1534 Jacques Cartier claims territory in North America Cartier's voyage marks an early French claim in the region later known as Canada. 1608 Quebec founded Samuel de Champlain founds Quebec, a cornerstone of New France. 1635 Martinique and Guadeloupe occupied French Caribbean colonization expands in the Antilles. 1664 French East India Company created Colbert establishes a chartered company to extend French overseas commerce and influence. 1682 La Salle claims Louisiana France extends its North American claims down the Mississippi basin. 1763 Seven Years' War settlement curtails first empire France loses major North American possessions in the Treaty of Paris. 1791 Haitian Revolution begins The uprising in Saint-Domingue challenges the most valuable French Caribbean colony. 1804 Haiti gains independence The loss of Saint-Domingue marks a decisive blow to French Atlantic colonial power. 1830 French conquest of Algeria begins The invasion of Algiers inaugurates the major 19th-century phase of French empire-building. 1848 Slavery abolished in French colonies The Second Republic abolishes slavery throughout the French empire. 1863 Cambodia becomes a French protectorate France strengthens its foothold in mainland Southeast Asia. 1881 Tunisia becomes a protectorate The Treaty of Bardo places Tunisia under French control. 1883 French protectorates imposed in Annam and Tonkin French power deepens in Vietnam during the conquest of Indochina. 1887 French Indochina formed France organizes a major colonial union in Southeast Asia. 1895 French West Africa federated France creates a large administrative federation in West Africa. 1910 French Equatorial Africa organized A second major African federation is consolidated under French rule. 1940 Vichy and Free French rivalry divides empire World War II turns French colonies into contested political and military spaces. 1946 French Union established Postwar reforms recast the empire but do not end colonial domination. 1954 Dien Bien Phu ends French rule in Indochina French defeat in Vietnam accelerates imperial retreat in Asia. 1960 Year of African independences A large group of French African territories gains independence in quick succession. 1962 Algeria becomes independent Algerian independence marks the end of the French empire's largest settler colony.