250 



FRANCE. 



over 5,000,000 square miles and over 50.000,000 

 inhabitants. Including the sphere in northern 

 and western Africa conceded to France in recent 

 conventions with England, the colonial empire 

 in that continent alone wiU be 5,000,000 square 

 miles in extent (see WEST AFRICA). The French 

 part of East Africa is the Somali coast in the 

 neighborhood of Obok. with the adjacent districts 

 of Gallaland (see EAST AFRICA). Some of the 

 islands of the Indian Ocean near the coast of 

 Africa have long been French. The conquest of 

 Madagascar Mas an event in the modern era of 

 colonial expansion (see MADAGASCAR). Of the 

 smaller islands the most important is Reunion, 

 which has been settled with French Creoles since 

 1704. It has an elective Council-General, and is 

 represented in the French Chambers by a Senator 

 and -2 Deputies. The area is 965 square miles, 

 and the population in 1897 was 173,192, includ- 

 ing 15.219 East Indians, 4,496 natives of Mada- 

 gascar. 9.848 Africans, and 836 Chinese. The 

 towns are French municipalities. St. Denis has 

 32.8.-)0 inhabitants: St. Pierre, 27,900; St. Paul, 

 20.000; St. Louis, 13,300. The military force con- 

 sists of 500 French soldiers. There were 148 

 schools, with 14,034 scholars, in 1897. The rail- 

 road, 83 miles long, running from the port of 

 Pointe-des-Galets to St. Pierre, became the prop- 

 erty of the Government in 1887. Rice and cereals 

 are imported for food. The production of sugar 

 in 1899 was 29,465 tons. The total value of im- 

 ports was 20,966,343 francs in 1899, that of ex- 

 ports 15,357,475 francs. The value of sugar ex- 

 ported was 8,681,343 francs; of vanilla, 3,358,148 

 francs. Other exports are coffee, cacao, and spices. 

 France and the colonies took 15,036,683 francs of 

 the exports, and provided 15,824,535 francs of 

 the imports. The number of vessels entered in 

 1899 was 122, of 157,864 tons. The local revenue 

 in 1900 was 5,425,300 francs, and the expenditure 

 of France was 4,460,203 francs. In 1901 the con- 

 tribution of France was 4,256,184 francs. The 

 small islands of St. Paul, Amsterdam island, and 

 Kerguelen are dependencies of Reunion. Mayotte, 

 with an area of 140 square miles and 11,640 in- 

 habitants, produces sugar and rum. Coffee has 

 been planted on a large scale, and the export of 

 vanilla has become considerable. The local rev- 

 enue for 1900 was 293,807 francs. The subvention 

 of France in 1901 was 33,000 francs. The Glori- 

 euse Islands have been attached to Mayotte. The 

 Comoros have an area of 620 square miles and 

 about 47,000 inhabitants, mostly Mohammedans. 

 Sugar and vanila are the chief products, and 

 coffee and cloves have been planted. The budg- 

 ets of the different islands amount to the sum 

 of 259,000 francs. Nossi B6, near Madagascar, 

 having an area of 130 square miles and a popula- 

 tion of 9,500, produces sugar, rum, coffee, rice, 

 vanilla, and tobacco. Sainte Marie, north of 

 Madagascar, has an area of 64 square miles and 

 D,500 inhabitants. 



The French possessions in India were reduced 

 after the defeat of Napoleon to the towns of Pon- 

 dichery, Karical, Shandernagar, Mah, and 

 Yanaon, having an aggregate area of 196 square 

 miles and a population in 1899 of 280,462, of 

 whom less than 1,000 are Europeans. There were 

 271 schools with 16,163 scholars in 1897. The 

 local revenue in 1900 was 1,135,678 francs. The 

 expenditure of France in 1901 was 494,083 francs. 

 The leading export is oil-seeds. The imports at 

 Pondichery and Karical in 1899 amounted to 

 .661,938 francs, and exports to 9,253,144 francs; 

 the number of vessels entered at the two ports 

 was 405, of 509,422 tons; cleared, 404, of 509012 

 tons. 



