France–United States relations

The Kingdom of France was the first country to have diplomatic ties with the United States, with the 1778 Treaty of Alliance and subsequent French aid proving decisive in American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War.

French–United States relations have remained peaceful since, with the exceptions of the Quasi-War and American combat against Vichy France (while supporting Free France) during World War II. In 1803, the United States purchased the territory of Louisiana from France to acquire a total of 828,000 sq mi (2,140,000 km2; 530,000,000 acres) and expand westwards. Tensions, however, rose during the American Civil War, as France intervened militarily in Mexico and entertained the possibility of recognizing the separatist Confederate States of America, the defeat of which was followed by the United States sending a large army to the Mexican border and forcing the withdrawal of French forces from Mexico.

Since 2000, the United States and France have continued to work together on a range of issues, such as counterterrorism, climate change, and trade. However, there was sharp disagreement over the Iraq War in 2003. Relations improved again starting in 2010.

History

Early history

New France (French: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France beginning with exploration in 1534 and ending with cession in 1763. The vast territory of New France consisted of five colonies at its peak in 1712, and it extended from Newfoundland to the Canadian Prairies and from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico, including all the Great Lakes of North America. Great Britain, having won the French and Indian Wars, finally removed the French from continental North America in 1763, with almost all of New France ceded to Britain and Spain through the Treaty of Paris. Within a decade, the Thirteen Colonies revolted openly.