how did new caledonia became a french colony
New Caledonia On 24 September 1853, under orders from Napoleon III, Admiral Febvrier Despointes took formal possession of New Caledonia and Port-de-France (Nouméa) was founded on 25 June 1854.[9] A few dozen free settlers settled on the west coast in the following years.[9] New Caledonia became a penal colony, and from the 1860s until the end of the transportations in 1897, about 22,000 criminals and political prisoners were sent to New Caledonia. The Bulletin de la Société générale des prisons for 1888 indicates that 10,428 convicts, including 2,329 freed ones, were on the island as of 1 May 1888, by far the largest number of convicts detained in overseas penitentiaries.[16] Among the convicts were many Communards arrested after the failed Paris Commune, including Henri de Rochefort and Louise Michel.[17] Between 1873 and 1876, 4,200 political prisoners were "relegated" in New Caledonia.[9] Only 40 of them settled in the colony; the rest returned to France after being granted amnesty in 1879 and 1880.[9]
New France Early attempts at establishing permanent settlements were failures. In 1598, a French trading post was established on Sable Island, off the coast of Acadia, but was unsuccessful. In 1600, a trading post was established at Tadoussac, but only five settlers survived the winter.[11] In 1604, a settlement was founded at Île-Saint-Croix on Baie François (Bay of Fundy), which was moved to Port-Royal in 1605.[11] It was abandoned in 1607, re-established in 1610, and destroyed in 1613, after which settlers moved to other nearby locations, creating settlements that were collectively known as Acadia, and the settlers as Acadians.[11]