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
Global silver trade from the 16th to 18th centuries with baochao or paper money. However, the currency never popularized and silver proved its mainstay as a global currency. Despite some restrictions, silver continued to drive trade through its popularity in Europe. This, combined with a high British demand for Chinese tea, created chronic trade deficits for European governments, which were forced to risk silver deficits to supply merchants in Asia. As supplies of silver decreased in Europe, Europeans had less ability to purchase highly coveted Chinese goods. Merchants were no longer able to sustain the China trade through profits made by selling Chinese goods in the West and were