Even though general opinion has accused historians of ignoring colonization, historical research and historiographic analyses on the subject, particularly concerning the 19th century, has in fact been extremely rich starting as early as the “second colonization”. Comparing research on different colonized geographical areas (sub-Saharian Africa versus Indochina) undertaken by both amateur and professional historians, allows for a colonial historiography that takes into account the flow between the differing scales from the local to the imperial level. From the very start of the colonial period, a contemporaneous history glowingly portraying French expansion developed coincidently with works articulating pre-colonial and colonial history. They used diverse sources and, from the start, were welcomed in metropolitan academic circles. As the independences unfolded, historical production freed itself of colonial frameworks;taking advantage of the reorganization of teaching and research disciplines into cultural areasand the resulting creation of new teaching positions. However, focus on the 19th century waned in studies that considered the colonial moment merely a parentheses in a more long-term history. Meanwhile, the 20th century was favoured in works of political, economic and social history analyzing the causes of the subjugation of the Third World. The next generation of historians preferred more focused work calling into play a multiplicity of factors to clarify the complexity of specific situations. The intellectual production of this newest generation is abundant, reflecting the latest developments in historical research. Even though it had seemed that colonial history could be studied in scientific calm, urgent requests for the recognition of colonial memories have been launched and academic research has been put to the test by post-colonial debates. This situation requires the discipline to re-examine the complex genealogy of colonisation, to uncover the interactions between the metropole and its colonies at all levels and, within colonial history, to take full measure of the heuristic contribution of the 19th century.