Colonial empire

Map of modern empires across the world between 1492 and 1945

Overseas possessions of a nation-state

A colonial empire is a state engaging in colonization, possibly establishing or maintaining colonies, infused with some form of coloniality and colonialism. Such states can expand contiguous as well as overseas. Colonial empires may set up colonies as settler colonies.[1]

Before the expansion of early modern European powers, other empires had conquered and colonized territories, such as the Roman Empire in Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. Modern colonial empires first emerged with a race of exploration[2][better source needed] between the then most advanced European maritime powers, Portugal and Spain, during the 15th century.[3][need quotation to verify] The initial impulse behind these dispersed maritime empires and those that followed was trade, driven by the new ideas and the capitalism that grew out of the European Renaissance. Agreements were also made to divide the world up between them in 1479, 1493, and 1494. European imperialism was born out of competition between European Christians and Ottoman Muslims, the latter of which rose up quickly in the 14th century and forced the Spanish and Portuguese to seek new trade routes to India, and to a lesser extent, China.

Although colonies existed in classical antiquity, especially amongst the Phoenicians and the ancient Greeks who settled many islands and coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, these colonies were politically independent from the city-states they originated from, and thus did not constitute a colonial empire.[4] This paradigm shifted by the time of the Ptolemaic Empire, the Seleucid Empire, and the Roman Empire.

The European countries of the modern era that are most remembered as colonial empires are the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, France, Germany and Belgium.[5][6]

Part of a series on

Colonialism
Colonization

Concepts

* Imperialism
* Interventionism

* Methods
* Settler
* Detribalization
* War
* Colonies
* Factory
* Protectorate
* Direct rule
* Chartered company
* Dependent territory
* Treaty port
* Indigenous peoples
* Terra nullius

By region

* Americas
* Africa
* Asia
* Southeast Asia
* Oceania
* Antarctica

Empires

* American
* Austrian
* Belgian
* British
* Danish
* Dutch
* French
* German
* Italian
* Japanese
* Norwegian
* Portuguese
* Russian
* Spanish
* Swedish

Settler states

* Independent: Antigua and Barbuda · Argentina · Australia · Bahamas · Barbados · Belize · Boer republics · Bolivia · Brazil · Canada · Chile · Colombia · Costa Rica · Cuba · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · El Salvador · Ezo · Grenada · Guatemala · Guyana · Honduras · Israel · Jamaica · Liberia · Mexico · New Zealand · Nicaragua · Northern Cyprus · Panama · Paraguay · Peru · Rhodesia · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Sierra Leone · South Africa · Suriname · Taiwan · Third Reich · Trinidad and Tobago · United States · Uruguay · Venezuela

Autonomous: Andaman Islands · British Fiji · British Kenya · British Overseas Territories · Canary Islands · Circassia · Chōsen · Dutch Caribbean · Fort Ross · French Algeria · Generalplan Ost · German South West Africa · Greenland · Hokkaido · Italian East Africa · Italian Libya · Japanese Taiwan · Karafuto · Kashmir · Manchukuo · New Caledonia · Northern Afghanistan · Northern Ireland · Okinawa · Overseas France · Posen · Puerto Rico · Russian Alaska · Russian Central Asia · Sápmi · Siberia · Southern Provinces · Tibet · U.S. Virgin Islands · South Seas Mandate · South Vietnam · Western New Guinea · West Prussia · Xinjiang

Decolonization

Concepts

* Independence
* Referendum
* War
* Declaration
* Neocolonialism
* Self-determination
* Home rule

By region

* Americas
* Africa
* Asia
* Oceania

* v
* t
* e

## History

[edit]

### European colonial empires

[edit]

Portugal began establishing the first global trade network and one of the first colonial empires[7][8] under the leadership of Henry the Navigator. The empire spread throughout a vast number of territories distributed across the globe (especially at one time in the 16th century) that are now parts of 60 different sovereign states. Portugal would eventually control Brazil, territories such as what is now Uruguay and some fishing ports in north, in the Americas; Angola, Mozambique, Portuguese Guinea, and São Tomé and Príncipe (among other territories and bases) in the North and the Subsaharan Africa; cities, forts or territories in all the Asian subcontinents, as Muscat, Ormus and Bahrain (amongst other bases) in the Persian Gulf; Goa, Bombay and Daman and Diu (amongst other coastal cities) in India; Portuguese Ceylon; Malacca, bases in Southeast Asia and Oceania, as Makassar, Solor, Banda, Ambon and others in the Moluccas, Portuguese Timor; and the granted entrepôt-base of Macau and the entrepôt-enclave of Dejima (Nagasaki) in East Asia, amongst other smaller or short-lived possessions.

