French Overseas Empire

Tells the five-century story of the French overseas empire, assembled as much by chance as by systematic design, an imperial presence that brought European commerce, technology, and culture to indigenous peoples, while at the same time promoting the slave trade and inhibiting independence movements.

FREDERICK QUINN, an American diplomat and historian, who is a frequent visitor to the French Empire and written about the country's overseas presence for nearly three decades. His foreign service assignments in Francophone countries include Morocco, Haiti, Burkina Faso, Vietnam, and Cameroon. The Times Literary Supplement named his book, Democracy at Dawn: Notes from Poland and Points East, one of its international books of the year for 1998.