Postage stamps and postal history of French Sudan Postage stamps and postal history of French Sudan French Sudan (Soudan Francais) was established in the late nineteenth century and occupied roughly the same territory as modern Mali. From 1894 to 1902, the colony of French Sudan used the general issues of the French colonies (Alpheus Dubois and Group types) with the name of the colony. In 1903, the group-type stamps were marked "SENEGAMBIA AND NIGER", the new name of the colony. In 1906, new stamps were issued marked "Upper Senegal and Niger", a state which came into existence in 1904, with varied illustrations including colonial personalities: General Louis Faidherbe
French colonial empire French colonial empire 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. Competing with Spain, Portugal, the Dutch United Provinces and later England,