French Colonialism

At one point in history the French controlled 1/8th of the entire world, looking at France today that is an unimaginable amount to fathom. After watching some of our films in class and reading some of the literature for our 422 Culture class, I have really begun to see what a huge influence the French have had on the world, even in my own country! I think a lot of my others blogs also relate to this topic. The amount of people that integrated and immigrated into France from other countries have big in large part due to the French colonialism, especially in regions like North Africa. The Algerians weren't granted independence until 1941 so France left a massive footprint on their culture which I am certain will never go away. Their language is French, a lot of their mannerisms. Once again going back to my trip to Morocco, when I was there, especially in Casablanca, there were lots of cafes and other places that bore the name Paris, or France. One morning I ate at cafe Paris and for breakfast I ate a croissant, coffee and orange juice. Their eating habits for breakfast are very similar to those in France. They serve a very light sweet, breakfast. As Americans we were looking for something much more substantial and actually ended up eating pizza for breakfast. I think that in the modern world France, and especially Paris are mostly regarded for bringing the world food, fashion, and art. You cannot go to any top museum in any country without noticing some Monet, or Renoir, and those are just two. In the United States, the Louisiana Purchase region, most namely, New Orleans, reeks of a culture influenced by the French. In the French quarter of New Orleans they serve Beignets, and they have lots of architecture similar to what is everywhere around Paris. In Canada the influence near the Quebec region is still very strong. When I was in London there were two guys on a tour that I was on who were Canadian and they were speaking french to each other. French culture is everywhere. The movie we recently watched L'Amant opened my eyes to the French influence in Vietnam as well, which I virtually did not know existed until I read about it in the novel. French people occupied the region of Saigon as well. The French on near almost every continent. It is incredible to see the farthest reaches of their culture like the New Orleans language of Creole French, which is a passed down French. Although they don't control 1/8th of the world anymore everyone knows the French have been a major power player in the pages of history.