The territorial evolution of modern colonial empires and some of their successor states (such as USSR, Turkey)

During its Siglo de Oro, the Spanish Empire had possession of Mexico, South America, the Philippines, all of southern Italy, a stretch of territories from the Duchy of Milan to the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium, parts of Burgundy, and many colonial settlements in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Possessions in Europe, Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, the Americas, the Pacific Ocean, and East Asia qualified the Spanish Empire as attaining a global presence. From 1580 to 1640 the Portuguese Empire and the Spanish Empire were conjoined in a personal union of its Habsburg monarchs during the period of the Iberian Union, but beneath the highest level of government, their separate administrations were maintained.

Colonial powers in 1898[a]

Subsequent colonial empires included the English, Dutch and French empires. Throughout the 19th and early 20th century, by virtue of its technological and maritime supremacy, the British Empire steadily expanded to become by far the largest empire in history; at its height ruling over a quarter of the Earth's land area and 24% of the population. Britain's role as a global hegemon during this time ushered in a century of "British Peace", lasting from the end of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars to the start of World War I. During the New Imperialism, Italy and Germany also built their colonial empires in Africa, while Japan started to encroach into former Chinese domains after they have settled their own reformation.

### Timeline

[edit]

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|

The chart below[original research?] shows the span of some European colonial empires.

* Black lines mark the year of the empires largest territorial extent of land area.
* Red represents that the empire is at that time a monarchy.
* Blue represents that the empire is at that time a republic.

## List of colonial empires

[edit]

Further information: United Nations list of non-self-governing territories and Dependent territory

European:

* Belgian Empire (1908–1962)
* Possessions in Africa
* Belgian Congo (1908–1960)
* Ruanda-Urundi (1922–1962)
* Possessions in Asia
* Belgian concession of Tianjin (1902–1931)
* British Empire (1707–1997/present)

Main article: List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom

* Evolution of the British Empire; Angevin Empire;  English colonial empire (1585–1707)
* Possessions in Europe
* British Cyprus
* British Malta
* British Ireland
* United States of the Ionian Islands
* British Gibraltar
* British Minorca
* British Heligoland
* Possessions in Africa
* British Somaliland (1884–1960)
* British Egypt (1914–1936)
* Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1899–1956)
* East Africa Protectorate (1895–1920)
* Kenya Colony (1920–1963)
* Uganda Protectorate (1894–1962)
* Tanganyika (territory) (1922–1961)
* Protectorate of Nyasaland (1893–1964)
* Protectorate of Northern Rhodesia (1924–1964)
* Colony of Southern Rhodesia (1923–1965), (1979–1980)
* Bechuanaland Protectorate (1885–1966)
* British Nigeria (1914–1954)
* British Gold Coast (1867–1957)
* British Sierra Leone (1808–1961)
* British Gambia (1821–1965)
* Possessions in the Americas
* Thirteen Colonies
* British West Indies
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Bermuda
* Leeward Islands (1671–1816),(1833–1958)
* Windward Islands (1833–1960)
* Cayman Islands
* Colony of Jamaica (1655–1962)
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Turks and Caicos Islands
* British Honduras (1862–1981)
* British Guiana (1814–1966)
* Kingdom of Mosquitia (1638–1860)
* Possessions in South Asia

Map of British Processions in South Asia

*     *       * East India Company (1757–1858)
*  India (1858–1947)
*  Ceylon (1815–1948)
* Bhutan (protectorate) (1907–1947)
* Sikkim (protectorate) (1861–1948)
* Nepal (protectorate) (1816–1923)
* Possessions in East Asia
* British Hong Kong (1841–1997)
* Possessions in the Middle East
* Trucial States (1820–1971)
* British Bahrain (1861-1971)
* British Qatar (1916–1971)
* British Iraq (1920–1932) (1932–1958)
* Emirate of Transjordan (1921–1946)
* Mandatory Palestine (1920–1948)
* Sheikhdom of Kuwait (1899–1961)
* Aden Protectorate (1872–1963)
* Muscat and Oman (1892–1970)
* Emirate of Afghanistan (protectorate) (1879–1947)
* Possessions in Southeast Asia
* British Bencoolen
* British Malaya
* British Borneo
* Dominions of the United Kingdom
* Canada
* Dominion of Newfoundland
* States and territories of Australia (1901–present)
* Australia itself a colony that gradually increased its independence in 1901, 1942 and 1986, was tasked with the government of multiple other British colonies and territories and the mandates of New Guinea and Nauru
* Realm of New Zealand (1907–present)
* New Zealand itself a colony that gradually increased its independence in 1907, 1947 and 1986, was tasked with the government of multiple other British colonies and territories and the mandate of Samoa. It was also nominal co-trustee of the mandate of Nauru. The remaining non-self-governing New Zealand territory is Tokelau.
* Mandates under South African administration (1915–1990)
* The South-West Africa mandate was governed by the Union of South Africa, that itself a colony that gradually increased its independence in 1910, 1931 and 1961.
* Danish Empire (1620–1979/present)
* Danish India (1620–1869)
* Danish Gold Coast (1658–1850)
* Danish colonization of the Americas:
* Danish West Indies (1754–1917)
* Greenland (1814–1979)
* Dutch Empire (1602–1975/present)
* Dutch colonization of the Americas by  Dutch West India Company:
* New Netherland
* Dutch Guyana/Surinam
* Dutch Brazil (1630-1654)
* Dutch Caribbean
* Dutch Gold Coast (1612-1872)
* Dutch East India Company
* Dutch India
* Dutch East Indies
* Netherlands New Guinea
* Dutch Cape Colony (1652–1806)
* Dutch Formosa (1624–1662)
* Dutch Ceylon (1640-1796)
* Dutch Malacca (1641-1795) (1818-1825)
* Dejima (1641–1854)
* Dutch Mauritius (1638–1710)
* French Empire (1534–1980/present)

