ABSTRACT
The vision of the universal republic transformed France, but it also fundamentally altered the nation's relationship to the wider world. The Third Republic inherited much from the Second Empire, notably building upon this legacy by expanding the nation's colonial empire to an undreamed-of size. One was the belief that people must be made ready for citizenship, that only a sufficient intellectual and moral level would render the republic viable. Chancellor Bismarck, initially no fan of overseas empire, eventually came round to the belief that Germany should have colonies to appease the masses at home. By the end of the nineteenth century France had created a vast empire, and the tricolor flag flew over territories scattered across the globe. France's desire to civilize its native population, combined with a belief in its subjects' racial inferiority, shaped other aspects of colonial life. Painting and sculpture in France also frequently took up colonial themes.
