List of former European colonies

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (April 2023)

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This is a list of former European colonies.

The European countries which had the most colonies throughout history were: United Kingdom (130), France (90), Portugal (52), Spain (44), Netherlands (29), Germany (20), Russia (17), Denmark (9), Sweden (8), Italy (7), Norway (6), Knights of Malta (6), Belgium (3), and Courland (2).

## North America

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### Denmark

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Name  | Capital or main city  | From  | To  | Ruling power

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Danish West Indies | Charlotte Amalie | 1672  | 1814  | Denmark–Norway
1814  | 1917  | Denmark
South Greenland | Godthåb | 1782  | 1814  | Denmark–Norway
1814  | 1950  | Denmark
North Greenland | Godhavn | 1782  | 1814  | Denmark–Norway
1814  | 1950  | Denmark
Colony of Greenland | Godthåb | 1950  | 1953
County of Greenland | 1953  | 1979
Greenland | Nuuk | 1979  | present

### France

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Name  | Capital or main city  | From  | To  | Ruling power

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New France | Quebec | 1534  | 1763  | France
Canada | 1535
Acadia | Port-Royal | 1604  | 1713
Saint-Domingue | Port-au-Prince | 1659  | 1792
1792  | 1803
Illinois | St. Louis | 1675  | 1769
1801  | 1803
Louisiana | New Orleans | 1682  | 1762
1801  | 1803
Île-Royale | Louisbourg | 1713  | 1763

#### Great Britain

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* British America (New Britain)
* Canada
* Island of St. John
* Lower Canada
* Province of Quebec
* Upper Canada
* Newfoundland Colony
* "Thirteen Colonies" (The United States of America)
* New England Colonies:
* Province of Massachusetts Bay
* Province of New Hampshire
* Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
* Connecticut Colony
* Province of New York
* Province of New Jersey
* Province of Pennsylvania
* Delaware Colony
* Province of Maryland
* Colony of Virginia
* Province of North Carolina
* Province of South Carolina
* Province of Georgia
* Other North American colonies
* Province of East Florida
* Province of West Florida
* British Honduras
* Bay Islands

#### Iceland

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* Greenland

#### Netherlands

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* New Netherland (Nieuw-Amsterdam / New York)

#### Norway

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* Greenland

#### Russia

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* Russian Alaska

#### Scotland

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* Nova Scotia

#### Spain

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* Mexico (1521)
* Viceroyalty of New Spain (1535–1821)
* Las Californias
* Nuevo Reino de León
* Nuevo Santander
* Nueva Vizcaya
* Santa Fe de Nuevo México
* Nueva Extremadura
* Nueva Galicia
* Captaincy General of Cuba
* Puerto Rico
* Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)
* Captaincy General of Guatemala
* Costa Rica
* El Salvador
* East Florida and West Florida

#### Sweden

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* New Sweden

### Caribbean

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#### Brandenburg

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* St Thomas

#### Courland

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* New Courland (Tobago)

#### Denmark-Norway

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* Saint John
* Saint Thomas
* Saint Croix

#### France

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* Anguilla
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Dominica
* Grenada
* Montserrat
* Nevis
* Saint Christophe (St Kitts)
* Saint Croix
* Saint-Domingue (Hispaniola)
* Sainte-Lucia (St Lucia)
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Sint Eustatius
* Tobago

#### Knights of Malta

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* Saint Barthélemy
* Saint Martin
* Saint Christopher (St Kitts)
* Saint Croix
* Tortuga (off coast of Haiti)

#### Netherlands

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* New Walcheren (Tobago)

#### Spain

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* Belize
* Jamaica
* Spanish West Indies
* The Bahamas
* Cuba
* Hispaniola
* Puerto Rico
* Trinidad

#### Sweden

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* Saint-Barthélemy

#### Sweden-Norway

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* Cooper Island
* Saint-Barthélemy (1814–1878)

#### United Kingdom

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* The Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Jamaica
* Leeward Islands
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Dominica
* Saint Christopher (St Kitts)-Nevis
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Windward Islands
* Grenada
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

## South America

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### Augsburg/Nuremberg

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* Welserland (Venezuela)

### France

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* Brazil (Rio de Janeiro briefly, and São Luís briefly)

(see France Antarctique and France Équinoxiale)

* Iles Malouines (Falkland Islands)

### Netherlands

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* Berbice (Guyana)
* Demerara
* Dutch colonisation of the Guianas, overview
* Surinam (Suriname)
* Essequibo
* New Holland (Brazil – Half the captaincies)

### Portugal

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* Brazil
* Cisplatina (Uruguay)
* Sacramento
* Misiones Orientales