Main article: List of French possessions and colonies

* French colonization of the Americas:
* France Antarctique (1555–1567)
* New France (1534–1763) and Quebec
* French Louisiana
* French West Indies (1635–today)
* Îles des Saintes (1648–present)
* Marie-Galante (1635–present)
* la Désirade (1635–present)
* Guadeloupe (1635–present)
* Martinique (1635–present)
* French Guiana
* Saint Pierre and Miquelon
* Asia:
* French India (1664–1962)
* French Indochina and French Indochinese Union (1887–1954)
* Laos (protectorate) (1893–1953)
* Cambodia (protectorate) (1863–1953)
* Vietnam
* Cochinchina (Southern Vietnam) (1858–1949)
* Annam (protectorate) (Central Vietnam) (1883–1949)
* Tonkin (protectorate) (Northern Vietnam) (1884–1949)
* China
* The foreign concessions :  French Concession of Shanghai (1849–1946), Tianjin (1860–1946) and Hankou (1898–1946)
* The spheres of French influence officially recognized by China on the provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, Hainan, and Guangdong
* Shamian Island (1859–1949) (a fifth of the island)
* French Guangzhouwan (1898–1945)
* Possessions in the Middle East
* Mandate for Syria and Lebanon (1920–1946)
* French Africa:
* French North Africa (1830–1934)
* French Algeria
* French Morocco (1912–1956)
* French Tunisia (1886–1956)
* French Somaliland (1883–1975)
* French West Africa (1895–1958)
* French Madagascar (1882–1958)
* French Comoros (1866–1968)
* French Equatorial Africa (1910–1958)
* Isle de France (1715–1810)
* Seychelles (1756–1810)
* The Scattered Islands
* Reunion (1710–present)
* Mayotte (1841–present)
* Oceania:
* New Hebrides (1906–1980)
* French Polynesia
* New Caledonia
* Wallis and Futuna
* Clipperton Island
* German Empire (1884–1920)
* Kamerun (1884–1918)
* Togoland (1884–1916)
* German South West Africa (1884–1919)
* German New Guinea (1884–1919)
* German East Africa (1885–1919)
* German Samoa (1900–1920)
* German Concession in Tientsin
* German concession of Hankou
* German Tsingtao
* German Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory
* Italian Empire (1882–1960)
* Eritrea (1882–1947)
* Somaliland (1889–1947, 1950–1960 as Italian Trust Territory of Somaliland)
* Ethiopia (1936–1941)
* Italian East Africa (formed by merging Eritrea, Somaliland and Ethiopia: 1936–1947)
* Cyrenaica (1912–1947)
* Tripolitania (1912–1947)
* Libya (Formed by merging Cyrenaica and Tripolitania in 1934. It dissolved in 1947. It also included the Southern Military Territory of Fezzan)
* Italian Islands of the Aegean (1912–1947)
* Italian Albania (1939–1943)
* Italian France (1940–1943)
* Italian Montenegro (1941–1943)
* Italian concession of Tientsin (1901–1947)
* Portuguese Empire (1415–1999)
* Evolution of the Portuguese Empire
* Portuguese colonization of the Americas
* Colonial Brazil (1500–1815)
* Portuguese India (1505–1961)
* Portuguese Ceylon (1598–1658)
* Portuguese Timor (1702–1975)
* Portuguese Macau (1557–1999)
* Portuguese Malacca (1511–1641)
* Portuguese Nagasaki (1580–1587)
* Portuguese Oman (1507–1656)
* Tamão (1514–1521)
* Portuguese Africa
* Portuguese East Africa (1498–1975)
* Portuguese West Africa (1575–1975)
* Portuguese Guinea (1474–1974) (1974–1975)
* Portuguese Cape Verde (1462–1975)
* Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe (1470–1975)
* Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá (1721–1961)
* Portuguese Gold Coast (1482–1642)
* Russian Empire (1721–1917)

