History of French-era Tunisia which France approached, traded with and financed, invaded, and then administered Tunisia. It will be seen that modern French politics not only guided the direction of the French colonial venture, but also informed indirectly and in combination with traditions the politics of their clients, the Tunisian people and their leadership. France was not unfamiliar with rule over foreign lands, i.e., two distinct phases of expansion outside Europe, and one within: the 16th–18th century ventures in North America and in India, which lands were lost by the monarchy in 1763 prior to the French Revolution; the Napoleonic conquests over most of
Early modern France of France was a collection of different dialects called Oïl languages whereas the written and administrative language remained Latin. By the 16th century, there had developed a standardised form of French (called Middle French) which would be the basis of the standardised "modern" French of the 17th and 18th century which in turn became the lingua franca of the European continent. (In 1539, with the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, Francis I of France made French alone the language for legal and juridical acts.) Nevertheless, in 1790, only half of the population spoke or understood standard French. The southern half of the