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Chronology
1534
French explorer Jacques Cartier sets off on voyages
along the St. Lawrence river and claims territories in the name of France. The French set
up fur trading posts.
1603
The first French official is sent to govern the territory of
New France. Champlain becomes governor in 1633.
1600s
Exploration of America's heartland (Great Lakes,
Mississippi valley...) by Jean Nicolet, Father Jacques Marquette, Louis Jolliet, de La
Salle...) .
1682
La Salle takes possession of the Mississippi valley
(Louisiana) in the name of the king of France.
1685-1760
The Huguenots (French Protestants) settle in America.
1754
France loses its American territories to Britain (Canada) and
Spain (Louisiana).
1755
French Acadians' exodus to Louisiana and New England.
1778-81
After the signing of the Treaty of Commerce and Friendship,
France, " America's oldest ally ", aids the American revolutionaries. 44,000
French troops serve during the American War of Independence. In 1781, American and French
troops defeat British forces at Yorktown, Virginia.
1803
France sells the Louisiana territory (recovered from
Spain in 1800) to the United States for 80 million francs.
1835-40
Alexis de Tocqueville publishes Democracy in America.
1886
France offers the Statue of Liberty, built by
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, to the United States.
1917
The United States enters World War I. Two million American
troops fight in France. By 1918, 115,000 U.S. soldiers had died on French soil.
1927
Charles Lindbergh lands in France as the first man to
cross the Atlantic by plane.
6 June 1944
D-Day. American soldiers take part in Operation Overlord
on Normandy beaches. More than 2 million allied soldiers land in France to put an end to W
WII.
1990-91
Gulf War. France and the United States together in a
coalition to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation.
Embassy of France in the U.S. - September 13, 2001
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