[pepperonipizza]

France mostly lost money with colonisation. Sure, there were some people getting rich from it. This is was more for the prestige than money. I can't say the same for the UK, not having read much on the economic of colonisation for them.

[eesmith]

How much money did France lose from its colony in Haiti?

Oh right - Haiti was forced to pay for all the property France last.

Including paying the former slave-masters whose slaves had been freed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti_indemnity_controversy

I trust you aren't including that payment as part the money actually lost to France.

Did France ever pay back the damages they did to Guinea before leaving?

> In Guinea, for example, the French destroyed everything they could not take back to their country. They burned food, killed cows, and destroyed buildings and books. These outrageous actions were all because Guinea wanted independence. - https://afritechnews.com/french-colonial-tax/

> In response to the vote for independence, the French settlers in Guinea were quite dramatic in severing ties with Guinea. The Washington Post observed how brutal the French were in tearing down all that they thought were their contributions to Guinea: "In reaction, and as a warning to other French-speaking territories, the French pulled out of Guinea over a two-month period, taking everything they could with them. They unscrewed lightbulbs, removed plans for sewage pipelines in Conakry, the capital, and even burned medicines rather than leave them for the Guineans." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea#Independence_(1958)

How are those counted for in your bookkeeping?

Several African countries are still paying for the infrastructure France built during colonization - infrastructure that of course was forced on them. And France forced its ex-colonies to give France economic advantages that persis, like "France has the first right to purchase any natural resources discovered." and "French companies have dibs on all government procurement bids" - https://afritechnews.com/french-colonial-tax/ .

Are you tracking those on your balance sheet?

Finally, how much money did France lose in French Indochina, a colonie d'exploitation économique, and where did it go?

[realusername]

What people don't get is at the time, the state power mattered more than companies, territorial expansion and reach was one of the prime goal.

[eesmith]

British and Dutch colonialism were public-private joint affairs. The VOC was the first company to raise capital by selling stocks. Jamestown (first permanent English settlement in the Americas) was settled by the London Company, under Crown charter.

Compare that to the Spanish colonialism, where state power indeed mattered more than companies.

[realusername]

Yeah that's kind of the big difference I'd say between British and Dutch colonialism and French and Spanish colonialism. On the French empire, the state had almost all the power and territorial expansion was on everybody's mind.

Not that makes it better but it's essential to bring it back in the context.

[zouhair]

Any sources?

[pepperonipizza]

If you can read french

https://www.google.com/amp/s/lexpansion.lexpress.fr/actualit...

Otherwise google do agood job with french translation