Françafrique is a term for the political, military and economic networks France built to keep influence over its former African colonies after independence in the 1960s. Coined in 1945 and given a positive meaning by Côte d'Ivoire's first president, it was redefined in 1998 by the activist François-Xavier Verschave as a system of corruption and interference. Its pillars were military agreements and interventions, the CFA franc, French corporations with privileged access to resources, and informal networks run through personal ties, such as the African cell at the Élysée Palace led by Jacques Foccart.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.