### Spain

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* Kingdom of Tierra Firme (1498–1537)
* Governorate of New Andalusia (1501–1513)
* Governorate of Castilla de Oro (1514–1539)
* Governorate of New Castile (1529–1542)
* Governorate of New Toledo (1529–1542)
* Governorate of New León (1529–1539)
* Governorate of New Andalusia (1534–1617)
* Viceroyalty of Peru (1542–1824)
* New Kingdom of Granada (1538–1717) (1723–1739)
* Real Audiencia of Panamá (1538–1717) (1723–1739)
* Captaincy General of Chile (1541–1818)
* Real Audiencia of Lima (1542–1821)
* Governorate of the Río de la Plata (1549–1776)
* Real Audiencia of Charcas (1559–1776)
* Real Audiencia of Quito (1563–1717) (1723–1739)
* Real Audiencia of Concepción (1565–1575)
* Governorate of Guayrá (1617–1776)
* Real Audiencia of Buenos Aires (1661–1671)
* Real Audiencia of Cuzco (1787–1825)
* Viceroyalty of New Granada (1717–1723) (1739–1810) (1815–1822)
* Real Audiencia of Panamá (1717–1723) (1739–1752)
* Real Audiencia of Quito (1717–1723) (1739–1822)
* Captaincy General of Venezuela (1777–1824)
* Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (1776–1814)
* Governorate of Paraguay (1776–1782)
* Real Audiencia of Charcas (1776–1821)
* Upper Peru (1821–1825)

### United Kingdom

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* British Guiana
* Berbice, Essequibo, Demerara
* Surinam

## Africa

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### Belgium

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* Belgian Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
* Ruanda-Urundi (Rwanda and Burundi)

### Brandenburg

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* Arguin (in Mauritania)
* Brandenburger Gold Coast (coastal settlements in Ghana)

### Courland

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* St. Andrews Island (in the Gambia)

### Denmark-Norway

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* Danish Gold Coast (coastal settlements in Ghana)

### France

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* Albreda (in The Gambia)
* Comoros
* French Dahomey (Benin)
* French Algeria
* French Cameroon (91% of modern Cameroon)
* French Chad
* French Congo (Republic of the Congo)
* French Guinea (Guinea)
* French Upper Volta (Republic of Upper Volta, Burkina Faso)
* French Somaliland (Djibouti)
* French Sudan (Mali)
* French Togoland (Togo)
* French Madagascar
* Gabon
* Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)
* Colonial Mauritania
* French protectorate in Morocco (89% of Morocco)
* Oubangui-Chari (Central African Republic)
* Senegal
* Senegambia and Niger
* Upper Senegal and Niger
* Colony of Niger
* French protectorate of Tunisia

### Germany

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* German East Africa (Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania)
* German South-West Africa (Namibia)
* Kamerun (split between Cameroon and Nigeria)
* Togoland (split between Togo and Ghana)
* Wituland (Lamu Island, owned by Kenya)

### Hospitaller Malta

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* Tripoli

### Italy

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* Italian East Africa
* Italian Eritrea
* Italian Somaliland (now Somalia)
* Italian Libya

### Netherlands

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* Arguin Island (in Mauritania)
* Dutch Cape Colony
* Dutch Gold Coast (settlements along coast of Ghana, including El Mina)
* Dutch Loango-Angola (Luanda, Sonyo and Cabinda)
* Gorée (Senegal)
* Moçambique (Delagoa Bay)
* São Tomé
* South Africa
* Mauritius

### Portugal

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* Ajuda (Whydah, in Benin)
* Portuguese Angola
* Annobón
* Cabinda
* Cape Verde (Cabo Verde)
* Ceuta
* Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá
* Gorée (in Senegal)
* Malindi
* Mombasa
* Algarve Ultramar (Morocco)
* Agadir
* Alcacer Ceguer
* Arzila
* Azamor
* Mazagan
* Mogador
* Safim
* Nigeria (Lagos area)
* Mozambique
* Portuguese Gold Coast (settlements along coast of Ghana)
* Portuguese Guinea (Guinea-Bissau)
* Quíloa
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Tangier
* Zanzibar
* Ziguinchor

### Spain

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* Bona
* Bougie
* Jerba
* Fernando Po and Annobon (insular Equatorial Guinea)
* Oran
* Port Guinea
* Río Muni (mainland Equatorial Guinea)
* Spanish Protectorate in Morocco
* Spanish West Africa
* Río de Oro
* Saguia el-Hamra
* Tarfaya Strip
* Ifni

### Sweden

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* Swedish Gold Coast (coastal settlements in Ghana)

### United Kingdom

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* Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (Sudan)
* Basutoland (Lesotho)
* Balleland (Benin)
* Bechuanaland (Botswana)
* British East Africa (Kenya)
* British Somaliland (Somaliland)
* British Togoland (eastern Ghana)
* British Cameroon (split between Nigeria and Cameroon)
* British Mauritius
* British Egypt
* Khedivate of Egypt
* Sultanate of Egypt
* Kingdom of Egypt
* Gambia Colony and Protectorate
* Gold Coast (Ghana)
* Colonial Nigeria
* Niger Coast Protectorate
* Northern Nigeria Protectorate
* Southern Nigeria Protectorate
* Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria
* Northern Rhodesia (Zambia)
* Nyasaland (Malawi)
* Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate
* Union of South Africa
* British Cape Colony
* Natal Colony
* Orange River Colony
* Transvaal Colony
* South West Africa (Namibia)
* Walvis Bay
* Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)
* Swaziland (Eswatini)
* Tanganyika Territory (mainland Tanzania)
* Uganda Protectorate
* Sultanate of Zanzibar (insular Tanzania)

