The Colonial Medal () was a French decoration created by the "loi de finances" of 26 July 1893 (article 75) to reward "military services in the

colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

, resulting from participation in military operations, in a colony or a protectorate". A decree of 6 June 1962 changed the term "colonial" to "overseas" (see Overseas Medal).

Medal

Introduced by the Finance Act of 23 July 1893, its implementing decree dated 6 March 1894 lists the military operations carried out by France in its colonies or protectorates (Algeria - Cochin - Gold Coast - Marquesas Islands - Nossi- Bé - New Caledonia - Senegal and Sudan - Society Islands - Tunisia). The scope of the decree was therefore a broad retroactive effect, since the first operations considered for the award of the Medal colonial dating back to 1827, at the very beginning of the conquest of Algeria. Since then, numerous other regulations were made which amend or supplement the award of this medal. The most recent include the decree of June 6, 1962 which transformed the Médaille Coloniale to

Médaille d'Outre-Mer The Overseas Medal () is a commemorative or campaign medal issued to members of the French Armed Forces and other nations in assistance to French troops for participating in operations outside national territory. It replaced the French Colonial Med ...

. The colonial medal is closely linked to the existence of the French colonial empire . Article 4 of the Decree of 1894 establishes the design of the medal. The it is 30mm diameter in silver. On the obverse there is the helmeted effigy of the Republic with "République française" engraved above. On the reverse, a world map occupies the central field, resting on an anchor across a trophy of arms . The ribbon, is white and blue with vertical stripes. Its length can vary this from 35 to 37 mm. The design of the medal is attributed to Capitaine de frégate Saulnier Pinellas, because the original award was for sailors. Its production had the distinction of being performed by the administration of the Paris Mint and a private company that was responsible for manufacturing the socket of the pendant ring leaves and clasps crimping indentations. The sets were to be delivered complete to the ministries of the Navy and War . The ribbon, the skewer assembly and assembly were also part of the supply. The two departments then presented the medals to the recipients, with some delay as they were not always immediately available. The monopoly of the Paris Mint and the sluggishness of its administration thus created a boom for the private market, forcing the administration to allow the manufacture in "parallel" under the set forth specifications. Nevertheless, some marginal versions appeared. In 1913, the

Monnaie de Paris The (, ''Paris Mint (coin), Mint'') is a government-owned institution responsible for producing France, France's coins. Founded in AD 864 by King Charles the Bald with the Edict of Pistres, it is the oldest continuously running minting instituti ...

decided to fully bear the manufacture of the Colonial Medal. The second type sees its official medal redrawn and engraved by G. Lindauer. The engraving of Georges Lemaire is recessed so that the first official type, it was relief. The foliage becomes single-sided pendant ring and the sleeve is formed of two truncated cones. For a very short period Hinged clips are rounded instead of being indented. There were many contemporary manufacturers.

Campaign Clasps

Campaign clasps which could be attached to medals awarded for service in overseas or colonial possessions include: *Algeria *Cochinchina *Maroc *Tonkin *Gold Coast (''Côte De L'or'') *Marquesas Islands (''Îles Marquises'') *Nossi-Be *New Caledonia (''Nouvelle-Caledonie'') *Madagascar *Senegal Sudan (''Senegal-Soudan''), created February 22, 1896 *

Society Islands The Society Islands ( , officially ; ) are an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean that includes the major islands of Tahiti, Mo'orea, Moorea, Raiatea, Bora Bora and Huahine. Politically, they are part of French Polynesia, an overseas country ...