Main article: Territorial evolution of Russia

* Finland
* Siberia
* Caucasus
* Central Asia
* Russian colonization of North America:
* Russian America (1733–1867)
* Sagallo (1889)
* Russian Port Arthur
* Russian concession in Tientsin
* Spanish Empire (1492–1825/1898-1975)

Main article: List of countries that have gained independence from Spain

* Spanish colonization of the Americas
* Viceroyalty of New Spain
* Viceroyalty of Peru
* Viceroyalty of New Granada
* Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
* Spanish East Indies (1565–1898)[9]
* Captaincy General of the Philippines
* Spanish Formosa (1626-1642)

*     * Spanish Africa
* Spanish Guinea (1778–1968)[10]
* Spanish Sahara (1884–1975)
* Spanish protectorate in Morocco (1912–1956)
* Ifni (1476–1524/1859–1969).
* Plazas de soberanía (Enclaves in North Africa)
* Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña (1478–1524)
* Spanish Mazalquivir (1505–1708, 1732–1792)
* Spanish Oran (1509–1708, 1732–1792)
* Spanish Tripoli (1510–1530)
* Spanish Béjaïa (1510–1555)
* Peñón de Algiers (1510–1529)
* Spanish Tunisia (1535–1569, 1573–1574)
* Spanish Larache (1610–1689)
* Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (1508–present)
* Melilla (1497–present)
* Ceuta (1578/1668–present)
* Possessions of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain,  Habsburg Spain and  Spanish House of Bourbon[11] in Europe:
* Spanish Burgundian lands
* Spanish Netherlands (1555–1713)
* Spanish Holland (1555–1581)
* Spanish Belgium (1555–1713)
* Spanish Luxembourg (1555–1713)
* Franche-Comté (1555–1678)
* Charolais (1555–1678)
* Upper Alsace (1617–1648)[12]
* Spanish Palatinate (1620–1652)
* Spanish Italy
* Kingdom of Sardinia (1479–1713), 1717–1720)
* Kingdom of Sicily (1479–1713), 1734–1815)
* Kingdom of Naples (1503–1713), 1734–1806)
* Principality of Monaco (1524–1641)
* State of the Presidi (1557–1708)
* Duchy of Milan (1559–1706)
* Marquisate of Finale (1602–1713)
* Spanish Grischun (1620–1639)
* Principality of Piombino (1628–1634)
* Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (1734–1738, 1748–1796, 1847–1854)
* Kingdom of Etruria (1801–1807)
* Duchy of Lucca (1815–1847)
* Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1815–1860)
* Swedish Empire (1638–1663, 1733, 1784–1878)
* Swedish colonies in the Americas
* New Sweden (1638–1655)
* Swedish colony of Saint Barthélemy (1784–1878)
* Guadeloupe (1813–1814)
* Swedish Gold Coast (1650–1658, 1660–1663)
* Swedish Africa Company
* Swedish East India Company
* Parangipettai (1733)
* Swedish Factory, Canton Factories (1757–1860)

Asian:

* Empire of Japan (1868–1945)

Main article: List of territories occupied by Imperial Japan

* Ezo as Hokkaido (1869–present)
* Ryukyu as Okinawa Prefecture (1879–1945; 1972–present)[13]
* Taiwan (1895–1945)
* Karafuto Prefecture (1905–1949)
* Korea (1910–1945)
* South Seas Mandate (1919–1947)
* Manchukuo (1932–1945)
* Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (1932–1945)
* Ottoman Empire (1354–1908)[14]

Main articles: Administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire and Vassal and tributary states of the Ottoman Empire

*     * Europe:
* Cretan State (1898–1913)
* Crimean Khanate (1475–1774)
* Ottoman Albania (1479–1912)
* Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina (1463–1908)
* Ottoman Bulgaria (1396–1878)
* Ottoman Crete (1667–1898)
* Ottoman Cyprus (1571–1878)
* Ottoman Greece (1453–1830)
* Ottoman Hungary (1541–1699)
* Ottoman Serbia (1459–1804)
* Rumelia Eyalet (1365–1867)
* Sanjak of Rhodes (1522–1912)
* United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (1859–1862)
* Asia:
* Protectorate of Aceh (1496–1903)
* Ottoman Arabia (1517–1919)
* Ottoman Iraq (1538–1918)
* Ottoman Syria (1517–1918)
* Emirate of Nejd (1818-1914)
* Africa:
* Khedivate of Egypt (1867–1914)
* Turco-Egyptian Sudan (1820–1885)
* Ottoman Egypt (1517–1914)
* Ottoman Absinia (1554–1872)
* Ottoman Algeria (1516–1830)
* Ottoman Tripolitania (1551–1912)
* Ottoman Tunisia (1574–1881)

