Foreign alliances of France
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The foreign alliances of France have a long and complex history spanning more than a millennium. One traditional characteristic of the French diplomacy of alliances has been the "Alliance de revers" (i.e. "Rear alliance"), aiming at allying with countries situated on the opposite side or "in the back" of an adversary, in order to open a second front encircling the adversary and thus re-establish a
Geographic position and strategy of France
Over the centuries, France has constantly been looking for Eastern allies, as a counterbalance to Continental enemies.
Autochthonous alliances
American continent
France also has a strong tradition of alliance with autochthonous populations in order to resist a powerful opponent. In the American continent, France was the first to identify that cooperation with local tribes would be strategically significant, before England also started to adopt this strategy.[3] An important Franco-Indian alliance centered on the Great Lakes and the Illinois country took place during the French and Indian War (1754–1763).[4] The alliance involved French settlers on the one side, and the indigenous peoples such as the Abenaki, Ottawa, Menominee, Winnebago, Mississauga, Illinois, Sioux, Huron, Petun, and Potawatomi on the other.[4]
The French easily mixed and inter-married with the Indians, which greatly facilitated exchanges and the development of such alliances. Through these alliances with the Indians, the French were able to maintain for over 150 years a strong position in the New World at the expense of the British, who had much more difficulties in making Indian allies.[5]
India
In India, the French General
In 1782,
Tactical alliances
Some French alliances were purely tactical and short term, especially during the period of the
References
- ^ a b Margaret Thatcher quoted in François Mitterrand: a very French president by Ronald Tiersky p.411 [1]
- ^ Foreign policy and discourse analysis: France, Britain and Europe Henrik Larsen p.123 [2]
- ^ The American Revolution in Indian Country by Colin Gordon Calloway p.6 [3]
- ^ a b Family Life in Native America by James M. Volo, Dorothy Denneen Volo p.316 [4]
- ^ The Complete Idiot's Guide to American History Alan Axelrod p.44
- ^ a b Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare, p. 160
- ^ "The National Galleries of Scotland". Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
- ^ The influence of sea power upon history, 1660–1783 by Alfred Thayer Mahan p. 461 [5]
- ^ "The History Project, University of California". Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
- ^ a b Britain as a military power, 1688–1815 by Jeremy Black, p
- ^ Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare, p. 159
- ^ Tricolor and crescent William E. Watson p.13-14
- ^ Napoleon and Persia by Iradj Amini, p.12
- ^ Napoleon and Persia Iradj Amini p.55
- ^ The Islamic world in decline by Martin Sicker p.97
Further reading
- Hamel, Catherine. La commémoration de l’alliance franco-russe : La création d’une culture matérielle populaire, 1890–1914 (French) (MA thesis, Concordia University, 2016) ; online