(''Îles De La Socitie'') *French West Africa, created in 1900 *Tunisia (''Tunisie'') *Sahara *Bir-Hakiem, 1942 *Eritrea (''Erythree'') *Ethiopia (''Ethiopie'') *Fezzan *Fezzan Tripolitania (''Fezzan Tripolitanie'') *Kurfa (''Koufra'') *Libya (''Libye'') *Somalia (''Somalie'') *Tunisia (''Tunisie''), 1942–1943 * Free French Africa *Extrême-orient

Recipients

Medaille Coloniale certificate of 1894 for the participation in the 1881 Tunisia campaign of Military Doctor Jean Baptiste Doue

With campaign clasp, if applicable. *

Aarne Juutilainen Aarne Edward Juutilainen (; 18 October 1904 – 28 October 1976), nicknamed "Marokon kauhu" (), was a Finnish army captain who served in the French Foreign Legion in Morocco between 1930 and 1935. After returning to Finland, he served in th ...

(Morocco) *

Anton Docher Anton Docher (1852–1928), born Antonin Jean Baptiste Docher (pronounced Wikipedia:IPA for French, ɑ̃tɔnɛ̃ ʒɑ̃ batist dɔʃe), was a French Franciscan Roman Catholic priest, who served as a missionary to Native Americans in the Unite ...

* Bernard Saint-Hillier (Eritrea, Libya, Bir Hakeim, Tunisia) * Joseph de Goislard de Monsabert (Morocco) *

Pierre Jeanpierre Pierre Paul Jeanpierre (; 14 March 1912 – 29 May 1958) was a soldier in the French Army, a French Resistance fighter and senior officer of the French Foreign Legion. He served in the French Army and fought during World War II, the First Indo ...

Paul Arnaud de Foïard Paul Marie Félix Jacques René Arnaud de Foïard (9 September 1921 – 7 August 2005) was a général in the French Army who served primarily in the French Foreign Legion taking part in World War II and the conflicts of Indochina and Algeria. ...

(Extrême-Orient) * Jean Trescases (Extrême-Orient) * Pierre Garbay (Morocco 1925, AFL, Eritrea, Libya, Tunisia) *

Louis Jules Trochu Louis-Jules Trochu (; 12 March 18157 October 1896) was a French military leader and politician. He served as President of the Government of National Defense—France's ''de facto'' head of state—from 4 September 1870 until his resignation on ...

(Algeria) *

Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque Philippe François Marie Leclerc de Hauteclocque (22 November 1902 – 28 November 1947) was a Free France, Free-French general during World War II. He became Marshal of France posthumously in 1952, and is known in France simply as or ju ...

(bars, unknown campaigns) *

Henri Gouraud Henri Gouraud (17 November 1867 - 16 September 1946) was a French army general. He played a central role in the colonization of French Africa and the Levant. During World War I, he fought in major battles such as those of the Argonne, the Dard ...

(Senegal and Sudan, Morocco, Mauretania and Adrar) *

Charles Mangin Charles Emmanuel Marie Mangin (6 July 1866 – 12 May 1925) was a French general during World War I. Early career Charles Mangin was born on 6 July 1866 in Sarrebourg. After initially failing to gain entrance to Saint-Cyr, he joined the 77th In ...

(Senegal and Sudan) * André Lalande * Peter Julien Ortiz *

Gaston Palewski Gaston Palewski (20 March 1901 – 3 September 1984), a French politician, was a close associate of Charles de Gaulle during and after World War II. He is also remembered as the lover of the English novelist Nancy Mitford, and appears in a fic ...

* Philippe Ragueneau *

Louis Archinard Louis Archinard (11 February 1850 – 8 May 1932) was a French Army general at the time of the Third Republic, who contributed to the colonial conquest of French West Africa. He was traditionally presented in French histories as the conqueror an ...

(Sudan) * Olivier Mazel (Tunisia) * Joseph Vuillemin (Sahara, Africa) * Célestin Hennion * Pham Van Dong (Barrette Extrême Orient: for operations and campaigns in

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

)

External links

* http://www.france-phaleristique.com/accueil.htm * http://www.phaleristique.net {{French medals French campaign medals Awards disestablished in 1962 Awards established in 1893

Medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

1893 establishments in France

Medal

Campaign Clasps

Recipients

See also

External links