Other countries with informal colonial possessions:

* United States (1857–present)

Main articles: US imperialism and Territories of the United States

* U.S. overseas territories:
* Minor Outlying Islands (1857–present)
* American Samoa (1900–present)
* Guam (1899–present)
* Naval Government of Guam (1899–1950)
* Northern Mariana Islands (1986–present)
* Puerto Rico (1899–present)
* Military Government of Porto Rico (1899–1900)
* Insular Government of Porto Rico (1900–1952)
* United States Virgin Islands (1917–present)
* Philippines (1899–1946)
* Military Government of the Philippine Islands (1899–1902)
* Insular Government of the Philippine Islands (1902–1935)
* Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935–1946)
* Republic of Hawaii (1898–1900)
* Swan Islands (1863–1972)
* U.S.-administered areas:
* Canton and Enderbury Islands (1939–1979)
* Corn Islands (1914–1971)
* Nanpō Islands and Marcus Island (1952–1968)
* Panama Canal (Zone) (1903–1999)
* Ryukyu Islands and Daitō Islands (1952–1972)
* Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (1947–1994)
* Habsburg monarchy Colonies[15] and the  Austro-Hungarian Empire (1719–1750, 1778–1783, 1901–1917)
* Austrian colonial policy
* Ostend Company
* Bankipur (Bengal)
* Covelong
* Austrian East India Company
* Austrian colonisation of Nicobar Islands (1778–1785)
* Austrian Delagoa Bay (1773–1781)
* Móric Benyovszky's Madagascar (1774–1779)
* Austrian North Borneo
* Franz Josef Land
* Austro-Hungarian concession of Tianjin (1901–1917)
* Hungarian colonial attempts[16][17]
* Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1637–1795)
* Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (a Latvian vassal of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1637–1690):
* Couronian colonization in Africa
* Couronian colonization of the Americas
* German colonial initiatives (1683–1721)
* Colonies of  Brandenburg-Prussia (1683–1721)[15]
* Colonies of  County of Hanau[18]
* Neu-Askania (1828–1856)
* German colonization of the Americas
* Klein-Venedig (1528–1546)
* Pre-unification Italian colonialism

Main articles: Italy and the colonization of the Americas and Maritime republics

* Grand Duchy of Tuscany: Thornton expedition (1608–1609)
* Kingdom of Sicily: Kingdom of Africa (1135–1160)
* Knights Hospitaller (Malta, a vassal of the  Kingdom of Sicily): Hospitaller colonization of the Americas
* Republic of Genoa: Genoese colonies
* Republic of Venice: Stato da Màr
* Kingdom of Norway
* List of possessions of Norway (1920–present)
* Erik the Red's Land
* Norway Antarctic and sub-Antarctic possessions (1927–1957)[19]
* Kingdom of Scotland (1621–1707)
* Scottish colonization of the Americas
* Kingdom of Morocco (1975–present)
* Southern Provinces
* Omani Empire (1652–1892)
* Yaruba dynasty (1624–1742)
* Sultanate of Muscat (1652–1820)
* Sultanate of Zanzibar (taken by Oman in 1698, became capital of the Omani Sultanate or Empire from 1632 or 1640; until 1890)
* Mombasa (1698–1728, 1729–1744, 1837–1890)
* Gwadar (1783–1958)
* Chinese Empire (from Qin dynasty to  Qing dynasty),  (221 BC – 1911)
* Main article: Chinese imperialism

