greatest distress prevailed among the peasantry, owing to the abuses of the feudal system. Long centuries of oppression and tyranny, of sensualism and immorality on the part of the monarch and the aristocracy, and of unspeakable suffering on the part of the laboring classes, culminated in 1788 and succeeding years in the most fearful revolution recorded in history, and the overturn of the entire framework of society. The excessses of the Convention and Directory, coupled with the war waged by the allied monarchs of Europe, for the purpose of restoring the Bourbons, paved the way for the operations of Napoleon Bonaparte, who rose in a few years from a simple lieutenant of artillery to the command of a mighty empire and the arbitrament of the destinies of Europe. Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and Germany fell into his hands; he dictated terms to the Emperor Alexander at Tilsit, to the King of Prussia at Berlin, and to the Emperor of Austria at Vienna. Between 1792 and 1815 France had her fill of military glory; the blood of her sons stained the Libyan desert and the snows of Moscow, and the end of it all was the restoration of the hated representative of the Bourbons with all the old paraphernalia of aristocracy, a State Church, and a fettered Parliament. It was in 1830 that the city of Algiers was captured by French forces, and after nearly 20 years of intermittent warfare, the entire country of Algeria was ceded to the French crown. During the first named period (1830) the Bourbons were again driven out, but a collateral branch of the family was installed in the person of Louis Philippe, and some approach to a constitutional monarchy was made. It seemed impossible, however, for one in whose veins there flowed the blood of the Bourbons, to keep faith, and in 1848 the people rose, and Louis Philippe fled to England. The Republic which followed lasted less than 3 years, when the crime of the coup d'etat gave absolute power into the hands of Louis Napoleon, who as Napoleon III. ruled France with an iron hand until the disasters of 1870. During his reign occurred the wars with Russia and Austria (in the latter France gained the provinces of Nice and Savoy), and the ill-omened expedition to Mexico. In order to consolidate his power, Napoleon undertook the ill-fated war against Germany, which cost France thousands of millions of treasure, two provinces, and a hundred thousand lives. The proclamation of the Republic on receipt of the news of Sedan, the siege and surrender of Paris, and its subsequent capture by the Communist government, the fearful times of May 1871, and the story of the establishment of the Republic under the Presidency, first of M. Thiers, then of Marshal MacMahon, then M. Grevy, and lastly M. Carnot, are events which dwell in the minds of all men, and need only be briefly alluded to.