French Indo-CMna is a modern empire acquired 

 in Asia by successive conquests and annexations, 

 beginning with the establishment of French rule 

 in Cochin-China and Cambodia under Napoleon 

 III. Annam, Tonquin, and Laos were annexed 

 between 1884 and 1893. The latest acquisition is 

 the territory of Kwang-Chi-Wan, on the coast of 

 the Lien-Cliau peninsula, opposite the island of 

 Hainan, leased for ninety-nine years from the 

 Chinese Government in April, 1898, with the 

 islands commanding the entrance to the bay, ] 

 which were transferred in November, 1899. The 

 area of Indo-China is about 263,000 square miles, 

 and the population is estimated at 22,400,000. 

 The Governor-General, residing at Saigon, is Paul 

 Doumier. He is assisted by the Superior Council 

 of Indo-China, composed of the chief military and 

 naval commanders, the Lieutenant-Governor of 

 Cochin-China, the residents in Tonquin, Cambodia, 

 and Annam, a representative of the administra- 

 tion of Laos, the directors of financial control, the 

 judicial service, customs, and the Department of 

 Commerce and Agriculture, the president of the 

 colonial council of Cochin-China, the presidents of 

 the chambers of commerce in Saigon, Hanoi, and 

 Haiphong, of the chambers of agriculture of 

 Cochin-China and Tonquin, and of the mixed 

 chambers of commerce and agriculture of Annam 

 and Tonquin, and two native notables. The gen- 

 eral budget for 1900 made the revenue $20,803,000 

 in silver, of which $5,800,000 were derived from 

 customs, $2,500,000 from the alcohol regie, $6,000,- 

 000 from the opium regie, $2,200,000 from the salt 

 regie, $1,800,000 from the rice export duty, and 

 $2,503,000 from various sources. The expendi- 

 tures were estimated at $20,796,000, of which $4,- 

 050,000 were for military expenses, $3,386,000 for 

 public works, $2,615,739 for the public debt, and 

 $10,744,261 for miscellaneous expenses. The sepa- 

 rate budgets were 4,439,500 for Cochin-China, $2,- 

 315,587 for Cambodia, $4,072,200 for Tonquin, $2,- 

 120,016 for Annam, and $739,000 for Laos, making 

 the total local revenue $34,489,303, and expendi- 

 ture $34,482,303. The expenditure of France in 

 1901 was 19,436,800 francs, not including special 

 appropriations of 1,084,913 francs for Annam and 

 Tonquin together, 320,012 francs for Cochin-China, 

 and 485,000 francs for Tonquin. The military 

 forces in Indo-China consisted in 1900 of 11,537 

 French soldiers and 17,023 natives. 



Cochin-China has an area of 23,160 square 

 miles, with 2,323,499 inhabitants, as estimated in 

 1899, comprising 2,054,831 Annamites, 183,659 

 Cambodians, 6,374 Mois, 2,656 Chams, 65,801 Chi- 

 nese, 4,130 Malays, 1,477 Indians, 46 Tagals, 4,451 

 Europeans, and 74 others. There were 376 schools 

 in 1897, with 18,760 scholars. There were 1,688,- 

 270 Buddhists. The Catholic converts numbered 

 73,234. About one-sixth of the area is cultivated. 

 The crop of rice in 1899 was 678,248 tons. The 

 exports of rice in 1900, going to China, the Philip- 

 pine Islands, and Europe, were 608,998 tons. The 

 imports of merchandise in 1899 amounted to 66,- 

 234,008 francs, of which 29,424,961 francs came 

 from France. The exports were 109,178,828 francs, 

 of which 20,365,051 francs went to France. The 

 exports of fish in 1899 were 5,540,500 francs; of 

 hides, 3,547,500 francs; of pepper, 4,903,000 francs; 

 of cardamom seed, 1,717,250 francs; of copra, 

 1,055,250 francs; of silk, 746,750 francs; of isin- 

 glass, 554,500 francs. The cultivation of coffee 

 has been introduced by Europeans, the yield in 

 1899 having been 240 tons. The number of vessels 

 that visited Saigon in 1899 was 631, of 789,330 

 tons. There are 51 miles of railroad, and 2 other 

 lines have been contracted for. The telegraphs 

 have a length of 2,276 miles, with 3,840 miles of 