## West Asia

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### France

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* Syria
* Lebanon

### Netherlands

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* Jemen, Al Mukha (Mocca)
* Mesopotamia (Iraq, Al Basrah)

### Portugal

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* Aden
* Bandar Abbas (Iran)
* Hormuz
* Manama (Bahrain)
* Muharraq Island (Bahrain)
* Muscat (Oman)
* Qeshm

### United Kingdom

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* Aden Protectorate
* Bahrain
* Cyprus
* Mandatory Iraq
* Sheikhdom of Kuwait
* Muscat and Oman
* Mandatory Palestine
* Qatar
* South Arabia
* Emirate of Transjordan
* Trucial States

## South Asia

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### Indian Ocean Area

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#### France

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* French Comoros
* Isle de France (now Mauritius)
* French Madagascar
* French Seychelles

#### Netherlands

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* Dutch Mauritius (now Mauritius)

#### Portugal

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* Laccadive Islands (Lakshadweep)
* Malé (Maldives)
* Socotra

#### Austria

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* Banquibazar & Cabelon
* Nicobar Islands

#### United Kingdom

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* Mauritius
* Seychelles
* Maldives

### Mainland

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#### Denmark-Norway

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* Frederik Oerne Islands (Nicobar Islands)
* Serampore
* Tranquebar

#### France

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* French India
* Pondicherry
* Karikal
* Yanaon
* Mahé
* Chandernagore

#### Netherlands

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* Dutch Bengal
* Dutch Ceylon
* Dutch India (Dutch Bengal, Suratte, Malabar, Coromandel)

#### Portugal

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* Bombay
* Calicut
* Cambay
* Cannanore
* Ceilão
* Chaul
* Chittagong
* Cochin
* Dadra and Nagar Haveli
* Daman and Diu
* Goa
* Hughli
* Masulipatnam
* Mangalore
* Pegu
* Surat
* Syriam

#### Sweden

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* Parangipettai

#### United Kingdom

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* Territories of the EIC till 1858
* Territories of the British Raj after 1858

## Asia-Pacific

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### France

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* East Asia
* Indochina
* Cambodia
* Laos
* Vietnam
* Annam
* Cochinchina
* Tonkin

### Germany

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* German New Guinea
* Bismarck Archipelago
* Caroline Islands (Karolinen)
* Kaiser-Wilhelmsland
* North Solomon Islands
* Gilbert Islands
* German Samoa
* Marshall Islands
* Nauru
* Northern Marianas Islands (Marianen)
* Palau

### Netherlands

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* Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)
* Dutch New Guinea (Western Part of Papua, Indonesia)
* Malacca
* Dutch Formosa

### Portugal

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* Flores
* Macau
* Malacca
* Moluccas
* Ambon
* Ternate
* Tidore
* Portuguese Timor (Timor-Leste)
* Solor

### Spain

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* Spanish East Indies
* Philippines
* Marianas Islands
* Guam
* Northern Marianas Islands
* Caroline Islands
* Marshall Islands

### United Kingdom

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* British Burma
* Australia
* New South Wales
* Queensland
* South Australia
* Swan River Colony/Western Australia
* Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania)
* Victoria
* British Solomon Islands
* British Western Pacific Territories
* Christmas Island
* Cocos Islands
* Colonial Fiji
* Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Kiribati & Tuvalu)
* Kingdom of Rarotonga (Cook Islands)
* New Zealand
* Auckland Islands
* Niue
* Norfolk Island
* Territory of Papua and New Guinea
* Territory of New Guinea
* Western Samoa
* Phoenix Islands (part of Kiribati)
* Solomon Islands
* Territory of Papua
* Tokelau
* Tonga
* Southeast Asia
* Malaysia
* British Malaya
* Federated Malay States
* Straits Settlements
* Unfederated Malay States
* British Borneo
* North Borneo
* Kingdom of Sarawak
* Brunei
* Singapore
* China
* Hong Kong

## Europe

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### Denmark

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See also: Danish overseas colonies

* Iceland

### Italy

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See also: Colonia (Roman), Venetian Empire, and Genoese Empire

* Albania
* Dodecanese

### Spain

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* Spanish Netherlands
* Duchy of Milan
* Kingdom of Naples
* Kingdom of Sicily

### Norway

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See also: Norwegian overseas colonies

* Iceland
* Faroe Islands
* Isle of Man, Northern Isles, Hebrides

### United Kingdom

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See also: British Empire

* Cyprus
* Ionian islands (now part of Greece)
* Ireland
* Malta
* Menorca (now part of Spain)
* Heligoland (now part of Germany)

## See also

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* Austrian colonial policy
* Belgian colonial empire
* British colonial empire
* Danish colonial empire
* Dutch colonial empire
* French colonial empire
* German colonial empire
* List of former German colonies
* Italian colonial empire
* Portuguese colonial empire
* Evolution of the Portuguese Empire
* Russian colonial empire
* Spanish colonial empire
* Swedish colonial empire

## References

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