* Imperial Chinese Tributary System
* Guangxi
* Hainan (since the Han dynasty)
* Nansha Islands
* Xisha Islands
* Manchuria (during the Tang, Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties)
* Manchuria (Northeast China)
* Outer Manchuria
* Kuye Island
* Korea
* Canghai Commandery(A commandery that self subjugated to Han dynasty from Dongye)
* Four Commanderies of Han (Established after the fall of Gojoseon)
* Daifang Commandery (Offshoot of the former four commanderies of Han that existed in the 3rd to 4th century)
* Colonization attempts of the Tang dynasty after Unification of the three kingdoms of Korea (Gyerim Territory Area Command, Protectorate General to Pacify the East and Ungjin Commandery)
* Dongnyeong Prefectures, Ssangseong Prefectures and Tamna prefectures (Yuan dynasty)
* Chinese concession of Incheon (during the Qing dynasty)
* Inner Mongolia
* Outer Mongolia (during for example the Tang and Qing dynasties)
* Tannu Uriankhai
* Taiwan (during the Qing dynasty)
* Tibet (during the Yuan and Qing dynasties)
* Yunnan
* Vietnam (from the Han to Tang dynasties, and during the early Ming dynasty)
* Xinjiang
* Central Asia (during the Tang and Qing dynasties)
* Protectorate General to Pacify the West
* Ethiopian colonies as the Aksum Empire and Abyssinian empire
* Viceroyalty of Yemen (520–578)
* Ethiopian South-Eastern colonization (1878–present)
* Ethiopian Somali
* Oromia
* Gambela
* Southern Nations
* Ethiopian-Eritrean/Eritrea Province (1952–1993)
* Persian Empires
* Oman (5th century BC–628; 1743–1747)
* Bahrain (5th century BC–629; 1077–1253, 1330–1507)
* Sasanian Yemen (570–628)
* Bijapur Sultan (1490-1686)
* Persianization of regions within Greater Iran
* Rashidun Caliphate, Umayyad Caliphate and  Abbasid Caliphate
* Umayyad Al-Andalus (Arab Hispania)
* Umayyad Gaul (Arab Southern France)
* Arab Maghreb
* Aghlabids colonies from Ifriqiya
* Southern Italy
* Emirate of Sicily
* Emirate of Bari
* Malta
* Al-Jazira (Arab Mesopotamia)
* Al-Awasim
* Arab Iran
* Arabistan
* Khamseh
* Arab Central Asian
* Arab Khorasan
* Arminiya (Arab Caucasus)
* Chola Empire
* Srivijaya
* Sri Lanka
* Sikh Empire (1799–1849)
* Jammu and Kashmir (princely state) (1819–1846)
* Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (1834–1849)

## See also

[edit]

* Analysis of Western European colonialism and colonization
* Colonial troops
* Empire
* Great Divergence
* Hegemony
* History of Western civilization
* Imperialism
* List of ancient great powers
* List of largest empires
* List of medieval great powers
* List of modern great powers
* Middle Eastern empires
* Nomadic empire
* The empire on which the sun never sets

## Notes and references

[edit]

1. ^

United Kingdom

France

Spain

Portugal

Netherlands

Germany

Ottoman Empire

Belgium

Austria-Hungary

Russia

Japan

Denmark

Sweden-Norway

United States

Italy

Independent / Other countries

1. ^ "Colonial Empire: Definition | StudySmarter". StudySmarter UK. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
2. ^ Hale, Sebastian. Ferdinand Magellan The Global Navigator. Shubham. Retrieved 15 July 2025. "Following Magellan, the exploration race intensified. Spain, Portugal, England and France eagerly sought to stake their claim on the riches of the New World and beyond."
3. ^ Encarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "kolonie [geschiedenis]. §1.2 De moderne koloniale expansie". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum.
4. ^ Encarta, s.v. "kolonie [geschiedenis]. §1.1 Oudheid.
5. ^ "Years a country was an European overseas colony". Our World in Data. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
6. ^ "Western colonialism | Definition, History, Examples, & Effects | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
7. ^ William D. Phillips, Jr; Phillips, Carla Rahn (November 12, 2015). Spain as the first global empire. pp. 176–272\. doi:10.1017/CBO9781316271940.006. ISBN 9781107109711. Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2019. `{{cite book}}`: `|website=` ignored (help)
8. ^ Powell, Philip Wayne ([1991?]). Árbol de odio: la leyenda negra y sus consecuencias en las relaciones entre Estados Unidos y el mundo hispánico. Ediciones Iris de Paz. ISBN 9788440488855. OCLC 55157841
9. ^ part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain before 1821.
10. ^ Part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata before 1810.
11. ^ During the reign of Philip V of Borbon, an intense diplomatic and military activity was developed with which the recovery of a significant Spanish presence in Italy was achieved. He placed several of his sons as independent sovereigns in different territories, such as the Duchy of Parma and especially the Kingdom of Naples, where the spanish House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and House of Bourbon-Parma ruled until 1860.
12. ^ Herfried Münkler: Der Dreißigjährige Krieh. Rowohlt, Berlin 2017
13. ^ Gregory Smits (1999). Visions of Ryukyu: Early-Modern Thought and Politics. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 143–149·
14. ^ Suciyan, Talin (2023-05-01), "Armenian Genocide and its Denial: A Comprehensive Tool of Supremacism?", in Der Matossian, Bedross (ed.), Denial of Genocides in the Twenty-First Century, Nebraska, p. 75, doi:10.2307/jj.1507451.7, ISBN 978-1-4962-3555-8, retrieved 2025-06-24, "Arguing that the Ottoman Empire, like her contemporaries, was a colonial empire would lead to the analysis that the Armenian Genocide was a result of Ottoman colonialism and the racism intrinsic to it..."
15. ^ a b Part of the Holy Roman Empire realm before 1804.
16. ^ "Ahol majdnem magyar gyarmatok lettek". 3 November 2014. Archived from the original on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
17. ^ "The Hungarian who wanted to colonise Somalia probably with the help of Budapest". 28 June 2019. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
18. ^ part of the Holy Roman Empire before 1736
19. ^ The dependencies of Norway are uninhabited, thus as end date is taken the latest date of full Norwegian sovereignty extension to such territory, instead of the date of decolonization or integration in the administrative structures of the mainland. Bouvet Island claimed in 1927, under Norway sovereignty since 1930.
Peter I Island claimed in 1929, under Norway sovereignty since 1933.
Queen Maud Land claimed in 1938, under Norway sovereignty since 1957.
Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land fall under the scope of the Antarctic Treaty System since 1961.

