French colonization of the Americas From 1851 to 1951 it was the site of a notorious penal colony, Devil's Island ("Île du Diable"). Since 1946, French Guiana has been an overseas department of France. French colonization of the Americas The French colonization of the Americas began in the 16th century, and continued on into the following centuries as France established a colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere. France founded colonies in much of eastern North America, on a number of Caribbean islands, and in South America. Most colonies were developed to export products such as fish, rice sugar, and furs. As they colonized the New
Josephine (given name) Josephine (given name) Josephine is a female given name. It is the English version of the French name Joséphine. This is the feminine form of the name Joseph, which is taken from the Hebrew name Yosef, meaning "(YHWH) shall grow." Originally a diminutive form of the French name "Joséphe", Joséphine became the standard form in the 19th century, replacing "Joséphe", which eventually became a very rare name. In 2017, Josephine was the 107th most popular girls' baby name in the USA. Diminutive forms of this name include Fifi, Jo, Josie, Joetta and Jojo. Other language variants include the Irish version