French colonial empire
The French colonial Empire (French: Empire colonial français) was land controlled by the French from the 16th century to the late 1960s. In the 17th and 18th centuries France gained and lost large territories in North America and India. Like the other empires of the time, was powered by slaves captured from Africa. The Haitian Revolution, when many of these slaves in the colony of Saint Domingue fought and defeated the French, caused major changes in the empire.