## External links

[edit]

* Visualizing western empires decline

* v
* t
* e

Empires

Ancient
(colonies)|

* Akkadian
* Armenian
* Urartu
* Orontid
* Ancient
* Assyrian
* Middle Assyrian
* Neo-Assyrian
* Babylonian
* Old Babylonian
* Kassite
* Neo-Babylonian
* Chinese
* Qin
* Han
* Jin
* Dʿmt
* Egyptian
* Old Kingdom
* Middle Kingdom
* New Kingdom
* Goguryeo
* Harsha
* Hellenistic
* Macedonian
* Seleucid
* Ptolemaic
* Bactrian
* Indo-Greek
* Hittite
* Hunnic
* White
* Xiongnu
* Iranian
* Median
* Achaemenid
* Parthian
* Sasanian
* Kush
* Kushan
* Magadha
* Haryanka
* Shaishunaga
* Nanda
* Maurya
* Shunga
* Gupta
* Phoenician
* Carthaginian
* Roman
* Western
* Eastern
* Satavahana
* Neo-Sumerian
* Xianbei
* Rouran

Post-classical|

* Angevin
* Aragonese
* Armenian
* Bagratid
* Vaspurakan
* Artsakh
* Cilician
* Zakarid
* Ayyubid
* Aztec
* Benin
* Bornu
* Bruneian
* Bulgarian
* First
* Second
* Burmese
* First
* Calakmul
* Caliphate
* Rashidun
* Umayyad
* Abbasid
* Fatimid
* Chalukya
* Western
* Eastern
* Chinese
* Sui
* Tang
* Liao
* Song
* Jīn
* Yuan
* Chola
* Ethiopian
* Aksum
* Zagwe
* Solomonic
* Genoese
* Georgian
* Huetar
* Inca
* Kannauj
* Pala
* Gurjara-Pratihara
* Rashtrakuta
* Iranian
* Tahirid
* Saffarid
* Samanid
* Buyid
* Japanese
* Yamato
* Kamakura
* Muromachi
* Edo
* Kanem
* Khmer
* Latin
* Lithuanian
* Grand Duchy
* Commonwealth
* Majapahit
* Mali
* Mongol
* Yuan
* Golden Horde
* Chagatai Khanate
* Ilkhanate
* Berber
* Almoravid
* Almohad
* Norwegian
* North Sea
* Oyo
* Polish
* Kingdom
* Commonwealth
* Roman
* Byzantine
* Nicaea
* Thessalonica
* Trebizond
* Epirus
* Morea
* Romano-Germanic
* Carolingian
* Holy Roman
* Serbian
* Singhasari
* Songhai
* Srivijaya
* Tibetan
* Tikal
* Tiwanaku
* Toltec
* Turco-Persian
* Ghaznavid
* Great Seljuk
* Khwarezmian
* Timurid
* Turkic
* First
* Western
* Eastern
* Second
* Türgesh
* Uighur
* Kyrgyz
* Venetian
* Vietnamese
* Dinh
* Early Le
* Ly
* Tran
* Ho
* Later Tran
* Later Le
* Vijayanagara
* Wagadou
* Wari

Modern|

* Afghan
* Ashanti
* Austro-Hungarian
* Brazilian
* Burmese
* Second
* Third
* Central African
* Chinese
* Ming
* Qing
* China
* Manchukuo
* Contemporary
* Ethiopian
* Haitian
* First
* Second
* French
* First
* Second
* German
* German Empire
* Nazi Germany
* Indian
* Indo-Persian
* Mughal
* Sikh
* Iranian
* Safavid
* Afsharid
* Zand
* Qajar
* Pahlavi
* Japanese
* Korean
* Maratha
* Mexican
* First
* Second
* Mongol
* Oirat
* Khoshut
* Dzungar
* Kalmyk
* Bogd
* Moroccan
* Saadi
* 'Alawi
* Polish
* Russian
* Tsarist
* Imperial
* Contemporary
* Sokoto
* Somali
* Isaaq
* Swedish
* Tongan
* Vietnamese
* Mạc
* Revival Lê
* Tay Sơn
* Dainam
* Vietnam

| Colonial|

* American
* Austrian
* attempts
* Belgian
* British
* English
* Scottish
* Chinese
* Danish
* Dutch
* French
* German
* attempts
* Italian
* Venetian
* Genoese
* Maltese
* attempts
* Japanese
* Mongol
* Norwegian
* Omani
* Ottoman
* Polish–Lithuanian
* Couronian
* attempts
* Portuguese
* Russian
* Spanish
* Catalan-Aragonese
* Basque
* Swedish

|

Lists|

* Empires
* largest
* Ancient great powers
* Medieval great powers
* Modern great powers
* European colonialism
* African empires

Miscellaneous|

* Academic
* Anti-imperialism
* Cultural
* Ecological
* Green
* Media
* Liberal
* Linguistic
* Social
* Soviet
* Theories
* U.S.

* v
* t
* e

Colonization, decolonization, and separatism

By region|

| Exploration|

* Americas
* Africa
* Asia
* Oceania
* Antarctica — World oceans

|

Colonization and Imperialism|

* List of empires
* Americas
* Antarctica
* Africa
* European colonies
* Asia
* Southeast Asia
* Oceania
* Extraterrestrial

Decolonization and Anti-imperialism|

* Sovereign states formation dates
* Americas
* in South America
* Africa
* Asia
* Europe
* Ottoman
* Spain
* Ukraine
* Oceania

General
topics|

| Exploration|

* Maritime history (European)
* Age of Discovery

|

Colonization|

* Antiquity — Imperialism
* Chartered companies
* Interventionism
* Colonialism
* chronology
* history
* empires
* detribalization
* settler colonialism
* wars
* Current: Non-self-governing
* Dependent

Colonial empires
in the modern era|

* Overseas, major: British
* Dutch
* French
* German
* Italian
* Portuguese
* Spanish

* Overseas, minor: American
* Australian
* Austro-Hungarian
* Belgian
* Couronian (Polish-Lithuanian)
* Danish
* New Zealand
* Norwegian
* Swedish

* Mostly contiguous: American
* Chinese
* Japanese
* Ottoman
* Russian
* South African

Decolonization
and Separatism|

* Independence
* Declaration
* Diplomatic recognition
* Facts on the ground
* Referendum
* Limited
* Namibia exception
* Non-recognition
* Partition
* Unilateral
* Non-interventionism
* Political status
* Rebellion
* List
* Rump state
* Secession
* Self-determination
* League of Nations mandate
* Separatism
* Active
* Political parties
* Historical
* Sovereignty
* Special Committee on Decolonization
* Territorial integrity
* Wars of national liberation
* List

Postcolonialism|

* Nation-building
* Neocolonialism
* Postcolonial international relations

Related concepts|

* Anabaptism
* Decolonization of knowledge
* Terra nullius
* Plantation
* Settler
* Indigenous peoples
* Internal colonialism
* Uncontacted peoples
* Christianity and colonialism
* Decolonization of public space
* Analysis of European colonialism and colonization
* Zionism

* v
* t
* e

Autonomous types of first-tier subdivision administration

Federalism|

* Asymmetric federalism
* Confederation
* Cooperative federalism
* Corporative federalism
* Dual federalism
* Ethnic federalism
* Federacy
* Federal monarchy
* Federal republic
* Federated state
* Federation
* Fiscal federalism
* Symmetric federalism
* List of federal countries

Unitary state|

* Devolution
* Regional state

Unions|

* Composite monarchy
* Dual monarchy
* Dynastic union
* Empire
* Colonial empire
* Multinational state
* Personal union
* Political union
* Real union
* Superstate
* Supranational union
* Continental union

Subordinacy|

* Associated state
* Client state
* Colony
* Dependent territory
* Direct rule
* Dominion
* Indirect rule
* Mandate
* Protectorate
* Puppet state
* Satellite state
* Trusteeship
* Tributary state
* Vassal state

Development|

* Annexation
* Cession
* Detachment
* Irredentism
* Military occupation
* Partition
* Secession
* Separatism
* Territorial dispute

See also|

* Autonomy
* Autonomous area
* Decentralization
* Hegemony
* Home rule
* Stateless nation
* Subsidiarity
* Suzerainty
* Tribal sovereignty

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*[e]: Edit this template